The on-fire New South Wales Waratahs will have to overcome rain as well as the notorious ”House of Pain” if they are to beat the Otago Highlanders and hit the front of the Super 14 rugby competition on Friday.
But it is the Western Stormers in South Africa who hold the key to how the 11th round will pan out when they play the table-topping Canterbury Crusaders in the final match of the weekend.
The second-placed Waratahs and the Highlanders, who are eighth, take the field refreshed from a two-week break and driven by different motives.
The Waratahs want the psychological edge of overtaking the Crusaders and under normal circumstances should be too strong for the Highlanders, while Otago know that, with three rounds remaining, another loss would end their chances of making the top four semifinal spots.
Unfortunately for the Waratahs, who trail the Crusaders by four points, nothing is normal playing the Highlanders on their home Carisbrook ground, which is known as the ”House of Pain” because the visiting team rarely wins there.
The weather will certainly favour the Highlanders, with a tough forward pack that revels in the mud and the potential to deny ball to the Waratahs playmaker Mat Rogers.
Further unsettling for the Waratahs was their nerve-wracking arrival in New Zealand on Wednesday when the atrocious weather that has lashed Highlanders territory all week forced their plane to be diverted to Christchurch, 360km away.
”We were 300 feet from landing when the pilot decided to abort and divert the flight,” Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie said.
McKenzie has retained the same side that accounted for the Brumbies 37-14 two weeks ago, with captain and halfback Chris Whitaker to play his 115th match for the state, joining Matthew Burke as the side’s most-capped players.
If the Crusaders felt complacent after waltzing through the first nine rounds unbeaten, with the Waratahs already among their scalps, they were brought down to earth last weekend when they struggled to an undeserved draw with lowly Western Force.
For a side that prides themselves on being finely tuned, that performance was marked by dropped passes, missed tackles and the sight of an All Blacks-laden pack struggling for parity in the tight.
The performance raised questions whether it was a one-off wobble by the Crusaders or if they are genuinely showing signs of fatigue, and it rests with the Stormers to determine the answer.
The defending champions will be resting inspirational captain Richie McCaw as they try to get their confidence back on track in what promises to be a physical encounter.
”We’ve sat down in the last couple of days and reviewed where we’re at, and some good stuff came out of it,” said inside centre Aaron Mauger. ”It’s important that we look at the big picture and get it right.”
The Wellington Hurricanes, still holding third place, must hold out a determined Waikato Chiefs who are well aware that another loss will spell the end of their season.
A loss for the Hurricanes would most likely see them slip behind the ACT Brumbies, who have the easier game against the Queensland Reds.
Pretoria offers the clash of the fifth-placed Northern Bulls against the sixth-placed Coastal Sharks with both sides knocking at the door to the semifinals should the Brumbies or Hurricanes slip up in the final three weeks.
Rounding out the weekend, the Central Cheetahs meet the Auckland Blues in Bloemfontein, while in Johannesburg the Golden Cats host the Western Force in the bottom-of-the-table match-up. — Sapa-AFP