Super charged: Big games, All Black scrum-half duel and 100 up for Kyle Godwin

David Skippers
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Making its return, we bring you Super charged, in which we preview the main talking points ahead of the next round of Super Rugby Pacific action.

Games to watch

Crusaders v Blues

The Blues face a daunting task when they head to Christchurch on Friday to take on their old foes, the Crusaders, in arguably the biggest match in the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific tournament so far.

Both sides have been in excellent form this season and head into the fixture with identical records of six victories and one defeat from seven matches played.

However, based on recent results, the men from Auckland are the tournament’s in-form team as, apart from a defeat to the Hurricanes in their season opener, they have won six matches on the trot.

The Crusaders have also been in superb form in recent weeks as they have won four successive games, with the only blip on their record coming against the Chiefs, who beat them in Christchurch in Round Four.

A Crusaders defeat in their backyard is a rare occurrence and if the Blues manage to do that it will be a significant achievement as the men from Auckland have struggled against their arch rivals in Christchurch, their last victory registered there way back in 2004.

They are not in a unique position with most teams struggling against the Crusaders juggernaut on their home turf, although the Chiefs showed earlier this year that it’s not an impossible task.

This fixture is a fantastic way to kick off the round as both sides have plenty of exciting attackers in their ranks with the likes of Richie Mo’unga, Will Jordan, Sevu Reece, Ethan Blackadder and Codie Taylor leading the Crusaders charge, while Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Dalton Papalii, Ofa Tuungafasi and Finlay Christie will be crucial to the Blues’ cause.

It should be a fascinating and entertaining watch.

Rebels v Reds

The Rebels welcome the Reds to Melbourne on the back of successes over the Fijian Drua and Western Force, which are their only wins in Super Rugby Pacific after a rocky start.

Head coach Kevin Foote’s men have managed to find some confidence with their recent form trending upwards. Performance in the set-piece has improved tremendously, particularly at scrum time, with tighthead Cabous Eloff putting in a monstrous showing against the Western Force. Matt Philip continues to impress and is quickly establishing himself as the go-to second-row in Australia with impressive carry statistics and a crucial line-out steal last time out.

Fly-half Matt To’ouma has had more chances to connect his outside backs with the improved foundation up front.

Meanwhile, the Reds have enjoyed a strong season, only losing once to the Brumbies last month. Loose forwards Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson have been superb throughout the campaign, adding dynamism to an already solid pack of forwards.

The backline has functioned well thus far and seems very settled with veteran fly-half James O’Connor showing why he is arguably Australia’s premier playmaker at this stage. Suliasi Vunivalu returns from injury to make his first start of the season, joining Jordan Petaia and Filipo Daugunu in a lethal-looking back three.

The Rebels will be looking to ride their recent upturn in form and use the home crowd to their advantage. To impact the game, they will need to win the battle up front, whilst To’ouma and full-back Reece Hodge must kick well to prevent the in-form O’Connor from pulling the strings.

On the other hand, the Reds will rely on their pack to produce go forward ball through their tireless loose trio and hope to control the game in the 10-12 channel between O’Connor and Hamish Stewart.

Despite the rise of the home side, it will still be a difficult task to claim a win over the Super Rugby AU champions.

Player to watch – Kyle Godwin (Western Force)

This weekend’s Australian derby between the Force and Waratahs in Perth will be a momentous occasion for the Wallaby centre as he will be making his 100th appearance for the home side.

Godwin has been a Force stalwart in two stints with the Western Australian outfit since making his debut for them as a 19-year-old in 2012. He has subsequently had spells at the Brumbies and Irish province Connacht before heading back to the Force in 2020.

During his initial time at the Force, Godwin cemented himself in their run-on side and won 52 caps before making the move to the Brumbies where he only spent two seasons. From there, it was on to Connacht but it was a case of home is where the heart is and after seeing out a two-year contract, he returned to Perth where he became a mainstay once again in the Force side.

After back-to-back losses to the Brumbies and Rebels in recent weeks, Godwin will be determined to celebrate his milestone match with a victory over the Waratahs on Saturday.

One-v-one battle to watch – Aaron Smith (Highlanders) v TJ Perenara (Hurricanes)

This weekend, a timeless rivalry is reborn between two legendary New Zealand scrum-halves who have been battling each other for the most part of a decade.

Smith is a general in every sense of the word. Mercurial distribution, a sound kicking game with a supreme ability to read and control the contest. He will go down as one of the greatest All Black number nines, notching up a century of caps for the All Blacks.

The 33-year-old is extremely reliable at the base of the ruck, and the Highlanders depend heavily on his typically faultless service.

Perenara is an entirely different player to Smith despite playing the same position. He is a pure competitor in everyone’s face, including the referee, always sniping, always prowling and prolific in every sense of the word.

Perenara has scored 58 Super Rugby tries and is only two tries away from equalling Israel Folau’s record of 60. It is monumental for a scrum-half to be right up there with the most prolific scorers the competition has seen. It seems inevitable that the 78-Test international will surpass Folau’s mark during this season, possibly even in this clash.

A sumptuous battle awaits this weekend, where legend meets legend, calm meets chaos and where consistency meets tries.

Subplot to watch – Moana Pasifika chasing elusive second win

Moana Pasifka have it all to do and will be in a desperate mood when they go up against the Chiefs in what promises to be an exciting encounter in Hamilton on Saturday.

The Pacific Islanders’ desperation stems from the fact that they currently occupy the bottom position in the Super Rugby Pacific standings with just one win amassed from seven matches played so far this season.

Head coach Aaron Mauger’s charges have delivered a mixed bag of results since coming into the new-look competition this year. They were initially set to play in the tournament’s opening match against the Blues on February 18 but that fixture was postponed due to a Covid outbreak in the Moana Pasifika camp.

They eventually made their highly anticipated debut against the Crusaders in Dunedin on March 4 but despite delivering a competitive performance, they suffered a 33-12 defeat. Since then, they have put in similar gutsy performances in most of their other games and eventually sealed their maiden win against the Hurricanes in Auckland on March 25.

A concern, however, is that a week before that triumph they suffered a humiliating 59-12 defeat against the Chiefs, when these sides met in the corresponding fixture in Auckland, and they also conceded 50 points against Hurricanes in Wellington last week.

That means Moana Pasifika are stuck at the bottom of the table and it will take a monumental effort on the Chiefs’ home patch on Saturday to change that situation.

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