Super Rugby R2: Signs of hope for Australia; Crusaders sensational

There was plenty of open, running rugby during Round 2 of Super Rugby while a couple of teams appeared set for stunning upsets, only to see their dreams of victory snuffed out inside the final five minutes.

Only a desperate Karmichael Hunt attempted charge-down saw the Sunwolves denied a deserved victory over the Waratahs.

Elsewhere, there were wins for the Highlanders, Crusaders, Brumbies, Sharks, Stormers and Jaguares.

Read on as we review some of the big talking points from Round 2.

AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE

Brumbies, Reds breathe life into Australian rugby

Suddenly, amid the darkness, there was just the faintest of lights.

Now Australian fans won't want to get carried away, given the early stages this Super Rugby season finds itself in. But after two superb performances, highlighted by the stunning form of both some exciting youngsters and rejuvenated veterans, the narrative of this Super season and the giant elephant in the room called the World Cup, might not be as downtrodden as originally thought.

It started on Friday night in Dunedin where the Reds turned in one of the best performances a losing team could hope for in coming away with just a solitary bonus-point for their 36-31 loss to the Highlanders.

Under Brad Thorn, this Reds team is only going to get better. Following the lead of skipper Samu Kerevi, and spurred on by the memory of Izack Rodda's late father, the Reds played with skill, endeavour and passion; but crucially let themselves down with one critical piece of execution.

Thorn will want to work hard on his team's exits as too often they failed to free themselves from danger, particularly after they themselves had just scored, and instead invited the Highlanders to attack by kicking aimlessly down the field to one of the most dangerous attacking back-three trios in the business. You can only hand the ball over to Ben Smith, Tevita Li and Waisake Naholo so many time before they will hurt you.

Eventually, the Reds lacked the tactical nous and experience to shut the game down. When the visitors needed to control the ball or at least kick deep into open space, or better still, touch, a box-kick instead found Li who set the wheels in motion for his team's match winner.

Still, there was much to like in the Reds' first outing of 2019. If Kerevi set the tone with some bullocking opening runs, then Wallabies tourist Jordan Petaia watched his skipper's lead and then set about superseding it.

Petaia's first run featured a beautiful shimmy-and-go that had Naholo on roller-skates, before the Reds centre then powered past the All Black winger's outside shoulder and roamed free into the backfield. While Naholo eventually ran him down and made the tackle, the site of Petaia in the clear must have had Michael Cheika up and out of his chair.

The 18-year-old, who was named for the Test against Italy before injury ruled him out of a Wallabies debut, was prominent throughout the match as he made a series of powerful runs, took a key intercept, which, for a moment, looked like it might have been enough to see the Reds home, and also produced an explosive tackle that had one Highlanders ball-carrier surely questioning his running line afterwards.

But perhaps most telling was a barnstorming run down the right touchline in which Petaia burst through Li's tackle and began a path towards Ben Smith. The All Blacks fullback won't love the sight of his attempted tackle on video, which could best be described as an uncommitted arm.

Among Petaia's eye-catching game at outside centre were the performances of Rodda and halfback Moses Sorovi; even Chris Feauai-Sautia played with the kind of class that once made him such a promising prospect many years ago. But most important were Thorn's post-match comments in which he said: "The boys put in a big effort.... but it's about putting the foot on the throat and we missed that opportunity."

Losing bonus-points aren't enough to play finals footy. The Reds will be even hungrier in Round 3, though getting past the Crusaders is an entirely new challenge in itself.

While the Reds missed a golden opportunity to put an Australian win over New Zealand opposition on the board, the Brumbies blew any thought of another lean trans-Tasman run out of the water with what must be regarded as their finest performance since 2013 when they made the Super Rugby final.

The Brumbies were unstoppable as they ran in eight tries in thumping the Chiefs 54-17 in Canberra. In mixing rolling mauls with length-of-the-field specials and scintillating set-plays, the Brumbies produced the kind of all-round execution they had threatened towards the tail-end of 2018.

Just as impressive as the inside ball Tom Banks hit for a 45-metre run to the line, or back-rower Lachie McCaffrey's perfectly floated pass to Chance Peni for the finish on a Brumbies special, was their aggression and line speed in defence. The Brumbies missed just eleven tackles in finishing with a success rate of 87 percent, yet it was the lack of space afforded to returning Chiefs No. 10 Damian McKenzie that really stood out; the All Blacks utility fumbling and bumbling through arguably his worst Super Rugby performance in memory.

Not even Brodie Retallick, in his 100th Super game, could rally the Chiefs. They were completely shellshocked.

Just as it was in the Reds game, a number of individual performances were central in a brilliant Brumbies win. Maybe Tevita Kuridrani had seen Petaia's efforts on Friday night because the Fijian powered through the heart of the Chiefs' defence all night. He looks as fit as ever after an injury-interrupted 2018.

McCaffrey, too, was superb. The No. 8 scored a five-pointer himself after rumbling off the back of a five-metre scrum and added two assists with some clever handling in a free-flowing Brumbies attack. It was the kind of performance that should put back-row composition at the forefront of the newly-formed Wallabies selection panel.

But the highest praise should be reserved for Leali'ifano who pulled the strings in a masterful display from fly-half. Admittedly he was playing behind an insanely dominant pack, but such was Leali'ifano's crisp passing, support play and general organising that it's hard to imagine how, if he can maintain a similar vein of form, he won't come into Wallabies calculations.

And so the trans-Tasman ledger sits at 1-2 for 2019. It should really be 3-0 in Australia's favour and helping to nail the close ones, as Thorn alluded to, will be vital in revitalising the national setup from here-on out.

NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE

Crusaders replay worth watching again, and again, and ...

If you want a masterclass in playing into-the-wind rugby, then whack on the Crusaders' first-half from their 38-22 win over the Hurricanes. It was very close to perfect.

The two-time champions built a 24-0 halftime lead after a near faultless first 40, in which they continually worked themselves out of the danger zone by retaining the ball; the Crusaders able to execute with such a variety that the Hurricanes were kept guessing throughout.

The Crusaders offloaded in traffic, played to runners at the line, before going wider behind them; they executed their own set-piece and made an absolute mockery of the Hurricanes' lineout and scrum; then, for good measure, threw in a touch of the Harlem Globetrotters for good measure.

If you haven't seen it, then check out Manasa Mataele's offload above. Sadly, the Fijian's season could well be over after he left the field on the medicab during the second half. You're unlikely to see a better ball this season than his assist to Richie Mo'unga, though.

The Crusaders may have been patchy in Round 1, but Saturday's victory should serve as a warning to other teams of the level they must play at if they're to come within cooee of denying the South Islanders a third straight title. It was also a record-breaking 17th-straight win for the nine-time champions, one that came without skipper Sam Whitelock, All Blacks captain Kieran Read and Test hooker Codie Taylor.

Scott may be the best of the Barrett boys

Perhaps it's the absence of that All Blacks trio and the fact he has taken it upon himself to deliver without it, or maybe because brother Beauden wasn't there pulling the strings for the Hurricanes, but such was Scott Barrett's game, and his performance last week for that matter, that the most unheralded of the Taranaki farming family may have claims to being its star.

Scott Barrett is morphing into a player who can have a similar effect on Test matches as Brodie Retallick does. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that he wins a World Rugby Player of the Year Award, and even one day surpasses Retallick's already amazing career.

Scott Barrett is that good.

The easy thing to do is to point to the lock's two tries against the Hurricanes in Christchurch and say the evidence lies right there. But it his work-rate, desperation to win very contest he's involved in, his set-piece ability and the neat touches he shows with the ball that reflect the all-round skill that exists within his game.

If that's a result of playing with the rest of the family in the backyard then the entire Barrett family should take some credit. But in the eyes of the public there will long be a debate as to whom was the most talented of the bunch, and that, for now, is a wide open race.

SOUTH AFRICAN CONFERENCE

Sharks should really have put Blues away

We'd all be raving about the Sharks, now undefeated and leading the South African Super Rugby conference with two bonus-point victories, had they gone on with the job against the Blues in Durban on Saturday. They had been superb in the first half at Kings Park, producing a delicious mix of power up front and panache out back. But then came the Oranges, and the Sharks weren't the same beasts in the second half; they were more seven gill than great white, but, still, they were surely only better passes by Curwin Bosch -- to Makazole Mpimpi and Andre Esterhuizen -- from another couple of tries, and, really, we should still be raving about their first-half performance for it was complete and sublime.

It must be noted that the Sharks have beaten only the Blues and, before them, the Sunwolves; it's not the toughest opening two fixtures, but you can only beat what's in front of you. It must be noted also that the Sunwolves more often than not are good value at home, and one week after their Singapore dismissal by the Sharks they lost to the Waratahs in Tokyo by a point in 61 only when Hayden Parker "skewed a late dropped-goal attempt"; also that the powerhouse Crusaders were fortunate to beat the Blues in Round 1, when reserve five-eighth Harry Plummer missed two late shots at goal that would have secured a shock outcome. The Blues arrived in Durban with genuine confidence, and certainly New Zealand media were ready to anoint them winners in waiting, but they -- like the Sunwolves the week before -- were beaten easily by a Sharks team that played some sublime stuff.

Lukhanyo Am has been central to much of that "sublime stuff" in both Sharks fixtures to date, the Springboks centre showing all the hallmarks of being a player who performs on the biggest stage. He has superb hands and quick feet, while his vision under pressure to spot the gap behind the Blues' defensive line, and his execution of the ensuing grubber kick to set up Mpimipi to set up Aphelele Fassi for the fullback's try in the first half, was just brilliant. His combination with Mpimpi and Fassi already looks to represent a major danger to opponents, with the fullback, just 21, and with just two Super Rugby games under his belt -- looking to be a genuine rising star of the competition.

Am's footwork to step past Rieko Ioane in the second half, and the gas subsequently to ghost away from the covering T.J. Faiane in the same move, deserved better than the bombed pass back from Bosch that failed to put Esterhuizen into space for a fourth try. Just about the form centre in South Africa through the past couple of seasons, he's certainly made a strong start to the campaign with wit and incisiveness in his play to boost his hopes of regaining the Springboks' No. 13 jumper from Jesse Kriel having missed four months last season with a wrist injury.

"There is a great respect for New Zealand teams, and the Blues brought the best out of us, especially during the first half," Sharks coach Robert du Preez said. "It is vital that we maintain this good start. Too often in previous seasons we have been up one weekend and down the next."

So, what about next weekend?

The Sharks face the Stormers at home -- and they'll likely be favourites -- but the South African conference is fulfilling pre-tournament predictions of being an incredibly even competition; it's the only conference in which all teams have recorded at least one win in the opening two rounds, and it'll be interesting to see how the Sharks fare having played only inter-conference rivals to this point. The Stormers were awful in Round 1, but they muscled up to defeat the Lions in Round 2, and the Sharks must cope with what will surely be increased physicality and intensity of their first local derby of the season.