Jon Cardinelli

The game hasn’t changed. A combination of aggressive defence and accurate kicking from hand still wins the decisive territorial battle in crunch contests.

Saturday’s clash between the Crusaders and Highlanders in Christchurch was a case in point. The Highlanders delivered a defensive performance for the ages against one of the top-ranked running teams in the tournament. Ultimately, the Crusaders were forced to wave the white flag and rely on the boot of Mitchell Hunt to win them the game.

The match witnessed six tries – three for each team – and yet, it was the defence of the Highlanders that so nearly had the decisive say. For the first time in 2017, the Crusaders were limited to six points and zero tries in the second half.

A look at the Crusaders’ stats in the preceding rounds highlights the magnitude of the Highlanders’ achievement. It also gives one an idea of what it is going to take to beat the Crusaders, and perhaps the All Blacks, in the bigger matches later this year.

How good was the Crusaders attack across the first 14 rounds of Super Rugby? The Crusaders averaged nearly 40 points and six tries per match. More impressive was their record across the second half of matches, where they were second only to the Hurricanes for tries scored.

That record puts the Highlanders’ recent performance in Christchurch into perspective. The visitors never attempted to match the Crusaders for tempo on attack. Instead, they channelled their collective energy into winning the collisions and breakdowns.

We saw what happened when the Crusaders were forced to operate well behind the gainline – a flat pass was thrown, Waisake Naholo intercepted, and then ran all the way to score.

In the final stages of the contest, the Crusaders’ attempts to breach the Highlanders defensive wall came to nought. Perhaps this is why Hunt took it upon himself to attempt that audacious drop-goal.

Perhaps the Crusaders have now proved that they can win via atypical means. Then again, perhaps the Highlanders have proved that the Crusaders attacking ‘juggernaut’ can be stopped.

The Highlanders enjoyed 56% of the territory in Christchurch. They came into this match having made more tackles on average (123) than any other side. By the end of the contest, they had made an astounding 195 tackles. Even more remarkable was their 95% completion rate.

The Highlanders have led the kick and tackle stats for much of the season. In a sense, they have been playing finals rugby from the start.

The Hurricanes, second only to the Highlanders for kicks from hand, have boasted the best balance between attack, defence, and kicking (or more specifically, they have used defence and accurate kicks to create try-scoring chances). The Crusaders haven’t really needed a kicking game to prevail. Until now.

One would expect the All Blacks to employ a style similar to that of the Hurricanes later this season. That said, it should have pleased Steve Hansen to see a Crusaders side stacked with All Blacks forwards scoring so many tries from first phase and then the Highlanders employing the kick-chase strategy to brutal effect.

It’s plain to see why they are the No 1 team in the world, and why they are recognised as the most complete side of the modern era.

Meanwhile, the 2017 Super Rugby stats show how the South African teams are falling further behind. The Lions are the exception with one of the best set-piece and defensive records in the tournament, and yet we won’t know where they really stand in the grand scheme of things until they’ve played a New Zealand side.

New Zealand’s Super Rugby sides have combined to win 13 out of 15 games against South African opposition this season. The average score in these games was 42-22 in favour of the Kiwis sides.

The Bulls, Cheetahs, and Stormers were all manhandled at the gainline – although the Cape side did produce a dominant performance against the Chiefs in Cape Town. The stats show that the South African teams were out-kicked and out-tackled by their New Zealand counterparts more often than not.

The games involving the Cheetahs have witnessed a different trend, though. The Cheetahs tend to miss a lot of tackles (and have averaged 31 missed tackles per match this season). It’s for this reason that few teams have kicked for territory when competing against the central franchise.

Indeed, why would you kick against a side that patently can’t tackle? Teams from New Zealand, and more than a few from South Africa, have benefited from keeping ball in hand against this team. The Cheetahs’ fitness has also been an issue. No side has conceded more tries (42) in the second half this season.

The Springboks will not obtain better results until they bolster their defence. While recent performances by South African Super Rugby sides have left a lot to be desired, the Boks will have the opportunity to make a defensive statement against France in the coming series.

Needless to say, failure to improve on this front will leave the Boks in a precarious position ahead of the two meetings against the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship.