Making its return, we bring you Super Rugby Pacific’s Round Sven preview, in which we look at the main talking points ahead of this weekend’s action.
This week’s action is truncated as four teams – the Chiefs, Fijian Drua, Waratahs and Western Force – all have byes which means there are only four matches scheduled to take place.
Games to watch
Highlanders v Hurricanes
The Highlanders have it all to do as they face a daunting challenge when they host the Hurricanes in a highly anticipated New Zealand derby in Dunedin on Saturday.
Judging from the Super Rugby Pacific table, the home side will have to deliver their best performance of the season if they want to be victorious against the Wellington-based outfit.
After a slow start to their campaign – in which they suffered huge defeats to the Blues, Crusaders and Chiefs in their first three matches – the Highlanders have bounced back in recent weeks courtesy of successive victories over the Western Force, Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika.
By contrast, the Hurricanes have made a much better start to their campaign and come into this weekend’s encounter in excellent form after registering wins over the Waratahs, Moana Pasifika and Western Force in their most recent matches.
Jason Holland’s troops’ only blip this season came in Round Three when they suffered a narrow defeat in Wellington to the Blues and prior to that they hit the ground running with solid victories over the Reds and Rebels during the tournament’s earlier rounds.
Like all New Zealand franchises, the Highlanders and Hurricanes employ expansive game-plans and it’s usually tight and exciting battles when they face off so don’t be surprised if Saturday’s clash goes down to the wire, which was the case when these sides met in the corresponding fixture in 2022.
Rebels v Blues
The Rebels and Blues will be determined to return to the victory trail when they face off in Melbourne on Saturday as both sides suffered defeats in their Round Six matches.
After beating the Reds at home in Round Five, the Rebels had a tricky assignment in Suva against the Fijian Drua, who eventually sealed an impressive victory.
Click Here: Chelsea Jersey Sale
That was the Mebourne-based outfit’s fourth defeat from their six matches played so far this season. They made a poor start to their campaign with back-to-back defeats to the Force and Hurricanes can but got their campaign back on track when they clinched a home victory over the Waratahs in Round Three.
However, their joy was short lived as they then headed to Hamilton where they suffered a big defeat to the table-topping Chiefs.
Their inconsistent nature continued as they beat the Reds in Melbourne in Round Five and after last weekend’s loss to the Drua, head coach Kevin Foote and his charges will be hoping that pattern continues with a victory over the Blues this weekend.
That is easier said than done though as they are currently in ninth position on the table and face the fifth-placed Blues, who will also be determined to return to winning ways after suffering a narrow loss to the Chiefs last weekend.
Apart from that defeat, the Auckland-based side also lost to the Brumbies in Round Two and the Crusaders in Round Four, while they started their campaign with a fine win over the Highlanders.
They also beat the Hurricanes and Force in the third and fifth rounds respectively and will be quietly confident ahead of this weekend’s match as they cruised to an easy win against the Blues in Auckland last year.
Player to watch – Richie Mo’unga (Crusaders)
Although he is set to leave the Crusaders at the end of the season, Friday’s clash against Moana Pasifika in Christchurch will be a momentous match for the All Blacks fly-half as he is making his 100th appearance for the defending champions.
Mo’unga made his debut in a first round clash against the Chiefs in 2016 and since that time he has come in leaps and bounds as he is one of the best players in his position in the world at the moment.
A brilliant playmaker, blessed with quick feet and an astute rugby brain, Mo’unga will be expected to provide direction and momentum as the Crusaders look to continue with their fine recent form in which they have won their last three matches against the Blues, Brumbies and Reds.
Mo’unga is also a reliable goal-kicker and don’t be surprised if he will be celebrating his milestone match with a huge points haul against Moana, who are still winless after six rounds of matches and firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.
This man can't be stopped!! 💪
Richie Mo'unga grabs himself a hat-trick!🎥: @skysportnz #REDvCRU #SuperRugbyTT pic.twitter.com/iK6HJu5rUx
— Super Rugby NZ (@SuperRugbyNZ) May 22, 2021
One-v-one battle to watch – Tate McDermott (Reds) v Nic White (Brumbies)
There will be plenty of interest in this duel between these Wallabies scrum-halves when the Reds and Brumbies go head-to-head in their derby in Brisbane on Friday.
Like most number nines, McDermott and White are feisty characters who are always in the thick of the action and willing to give their all for their respective teams.
The Reds have been struggling of late while the Brumbies have been Australia’s form team yet again in the competition and expect fireworks to go off when these two spirited players face off in this encounter.
Reds co-captain McDermott will be keen to do well after he was left out of the Wallabies squad for an upcoming training camp later this month.
Adding insult to injury ahead is the fact that White has been included along with fellow Brumbies scrum-half Ryan Lonergan which means McDermott will be highly motivated to show Wallabies head coach coach Eddie Jones that it was a mistake to omit him.
Meanwhile, White was Australia’s first choice scrum-half on their end-of-year tour to Europe last year and he will be determined to show Jones that he is still his country’s best number nine with a polished display against McDermott.
Top videos from 2022 – 1️⃣7️⃣
A hot stepping Tate McDermott back in 2020 🔥#SuperRugbyPacific pic.twitter.com/snwntX9sy7
— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) December 5, 2022
Subplot to watch – The response from players left out of Wallabies training squad
There was plenty of excitement when Wallabies boss Eddie Jones announced his 33-man squad for a training camp on the Gold Coast later this month.
While the veteran coach was true to form with some surprising selections, there were also several shock omissions with several of those players set to be in action this weekend.
At the Reds, McDermott, Harry Wilson, Liam Wright, James O’Connor and Filipo Daugunu were omitted. Meanwhile, most of the Brumbies’ players were included but the big name missing from Jones’ squad is young playmaker Noah Lolesio, while the Rebels’ front-row trio of Alex Mafi, Matt Gibbon and Sam Talakai has also been left out.
Although it’s still early in the season, all the aforementioned players – and others with international experience from the Waratahs and Force who are on byes this weekend – will be determined to prove to Jones that they can still do a job for him at Test level and it’s interesting to see how they perform in their respective matches.