Just not Cricket

I'm going to start things off this week with a bit of a rant - does anyone else think it's just a little bit wrong that the Highlanders take the field to 'Flower of Scotland'?

I couldn't quiet believe my ears when I twigged to what the pipers were playing in Invercargill last week, and since I missed the opening minutes of the match against the Brumbies, I watched the replay just to make sure I wasn't imagining things.

I wasn't.

The Cheetahs ran onto the park, the bag pipes fired up ... and out rang Scotland's national song as the southern men took the field.

Now I do get it, the folks from the deep south come from Scottish stock, and are justifiably proud of their kilted heritage ... the team's name and emblem say it all.

But I just can't say that the wholesale importation of a National team's identity is ok in super rugby. It's what the Scots sing at the world cup for Pete's sake.

God Save the Queen may be their national anthem, but Flower of Scotland and Land of our Fathers are synonymous with the Scottish and Welsh sides respectively and, although I am 100% sure that no offence is meant, I, personally, find it disrespectful for the Highlanders to have appropriated this particular song.

But, after the pipes, there was rugby .....

The Cheetahs gave the Blues a bit of a scare last week, when they looked dangerous with the ball in hand, but for the most part this week they seemed content to kick away whatever possession they managed to find themselves with. And they did it poorly. By the time they reverted to the game plan that worked - it was too late and they fell short by 3 points.

Now the Highlanders appear to be on a bit of a roll this season, and it's all on the back of some quality work at the breakdown ..... however .... the Highlander's forwards aren't as lilly white as their pasty arms and legs might suggest. Oh no my friends. There is something rotten in [the state of] Dunedin. There is a lot of dirty work going in the bottom of those rucks and it's starting to look a wee bit cynical.

The Highlanders aren't the only ones playing dirty, oh no siree.

The commentators claimed the 16 penalties conceded by the Hurricanes this round was the most in a super rugby match this season. It wasn't.  (see previous post: Last week, against the Bulls, the 'Canes gave away a whopping 22 penalties  - and the Bulls 19).

I'll admit I struggled with my pick for this round 8 clash with the Brumbies ...  I mean you had to chose a winner, between 2 sides which have been doleful. In the end, I jumped the wrong way - hey, no body's perfect, although when I saw them run on in the much maligned grey strip I think I knew it wasn't going to go my way.

This was do or die for both sides, but you wouldn't have known it from watching Nonu who calmly continued the habit of a lifetime refusing to retire behind the offside line - not that he got called for it as often as he should have.

It was a messy match, with charge downs and intercepts all over the park. The Brumbies scrum dominated an all All Black front row and the Canberra side ground out a one point win to - mathematically at least - keep their season alive.

Now, I only watched 3 matches, as at the rest were after midnight, well past my bedtime, on Saturday night, but the best of 'my' bunch was by far, the Crusaders v Bulls in Timaru.

This was a much anticipated match-up (even without Dan Carter) pitting the current champions against the undisputed king's of super rugby (well that's my considered and possibly biased opinion).

The bulls started out well in in the lineout, but this didn't last long as Chris Jack played out of his skin and absolutely took Matfield to school - it was fantastic :)

The Crusaders back line was again in fine form, with, the now usual, miracle offloads and stunning line breaks. There was also some good work going on at the breakdown - the pack just walked over Zane Kirschner after he took a high ball and collected Sean Maitland.

Uncharacteristically, it took Morne Steyn 37 minutes to take a shot at goal (an unsuccessful penalty attempt) and the bulls never managed to score. Crusaders 27, Bulls 0.