Super Rugby Pacific returned with a bang over the weekend, after weeks of negative headlines and mixed reports about what direction the competition might be heading.
They are unlikely to go away following a disappointing crowd in Melbourne -- where Super Round will be contested next weekend -- but at least there was some brilliant rugby to shift conversations slightly.
There were wins for the Chiefs, Brumbies, Hurricanes, Blues, Highlanders, and Reds.
Read on as we review the Round 1 action in the first edition of Super -- Not So Super -- Rugby Pacific for 2024.
SUPER
REDS, MCREIGHT LAY DOWN AN EARLY MARKER - WITH BIGGER TESTS INBOUND
The Les Kiss Queensland Reds era got off to almost the perfect start at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night as the home side pulled away from the Waratahs after halftime to triumph 40-22.
While the pivotal moment -- more on that later -- of the match came just before halftime, the Reds always appeared the superior side after scoring the first try of the match through Hunter Paisami, who was back to his best in the midfield with a fleet of big hits and hard, straightening runs.
But it was hard to go past Fraser McReight for player of the match, with the No. 7 a force on all sides of the ball as he played all over the top of opposite number Charlie Gamble.
Just a fortnight after he took out the 2023 Super Rugby Player of the Year Award for Australia, McReight essentially picked up where he left off last year, combining brilliantly with long-time teammate and close friend Harry Wilson, who produced a number of superb offloads and a between-the-legs pass that put Tate McDermott over in the corner.
McReight made 11 runs for a forwards-high 46 metres, topped the Reds' tackle count at 11, and capped a fine first-up outing with a brilliant support line that saw him bust a gut to loom up a couple of players wide of Josh Flook to take the centre's pass and leap into the air for a dagger blow in the second half.
"I was a leader the past few years, but just to step into that role a lot more and inertia the young boys through," McReight told Stan Sport when asked what Kiss had asked him to do this season.
"But specifically on my sort of role is when I'm on the edge, my strengths, making sure I'm square, I'm running north, engaging, and then when I get those tough carries, even though I'm smaller than a lot of the big boys out there, just making sure I can get quick ball."
The Reds had spoken a lot during the offseason about playing an attractive game, that Kiss wanted to introduce a brand of rugby that would encourage fans to come to Suncorp and watch them play.
Wilson spoke to ESPN about the amount of "detail" in Kiss' structure, but on the evidence of Saturday night's effort they certainly appear to have it in hand, but with the realization there are far tougher tests to come, starting with the Hurricanes at Super Round next week.
"It will be a sweet beer tonight in the dressing sheds, but I saw the Canes play last night and they looked dangerous," Kiss told Stan Sport. "They're powerful, they're fast, their set-piece was good; we're going to have to be on point to get that one and then we've got the Chiefs, so it doesn't get any tougher than those two Kiwi teams, really."
CHIEFS, HIGHLANDERS LAY DOWN EARLY NOMINATIONS FOR TRY OF THE YEAR
After the negative headlines of the past few weeks, Super Rugby Pacific needed to make a bright start to 2024. Thankfully, the rematch of last year's final did exactly that.
While the Chiefs were left with concerns over star playmaker Damian McKenzie, who departed just after halftime and was later seen with a bandage around his left thigh, the fly-half had earlier brought the crowd to its feet with a seething run from deep inside his own 22 that eventually resulted in a try to scrum-half Xavier Roe.
Making the most of the anti-Dupont Law, which is being trialed in Super Rugby Pacific and sees offside players not able to loiter and then approach the ball-carrier in defence when they have run five metres, McKenzie opened up the Crusaders on the counter before passing to fullback Shaun Stevenson. With just one player to beat, Stevenson found Roe looming up on his inside, and while the pass wasn't the fullback's best, Roe did well to pick it up off his hip and race away to score under the sticks.
In the end, the Chiefs had to rely on the boot of Josh Ioane to get them home 33-29 after an exhilarating 80 minutes that, even despite the four-point loss, suggested the Crusaders won't be dropping away too far in the post-Robertson era.
If Roe's five-pointer was a belter, there was better to come in Dunedin on Saturday evening as the Highlanders got their campaign off to an excellent start with an entertaining 35-21 win over a determined Moana Pasifika.
Again, the dry conditions under the roof down south made for some attacking rugby and as fatigue came into the game late in the match, play really began to open up.
Sensing an opportunity to attack from inside his own half, back-rower Sean Withy shaped to pass back on his inside, but kept the ball himself and tore free in behind the Moana defence where he then found winger Jona Nareki. Cutting back infield, Nareki ran into some cover, so he offloaded to scrum-half Folau Fakatava, who outdid a spectacular pass from fly-half Rhys Patchell earlier in the night with a sublime flick pass to Billy Harmon, who in turn offloaded to Sam Gilbert, the centre having just enough strength to force his way over in the corner.
