Jamie Wall Rugby

Richie Mo’unga during his last test, the 2023 World Cup final. Image: Bob Martin/ActionPress Once again, apologies for the lack of content. I arrived home last week after a 30 hour journey from Sri Lanka, which really took it out of me. Back to normal transmission from now on, though. Steve Lancaster had a bit to do on his first couple of days as new full time NZ Rugby CEO.

Image: Aaron Gillions / action press Just like that, it’s done. Within a matter of hours of the reports that Moana Pasifika were to exit Super Rugby Pacific started swirling, it was confirmed by mid-morning Wednesday. That leaves just six games left in the team’s existence unless they make the playoffs, which, like everything else Moana has faced, is probably too big an ask.

Mererangi Paul on the way to the tryline. Image: Garret Spenst / Action Press Congratulations to the Black Ferns, who kicked off their season with a 48-15 win over the USA in the opening match of this year’s Pac 4 tournament. Some of it was sublime, some not so much, which is about the same way to sum up the way the team has been playing ever since their iconic World Cup final win at Eden Park.

Captain Hurricane is flying high. Image: Marty Melville/ActionPress As far as statements go, that’s about as emphatic as the Hurricanes can be. The 42-19 thumping of the second-placed Blues on Saturday night was one built on patience, ruthlessness and the ability to shift up a gear at the business end, the last part being the most crucial for their title ambitions this season.

Beauden Barrett tackles Cam Roigard. Image: Andy Radka/ActionPress Hurricanes v. Blues Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 11 April (NZT) Hnry Stadium, Wellington This is, literally, the oldest rivalry in Super Rugby. Admittedly only by a matter of hours, but the fact remains that the Hurricanes and Blues have been playing each other for longer than anyone else in professional rugby in this part of the world. That was February 1996.

Ruben Love looking to carve up the Reds again. Image: Pat Hoelscher / Action Press It’s an intriguing looking round of Super Rugby Pacific this weekend, with the top of the table Hurricanes heading into a month of tough fixtures. Meanwhile, Moana have their best chance to reverse some seriously concerning results and the Drua face a tough test away from home against the Blues.

Don’t celebrate too early. Image: Michael Thomas/ActionPress Martin Devlin is concerned about the form of his beloved Hurricanes, mainly because he grew up in Wellington and has been burned too many times before. When not suffering from Fog Final-related PTSD, Marty hosts the DSPN podcast - the most up to date and timely source of rugby news right now. Hurricanes fans, a quick word of advice: lower your expectations… then lower them again just to be safe.

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Zarn Sullivan of the Blues. Image: Stephen Markham/ActionPress What on earth happened to the Waratahs on Saturday night? All the ball, all the chances and no idea in the first half, with the Blues probably not believing their luck in the second as they cruised away to a 35-20 win. The Tahs bombed so many opportunities they probably should be getting investigated for war crimes, if not crimes against handling and decision-making.

Damian McKenzie. Image: Aaron Gillions/ActionPress The Hurricanes are currently top of Super Rugby Pacific, but tellingly they head into their first NZ derby match of the season. So it’s fair to say we’ll learn a bit about whether they’re true contenders when they play the Highlanders in what’s shaping up as the feature match of the round.