Super Rugby Pacific preview: Big games, Sam Whitelock is back and full-back battle in Perth

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Making its return, we bring you Super Rugby Pacific’s Round Nine preview, in which we look at the main talking points ahead of this weekend’s action.

Like the previous two rounds, this week’s action is truncated as four sides – the Hurricanes, Moana Pasifika, Reds and Brumbies – all have byes which means only four matches are scheduled to take place.

Games to watch

Chiefs v Fijian Drua

Although the Chiefs will be playing on their home patch at FMG Stadium in Hamilton, they can prepare themselves for a tough battle against the Drua, who have shown in recent weeks that they can mix it with the tournament’s big guns.

The home side are of course riding the crest of the wave at the moment as they have won all seven of their matches played so far this season and are setting the pace at the top of the standings.

The men from Hamilton come into the clash against the Drua in a confident mood as they hammered home their dominance in the competition with an impressive 33-19 triumph over the Hurricanes in round eight.

Head coach Clayton McMillan has mixed things up with his squad selection for their clash against the Drua with experienced campaigners like Sam Cane, Luke Jacobson and Brad Weber rested while Damian McKenzie has been shifted to full-back from fly-half where he has shone in most of their matches so far this season.

Meanwhile, the Drua will fancy their chances of causing an upset against an under-strength Chiefs side. The visitors are the most improved team in the tournament as they have already won three matches compared to last year’s two victories.

Apart from those wins, Mick Byrne’s troops have also been competitive in most of their other matches. The Drua will draw inspiration from last year’s clash against the Chiefs in Lautoka which went down to the wire.

Blues v Waratahs

The Waratahs have it all do as they travel to Eden Park in Auckland to face a refreshed Blues team who have just come off a bye week.

It will be difficult for the Australian side, who sit outside of the play-off spots at the moment but returned to winning ways against the Western Force last weekend.

The Sydneysiders will need to improve their accuracy in Auckland to give the hosts as little chance to punish them as possible. It has been a frustrating season for the men from New South Wales, who are far better than their results this season suggest.

Meanwhile, in the Blues camp, there will also be some frustrations with a slow-ish start to the season. However, after a bye week to recalibrate and with this clash on their home turf, it all points towards a win for the Aucklanders.

Expect a fierce battle between two good sides, both of which are trying to improve their positions on the table.

Although the Blues have held the upper-hand in this fixture of late, they were made to work very hard to clinch the result when these teams faced off in the corresponding fixture in Sydney in 2022.

Player to watch – Sam Whitelock (Crusaders)

The Crusaders will welcome the return of their veteran superstar with open arms. Whitelock has been sidelined since round four with a hand injury and it has shown in the defending champions’ form.

His influence has mostly been missed in the line-outs where the Crusaders boast an 83.9% rate which is far below the lofty standards the Christchurch team operate on. The return of Whitelock, a master of that set-piece, will show immediately giving the side a chance to launch their attacking plays off a better platform.

It is also a World Cup year and from a personal standpoint, Whitelock will be desperate to get some more minutes under his belt to be ready for a big Test season.

One-v-one battle to watch – Chase Tiatia (Western Force) v Sam Gilbert (Highlanders)

Although both these teams are yet to hit their straps this year, they have shown glimpses of what they’re capable of and Tiatia and Gilbert will be leading the charge for their respective teams in Perth on Saturday.

Tiatia is a familiar face to New Zealanders as he had stints with the Hurricanes and Chiefs before making the move to Force at the beginning of this season.

And although the men from Perth have found the going tough in this year’s competition, the 27-year-old has been ever-present at full-back and one of their star performers.

Blessed with a superb skill-set and quick feet, Tiatia’s ability to unlock the tightest defences makes him a genuine threat on attack. He enjoys attacking from the back and it’s no surprise that he has made the ninth most carries in this year’s competition.

Meanwhile, Gilbert although not as potent on attack as Tiatia, gets the job done with ball in hand from the back for the Highlanders.

When he joins the backline it usually creates problems for his opponents and he has also shown during this season that he can create try-scoring opportunities for his team-mates.

However, his biggest contribution has been as a goal-kicker and his accuracy off the kicking tee has taken him into fourth position in the points-scoring charts with 65 point amassed so far this season. He will be determined to add to that tally this weekend.

Subplot to watch – Will the Australian teams beat their New Zealand counterparts?

Like most of the recent seasons in Super Rugby, the gap in quality between the Australian and New Zealand sides has been evident again this year with the Kiwi teams dominant in most of the matches played between teams from the aforementioned countries.

Of the 12 matches played so far between teams from these countries, it’s been fairly one-sided with the New Zealanders triumphant in 11 of those games.

The only time an Australian team secured a victory was in in the second week when when the Brumbies clinched a 25-20 win over the Blues in their Super Round clash in Melbourne.

Those damning statistics does not augur well for the Aussie sides and this weekend sees the Rebels and Force hosting the Crusaders and Highlanders respectively while the Waratahs have an away clash against the Blues.

Judging from the current table, it’s going to be a tough ask for the Waratahs, Rebels and Force, who are lying in ninth, 10th and 11th positions respectively, while their opponents – the Blues, Crusaders and Highlanders – occupy the fifth, fourth and seventh spots in the standings.

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