Super Rugby is BACK!

This coming weekend is round three of the newly coined Super Rugby Aotearoa, the pandemic version of the best professional rugby being played. I am stoked about filling a small portion of the pandemic induced void with the entertainment might of my beloved Crusaders of Christchurch, the reining Super Rugby champions, a feat accomplished 10 times since the league's inception in 1996.

 

Having made the above statement, I accept all of the grief that I will incur for choosing the southern hemisphere's offering ahed of the norther hemisphere's version. The beauty of life in Canada in these times is the right to bear an opinion, and I'm exercising that 100%. I suppose that my allegiance to the NZ All Blacks as my favourite rugby nation dovetails nicely into my support of a Kiwi team in a southern hemisphere league. A significant influence on my Crusader fanaticism centers around my appreciation for the leadership of Scott Robertson, their head coach. His tradition-busting inclination has provided the coach in me endless giddy moments of "Would ya look at that?" over his tenure.

 

In the event you're not a rugby fan with little or no knowledge of Super Rugby, you should understand that being a fan in Canada was an exercise in frustration for a number of years due to geo-restrictions on streaming the action. Thankfully, someone intelligent at TSN spearheaded the initiative to include coverage of the Super Rugby, albeit at God awful hours of the day, thanks to the +16 hour time difference. Not to be outdone, this old bear faithfully drags his sorry arse out of bed in the wee hours for a weekly fix, provided that it's on one of the TSNs that I can get ... I'm on a fixed income after all. If you're at all interested in watching, here's a link to TSN's coverage CLICK HERE. 

 

In Round One, the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa game ended in a thriller, as the Highlanders snatched a last-gasp 28-27 win over the Chiefs in Dunedin. 

In another beauty on Sunday, as the Blues overpowered the Hurricanes 30-20 in front of a capacity crowd at Eden Park. Beauden Barrett debuted for the Blues against his old side.

In Round Two, The Blues proved too slick for the Chiefs in slippery conditions on Saturday, emerging victorious 24-12 for their first win in Hamilton since 2011. 

In the other game, the Crusaders survived a scare in round two of Super Rugby Aotearoa on Sunday, making it six wins on the bounce against the Hurricanes with a 39-25 victory in Wellington.

If you get "bitten by the bug" and wish to start following the league, the Super Rugby Aotearoa YouTube page is HERE.