By Charlie Elliott
One of the best and most entertaining leagues in rugby union returned this weekend, with Super Rugby Pacific continuing to deliver.
The defence being optional policy employed by much of the league coupled with the unbelievable attacking talent on display made for some great games.
Western Force scored two tries in the last three minutes to beat Moana Pasifika 45-44 easily the game of the weekend, but so much more happened.
Here are five of the biggest talking points, including debut delights and a player overcoming adversity.
Debut delight for Kyle Preston
Kyle Preston could be considered as the one who got away for the Hurricanes after the Kiwi had a barn-storming debut for the Crusaders.
A hat-trick of tries against the club who should have signed him, based on the region he went to university in, sent a message that Preston should have been pursued more heavily.
Allegedly, Hurricanes Chief Executive Avan Lee did not make much of an effort to lure the player who plays for Wellington in the NPC to his Super Rugby Pacific franchise.
It was his first appearance in Super Rugby and at 25 years old, he still has plenty of time on his hands to improve.
Joseph Sua’ali’i sends message to British and Irish Lions
Another Super Rugby debutant was Wallabies star Joseph Sua’ali’i, who yet again impressed after a great few games at Test level, before his club union debut.
Lured over from rugby league, he holds the hopes of Australian rugby union on his shoulders, as the best prospect in the country right now.
He justified the hype, leading the Waratahs to a 37-36 win over Highlanders from fullback.
Positionally, he still needs a bit of improvement but with the ball in hand, he is unstoppable and made an impact two minutes in when he helped set up Max Jorgensen for an early try.
With the Lions tour coming up in the summer, his performance has sent a message that he will be the danger man for the Wallabies and can make plenty happen on the pitch.
Australian improvement?
It is hard to say for definite, but after years of stagnation in the competition, an Australian resurgence could well be happening before our eyes.
Three Australian wins from the three teams that played shows that they are finally competitive with their New Zealand and Pacific neighbours.
Western Force and NSW Waratahs left it late for their wins, but it will still bring them huge amounts of confidence having both beaten very strong teams in Moana Pasifika and Highlanders, while Brumbies won slightly more convincingly away to Fijian Drua.
Aside from the Brumbies, success has been few and far between for Australian teams in recent years, but the pendulum could be swinging in their favour.
Entertaining as always
Many consider this league the best in the world due to the entertainment value that comes with each and every game.
Yet again, it did not fail to deliver.
Only one game had under 40 combined points, with two surpassing the 70 mark and no real one-sided matchups.
Anyone can win and when you add that to the optional defence played in many of the games, it makes for an extremely entertaining spectacle that is all that we love about rugby.
The competition was back with a bang this weekend.
No one should be surprised that Western Force got two tries in the last three minutes to win the game, because that is what Super Rugby is all about.
Twisted ankle? No problem for Ben Donaldson
In the previously mentioned win for Western Force, Ben Donaldson showed one of the greatest feats of determination ever seen on a rugby pitch.
After twisting his ankle in the second half, he strapped it up and kept going, in visible discomfort for much of the time he was on after his injury.
He stayed on the field and was rewarded for his bravery with a stunning try right at the end of the game, to win an 89-point thriller 45-44.
After bursting through the defensive line, he put on his skates and ran from his own half to evade everyone and put an end to an unbelievable game.
Not only that, but he also converted his try.
This level of grit is that of a team who are hungry for wins and the mentality from Donaldson and co to come back from the brink shows that his team may be a ‘Force’ to be reckoned with this season.
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