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Posted on 30 July 2012 by aVanz

The past weekend’s semi-finals produced some spectacular rugby. Congratulations to the Sharks and the Chiefs who have booked their spots in this year’s Super Rugby final.

As a Stormers’ fan, I always backed my team for the win, but I was very concerned about facing the Sharks in the week building up to the semi’s. Once again the Sharks came and rained on the Stormers’ parade. I’m dissappointed, yet losing in the semi’s is probably better than losing in the final again, because the Chiefs, I think, would have smashed us and exploited this defensive gameplan “we” choose to employ.

We had our chances to seal the victory at the end, even if we once again didn’t deserve to win the game, it looked as if we could sneak it, but some decisions led to the Stormers ONCE AGAIN kicking away possession of the ball after only a few phases of attack and not knowing what else to do. Let’s face it, the Stormers looked good with ball in hand, why not play like that from the beginning? This has been my question for so long throughout this season, why Allister and company still insisted on the defensive mindset and playing ugly rugby to “win”. Well, newsflash Allister !!! Read the papers, the Stormers played unattractive rugby and that leads to unattractive results, crashing out of the competition.

You could see in the post-match interviews, when asked about the Stormers’ inability to score tries and will they change the way they play going forward, then Allister almost started crying, because his plan didn’t work out. Should have listened to everybody that have been trying to give them advice… STORMERS play some rugby for once, get a backline coach…

Yes, defence is big part of the game, and very crucial if you need it in tight games, but every single match we played throughout 2012, we made it a close game because of this defensive mindset. The Sharks have figured us out, they were tired, yet still they came and conquered, because they came to Newlands to play some rugby, good rugby, attractive & attacking rugby. Good going Sharks, well done !!

If there is a team the Stormers can look at for some attacking flair, it’s the Sharks. Like Allister said… lessons learnt…… well, hopefully!! We will see if Western Province will start to look at a different style come the Currie Cup, which sees this year’s campaign kick-off against this very Sharks’ team…

With the Sharks being boosted by the likes of Patrick Lambie and Paul Jordaan for the trip overseas, to face the Chiefs, I think if travelling doesn’t play such a big part, the Sharks will have the guns to finish off the Chiefs. For SA Rugby, I hope the Sharks can do it, and I hope they can claim the trophy and bring it home…

The bigger picture….

Will Heynecke be choosing the right players for the Rugby Championship, or will he stick with the Bulls that have been very poor this season? If he uses the right players and combinations, we will have a very strong team, and will definitely be in with a shout. But time will tell, who he will pick in his squad…

A very strong possible starting XV for the Springboks:

15. Gio Aplon 14. JP Petersen 13. Jean De Villiers (c) 12. Francois Steyn 11. Bryan Habana 10. Patrick Lambie 9. Francois Hougaardt 8. Willem Alberts 7. Marcel Coetzee 6. Heinrich Brussow 5. Andries Bekker 4. Eben Etzebeth 3. Jannie Du Plessis 2. Bismarck Du Plessis 1. Tendai Mtawarira

( 8 Sharks, 5 Stormers, 1 Cheetah & 1 Bull)

Make the call

Posted on 25 July 2012 by aVanz

The Semi-finals of this year’s Super Rugby tournament is drawing closer and the players and coaching staff are hoping they check all the boxes in preparation for the knock-out games – A whole season of hard work now comes down to… win or go home.

First up, Chiefs vs. Crusaders at Waikato Stadium on Friday. This will be cracker, with both teams playing real good rugby.

However, it seems as if the Chiefs maybe took the foot off the accelerator the past couple of rounds having lost their last two match-ups, against the Crusaders and Hurricanes. The Crusaders have shown in previous seasons that they hit top gear at just the right time of the competition, and this year is no different. Daniel Carter is playing awesome rugby again after the injury, maybe even a little better. I will have to say that Dan Carter will outplay Aaron Cruden and play a big part in the Crusaders winning the first semi-final of the weekend.

Secondly, we have the all South African semi-final with the two big coastal rivals packing down against each other on Saturday afternoon. It will be a hard fought battle and maybe the winning team might only be able to snatch victory by a moment of brilliance.

