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Opinionated Rugby Commentary - by Fans for Fans
Spill what you really think about events in the rugby world.
Super 15 Rugby Round 5 Review - 10 Thoughts 2 views
15 March 2015 by The Swede Eaters
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What are your thoughts on Super Rugby Round 5?
Super Rugby Round 5 was a great one for the New Zealand teams lets look at 10 Things We Learnt during Super Rugby Round 5.
1) Four out of five New Zealand teams won in Super Rugby Round 5 and the only team that lost, the Blues, were playing another New Zealand team in the Hurricanes. The best part of this is that the wins for the Chiefs and Highlanders were against two of the best non-New Zealand teams in the competition in the Stormers and Waratahs. In contrast, the Sharks were the only South African team to win in Round 5, and they played the Cheetahs. Two Australian teams won, with the Rebels and Brumbies winning away, they both played local derbies against Australian teams, maybe it was a good thing with such a dominant weekend for New Zealand teams.
2) One look at the table suggests that the New Zealand teams are looking dangerous, with the Hurricanes being the only unbeaten team, while the Chiefs and Highlanders are fourth and fifth. It is amazing how despite their slow start to the season, the Sharks are in the Top Six. The scary thing for other teams is that New Zealand could be more dominant if the Crusaders beat the Cheetahs next weekend which is highly likely, then New Zealand could be in an even stronger position to dominant Super Rugby 2015.
3) It is best not to name your team a colour as the Reds and Blues are at the foot of the table.
4) It is important to look at the Super Rugby season holistically. It is still early to completely write off any team yet, given that we are only one quarter of the way through the competition.
5) How much longer will Sir John Kirwan last at the Blues as coach? His team is the only one not to win a game and despite some encouraging signs in Palmerston North on Friday night, they still lost their fifth game in a row.
6) How will the Highlanders go against the big South African teams? As a Highlanders fan, I was amazed by the Highlanders win over the Waratahs and their amazing counter-attack, but given the way that the Stormers at times dominated the Chiefs forwards and deprived them of possession, much like the Chiefs themselves did against the Highlanders the week before, you have to fear for the Highlanders forwards at set piece time against some of the big South African teams. The main consolation is that the Highlanders last week and Chiefs this week showed that you don't have to dominate possession to win the game.
7) What has happened to the home advantage? In Super Rugby 2014 regular season, 71 percent of games were won by the home team, yet in 2015 so far only 14 out of 34 games have been won by the home team which is only 41 percent of games in Super Rugby 2015 have been won by the home team. Super Rugby Round 5 was no exception with only three from seven teams winning at home.
8) There were two upsets in Super Rugby Round 5 according to tips website SuperBru with wins for the Rebels and Chiefs only picked by only 39 percent and 24 percent of tipsters only. These were hardly the major upsets like there were in earlier rounds. Wins for the Highlanders and Sharks were those dangerous fifty-fifty results which separate the tipsters.
9) The average winning margin in Super Rugby Round 5 was higher than usual at 14.42 points which was helped by the Brumbies 29-0 win over the Reds and other comfortable wins by the Crusaders and Sharks. It is rare to have an upset win by 17 points like was the case with the Sharks. There were three bonus points for teams finishing within seven points, which included two seven point wins. The overall margin average in Super Rugby 2015 is now over 12 points at 12.18 points.
10) Do the comfortable wins for the Sharks and Crusaders mean that the established teams who were favourites heading into Super Rugby 2015 are starting to get into the form that saw them do so well in recent seasons? Both of these teams have recently welcomed back some experienced international players who helped them win in Super Rugby Round 5. It is hard to know if or when the Waratahs will do the same?
What are your thoughts on Super 15 Rugby Round 5?
Watch Super 15 Rugby Round 5 video highlights here
Buy the Ultimate Rugby Tipping Guide 2015 ebook for only $4.
http://www.superrugbytips.com/2015/03/super-15-rugby-round-5-review-10-things.html
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