Super Rugby - The Rugby Pod Roundup

We now have 6 teams qualified for the finals, while the race to the Australasian conference title and Wild Card spots continues. Here are 5 talking points form the latest round of Super Rugby:

1. It has been said too many time this season, but this was not a good week for Australian Rugby. Their five teams were beaten by a collective score of 225-66. The Crusaders 85-26 mauling of the Rebels had a fair bit to do with that. The only point that was secured this weekend was in fact by the Rebels as they scored 4 tries. Not a good week for the Aussies.

2. This week, teams were at it from the word go. The Lions, Chiefs, Crusaders and Highlanders all scored within 2 minutes of the kick off, while the Blues got their first 5 pointer within 5 minutes of the kick off.

3. On the subject of tries, do yourself a favour and watch Elliot Dixon’s second try. It was a thing of beauty. With the ball on the halfway line, they attacked the Jaguares line with purpose. The handling was nothing short of majestic as forwards and backs combined to offload the ball, never letting it hit the floor and leaving the Buenos Aires crowd in awe and the defenders strewn across the park. Rugby at its finest.

4. Welcome back Liam Messam. It’s not as if any of the New Zealand franchises need to get any stronger, but the Chiefs have. His misfortune in missing out on the Olympics with the Kiwi 7s, is very much the Chiefs gain. It never hurts to be able to welcome an All Black back into the team.

5. There has been nothing disappointing about the Lions this season. The first team to qualify for the finals, running up big scores against any opposition, winning for the first time in New Zealand against the Chiefs. Why, then, do they play in front of a sparsely populated Ellis Park? If the ground is too big for them, move them to a smaller stadium where they can pack it out and give these players the atmosphere that they deserve this season.

Written by Rob Seltzer for www.TheRugbyPod.com