Super charged: Big game, Tevita Kuridrani set to shine

David Skippers
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Making its return to Planet Rugby, we bring you Super charged, in which we preview the main talking points ahead of the upcoming Super Rugby action.

Game to watch – Chiefs v Crusaders

Super Rugby returns to Fiji when the tournament’s leading team and defending champions, the Crusaders, take on a struggling Chiefs side in what promises to be another action-packed New Zealand derby in Suva on Saturday.

This will be the third time that these teams do battle in Suva, with the Chiefs winning the first encounter in 2016 but that has also been their last triumph over the champions.

The Crusaders have dominated this fixture in recent years and, after narrowly winning that second encounter in 2017, they have won their next four matches by big winning margins.

Scott Robertson’s troops are once again sitting pretty at the top of the table but can’t afford to underestimate the Chiefs, who, despite a slow start to the season, have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks and are still in contention for the play-offs.

Keep an eye on Chiefs scrum-half Brad Weber, who has played consistently well despite his side’s erratic form while, for the Crusaders, All Blacks captain Kieran Read will be keen to hit the ground running after a couple of weeks on the sidelines due to injury.

Player to watch – Tevita Kuridrani (Brumbies)

The Wallaby outside centre is in a rich vein of form and has played a major role in the Brumbies’ push to the top of the Australian Conference.

The 28-year-old missed a large chunk of the 2018 season due to a pectoral injury but has impressed for the two-time champions in 2019 and is amongst the leading attacking players in this year’s tournament.

The 58-Test veteran has made the fourth most clean breaks (20) in this year’s competition and is in joint fourth spot for tries scored (seven).

Kuridrani delivered an excellent performance in the Brumbies’ 22-10 win over the Bulls in Canberra last week and was rewarded with a hat-trick of tries.

He will be keen to build on that performance when the Brumbies take on the tournament’s bottom-placed team, the Sunwolves, in Tokyo on Saturday.

One-v-one battle to watch – Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues) v RG Snyman (Bulls)

These players have been two of the standout locks in the tournament and will be important for their respective sides when they get Round 16’s action underway at Eden Park on Friday.

Tuipulotu has been a vital cog in the Blues’ wheel and has shone as the enforcer for his team but also impressed in a leadership role as he is one of the Auckland-based side’s co-captains alongside Blake Gibson.

The All Black has also caught the eye with his lineout work but he faces a stiff challenge in that department from Snyman, who is amongst the leading set-piece exponents in the tournament.

The Springbok second-row also has a brilliant offloading game and, despite getting through plenty of hard work in the tight exchanges, is currently in joint-ninth position for offloads made during the tournament.

Subplot to watch – John Plumtree returns to Durban as head coach

With the tournament’s league phase nearing its end, both the Hurricanes and Sharks will be keen to secure victory to strengthen their hopes of reaching the play-offs.

Apart from that, Plumtree is well-known to the Kings Park faithful after serving them with distinction for several years as a player and coach.

He enjoyed plenty of success as the head coach of the Sharks between 2008 and 2013 and although he has been part of the Hurricanes coaching set-up for several years – mostly as an assistant coach – this will be his first visit to his old stomping ground as the men from Wellington’s head coach.

His only previous match with the Hurricanes in Durban is one he will not remember too fondly as the Sharks ran out 32-15 winners.

Plumtree’s departure from the Sharks at the end of 2013 was an acrimonious one and a win over his former team this weekend should give him great satisfaction.

Best of the rest

There are three other matches being played this weekend and all three are important ones in the bigger scheme of things.

At Ellis Park in Johannesburg, there will be plenty riding on the outcome of the Lions’ game against the Stormers as these sides are both on 30 points from 13 matches in the standings and are in joint-fourth place on the South African Conference.

Elsewhere, the Rebels and the Waratahs face-off in their derby and both sides cannot afford to lose as the Rebels are keen to overtake the Brumbies at the top of the Australian Conference while the Sydneysiders want to keep their play-off hopes alive.

In the round’s final match, the Jaguares will be hoping to consolidate their position at the top of the South African Conference with a win over the Reds in Brisbane.

by David Skippers

Blues