I don’t think that either team will run away it. The Sharks have to travel, which my see them looking a bit fatigued come the last 10 to 15 mins. With Eben Etzebeth back in the steam room will help our scrumming, as we desperately need to stop the momentum of those Sharks forwards who are in excellent form. If we manage to stop them upfront and put them under pressure we are definitely going to see Newlands host their first ever Super Rugby Final.

The Stormers’ team to face the Sharks:

Stormers:
15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Deon Fourie, 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16. Frans Malherbe, 17. Deon Carstens, 18. De Kock Steenkamp, 19. Don Armand, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Burton Francis, 22. Gerhard van den Heever

With Deon Fourie being able to cover the hooker position from no. 8 allows the Stormers to have two props on the bench, this might prove vital late in the second half to be able to bring on two fresh props instead of just one. I have my concerns regarding a possible upset by the Sharks but I will always back my team for the win.

My prediction for the Super Rugby Final…

Therefore, my weekend’s winning picks: Crusaders by 9 , Stormers by 4

And it’s down to only four…

Posted on 23 July 2012 by aVanz

The qualifying round of Super Rugby is now history and we were entertained with some good rugby by the Sharks and the Crusaders, who both earned their spots in the semi-finals to be played this weekend…

The qualifying round’s results have set up yet another round of derby matches for New Zealand and South African fans with the Chiefs to battle it out against the Crusaders and the Stormers to host the Sharks.

The Bulls were pathetic to say the least and did not deserve to win nor stood a chance against this very determined and focussed Crusaders’ team.

Morne Steyn was probably the main contributor to the Bull’s woeful performance, his tactical kicking was aimless and just gifted the Crusaders the ball, when put under pressure the Bulls gave away penalties and were punished by Dan Carter. It looked as if the Bulls were just trying to get through the game to get on the plane and fly back home, very disappointing if you are a Bulls fan, but just shows that the golden era of the Bulls is now over and they have to work hard to get up again. Moment of the match was when Robbie Freuen side-stepped Showpony Spies but then decided to cut back again to run through him, knocking Spies back on his ass.

In the other game, the Sharks dominated right from the kick-off, it was a brilliant game to watch. The Sharks came out guns blazing and the Reds simply had no answer.

Even without the services of Frans Steyn and Patrick Lambie, the Sharks were unstoppable.

The loosies were unbelievably good and with Willem Alberts packing down at lock, just gave them more fire power and the off-loading in the tackles were exceptional.

Fine, the Reds were without their Super Cooper, but even if he had played in this match it wouldn’t have made much difference. The Sharks didn’t go to Brisbane to negotiate, but to just simply take the semi-final berth for themselves. This win also possibly showing up how flawed the conference system is, as the Reds didn’t really deserve a play-off place, and the Sharks proved it to be true.

Personally, as a Stormers’ supporter, I am a little worried about facing the Sharks in the semi-final, it will be yet another bruising encounter, but the Sharks have the attacking edge and the Stormers never really had to play catch-up rugby, so if the Sharks start well and we’re on the back foot it might turn out to be a long day at the office, as the Sharks also showed that their defence is now better organised for the play-off phases. The Stormers need to be in charge from the start… but I’m somewhat concerned…

If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, right?

Qualifiers… time to make the call

Posted on 18 July 2012 by aVanz

With the qualifying matches almost here, it’s time to make the call who I think will progress to face the Stormers and the Chiefs respectively, in the Super Rugby Semi-finals next weekend…

First up, the Sharks & Reds game, probably the easier game to call, yet you can never be too sure what can happen on the day in the knock-out phases.

I can’t help feeling that without Frans Steyn & Patrick Lambie there, the Sharks will have to dig deep, Frans has made a huge impact since rejoining the Sharks and played a big part in them reaching the play-offs.

Will the defending champions be a thorn in the Sharks’ side?

Even though the Reds did not really earn the right to play with the big boys this season, only sneaking in because of the conference system.

Sharks should be able to take the win by 7 points.

Next up, the Crusaders vs. the Bulls, really tough match-up to call, both teams have lifted the Super Rugby Trophy on a number of occasions.

I think the home ground advantage will be the deciding factor in this match-up. The Bulls will come out fighting from the first whistle, but they aren’t as a force as they were in previous seasons.

They are busy rebuilding, after loosing so many senior players and had some really good results this season, but the Crusaders will have the edge…

Crusaders to take the win narrowly by 5 point or so.