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. REDS RUBBER-STAMP KISS' WALLABIES CREDENTIALS ON LYNAGH'S BREAKOUT NIGHT
Queensland won Bob Templeton Cup bragging rights on Saturday night in Brisbane, thrashing NSW Waratahs 35-15 in front of a crowd of over 20,000. It was a performance that confirmed their status as one of the teams to beat this season, and the perfect response to last week's error-strewn effort away to the Crusaders. But the Reds didn't have it all their own way in Brisbane either, they were largely dominated inside the first 20 minutes, before Andrew Kellaway's yellow card shifted the course of the match completely. With their forwards suddenly on top, and fly-half Tom Lynagh pulling the strings from fly-half, the Reds wrestled the ascendancy from the Waratahs and never looked back thereafter. While coach Les Kiss dead-batted questions about the Wallabies job in his post-match interview with Stan Sport, his side's 20-point victory has surely sewn up his promotion to the top rugby role in the country. At their best, Kiss' Reds are a free-flowing attacking team where forwards and backs work in perfect harmony, the attacking ruck is managed efficiently, and offloads create opportunities. That is not without risk, as we saw in Christchurch last week, but when they get it right the Reds are a joy to watch - hence why Queensland had their best crowd since the 2021 Super Rugby AU final. They also understand that kicking is a fundamental skill of the game. That's why Tom Lynagh is vital to their chances this season, and why he can emerge as Noah Lolesio's Wallabies deputy for the Lions series later this year. Lock Ryan Smith was also very strong for the Queenslanders.
2. TWO MOMENTS THAT WILL BE KEEPING MCKELLAR UP AT NIGHT
The Waratahs made the perfect start in Brisbane, scoring a try inside two minutes and then physically overpowering the Reds for virtually the entirety of the opening quarter. But, as mentioned above, it all fell apart with Kellaway's yellow card and NSW got a sense of how much work there is to do yet. What will worry coach Dan McKellar most, however, were two moments when the Waratahs switched off completely. The first of those was a failure to realise that Kellaway's 10-minute breather meant there was no one covering the backfield after Lawson Creighton's kick on 19 minutes, a situation Reds fullback Heremaia Murray exploited perfectly with his own punt downfield that found acres of open grass and brought about seven points moments later. While Creighton was right to chase through his kick, the Waratahs needed either scrum-half Teddy Wilson or winger Max Jorgensen to hang back and receive the return kick. The backs' inability to manage that situation was then mirrored by the forwards, who chose to contest a Reds lineout right on their own 22, but then had nothing in place to manage Queensland's rolling maul, which powered its way through the meek resistance and all the way to the tryline. Both plays brought back memories of the Highlanders' try from a quick lineout in Round 1, when the Waratahs again switched off completely and paid the ultimate price as a result. The Waratahs' soft draw to start the year suggested they weren't travelling as well their record would suggest, not that McKellar was yet buying into the buzz. He must quickly right the ship before this week's clash with the in-form Brumbies.
3. ARE THE CRUSADERS BACK TO THEIR DOMINANT BEST?
Crusaders coach Rob Penney is certainly breathing a little easier than this time last year when his side were trapped near the bottom of the table and battling a wretched run with injury. They are enduring a similar story on the injury front this year, but look like a completely different team with Codie Taylor, Tamaiti Williams and Scott Barrett restored to their forward pack, and Will Jordan, David Havili and Sevu Reece creating and finishing opportunities out wide. On the weekend against the Force, however, it was all about winger Macca Springer who equalled the late Sean Wainui's record of five tries in a single game, including one absolute corker when he dribbled the ball off his left boot above the touchline, and then won the race to reclaim it and score. The question is: how much do we read into the Crusaders' wins of the past two weeks? Firstly, they could not have had better conditions in which to play, with Christchurch an absolute picture for both of their wins over the Reds and Force. The Perth-based franchise also chose to rest first-choice halves pairing of Nic White and Ben Donaldson, but it was the absence of star flanker Carlo Tizzano that really hurt the West Aussies on Saturday. A week earlier, the Reds handed possession back to the Crusaders repeatedly, the Queenslanders far too loose in their skill execution. So while Penney's side are vastly improved on last year, it is too soon to declare them as championship favourites. Goal-kicking also remains an issue, youngster Taha Kemara unable to land any of his four first-half conversions, which ensured the Force were right in the contest at halftime on Saturday.
4. TOM HOOPER COULD BE ANOTHER LANGI GLEESON CASE
Despite a sleepy start to the second half, the Brumbies backed up their superb win over the Blues with classy - and bonus-point - win over the Fijian Drua. While Len Ikitau was the star of the show with his hat trick, and fullback Tom Wright produced several other highlight-worthy moments, it was hard to miss the physicality, intent and work rate of blindside Tom Hooper for the second straight week. Like his Waratahs counterpart Langi Gleeson, Hooper will head offshore later this year and join Exeter, but only on a one-year deal, the Brumbies back-rower adamant he will return to Australia a "better player" for the experience. The question is: will coach Joe Schmidt consider him for the Lions series in the short term, or prioritise those players who are hanging around in Australia beyond 2025? On the strength of his play the past two weeks, Hooper should not have a red line through his name. He is also able to cover the second-row, and was even selected as a No. 7 under Eddie Jones two years ago, which makes him an invaluable bench option. If he is not in Schmidt's Wallabies 23 thinking for the first Test, then he must surely feature in the Aus/NZ invitational team that will face the Lions in Adelaide.
5. KIRIFI MAKING STRONG ALL BLACKS CASE AT NO. 7
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has a few things to consider this season, and near the top of the list will be who he starts at No. 7 following Sam Cane's retirement from Test rugby. There has been talk of a return to openside for Ardie Savea, which would also open an opportunity for Wallace Sititi, who is currently injured, to shift to his more natural position at the back of the scrum. But Hurricanes co-captain Du'Plessis is making a strong case for a Test-match call-up, with his work around the contact zone earning rave reviews; his impact perhaps best reflected by his absence for the opening half against Moana last week when the Hurricanes were completely overrun. But restored to the starting lineup for Friday's clash with the Highlanders, Kirifi was magnificent. The openside topped the tackle count [24] and also added two breakdown turnovers in the 20-19 victory. But the most extraordinary stat was revealed via his smart mouthguard, which Hurricanes assistant Jamie Joseph said had reported "100 contact moments", as per Jason Pine on X.