As many predicted, the Super 14 log came down to the last game of the competition. But by and largethe results and excitement never reached great heights. Sure the results have been unpredictable at times, but in reality the rugby has been way below standard. Still the Bulls have been the best of a bad bunch and i’ll take that anyday.

It’s great that no Aussie team made the semis, but disappointing South African teams are mostly at the bottom of the log. The Kiwis showed they still lead the way, but i’m confident the Bulls can come out tops!

Picks 5/7

Chiefs (10) v Brumbies (7)
The Bulls will happy the Chiefs were not able to manage a bonus point over the last 2 weeks. The Chiefs looked slightly vulnerable at times, are starting to get injuries, and are not experienced at this stage of the season. Will they adapt their gameplan come semi-final time? The Brumbies like many teams this season simply lacked all round class and individuals to counter one of the better teams.

Lions (33) v Worrytahs (38)
Another game the Lions lost that they could have, and should have won. The y do so many good things, yet throw it away with the silliest of mistakes and the softest of tries for the opposition. They have some great players, Ludik, Vermaak, Sephaka, Rose yet have not performed as a team. Now is the time for some major changes, starting with a strong dominanting coach. The return of Jake White?

Blues (13) v Crusaders (15)
A pretty awful game, surprisingly the Crusaders never made it theirs when they were the only team with anything riding on the result. They are the only team to win the Super rugby competition from 4th place, but I have a feeling this years side won’t have the required attributes.

Reds (28) v Horrorcanes (37)
A good free flowing game of rugby. The Horrorcanes did their job to put pressure on the others and remain in contention for a home semi, but in the end it wasn’t enough. They will be reasonably confident travelling to Hamilton, and if they can win, thanfully they’ll be quite tired when they reach Pretoria for the final.

Farce (33) v Islanders (28)
A dead rubber that started off with a hiss and a roar, but lacked the stars or the quality of individuals to waste time watching. Farce have to recruit strongly for next year or they’ll struggle.

Cheaters (22) v Stompers (28)
Once again the Cheaters blow hot and cold after the previous week’s performance, and the Stormers do exactly the opposite of whatever I predict!! They were my inital pick for the season, how it all fell apart! The Cheaters meanwhile performed above my expectations in managing 12 log points for the season, and they deserve to be replaced by the Kings!

Sharks (26) v Bulls (27)
What a fantastic game. The result was close, but that was largely due to some extremely biased reffing from Craig Joubert. JP Nel was unlucky to be carded, for a tackle that was unfortunate as opposed to malicious, and Deon Stegmann did everything right and was penlalised and carded whilst the Shars player held onto the ball. That resulted in a Sharks try that should never have happened.

The character of the Bulls, more than anything else stood out. 9 points down, the momentum against them, they stood up and took charge. Matfield turned down an easy penalty goal to go for the win. It showed me the difference between the Bulls and the rest of the SA sides. The Bulls have LEARNT to take a risk to achieve their goals, whilst the rest of the sides risk little and therefore gain little.

In the battle of the individuals, the Bulls came out on top. Other than the front row where the Sharks had the edge, Matfield was awesome all over the field, Stegmann and Potgeiter completely shaded Deysel (was he even on the field) and Daniel. Spies kicked Kankowski’s ass…you could see the difference in the workrate, Spies is a workhorse, Kankowski goes missing other than when he has the ball in space. Du Preez shaded Kockott, Steyn was better than Pienaar, our Ndungane was better than the Sharks Ndungane, and Kirchner was better then Terblanche.

I think the biggest mistake the Sharks made this season was not making Smit captain and not having him on the field the whole time. He never gained momentum and he showed he is a workhorse, makes little mistakes and gives you go forward and direction. The Sharks end as the biggest disappointments of the year, whilst the Bulls showed they are the premier team in South Africa.

With 2 games at Loftus, i’m feeling fairly confident the Bulls will rise again!