Super Rugby Aotearoa round 3 wrap (2021 edition)

Well, we're into round 3 of Super Rugby Aotearoa as the top dogs the Crusaders stay unbeaten in the competition with a win against the underdogs the Chiefs at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch (Including a penalty try awarded by the Crusaders & a yellow card by Brad Weber proved to be the game changer & I mean that is poor officiating) followed by the Blues who go 2 from 2 by edging the Highlanders (Who had to lose the hat-trick hero against the Chiefs, Jona Nareki, because of a hip injury he sustained during the game which proved to be the turning point but I saw a comment about Blues coach Leon McDonald criticizing the forward pass rule in rugby union which ruled out a try scored by Rieko Ioane after his brother Akira threw it forward in the lead-up to the try which was rubbed out by the Television Match Official) at Eden Park in Auckland in their 1st home game of the season (The Blues haven't played a Super Rugby Aotearoa match at home since against the Chiefs last year but they were thought that they were going to play against the Crusaders in the final round of the season at Eden Park but it got eventually cancelled as a result of the corona virus in the Auckland area) on the same day as the yachting (There were no races being scheduled because there was no wind to start with).

And here is the list of round 4 matches being played in Super Rugby Aotearoa of 2021:

Hurricanes Vs Chiefs (Their most recent meeting was last year in which the Hurricanes won at Sky Stadium in Wellington against the Chiefs in round 9 but the last time the Chiefs beat the Hurricanes was in round 19 of the 2018 Super Rugby season at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton by a single point after a Chiefs player got sent off for a head high tackle & the Chiefs managed to hold on in the end)

& Blues Vs Crusaders (The last time both of these sides was last year in which the Crusaders took top honors against the Blues at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch in round 5 (They were originally going to play in the last round of the Super Rugby Aotearoa season at Eden Park last year but it had to be cancelled as a result of the lock down related to COVID-19 in the Auckland area) but it's been 7 years since the Blues had last beaten the Crusaders & it was in round 3 of the 2014 Super Rugby season at Eden Park).

So that is my 403rd blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 23rd of this year.

P.S. And for the 1st time that I had to observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the devastating Christchurch terror attacks that have tragically happened 2 years ago at quarter to 2 nearly an hour ago.