Super Rugby

[cashead]

Oh look at that, No one (as in no one loves you, rowan) is being a racist because obviously you're explicitly stating that the black players in the Stormers are being dehumanised and being victimised by white South Island farmers. For shame.

[morepork]

Mehrts is classic. Less a commentator than a bloke at the pub.

[morepork]

Oh look at that, No one (as in no one loves you, rowan) is being a racist because obviously you're explicitly stating that the black players in the Stormers are being dehumanised and being victimised by white South Island farmers. For shame.

Hey hey rolly...

[rowan]

45-28, last 5. Not the walkover it threatened to become, but Saders never really in danger.

[morepork]

Some signs for future opposition keen to go up one out against the Saders. Looked a bit soft there.

More importantly, who cuts Sam Whitelocks hair? Come on brother.

[rowan]

Saders headed for title No. 9?

[rowan]

[rowan]

We'll know more when they face the Kiwis, but positive signs for the Aussies thus far, notably the Rebels who were controversially retained ahead of the Force. SA's been a mixed bag, with the boys from the high veldt looking strong and the coastal teams not particularly impressive thus far. We'll also know more about the Jags in a few hours, while the less said about the Sunpoodles the better...

[rowan]

Canes draw first blood against the Jags, 0-7 at 10 mins.

[rowan]

The Jaguares actually seem to be getting worse every season. 9-34 loss at home to the Canes.

[rowan]

1. Lions 3 3 0 0 122:81 14

2. Rebels 2 2 0 0 82:36 10

3. Crusaders 2 2 0 0 90:51 10

4. Hurricanes 2 1 0 1 53:30 6

5. Waratahs 2 1 1 0 58:51 6

6. Stormers 3 1 0 2 83:99 5

7. Highlanders 1 1 0 0 41:34 4

8. Brumbies 2 1 0 1 42:43 4

9. Bulls 2 1 0 1 56:68 4

10. Chiefs 2 1 0 1 50:66 4

11. Reds 2 1 0 1 37:55 4

12. Sharks 2 0 1 1 43:50 3

13. Blues 2 0 0 2 55:68 2

14. Sunwolves 2 0 0 2 42:69 1

15. Jaguares 3 0 0 3 56:109 0

[rowan]

Interesting perspective on the aptly-named Blues: https://www.rugbypass.com/news/scotty-s ... blem-blues

Or is this just a case of clutching at straws . . .

Let’s also cut to the chase ( the rest of the country will love this?) Auckland is Big metropolis that lacks a soul. We try hard .. but it does not have the parochial spirit of other NZ cities. Throw in the fact our sports teams have been crap for years .. what’s to love about this city.. I’m not sure how we change it?

[zer0]

Boston. Chicago. Manchester. Melbourne. Munich. All are cities far, far larger than Auckland that host, or have hosted, dominant sports teams. Ergo, it's a load of twaddle. Stevenson should stick to producing entertaining commentary.

[rowan]

Agreed. Although I'm not sure Manchester is much bigger than Auckland, is it? It's a very long time indeed since I spent a year living and working in Auckland, but back then it was full of Britons, Pacific Islanders and yokels from the provinces. It was actually quite rare to come across a born-and-bred Auck. The sudden influx of outsiders was part of a world-wide trend that began in the 60s & 70s as the corporate revolution and mechanization of the farming industry led to a stampede to the cities for the comfortable lifestyles of office workers. The majority of the world's population now resides in cities of over half a million. It was also in the early 60s that NZ opened its doors to Pacific Island immigration, of course. But a generation or two has passed since then, Auckland's population entering seven figures some time in the early 90s, so you'd think some semblance of 'parochial spirit' would have developed by now. In fact, I'm a little surprised at the author's self-effacing attitude. That doesn't sound like any Aucklander I know! & the city does have a lot going for it, notably its great climate, beaches and cosmopolitan community - with the largest Polynesian population in the world.

[rowan]

Leading try scorer so far - penalty tries (5)

[rowan]

Otago see off Stormers. Not an awful lot at this stage to suggest the comp is going to be much different from the past few years, Rebels apparent improvement notwithstanding. They''re about to kick off against the Brumbies, which will tell us more . . .

[rowan]

Wow, Rebels are cruising at the 3/4 mark!

It's becoming a hammering

[rowan]

Bonus point win for the Rebels! They go top of the ladder for now with 3 straight wins. So far the ARU must be feeling very smug indeed. But let's wait until they face some Kiwi teams before getting too carried away . . .

[cashead]

Jordie Barrett

[rowan]

Canes up 26-5 on the Saders after half an hour !!

[rowan]

Bonus point win for the Canes. Saders' first loss since ?? Only concern there is that after running up a big lead, the home-team managed just 3 points in the final 50 minutes of play.

Apparently that's their fifth straight win over the defending champs & 8-time Super Rugby title-holders

[rowan]

Reds showing improvement too, but the Sunpoodles look like cannon fodder as usual . . .

[rowan]

What a comeback by the Blues? Are they back in business? Right now it's looking like the Kiwis could take the top 5 places!

[zer0]

Apparently that's their fifth straight win over the defending champs & 8-time Super Rugby title-holders

Only at home. The Crusaders won their 2017 Rd 12 match in Christchurch last year when they blitzed B.Barrett, IIRC.

[rowan]

Apparently that's their fifth straight win over the defending champs & 8-time Super Rugby title-holders

Only at home. The Crusaders won their 2017 Rd 12 match in Christchurch last year when they blitzed B.Barrett, IIRC.

Thanks for the clarification. I'd been wondering about that, since I was pretty sure the Saders only lost once last year - to the Canes away.