Super 15 rugby - very refreshing

I watched most of the Super 15 clash between the Crusaders and the Higlanders this morning. Since I visited New Zealand I have felt that the Super 15 is a much better spectacle for fans than anything European club team offer (the French Top 14 runs it the closest) - although it is sometimes perhaps too like an NFL match with gimmicks such as in the picture below (Crusaders v Lions, AMI Stadium, 2008).

Today's game did nothing to change my mind. The High- landers, from Dunedin, beat their Canterbury- based hosts 26-18 in a typically high-tempo, skillful and generally entertaining encounter which contrasts markedly with British club rugby, and especially the dire tournament that is the Magners League.

There were a few cracking tries as well as a large number of line breaks. On the other hand, the defences were generally disciplined, and counter-rucking was used, especially by the Highlanders, to great effect.

The game was blighted neither by constant kicking, which is what the European game seems to have descended to, nor by scrummaging problems, which was a real negative of this season's Six Nations championship.

Even the commentators, led as always by Tony Johnston (almost undoubtedly the best in world rugby at the moment), put ours to shame. Brian Moore and Stuart Barnes actually hinder my enjoyment of a rugby game.

By contrast, the Super 15 has it all, in nearly every aspect of the spectacle. It is a wonderful thing for the rugby fan to wake up to every Saturday morning.

One thing, though. The match was held in Nelson's Trafalgar Park, due to the continued concerns about Christchurch's AMI Stadium after the recent earthquake. Nelson has taken an enlarged role in this year's World Cup as a result of Christchurch's inability to host games. But it is really not a stadium New Zealand would want to showcase to the world.