Round 12 of Super Rugby Pacific has reshaped the run home, and Two Cents Rugby's review captures it neatly: the Hurricanes are clear at the top, the chasing pack just got a little tighter, and two would-be playoff sides have left themselves in a serious bind.
"Hurricanes have gone clear at the top with their kind of hard-fought win over the Crusaders in Wellington," the Two Cents Rugby host told viewers, framing Friday night's 27-15 result as a watershed for the table. The Canes climbed to 40 points after 10 matches with the Blues two behind in second and the Chiefs third on 36 after their bye.
The headline match was billed as a season-defining test of Crusaders coach Rob Penney's young side, with rookie Fine Inisi continuing at openside flanker. Two Cents Rugby was sympathetic to the Crusaders' performance even in defeat. "I think the Crusaders did better than most people thought they were going to do in Wellington," the host argued. "Hurricanes still get that win. It's an important one for them because I know a lot of Hurricanes fans are still kind of waiting for that banana skin to happen, but you're still looking good."
The biggest shock of the round came at Allianz Stadium, where the Western Force, written off in many quarters, ran the Waratahs ragged in defeat. New South Wales prop Hugh Sinclair's side conceded 13 line breaks to one and made nine turnovers to the Force's three. Dylan Pietsch was the destroyer, scoring two tries off 19 carries.
"This is a great result for the Force," the host said. "I think their season you probably could have called it if they hadn't got this win. They've kept themselves, you know, in that hunt. It's going to still be unlikely if the Force make the playoffs, but hell, that's a cracking result for them." The Force have crept back to 18 competition points and finished the round with belief intact.
In Suva, the Fijian Drua reminded everyone why their home form is so feared. The Highlanders shipped 28 turnovers, twice losing the ball over the goal line, while the Drua won 16 turnovers themselves through the boots and hands of Vilimoni Botitu and Frank Lomani. "Goodness me, 28 turnovers conceded," Two Cents Rugby said of the Highlanders' handling. "You'd have been pulling your hair out if you're a Highlanders fan. You'd be despairing." The Drua won 24-12 on tries to four-two and remain mathematically alive on 20 points.
At Eden Park, the Blues did what was expected of them, eventually. Moana Pasifika led at half-time before the Blues forwards turned the screw to win 45-19. "I will give the Blues some credit for showing a bit of fortitude to be on the ropey side of things at half-time, but then still to crack on and finish them off in the second half," the host noted, with prop Allan Craig putting in 30 tackles in a brutal shift.
The pick of the Australian games saw the Reds beat the Brumbies 30-21 in Brisbane in what Two Cents Rugby called "a real armour of a game," with Fraser McReight again the breakdown menace. "He had three turnovers in that game and 21 tackles… He is really really cracking at the breakdown," the host said.
With the Crusaders, Reds, and Brumbies bunched in fourth, fifth and sixth, and the Waratahs, Highlanders, and Drua all level on 20 points, the next round shapes as a knockout. "Highlanders against Waratahs is essentially a knockout match," Two Cents Rugby concluded. "I think whoever loses that is pretty much done."
