© Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Rugby can be extreme. At its best, it is a work of art- a scintillating sporting experience. At its worst, it is abominable- the most exasperating of sporting experiences.

We had a bit of both last weekend.

The Hurricanes-Chiefs encounter in Wellington was an occasion. Here was rugby played in the right vein. Invention. Skill. Creativity. Belief. Tenacity. Tension. Pace, Pace. Pace.

This match showed what rugby can achieve when players take risks, and trust themselves.

© Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Then we headed to Perth. Western Force. Waratahs. The visiting team, knowing that they often fall for the 'rope a dope' trick when they cross the Nullarbor to lose their way and get defeated by an ordinary opponent, smartened up, played a territorial game, aimed at penning a very limited Force side in their own half.

They also focused on isolating one of the Force's few threats, their diligent breakaway Matt Hodgson.

It worked. It was interesting, but not inspiring, especially as the skill factor underwent a dramatic drop in standards. Often under no pressure, both Australian teams made basic mistakes. The speed of the game was at times funereal. Fundamental skills were shown up. That never occurred in Wellington.

Then the two most successful Super Rugby franchises from either country met the following day in Canberra, with the Crusaders dancing around the Brumbies all day to relish a 40-14 face slap.

© Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

A Brumbies midfield, which has often represented Australia, was shown to be second rate by their Crusaders counterparts. Suddenly the Brumbies, who struggle to do anything well when they are without David Pocock, looked listless.

Again it was rammed down our throat. The New Zealand Super Rugby contingent are so far ahead of its Australian counterparts in so many facets of the game. Unless there is a dramatic improvement from those this side of the Tasman, the Bledisloe Cup series looks like being another forlorn experience.

On Anzac Day, the New Zealand Herald published an Anzac XV, revolving around the best players in this year's Super Rugby. Only one Australian made it- Brumbies prop Scott Sio.

New Zealanders like to regard Australians as jingoistic, but they're pretty good at backslapping themselves.

© Stefan Postles/Getty Images

But this time the New Zealand Herald got it 100 per cent right. The newspaper's Anzac XV judge, Wynne Gray, is no apologist for the All Blacks or New Zealand rugby. Unlike some in the New Zealand media ranks, who are blinkered towards everything Black, Black, Black, Gray, now carving an impressive sporting career on the Takapuna lawn bowling green in Auckland, tells it exactly how it is.

Gray could have easily selected 15 New Zealanders, rather than 14 in that side- as in most positions, there are at least two or three Kiwis playing better than their Australian counterparts.

The No.10 position is one obvious case. Beauden Barrett and Aaron Cruden were involved in a classic pivotal battle during the Hurricanes-Chiefs speedway experience. Each succeeded in transforming the game at important moments. Even though the Hurricanes lost, they cannot blame Barrett. He was inspirational.

In Australia, the Waratahs' Bernard Foley remains easily the best of the No 10s, even though it has taken a while for him to regain his footing since returning from Japan. But there is no-one really threatening him for the Test position- so fair to reasonable performances are good enough, when they really shouldn't be. And he is certainly not playing to the standard of either Barrett or Cruden.

© Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Off the field, the Australian conference is in as much in a mess. The Force are being propped up financially by the Australian Rugby Union, the Rebels recently so, while the bewildering Brumbies managerial imbroglio gets crazier by the day. And the persistent claims that one team, most probably the Force, will be relocated in Sydney's West, with Parramatta Stadium as its new home venue, continues to swirl.

So suddenly in Australia, we cannot go on our usual whinge about South Africa rigging the Super Rugby draw, so they can get some teams into the finals.

The Australian conference has been so lacklustre this year, that we should feel so lucky to get one team through to the next stage, even if none are performing like semifinalists.