Mchunu’s magic was my moment of the weekend

It was great to see some classy local rugby action this weekend – with a few Springboks playing again. The New Zealand league continues to impress, and France were brilliant in denying Wales the Grandslam. Oliver Keohane looks at his favourite moments from this weekend.

NTUTHUKO MCHUNU

The Sharks replacement prop, in the dying minutes of their clash against the Lions, hit a hard line out wide and sped through to score with five defenders on his tail and unable to keep up. Some of rugby’s greatest moments have been breakaway tries from props, and Mchunu has added to a long list of heavies who have shown speed and skill other than scrumming. Beast Mtawarira retweeted Mchunu’s try, calling him “the real deal”.

FRANCE’S FINISH

France have been a pleasure to watch. Their young side has typified French flare, but over their Six Nation campaign there seems to be added grit and mental toughness, coupled with composure and class. Representative of these qualities was France’s 82nd minute try to beat Wales and deny them the Grandslam, and in doing so they kept their own title hopes alive. The try, scored by Brice Dulin, was the product of a brilliant team effort, full of composure in the final minutes.

CRUSADERS CONTINUE CLASS

I have been pretty adamant since Aotearoa begun, that regardless of the cross-spectrum quality of New Zealand rugby, there is only one team that will win that tournament, and it’s the men from Christchurch. The Blues would be their biggest obstacle, and while their efforts this past Saturday were enormous, the Crusaders class is unmatched and under the guidance of Richie Mo’unga, they put 43 points past the Blues, conceding 27 and emerging victors at Eden Park.