Analysis - This year's inaugural edition of Super Rugby Pacific has been beset by issues, leading to it being derided by plenty as it's struggled along.
Moana Pasifika's Neria Foma'i in action against the Hurricanes. Photo: Photosport
A lot of that criticism is warranted: the amount of indiscipline and therefore cards has been ridiculous, the number of teams that will make the playoffs (eight out of 12) means that many of the games simply don't matter, plus the usual interference from the All Blacks coaching set up that prevents the best players from playing every week.
But, that is a little harsh. For all its faults, Super Rugby Pacific has produced some really good games so far. Here are some examples:
Hurricanes 33 Blues 32, round two. Back when all the sides were trapped in Queenstown and having to bus to Dunedin, the Canes pulled off a stunning late rally that let some serious air out of the Blues' very inflated tires.
Fijian Drua 31 Rebels 26, round three. Everyone wants the Drua to do well, so it was awesome to see them get their first win in such entertaining fashion. The Drua came in promising to run the ball from everywhere, so it's surprising that Rebels looked so shocked when they did exactly that and got the win.
Moana Pasifika 24 Hurricanes 19, round six. OK, this was an objectively poor game quality-wise given the amount of errors, penalties and poor decision-making, But no one can take away the fact that it was another history-making night, this time Moana Pasifika got off the mark with a stunning golden point try to win it.
Chiefs 30 Hurricanes 29, round seven. Another furious Canes comeback, but to no avail against a Chiefs side that clearly enjoyed the sunny afternoon conditions in the capital. This was the game Julian Savea put forward an unlikely yet compelling (to Wellington loyalists at least) case to make a return to the black jersey after a five year absence.
Blues 27 Crusaders 23, round nine. Not only did the Blues walk into Christchurch and then swagger out with a win for the first time since 2004, they did it off the back of an equally impressive 25-0 win over the Chiefs in Hamilton the weekend before. This will go down as one of the games of the season in any competition around the world, played at a ferocious standard and showcasing a number of All Blacks.
So there have been decent games, maybe not as often as we would like but it does point to a pretty interesting run into the playoffs, That's evident in this Saturday's game between the Chiefs and in form Brumbies in Hamilton on Saturday night, because it wasn't that long ago the Chiefs were being spoken of as competition favourites. Getting blanked by the Blues has flushed that notion away, so the Chiefs need a statement win fast. Problem is, the Brumbies have already had several of their own this season so far and will be eyeing this as another one.
Ditto the Reds against the Highlanders tonight in Brisbane. It's the first time in a very long time that an Australian side goes in as favourites against their New Zealand counterparts, which says just as much about how poor the Highlanders have been this season. Everyone has presumed that despite their poor record, Tony Brown's men would be able to stagger into the playoffs no matter what. While that might still be true, they're not going to stick around long unless they find some form soon.
The other game of interest of the weekend is on Sunday afternoon between the Canes and Drua, simply because it could turn into a track meet very quickly, but it's exactly the sort of game that Canes fans have watched their team lose over the years.