But it was Fakatava's ball that had the crowd on its feet, with the No. 9 giving another glimpse of his immense skill and that suggested, with an extended run without injury, he will likely be putting himself right back in the All Blacks frame in 2024.
BLUES SHOW SCRUM VALUE IN WIN OVER DRUA
While it's breaks like McKenzie's or sensational flick passes like Fakatava's that often fill highlight videos, the value of a dominant set-piece in rugby can never be understated. On Saturday afternoon, the Blues rode their scrum to repel an early surge from the Fijian Drua and take a stranglehold on their Round 1 clash.
The Blues first held out the Drua for 24 phases, before then putting the squeeze on their opponents up front with a series of brutal scrums, earning back-to-back penalties and, with them, field position from which they scored three tries inside 20 minutes and were never headed thereafter.
By fulltime, the Blues had secured five scrum penalties and scored a try while playing under advantage for another, to send a message to the rest of the competition, even though they did switch off on one occasion themselves and concede another penalty when Marcel Renata dropped a knee to the ground.
Tougher set-piece challenges await, no doubt, but the Blues certainly appear to have a scrum that can punish opposition packs.
NOT SO SUPER
TOUGH LESSON FOR JORGENSEN
Rugby's lawbook has long frustrated players, coaches and fans alike, such is its exhaustive nature and the fact that many instances are open to interpretation, so too that the line between fair and foul is often wafer thin.
And that was certainly the case for Max Jorgensen, the young Waratahs fullback who found himself in the sin-bin on the stroke of halftime in Brisbane. Covering back in defence after a Reds break, Jorgensen grabbed opposite number Jordan Petaia around the waist as the Reds fullback seemed destined to swallow up a Suliasi Vunivalu kick and score a vital try.
But Petaia was unable to claim the ball cleanly, knocking on under pressure from Jorgensen's cover. The problem was that the NSW player had got his timing fractionally wrong, with referee James Doleman ruling an early tackle, a penalty try, and a yellow card for Jorgensen, after consulting with the TMO.
The Reds are awarded a penalty try, while Jorgensen earns himself a yellow card! 🤯
— Stan Sport Rugby (@StanSportRugby) February 24, 2024
But was the call too harsh? 😬
↳ Super Rugby Pacific, Reds v Waratahs, live now. Every Match. Ad-free. Live & On Demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.#StanSportAU #SuperRugbyPacific pic.twitter.com/d56gpWURkw
Jorgensen's tackle was indeed early, but only by a millisecond or so, something that could only be seen on the slow-motion replay. And you couldn't help but feel for the 19-year-old, who spent the first nine minutes of the second half on the sidelines as a result.
Did the punishment fit the crime? That's debatable, but rugby's lawbook does not allow for leeway. A bit like a deliberate knockdown that is line-ball but ruled to be just that, Doleman had no choice but to award the penalty try and issue Jorgensen a yellow card when it was ruled he had tackled Petaia before he had the ball.
"It's the law, people debate that all the time, that double-penalty-type thing; the same in a maul, you pull a maul down and you get seven points under the sticks and a yellow card," Waratahs coach Darren Coleman said. "It's a tricky one, but the ref has to referee by the law."
SNIPER STINGS WILLIAMS WITH PROP IN THE CLEAR
Is there a better sight in rugby than when a prop stretches his legs, let's the wind flap through his hair, and tears off downfield?
The Crusaders' Tamaiti Williams enjoyed that feeling - albeit until it quickly turned to pain.
Williams scooped up a loose Chiefs' lineout early in the first half in Hamilton and found himself with only open space in front as he hugged the right touchline and, for a brief moment, looked like he might go all the way.
But then disaster struck as the Crusaders and All Blacks prop pinged what looked to be a hamstring; the warm conditions, early part of the season, and his 30-metre sprint all no doubt combining to cut Williams down at his peak velocity.
Williams' injury adds to a growing casualty ward in Christchurch, which last week saw Will Jordan ruled out for the season.
MELBOURNE FAILS TO RESPOND TO REBELS' RALLYING CALL
If ever Melbourne was to get behind the Rebels, to prove once and for all they truly are the sporting capital of the world by backing a team on death's door, it was going to be last Friday night for the visit of Brumbies.
But the people of the Victorian capital were nowhere to be seen and, as a result, have likely only dropped another nail in the coffin which is to be the Rebels' franchise.
This was it. After weeks of off-field torture, as the club's scarcely believable financial hole was revealed, the Rebels could have really used some additional home support as they threw everything at ACT, but ultimately came up empty handed.
There was no excuse for the city's so-called sports fans not to get along either. The AFL is still in preseason, Taylor Swift played her live stadium shows last weekend, and even the NBL had a weekend off.
This was the final proof that Melbourne, sadly, just does not care for the Rebels. The franchise is clearly on borrowed time - about 14 games' worth.