Super XV Big Match Review - Brumbies 23 - 30 Crusaders

There seem to be 2 types of talented player – one, the youthful tyro who tears opposition to shreds in the early stages of his career before waning alarmingly at the 30 mark, eventually becoming a bit of a joke and about as useful as a condom machine in the Vatican; and the other, the raw rugby talent who just seems to get better and better with age, like a fine wine.  You know some of the prime examples of this – Richie McCaw, Martin Johnson and even Shane Williams, all seemed (or in McCaw's case, still seem) to keep improving up to the point where they decide to finally hang up their boots.  Such players are a rarity – but we were lucky enough to see 2 of them on the same park last weekend.

I am, of course, talking about George Smith and Dan Carter.  The latter is 'only' 31, but has been on the international scene for well over a decade, and still seems to possess that sublime ability to pick the right passes and glide through gaps with apparent nonchalance.  And with age, he's refined his game management, kicking well for territory and even better off the tee, and all these are reasons why he was thrown straight back into the starting line-up against the Brumbies.  The other veteran, George Smith, has done a fair bit of globe trotting of late – playing at first for Toulon and then in Japan – before coming back to his beloved Brumbies following an injury to David Pocock.  So impressive has the almost-33-year-old been that he's earned himself a shot at facing the Lions for Australia this summer – still fast across the pitch, lethal over the ball and energetic on the carry, he has been a key reason why this Brumbies side has managed to maintain momentum and continue to dominate opponents despite losing a player of the calibre of Pocock.

It was the Crusaders though who, thanks to some aimless kicking from the home side, enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the early stages, with Carter spreading the ball with effortless ease and Robbie Freuan looking menacing whenever he was on the ball.  But, whenever they got within sniffing distance of the Brumbies 22, their attack seemed to stagnate and start drifting from side to side.  It backfired after 6 minutes when Carter got too casual with a wide pass as it was snapped up by fly half Matt Toomua, who coasted in from just inside his 22 to give his side the lead against the run of play.  In-form inside centre Christian Lealiifano then added the extras before nudging over a penalty to give his side a 10 point lead.

But the warning signs were there from the Kiwis – the Brumbies had gifted them possession far too easily prior to the try and continued to do so afterwards, with the usually-reliably-superb Jesse Mogg particularly culpable.  Gradually, through Fruean and Luke Whitelock, the visitors began to pressurise the Aussie side's line and, after a Carter penalty, they finally got their deserved breakthrough following a 5 metre scrum, with scrum half Andy Ellis making opposite number Nic White look positively pedestrian as he glided round him for a try out wide – beautifully converted by Carter.  The rest of the half became a more even but ultimately forgettable affair as a result of poor kicking from both sides, but it was given a couple of sparks of class by veteran George Smith, playing his 137th game for the ACT side and becoming the Brumbies' most capped player in the process.  The flanker produced a turnover, a surging break into the heat of the Crusaders' defence and a beautifully weighted grubber all in the space on 90 seconds to remind Robbie Deans that the old dog has still got some tricks.

The second half began as the first ended, with the Brumbies edging the play in terms of territory and possession, but this Crusaders side has proven on countless occasions already this year that their determination and tenacity in defence requires something very special to breach it – and although the leaders of the Australian conference are more than capable of producing moments of genius, it just wasn't happening for them.  Instead, it was the Crusaders who grabbed the next score and took a stranglehold on the game, with recently-rehabilitated winger Zac Guilford crossing the line following a superb offload from Ryan Crotty.  Carter added another touchline conversion before hitting another 2 penalties over the next 15 minutes.

Lealiifano attempted the stem the flow and reel in the visitors, who were now 13 points clear, by nudging over a penalty, but the Crusaders took advantage of the desperation amongst the Brumbies' ranks by snaffling a turnover close to their own line – giving fullback Israel Dagg a chance to start and then finish a sensational counter attack that went the whole length of the pitch.  Carter's conversion put the game beyond doubt at 30 – 13, but there was still time for captain Ben Mowen to plough through the Crusaders' backline from 20 metres out to claw one back for the hosts, before Lealiifano added the conversion and a further penalty to claim a losing bonus point.

George Smith didn't look like he wanted to celebrate his incredible milestone much after the game, which was understandable after losing a game which many expected them to win.  The Crusaders might not be as intimidating as they were 5 years ago, but on this sort of ominous form it might well be enough for the other title challengers to start getting just a little bit nervous.

What else was happening in Super Rugby over the weekend?

Rebels 33 – 39 Chiefs:  The Chiefs picked up a bonus point but were made to work for it by a resilient and enterprising Rebels side who pushed them all the way.  The hosts managed to score 5 tries through Scott Higginbotham, Hugh Pyle (2), Nick Phipps and the returning Kurtley Beale but they were still outscored by their free-flowing visitors, who grabbed scores through a Gareth Anscombe hat-trick (including 1 in the first minute), Bundee Aki, Sam Cane and Brodie Retallick.

Blues 18 – 17 Stormers:  The Blues edged a tight battle in North Shore City as they were made to sweat it out at the end by the Stormers.  The South African side scored two late tries through Jean de Villiers (2) to raise the pressure on the home team, who had the boot of Chris Noakes to thank for all their points.  

Bulls 48 – 14 Hurricanes:  The Bulls continued their march up the Super Rugby table and remained the surprise leaders of the South African Conference with a comfortable win over the Hurricanes.   The hosts scored tries through JJ Engelbrecht,  Deon Steggman, Akona Ndungane, Dean Greyling, Lionel Mapoe and Louis Fouche, whilst talented scrum half TJ Perenara scored both of the Canes' 5 pointers.

Southern Kings 10 – 72 Waratahs:  The Kings took an absolute hammering at home against a rampant Waraths side who turned in arguably the best performance of the season.   Whilst the South African new boys could only cross the whitewash once, through Sergeal Petersen, the Tahs racked up a staggering 11 tries – with Cam Crawford (3), Israel Folau, Kane Douglas, Michael Hooper, Peter Betham (2), Dave Dennis, Ben Volavola and Tom Kingston all crossing.

Force 11 – 11 Reds:  The Western Force continue to be the Reds' bogey side by forcing the title-chasing Queenslanders into a hard-fought draw in Perth.  Both sides scored 1 try apiece, with Ben McCalman going over for the home side and Chris F-Sautia crossing for a late effort to save the game for the visitors.

Highlanders 25 – 22 Sharks:  The Highlanders picked up their first victory of the season (yep, you read that right) with a thrilling victory over the slumping Sharks in Dunedin.  The hosts scored tries through Shaun Treeby, Aaron Smith and Colin Slade (with one of the tries of the season), whilst the Sharks (finally) scored 5-pointers through Meyer Bosman (2) and Lwazi Mvovo.