WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The first really wet weekend in Super Rugby saw a reduction in scorelines and a rearrangement of the standings which leaves the defending champion Blues in playoff jeopardy.
The average points per match in the weekend’s 10th round, mostly played on soggy grounds, was 40.6. That’s significantly down on the ninth round, played mostly in dry conditions, where the average was 54 points
By way of comparison, the second round of the season played in summery conditions on hard grounds saw an average of 74.8 points per match.
The Hamilton, New Zealand-based Chiefs were the only team to flourish in the conditions, beating the Dunedin-based Highlanders 46-10 to return to the top of the competition table, edging the Crusaders on points differential.
The Christchurch-based Crusaders had gone to the top briefly when they beat the Auckland-based Blues 25-22 with a last-second penalty by former Wallabies flyhalf James O’Connor.
The 34-year-old O’Connor, who played the last of his 64 test for Australia in 2022, has become part of the discussion over who will wear the No. 10 jersey for the Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions in July.
The cool way in which he kicked the winning goal into the wind and in slippery conditions might interest Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt. If Schmidt wants a closer on the bench against the Lions, the experienced and composed O’Connor could be a good fit.
With their sixth loss of the season, the Blues slipped further out of the playoffs picture, dropping to eighth place.
Tricky conditions undid the New South Wales Waratahs, who lost 28-14 to the Fijian Drua in the heat and rain in Lautoka, falling back to sixth place. The Waratahs now have a bye weekend to regroup ahead of a key match against the Canberra-based Brumbies.
The Brumbies are in third place after an impressive 24-0 win over Moana Pasifika. It was only the second time in three years that Moana Pasifika has been held scoreless.
“They’re one of the best attacking teams in the competition, scoring more tries than anyone else in the second half,” Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said. “We kept them to zero, and I thought the boys fronted up defensively.”
The Hurricanes are seventh, three points behind the Waratahs, after a 17-17 draw with the Western Force.
Flyhalf duel
The contest for the New Zealand All Blacks’ No. 10 jersey for the July test series against France remains a tight one with six rounds left in the Super Rugby season.
Beauden Barrett, who appears to be the front-runner, was accurate with a slippery ball for the Blues against the Crusaders. He did a lot of important tidying up at the back, behind a sloppy Blues backline.
Damian McKenzie, his main rival, kicked five conversions and two penalties and was slick in the playmaking role for the Chiefs against the Highlanders. He was returning to flyhalf after playing the previous match at fullback.
McKenzie started at 10 in the All Blacks’ first seven tests in 2024 before Barrett took over.
Barrett was sidelined with a hand injury earlier this season and the Blues lost three matches in his absence. He has 63 points for the season so far. McKenzie has 117.
“I’m just enjoying playing footy at No. 10,” Barrett said. “Time in the saddle is nice. I’m grateful for the opportunities.”
Ioane to Ireland
Blues center Rieko Ioane is the latest All Black to take up the opportunity of a sabbatical from New Zealand rugby to play overseas.
Rather than heading to Japan, as is most common, Ioane will join Leinster in Ireland. He follows in the footsteps of his All Blacks midfield partner Jordie Barrett, who has been a star for Leinster this season.
Barrett said Ioane consulted him before deciding on his destination.
“He sounded me out and just asked a few questions,” Barrett said. “He’ll go great. It’s a great place to develop and he’ll see a lot of improvements up here as a player.”
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Steve Mcmorran, The Associated Press
