Super Rugby - Week 6 - The Rugby Pod Review

Week 6 of Super Rugby is over, and the tables are starting to tell a story. Here are 5 talking points from the latest round of matches:

1) Can anyone stop the New Zealand teams? It was a clean sweep for the Kiwi franchises this weekend. Apart from the Highlanders win at home against the Force, all the other results will have made the rest of the competition really sit up and take note. Each team is playing some scintillating rugby that no other team can match at the moment.

2) On that note, the Chiefs sent a real message out to the rest of the competition. Their 46-23 demolition of the Brumbies was a huge statement. The Brumbies are famed for their stingy defence but they had no answer to Cruden and Co. The tries scored were well crafted and the Brumbies were cut open time and time again. They don’t lose many at home, and they certainly don’t concede 40 points very often, so this result certainly reverberates.

3) Staying with the Kiwi teams - how good was the game between the Lions and the Crusaders! The ‘Saders winning it by the odd point in 80! It was an epic encounter with tries going in from all over the place. The Lions certainly played their part in this. Lionel Mapoe’s try was superb and Akker van der Merwe’s first try is one that all front rowers dream of. The coaches probably won’t be too impressed with some of the defence, but the fans won’t care about that, we want more!

4) The Rebels earned a first win in Sydney. This is significant for two reasons. First, it puts them in the playoff spots for now. They have been gathering momentum year-on-year. They are beating at least one of the established power house teams every season but are now also backing that up with beating the teams around them. Could this be the year they announce themselves properly? Secondly, the Waratahs are in a lot of trouble. For the 3^rd game in a row they have been very poor in the first half. With the Brumbies to come next, a team that had high hopes for this season could soon find themselves cut adrift.

5) The Kings won the battle of the new boys. Once again the Achilles Heel of the Sunwolves was their lighter pack. Both teams would have eyed this game as their chance to register a win so well done to the South African side for getting it - a nice confidence booster for them. For the Sunwolves, in Akihito Yamada they have one hell of a finisher out wide but they really need some beef up front.

Rob Seltzer - Writing for www.TheRugbyPod.com