Super Rugby - Round 2 Review
Ardie Savea was at the centre of controversy in the Hurricanes’ fiery 39-33 win over the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby Pacific round two.
The Rebels started brightly with captain Brad Wilkin burrowing over in the third minute, but Savea powered over twice in the opening half an hour from close range either side of a Jordie Barrett penalty.
After Wilkin was sent to the sin-bin for not rolling away, Savea provided the assist to Josh Moorby’s try before then adding extra spice to the high-octane encounter.
The All Black No.8 – who was shown a yellow card for re-escalating a scuffle – then proceeded to make a throat-slit gesture towards Rebels scrum-half Ryan Louwrens as he left the field, causing a wicked stir among fans.
Savea later apologised for his actions but faces punishment as he was cited following the game and will face a SANZAAR foul play review committee on Monday.
“I can understand the fans are furious around the gesture that I made,” Savea said. “It’s just a heat of the moment kind of thing, but I understand kids are watching us.
“That was out of character for me, I put my hand up first and apologise for that.”
The Rebels then threatened to mount a shock comeback in the second half as Canes prop Tevita Mafileo’s initial yellow card for a shoulder to the head of Richard Hard wick was upgraded to a 20-minute red card by the TMO under the newly-introduced laws. But Barrett sealed the deal for Jason Holland’s side in the 78th minute, finishing off a swift counter-attack to give the Hurricanes their tenth straight win over the Rebels.
The Crusaders avenged their shock opening-round defeat to the Chiefs in rampant fashion as they demolished a lacklustre Highlanders side 52-15. The Highlanders looked potent early on with Sam Gilbert’s penalty giving them the lead inside ten minutes, but from there they completely capitulated.
Seven unanswered tries from the Crusaders and 22 points from Richie Mo’unga piled on to the Highlanders’ miserable start to the season as they became just the second team in Super Rugby history to concede at least 50 points in their first two games of a season having crashed to a 60-20 home defeat to the Blues last weekend.
“The Chiefs played all the footy last week and we wanted to come out and impose ourselves and I think we did a good job,” Mo’unga said. “I was pretty disappointed in myself as a driver last week so today is very satisfying.”
The Chiefs backed up their stunning opening-round win with another impressive outing as they hammered Moana Pasifika 52-29.
It was a dream start for Clayton McMillan’s side with Rameka Poihipi scoring an intercept try after just nine seconds to record the fastest try in Super Rugby history.
The momentum snowballed from there as the Chiefs piled on five more tries, including two from co-captain Brad Weber, before half-time to lead 38-3 at the break.
Moana Pasifika were intent on putting up a fight in the second-half scoring three tries of their own, but Shaun Stevenson completed his hattrick in the 70th minute to dispel any lingering thoughts of a dramatic comeback and moved the Chiefs top of the table.
The Waratahs bounced back from last week’s Australian derby loss to the Brumbies as they beat a spirited Fijian Drua side 46-17.
The teams were level at half-time with Drua flanker Joseva Tamani cancelling out Dave Porecki’s early try.
After the break, Tevita Ikanivere’s early score was paired with some ferocious Fijian defence to give Mick Byrne’s side a 17-10 advantage entering the final 30 minutes.
However, the Drua eventually succumbed to the persistent Waratahs attack in the second half with Wallabies rookie Langi Gleeson leading the charge in front of Eddie Jones. Five tries, including one from Gleeson, quashed all chances of a Drua comeback.
The action continues today with the Blues hoping to back up last week’s 40-point drubbing of the Highlanders as they look to make it seven wins from their last eight against the Brumbies and extend their regular season win streak to 15.
Later on, the Reds take on the Western Force, who will be desperate to vindicate their heavy opening round loss against the Hurricanes, in the Australian derby while the Force have a chance to start the season with back-to-back wins.