Super Rugby 2011 Power Rankings: Round 2

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The biggest news story of the round was the Hurricanes-Crusaders fixture being called off after Christchurch's devastating earthquake. If you, the good reader, or anyone you know were affected by this tragedy, I wish you nothing but the best.

For the games that were played, we began to get an idea of a few teams that might look to be contenders early on and who has a lot of ground to make up.

We also got our first proper look at 2011's Stormers outfit.

12) Chiefs (13)

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They made enough tackles, but their game completely lacked structure and discipline. They were also by far the worst team at getting up the field.

Next week, they host the struggling Rebels.

11) Rebels (14)

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The Rebels came in surprisingly low. The low figures in their running game contributed to this, and in fairness, they did really get out of jail against the Brumbies.

They have a game against the 12th-placed Chiefs to look forward to and to try and prove that their ranking was a mere fluke.

10) Reds (7)

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Against a solid 'Tahs unit, the Reds really didn't have much going for them. Their renowned running game never really ignited, and they made far too many handling errors.

To turn things around, they'll next face the Brumbies in Canberra.

9) Stormers (New)

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Looking a bit rusty, the Stormers were generally outplayed by the Lions. While they defended well, their kicks didn't really yield enough territory.

They should improve next week playing host to the Cheetahs.

8) Cheetahs (11)

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Against the Bulls, their weak discipline and mediocre defending proved telling. It could have been worse, though, and they had a pretty clean turnover count.

Next week, they have the Stormers, which should prove to be a very difficult encounter.

7) Blues (3)

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For a side with well-documented consistency issues, it looks like 2011 might be a case of deja vu all over again. They kicked and defended pretty well, but a high turnover count and a fairly weak running game cost them pretty dearly.

They remain in the republic to face an optimistic Lions outfit and will be looking to prove that this week was just a blip in the grand scheme of things.

6) Sharks (5)

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The Sharks are looking alright so far. They kicked and ran very well, but they would benefit from tighter defence and more discipline.

Next week, they're in Western Australia to take on the Force.

5) Highlanders (12)

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The Highlanders' main strength was in their forward pack. They hung onto the ball and didn't give away any stupid penalties. But next week, they'll have to do better at gaining territory.

Coming up, it's off to the republic against the Bulls, where a big performance is needed.

4) Lions (8)

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You can't help but get the feeling that the Lions are overdue for a win.

They defended very well and ran nicely with the ball, but their 40 percent kicking rate was outright shocking, and they should have given away less penalties. Essentially, the Stormers were fairly lucky to take the win.

The earliest chance to set about improving is next week against the Blues.

3) Bulls (4)

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Against the Cheetahs, their kicking game was unusually quiet. But their forward pack did a lot of hard work, their defence was one of the best for the round and they refused to give much away.

They're against another strong forward pack next week in the Highlanders.

2) Brumbies (1)

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It seems strange that the Brumbies are doing so well two weeks in a row, particularly when compared with the Rebels (to whom they lost). However, they managed to hang onto the ball, their forwards gained a lot of ground and Matt Giteau didn't do too badly in the kicking department.

They should be too strong up front for the Reds next week.

1) Waratahs (2)

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They were simply too good against the Reds. Their defence was strong, they gave very little away and like the Bulls last week, they were the only team to clock up more than a thousand kicking metres. While they didn't run the ball particularly far, they didn't really have to.

They'll receive a real test next week against the fired-up Crusaders at Nelson's Trafalgar Park.