Two Cents Rugby has fired up his post-Round 14 power rankings for Super Rugby Pacific and the verdict at the top is a familiar one: the Hurricanes remain in a different competition to everyone else, with the Chiefs the only side capable of running them down.
With just two rounds of regular-season football to go and the table now tight from third place down, the popular YouTube pundit ran through every team from 11th to first to lay out who is in form and who is bleeding momentum.
At the top: a two-horse race
The Hurricanes' away thrashing of the Blues at Eden Park has cemented their place at the summit, and Two Cents Rugby could not see them being caught.
"The Hurricanes are still your top side," he said. "They flogged the Blues away, man. Scored some really sexy tries. Is the possibility of a choke the only thing that's going to stop the Canes, or is that not doing the other teams credit because the Chiefs did beat the Hurricanes in Hamilton earlier in the year? The Hurricanes are looking an absolute cut above right now. It still feels like a Chiefs-Hurricanes final."
The Chiefs sit second after a comprehensive 40-12 win over the Highlanders. "There was no real shock there because the Highlanders are towards the bottom of the table," Two Cents Rugby said. "Chiefs are one of the top teams at home. They beat them really comfortably."
The gap between those two and the chasing pack, he warned, has stretched out further than the standings suggest. "There's a huge gap between my third side and the top two — like astronomical."
Crusaders leapfrog the Blues
The Blues have slipped to fourth on the power rankings after back-to-back losses to the Crusaders and Hurricanes. "The Blues have dropped a spot," he said. "They're still top three on the table, but we've suffered two pretty big losses in a row, away down to the Crusaders and then home against the Hurricanes. Neither game was close. I don't think the Blues' form is particularly hot right now."
The Crusaders, on the bye in Round 14, nudge ahead on form. "The Crusaders have got two wins in their last three, including a win over the Blues," he said. "So Crusaders are on my power rankings higher than the Blues at the minute."
Reds, Brumbies and the Force scrap for sixth
The Reds are still hanging on to a playoff spot but Two Cents Rugby thinks Les Kiss can afford to rotate.
"They are still in the playoffs on the table, and I've got them top six in the power rankings — although that's a couple of losses in a row now," he said. "They lost to the Chiefs, now they've lost to the Force. They do have two very winnable games against Moana and the Drua to end out the season. So Les Kiss, their coach, could be forgiven for rotating a wee bit for the long trip to Perth."
The Brumbies rise one spot on the bye, while the Force's home win over Queensland keeps Simon Cron's side in the conversation. "The Force's recent record is a little bit better than some of the other teams," he said. "They've won two of their last three. They got that home win over the Reds, and they've got two more home games to go to end the season."
Bottom of the table
The Waratahs are the big movers near the basement, up two spots after their unexpected 50-point haul over the Fijian Drua in Suva. "Their three-match defeated run has been ended," he said. "It was an away win, so we boost them a bit more. It was a decent margin, so we boost them a bit more."
The Drua, the Highlanders and Moana Pasifika round out the rankings. "It's been pretty disappointing" was the verdict on the Fijians, while the Highlanders have "not been that much to shout about" beyond narrow wins over the Waratahs and Moana.
With Round 15 looming, Two Cents Rugby's call is clear: this is a competition with two contenders at the top, a logjam in the middle, and a finals series that is already starting to look like a Hurricanes-versus-Chiefs duel for the trophy.
