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Welcome to off-field review, where we'll wrap up the Super Rugby Pacific round in hopefully quicker time than it takes the TMO to rule on foul play! 1. AT LAST, THE FORCE MIGHT BE ABOUT TO PUT A SEASON TOGETHERTwo rounds in 2025 and already Western Force look like they might finally be ready to compete in Super Rugby on a consistent basis. Saturday night's 45-42 win over the Brumbies, which snapped a 5040-day wait for a win in Canberra, was impressive on a number of fronts. Simon Cron's side flew out of the blocks to lead 21-0 and then 28-14, scoring a couple of brilliant tries along the way, before they then gave up much of the momentum in the second half and looked to be heading down a similar path to the one that saw them lose in the nation's capital last year. But in a show of the kind of character that Cron has been trying to build in the west the past few years, the Force controlled the ball superbly to get Brandon Paenga-Amosa into a position where the Wallabies hooker could power his way over from close range. Cron's recruitment drive is paying massive dividends in the west, with Dylan Pietsch impressing in his first run-on start, so too Darcy Swain and Nic Dolly who were big contributors up front. The Force had 13 players with Test-match experience in their matchday 23 on Saturday night, and with several rising stars still to come back from injury, they finally look like they can contend for a spot in the playoffs. They also managed to overcome four separate yellow cards, an issue Cron will want to remedy before next week's visit from the Reds.  2. THE BLUES ARE IN AN EARLY SEASON HOLEFew people, if any, would have predicted the Blues to be 0-2 after the first two rounds of 2025. But that's exactly the position the defending champions find themselves in, after a disappointing 29-21 defeat by a Highlanders team that was reduced to 14 men for a 20-minute stretch in the 58th minute following Daniel Lienert-Brown's ugly cleanout. Given some earlier concussion trouble, Lienert-Brown's early shower meant that the Highlanders then had to go to uncontested scrums, which also meant they were reduced to 13 players because of the laws that govern foul play in that instance. The Blues just couldn't seem to put it together in Dunedin, a lack of continuity and skill execution, particularly at the breakdown, letting them down in the final quarter. That will be of concern for coach Vern Cotter after the Blues mastered the game's simplest arts in their 2024 title run, and simply overpowered teams through the middle of the park. On the weekend, the Blues managed only 173 post-contact metres compared with the Highlanders' 292, reflecting the difficulty the visitors had in executing their successful strategy of last year. The Blues are also trying to reintroduce Beauden Barrett to the frame after his one-year sabbatical in Japan. The attack just doesn't seem to be humming despite the superstar playmaker's influence. 3. THE HIGHLANDERS HAVE A GOOD ONE AT FULLBACKJust as the Blues were bad, the Highlanders were very good at home on Saturday night and richly deserving of their eight-point win, just a week after they were pipped at the death by the Waratahs in Sydney. A popular pick to be the weakest of New Zealand's five franchises, the Highlanders will have many pundits rethinking their predictions after they knocked off the defending champions despite Lienert-Brown's late dismissal. Coach Jamie Joseph has a good one on his hands at fullback, too, with Finn Hurley producing the individual performance of the weekend that featured two tries, the pint-sized flyer drawing comparisons with Damian McKenzie for his fearless attack from inside his own half. The other standout was skipper Timoci Tavatavanawai, who's form over the ball at the breakdown is as good as any openside flanker in the competition, if not better. Tavatavanawai's turnover, and then 50-22 kick from the ensuing penalty late in the game was outstanding, and a real shot of momentum as the hosts pushed hard to complete their unlikely victory. REDS OFF TO A FLYER BUT DISCIPLINE MUST IMPROVEQueensland hit the ground running in their first outing of 2025, thrashing Moana Pasifika 56-36 in Brisbane on Friday night. Les Kiss' side ran in eight tries, the Reds' forwards and backs working in perfect harmony, support play a feature of their 20-point win. What won't have pleased Kiss, however, were the three first-half yellow cards the Reds' conceded, the third of which could have been particularly damaging against a better team, given it came on the stroke of halftime. To their credit, the Reds were able to navigate the 30 minutes they were down a man reasonably well, Matt Faessler's five-pointer four minutes after the resumption halting the little momentum Pasifika had built before the break. The Reds will face a much sterner test on the road in Perth next weekend, particularly given the Force have run up over 40 points in each of their first two games this season.  SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC ALREADY LOOKS A STRONGER COMPETITION IN 2025It may be just two weeks old, but Super Rugby Pacific 2025 is already looking like the most competitive iteration of the tournament yet. As well as the Force's drought-breaking win in Canberra, Fijian Drua came within a whisker of their first road victory over a New Zealand franchise as they pushed the Hurricanes all the way in Napier. Moana Pasifika, despite two straight defeats, are also an improved outfit this season with the addition of Ardie Savea; Kyren Taumoefolau has proven himself one of the stars of the tournament with his breathtaking finishing on the right wing. It's clear that the Chiefs are the team to beat after two stunning road wins to start 2025, but the early signs otherwise suggest that there will be a real battle for positions in the top six. An increase in trans-Tasman clashes over the next few rounds will be a better indicator of that, so too just how much the redistribution of Melbourne Rebels players across the other Australian franchises has helped the Waratahs, Reds, Force and Brumbies. And while some northern rugby supporters might scoff at some of the early scorelines, and a supposed lack of organised defence, the quality of the attack is offsetting any supposed deficiencies in that area. When the weather deteriorates through the middle of the season, particularly in New Zealand, you can expect those scorelines to come down.
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