Feb 22 2010

Super 14 2010: Week 2 – Bulls and Stormers to fly the SA flag

The Lions and Chiefs had an 18 try attack-athon, the Bulls and Stormers showed they will be the form South African sides, whilst the Reds produced the biggest upset in years.

The Bulls and Stormers are both placed in great positions and likely to carry the South African semi-final hopes, while the Sharks showed they are finished for the season and likely to be near the bottom of the table.

The Reds produced a great upset, the question is what can they maintain, especially given the fact captain James Horwill is finished for the season.

The Lions and Chiefs showed what can happen when sides don’t want to tackle, hold the ball and just want to score tries! Is it the way to go? As I have maintained the new law interpretations are too extreme and take the contest out of the game.

Even Waratahs captain Phil Waugh and I are on the same page. “Rugby union is supposed to be a contest, and the breakdown is a contest within that contest. We’ve got to be careful that we don’t get too caught up in watching the defender when the attacking team can be at fault too” said Waugh.

“There’s too many passive ball-carries that are rewarded while dominant tackles are often penalised. I’d like to see those big hits rewarded more often, but unfortunately it’s not happening at the moment. Hopefully this is just a case of referees getting used to the new interpretations and come the halfway stage, things may be more equal” continued Waugh.

Hopefully we’ll get back to some common ground, because 72-65 is not rugby, it’s basketball!

Picks 5/7

Highlanders (15) v Blues (19)

The Blues picked up a valuable 4 log points at what use to be the house of pain. Now it’s just a hold of cold and students, deep in the South Island of New Zealand!

Neither side played particularly well, with both sides guilty of indiscretions at the breakdown when under pressure. It’s taking time for some sides to adapt, and generally those that are failing, are not near the top of the log.

Stephen Brett has not set the world alight since moving to the Blues, and they looked directionless. Considering the pedigree of their forward pack, they are not setting a stable platform for the backs to operate well under either.

The Highlanders are a no frills side that really won’t threaten any of the top sides. They were motivated to perform for their home fans, but came up short as they lack the class needed at this level.

Overall a fairly average game.

Reds (41) v Crusaders (20)

The Reds scored the biggest upset in many years as they comprehensively beat the Crusaders in a 1 sided match in Brisbane.

It was the first time the Reds had beaten the Crusaders since 1999, and the Crusaders heaviest margin of defeat since in 6 years.

The Reds victory was based on dominance from scrumhalf Will Genia and flyhalf Quade Cooper, who created space for the Reds backs which led to multiple try-scoring opportunities.

Their victory may have come at a high cost however with Reds captain James Horwill likely to be sidelined for a long period with knee ligament damage.

The Crusaders missed regular captain Richie McCaw, and captain for the night Kieran Read said “We came over here with high hopes, but we just weren’t there. We just gave away too many penalties and dropped too much ball.”

This was a good result for the SA sides but showed the Reds are not to be underestimated this year!

Sharks (20) v Cheetahs (25)

The Sharks were abysmal in losing at home for the second successive week. It’s going to be a year of pain for the Sharks!

How does a side full of Springboks perform so poorly every week? They seem incapable of producing constructive rugby. The one occasion they did, they scored a simple try to Ryan Kankowski. It requires a greater effort than that however, and the Cheetahs showed that the greater hunger for victory.

The Cheetahs were well led by captain Juan Smith, and although their execution was poor at times, their willingness to have a go was rewarded. This led to a great try from fullback Riaan Viljoen, although he ran through a non-existent Sharks defence.

Compare this to Sharks fullback Stefan Terblanche. Did he run the ball back at all? Other than Adrian Jacobs, the Sharks backs are clueless, and simply move the ball from one side to the other. What does the coach teach them?

Mind you it doesn’t help when your much vaunted back row rarely gets over the advantage line for the backs to get quality ball.

The Sharks now head overseas for a 5 week tour where things are likely to go from bad to worse, while the Cheetahs can celebrate their first victory away from home since 2007. It may turn out to be a prized possession for them in 2010!

Lions (65) v Chiefs (72)

Tries! Lots of them. (Thats what the administrators wanted (Well the Kiwis and Aussies anyway). 18 tries in total were shared 9 apiece.

There were records broken galore in this game. These included the highest total number of points in a match, total number of tries and I’m sure the fewest tackles made too!

The Chiefs had the perfect start scoring in the second minute after running the ball the length of the field and barely having a hand laid on them, and their second try was also scored with barely a hand laid on the try scorer.

