Week 7 was a frustrating week. The rugby on show was at times some of the worst I have seen in a long while. Clearly the quality of play, players and reffing has decreased. The Laws have been much talked about and are being reviewed too. On the field the Bulls had the chance to consolidate their lead and blew it, now moving back into the pack. The Sharks got the points without the panache, and the Chiefs and Islanders are creping up the log….

Picks 2/6

Blues (22) v Worrytahs (27)
The first time ever the Worrytahs have beaten the Blues at Eden park. And they did it reasonably comfortably against a Blues team that is now out of contention for the semis. They are not getting enough dominance in the forwards to unleash their backs who are now looking decidely average. There wheels have indeed fallen apart.

The Worrytahs once again continue to get the points without doing anything spectacular. They don’t have great game breakers or do anything extraordinary, but they don’t do anything really badly either. They had a bit of luck with Luke Burgess’ try, but they were definitely deserved their victory. They will now be tough to keep out of the semis.

Highlanders (36) v Bulls (12)
A must win game for the Bulls went begging. It’s amazing how we always lose the games we really should win and make the opposition look much better than they really are. We should be wiping the floor with these guys.
Unfortunately we never got any momentum, and weren’t helped starting off into the wind. The Islanders did the basics well and got their tails up. At the breakdown they were hungry. The drove us back, rucked over the ball, dominated collisions and got off their line quickly so we couldn’t get much go forward. I didn’t think we were helped by the ref, who allowed them to lie and fall over the ball. It is a concern that refs all officiate so differently, but at least he was consistent. It is up to our players to adapt and if he won’t get players out of the road we must do it and protect the ball. It’s a pity because a week ago we were so strong in this area.

I believe the loss of Stegmann was huge. He’s our only true opensider. Moving Wannenburg there was not a good move. He is fantastic as a ball carrier and is different from most SA players in that he steps well and doesn’t aim to take the collision. By using him as a fetcher we took away one of our big strengths. Dewald Potgieter has not shown himself to be at this level yet. Unfortunately our tight five got out played. Botha looked tired, and Rossouw had a good work rate, but is too innacurate. He often has poor body position going into collisions and doesn’t make the yardage you expect from a man his size. I did think Pierre Spies was outstanding though. He is the best number 8 in the world. great workrate, fantastic in open space, and gets great go forward even in the tight. His tackling is solid, there is really not a lot he can’t do. He was a shining light in a lost cause.

Our backs looked quite innocuous overall. I know the commentators thought Olivier had a good game, but he doesn’t do enough for me. He runs straight and hard but rarely busts the line. And he doesn’t set up his outsides often enough. I thought we did not play as a team in the backs.

There is now a lot of work to do on this tour. We’ll see how valuable Matfield is to the Bulls against the Crusaders. He is an inspirational leader and can give us the direction we need. And we need to utilise one mr Habana on the wing too. It is time he showed us how special he can be. C’mon boys lets show some pride. Go Bulle Go!

Crusaders (11) v Stormers (7)
What an awful game of rugby. I can’t believe these 2 teams call themselves professional rugby players, train all week, and then produce that sort of dribble on the field. I’ve never seen so many basic errors in a super rugby game. Neither team had any direction and it was only the fact the Stormers decided not to play for territory, possession or hold onto the ball when attacking that allowed the Crusaders to win the game. A better result would have been for both teams to stay in the changing sheds at half-time and put a bunch of schoolkids on the field instead! I couldn’t watch any more after the first half. Way too painful.

Rassie Erasmus is NOT the great coach that many build him up to be. He has produced nothing with a Stormers side that is filled with talent. In fact he must have to be one of the worst Super rugby coaches. Why bring in De Waal? He does nothing. He is awful, not a long-term solution, and plays rugby the way is was supposed to be played in the 70′s. What does Naqelevuki do on a consistent basis? He looks like he stands and wait for the opposition to set themselves before he jogs the ball back to them.
 Surely we have better players in SA who deserve a chance?
Vermeulen is defintely not Bok material, and why do coaches allow Januarie to distract himself by getting into scraps every week.

I was not impressed with Bobo either. twice in the first half he chipped into areas he could not win the ball back and it went straight to a Crusaders player. Why? And he produced an up and under and took the player straight out in the air. Brainless. If I was on the Stormers coaching staff i’d send him off! If you are going to up and under at least compete for the ball in the air, or put them under pressure. Players have to be accountable for producing stupid play that ends up conceding posession and puts the team under pressure again. Stormers lucky to finish in the top 10, and Crusaders will probably end up about 9th. Season over for both of them.

Reds (26) v Chiefs (50)
It was pleasing to see 2 teams try and attack and throw the ball around. The Chiefs deserved their victory and now have some much needed momentum. Full credit to the Reds though for doing their bit and being prepared to concede a few tries to get a few themselves. It is an attitude that should bring them success in the future, and something some of our super rugby teams could take note of.

Sharks (35) v Brumbies (14)
The Sharks won convincingly in the end, but they made hard work of it for 60 minutes. This is a weak Brumbies team and it showed as we dominated possession and territory initally, but could not make use of the opportunities. Steyn is not a flyhalf, and Kankowski is an average number 8. He made numerous handling errors and doesn’t do enough work in the tight, or get enough go forward.

I also think that Kockott is showing why he should never play for the Boks. Too inconsistent and too many basic errors around the base of the scrum (it doesnt help he has Kankowski there). he does produce some great runs like the one to set up JP Pietersen, but is not international class. I did think that Jacobs continues to dominate their backline and makes some great runs. And John Smit is clearly the best hooker in the country.

I still think the Sharks have to get over the advantage line more often and the forwards have to run onto the ball at a faster pace. It is no use having the Beast make 1m from a standing start. Get him running onto the ball while moving forward and make 5-10m. However they are stil handily placed and only have themselves to overcome if they want a home semi-final.

Lions (32) v Horricanes (38)
If the Lions tried to shoot themselves they’d probably miss. That is how innacurate they are. They dominated possession and territory in the first 20 minutes and should have been leading by about 20. Instead they decided not to tackle when the Horrorcanes got 2 opportunites and they found themselves 17-0 down. Credit for the way they stuck to their game plan, and fought back. But really they still butchered try after try. Not using their opportunities cost them dearly for with 15 mins to go and only being 1 point up, they should have had a comfortable lead. Instead they found themselves behind, trying to play catch-up and the pressure told.

The Horrorcanes will be happy to get an away win and are still very much in the hunt, without really having to get into second gear. The Lions produced some outstanding individual performances, J Fourie, T Clever, L Sephaka, J Labuschagne, J Vermaak, L Ludik and even D La Grange. But overall they didn’t gel enough as a team and they paid the price. They’ll be lucky to win another game this season, as once they come back from tour the wheels will be gone.