Best game: It was a dying shame there was no-one there to see it but the match between the Hurricanes and the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in mid-August was absolutely sensational. Aaron Smith running amok, the Highlanders rampaging back into a match which had more than 40 line breaks. Absolutely out of this world at times. Just eerie really with no crowd but it was fantastic.
Best player: Aaron Smith was on fire for much of the year. Not bad for a guy who blew out 32 candles last month. His dedication to training paid off in spades and he was a big reason the Highlanders performed well in Super Rugby Aotearoa. No-one was better than Smith right across the park in 2020. Others worth a mention are Jordie Barrett, Will Jordan, Ash Dixon, Salesi Rayasi, Lachlan Boshier, Jona Nareki, Tom Robinson and David Havili.
Could do better: Is it just the eye patch but is Arika Ioane that much better than last year? And Harry Plummer?
Worst game: Golly, take your pick as the game drains into a over-structured bore fest at times. The match between Tasman and Otago was not one to remember. Those two draws between the Pumas and the Wallabies were fairly awful. Waikato beating Southland in the wet was quickly forgotten.
Three predictions for 2021
The tour of South Africa by the British and Irish Lions will not go ahead.
Josh Dickson will knock very hard on the All Blacks’ door.
The Chiefs will finally win a game in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
How many minutes will Bryn Evans play for the Highlanders?
How great would it be if Liam Squire went out and played every game for the Highlanders and had an absolute belter of a season?
Will Michael Collins be seen in an Otago jersey again?
New Zealand Rugby is wanting to cut money here, there and everywhere. How about cutting 10 players from its All Black squad. Isn’t that upwards of $100,000 a week?
How many tries were scored from rolling mauls this year? And how many of those, in the strictest sense of the law, should have been disallowed?
How come a player cannot shoulder charge when defending but can when attacking?
Sports evolve and move away from what they have been. Isn’t rugby fast becoming an over-structured, patterned, game, played by massive people, who have nothing in common with the people in the stand? A game in which the prop touches the ball more than a centre. Is league with lineouts an accurate description for the game at the lower levels?
Do coaches have too much to say and are there too many coaches for too many teams?
Japan played no tests this year. How tough was that to take after such a spectacular 2019?
Has there been a quieter departure from the Highlanders for an experienced player than Rob Thompson, who had been a standout in previous years?
What the heck happened to Otago in its last three games?
And what the heck happened to Josh Ioane in the match against Southland?
Anyone going to miss getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Highlanders play the Bulls? And did anyone actually get up and watch the games live apart from yours truly?
Was Aaron Mauger shafted and was he already a dead man walking in March?
Is Mauger going to coach a school team next year?
Isn’t first XV rugby some of the most boring rugby played anywhere?
Is a short, sharp club season the way of the future? Any truth to the whispers Pirates are looking to get a side back in the premier ranks? And is the dream of a combined southern club competition over before it even began?
