Tony Johnson: Sky Sport Commentator on Super Rugby's Round 2 Friday games

A second half lapse has seen the Crusaders be punished 49-24 by the Chiefs in their Super Rugby match in Hamilton.

The red and blacks were stunned into submission in the second half - conceding five tries in 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, Moana Pasifika have been left to rue missed opportunities in their 56-36 Super Rugby loss to the Reds in Brisbane.

The Reds received three yellow cards in the first half and were down to 14 men for 30 consecutive minutes.

Moana could only muster 15 points across the period.

Tony Johnson joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to review Friday night's Super Rugby action.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Aight seventeen, and this is the All Sport Breakfast on
z B. I'm Darcy joined by Tony Johnson. Shortly up
after that, we're gonna hit Lake Luatanafa and we're going
to go to the general manager of Sport Development rowing
inz His name's Jared Cummings. He's down there at the
end zed Rowing Championship. I think you've got an interest
in that, haven't you, DJ.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Rowing? Yeah? I think I wrote at the Nationals in
nineteen seventy seven when New Novice fours and eights and
that's where it ended. You've got and that was in Levin. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, Now you've got the frame to do it, no doubt.
Another crazy old Do they play defense in super Opia anymore?
If you look at those scores?

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Tony, Oh yeah, I don't think. I think the defense
in Game two, probably from both sides, wasn't what you'd expect.
I think it was. There was more to it in
the first game last night. But what we've ended up
with is, you know, it's very early on in the
season to say it, Darcy, but I think you can
safely say that the Chiefs have very quickly installed themselves

(01:16):
as the team to be eaten super Agia Pacific twenty
twenty five.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
They fight it up last week against the Blues. They
were almost dormant in that first half, which was a
bit slow, and then they just lifted and accelerated. They
did the same thing last night. That second half was phenomenal.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, well in both cases you say a bit slow.
I think it was just in the first week certainly
a bit of a matter of just sort of plugging
away until the gap started coming. I don't think anyone
could foresee what happened last night, though, I mean you
consider that. I think on the fifty minute mark it
was seventeen. All Crusaders looked to have some early momentum

(01:55):
in the second half, and then the game just changed dramatically.
Those two tries and two minutes Leroy Carter, Sammerpenny Female
both scoring and there was a touch of brilliance about those,
and then after that it was just it was a
flood of points. They've just found another gear and the
Crusaders are having started so promisingly last week with that

(02:15):
went over the Hurricanes, they just simply had no answer.
That their defense became disconnected and the Chiefs once they
got a roll going, it was quite it was quite devastating.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
The bit of shock and all was one try we're
in the Crusaders. There was like a four on one
overlap from the Chiefs that had no chance they had them,
and there was schedules made. They're getting bold every week.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yeah almost, I said, I think I said at one
point it almost you felt like the Chiefs had some
extra players on the field. They just seem to be
you know, but look, they just got a momentum up
and yeah, it'll be a real blow for the Crusaders
and they've got the worst thing is probably is they've
got to buy now. I'm not sure, you know, you'd
argue the buy gives them plenty of time to send

(02:58):
a few things, right, But I think they would quite
liked we've got back out on the field next week,
and you know they don't get that opportunity. But you know,
I look again, I just to me, it just shows
I think that the thing that you need, one of
the things that you need to win Super rugby is depth.
And already the Chiefs have used twenty two starters. So

(03:19):
they made seven changes to the team and you know,
they're still able to put a strong bench out. They
were able to deal with the early loss of two
pretty important players with their captain Luke Jacobson going off
and also I make a boy hippie he had to
leave the field as well with a knee injury. But
you know, and obviously sometimes that can be unsettling, but

(03:43):
the guys that came on did a terrific job. Quintupire
in his fiftieth to me, he's now looking like the
quintu Pier that he was before that terrible, dreadfully inflicted
injury that had in the Bledderslow Cup a few years ago.
You know, to me, he's back to his best and
putting his hand up big time. So you know, there's

(04:05):
a awful lot for the Chiefs to be happy about that. It's,
you know, the depth that they've got and just the
brilliance across the field. I mean, you know, they're forwards,
you know shun you know, just destroying the Crusader scrumb
on two occasions. All of those things out up to
the fact that you know, you're looking at the I
think the favorites to win Super agby this year.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, you say the dead, you look at who else
they haven't got. They've lost some of their outside backs too,
and that's why they had to juggle around Daniel McKenzie
and that's worked really well. So there are a lot
of techs here For Clayton McMillan. I think that he's
been around that team a long time now. He knows
what makes them tick. The players know what he wants
from them, so you're getting that cohesiveness.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, and look, as you say, you know that they've
had a couple of losses in terms of it, but
you know they get Sean Stevenson and Sammersony Tolkyah should
have them back by about the round five, Mark Stevenson
back from Japan. Tokyoh'll still recovering from that Archilles' injury,
but they're hoping he'll be ready to go in three

(05:05):
or four weeks, and so you know that that should count.
You know, inevitably you're going to have injuries, but they
look like they've got the depth to cope with that.
But yeah, as you say, I think tactically that they're
getting it right. I don't necessarily see it as a
bomb squad situation with you know that the strong benches
that they're putting out. Last week was very much a

(05:27):
case of those all black players not quite ready to
start the game. It was a different story this week.
I just think it's just just about depth, and when
you've got that, then you have the ability to change
the game or or up the ante, or you know,
find a new gear, as they did last night.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
Seventy three points, forty nine plus twenty four reads more
on a pussyfka A quick word on that and that
was like, I'm close on ninety something points in that game.

Speaker 3 (05:54):
Yeah, it does have a different complexion to last week.
But people don't mind watching points being scored. Yeah, I
think more on a pacifica that would they'll be disappointed
and that they didn't win one of their games on
the road trip. And I think if they'd won that
first game, if they hadn't let the four slip away

(06:15):
for that last minute try to win the game last
night wouldn't have mattered quite so much. You know, they
come home from Australia with a winner and loss, that
wouldn't be a bad start. They got themselves back into
the game last night, and to say that one of
the younger players in Super Rugby but Kyra and Tom moyflal.
What another brilliant performance from him, the way he took

(06:37):
his two tries. They have got an absolute star there
that team. But their defense just couldn't couldn't sustain it.
And you know they having got themselves back into the game,
they you know, the Reds were able to score again.
So yeah, that'll be disappointing for them. But boy, there
was some spectacular stuff and that match for sure.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
So after it's called super for a reason and we
can't go forward, were running out of time again down
to Lake Urua Tanith. Now you enjoy the chaos tonight, mate,
Highland is blues. Oh week. I don't know how much
security they're gonna have to have on to stop the streaking,
but we'll see good on your TJ things.

Speaker 3 (07:12):
Mate, Oh heaven for we don't know that. I'm sorry,
I'm over that. Streakers go yes, all right mate.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
Cheers mate. Twenty five minutes after eight.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
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