The Lions showed they weren’t prepared to give up without a fight and worked their way back with 3 tries, helped by the sinbinings of Sione Lauaki (who is just a thug and deserves to be suspended for constant misdemeanours, but I guess that only happens to South Africans) and de Malmanche (where does that name come from anyway??).

With an 8 point lead, the Lions let the Chiefs go into halftime with a lead thanks to silly mistakes. Poor at the restarts, stupid option taking, trying to run the ball from deep. These hurt the Lions and allowed the momentum to move back to the Chiefs.

After half-time the Lions scored a further 38 unanswered points as the Lions stopped tackling for 20 minutes! It was disgraceful stuff, but to their credit the Lions never gave up and finished the stronger of the 2 sides. The problem seems to be the holes in midfield which creates space out wide.

Earl Rose was tremendous and led the fightback. He is always a danger on attack, and creates so many opportunities for those around him. Burton Francis looks good when given opportunities, and in my view they look so much better when he replaces Carlos Spencer. I’d drop Doppies la Grange and move Spencer to inside centre, with Francis at flyhalf.

Wandile Mjekevu scored 3 good tries and showed his potential. Mjekevu and Tonderai Chavanga are benefiting from the expansive approach, and the Lions look like they have the fitness to play the expansive game. It was tenacious stuff to come back to within 7 points, but you can’t expect to concede 9 tries, 72 points and walk away with victory.

There were plenty of positives for Lions coach Dick Muir, he just needs his players to tackle and stop the opposition scoring! The Chiefs meanwhile have shown there are chinks in their armour and they aren’t invincible, but good sides win even when they aren’t playing well, and they’ll be extremely happy with their early log position.

Hurricanes (47) v Force (22)

The Force have become a walking 5 points for their opposition. Not enough depth, enough class or enough competitiveness across the park.

The Hurricanes produced a solid effort at home, with their wingers Tamati Ellison and David Smith chasing well and being rewarded for their efforts.

Aaron Cruden also adds impact as the replacement flyhalf, and should get a start soon.

The Hurricanes eventually outscored the Force 6 tries to 3, and gained the crucial bonus point.

The Force have been decimated by injury, and will struggle to move off the bottom of the log. Other than James O’Connor, they don’t offer enough on attack.

Bulls (50) v Brumbies (32)

The Bulls showed great composure in putting away the Brumbies at Loftus.

The Bulls player ratings showed it was a great team effort, and the depth, patience and belief of this side in executing their game plan when under real pressure and trailing at half-time showed why they are the defending champions!

They’ll be so hard to beat at Loftus, and have embraced the new law interpretations better than almost any side. Another thing the Bulls are doing fantastically well is maintaining discipline. It used to allow sides back into matches, but the Bulls have shown that mentally they are now clearly the best side in the competition (actually the universe in my opinion!)

The Brumbies talked a great game and for the first half, almost got away with it. However the effects of altitude and the difference in class shone through in the end, although the Brumbies never gave up trying.

Stormers (27) v Waratahs (6)

A match in stark contrast to the Lions-Chiefs just 4 hours earlier. This game was built on defence, both sides playing a more defensive brand of rugby, kicking for territory and seemingly unable to put together multiple phases.

The Stormers lost Schalk Burger early to a slight hamstring strain and Francois Louw and replacement loose forward Pieter Louw took on the extra responsibility superbly. Duane Vermeulen was a standout in the loose and also the lineouts, and the pack was led superbly by Andries Bekker who looks to have beefed up and is making massive hits, getting all around the park and dominating lineouts.

His lock partner De Kock Steenkamp was also well-committed, and Tiaan Liebenberg was just scary running onto the ball at pace!

The Stormers backs were strong on defence also. Ricky Januarie appears to be coming back to his best, although his kicking at times was not quite accurate enough, but Juan de Jongh and Jaque Fourie run straight and hard, and give Peter Grant so much more time and options.

Add in Bryan Habana who sniffs out any sort of try-scoring opportunity and this Stormers side is slowly gaining great momentum. What impressed me most was the 80 minute effort and intensity.

The Waratahs showed they haven’t really adapted from last year. They are still boring, relying on the boot of Berrick Barnes to gain field position, but not able to do much with it. Phil Waugh is a moron and lacked discipline and leadership for his side to follow. He was lucky not to be carded.

The Waratahs incidentally were the only side not to score a try over the weekend, and what was it that Phil Waugh said about the South Africans being the ones who would struggle with the new law interpretations?