Bloues

Never in a million years will I openly back the Stormers when they are playing the Bulls, but I’m gratefull Saturday’s match wasn’t played in week one because I wouldn’t been as confident as I am now.

Rugby in South Africa doesn’t get bigger than when these two titans clash. Wether it’s in the Currie Cup or Super Rugby, the Bulls vs WP/Stormers always is a major fixture and something that players from both sides lift their games for. A bit of topic now, but given the fact that this fixture always brings out the best out of the players involved, I feel that the team coming into this match with a player not part of this culture is at a dissadvantage. The whole Provence team played out of their skins in the 2009 CC Semi expect for Sireli Nakanavuki. And he cost them that match. The WPRU will have to think hard if they really want to try and win over the Cape Crusader fans by signing Sonny Bill, just to loose them again when he inevitably leaves to join the Ultimate Fighting Championship or WWE Raw. Or rugby league.

Back to Saturday. The Stormers have played a trump card by bolstering their already physical pack with Elstadt slotting in at flank in place of the new kid on Supersport blog, Nick Koster. The Bulls have opted for the same pack that demolished the Reds with Deon Stegman still sidelined due to injury. Stegman’s absence means both teams take the field without a fetcher. What many people seem to forget though, is that Chilliboy Ralapele regularly performs the role of a second fetcher, very much like Bismark du Plessis, and that he is much better equipped to perform this role than Tiaan Liebenberg. Expect him to poach one ore two loose balls from the Stormers on Saturday.

There is not much the Bulls could have adden to their team to counter the Stormers’ increased physicallity, but for starters the Bulls were not that far behind the Stormers if they were at all. Although both of them were guilty of silly transgressions and going over the top a bit, both Flip van der Merwe and Jaques Potgieter have been very good at the rough stuff and together with Dean Greyling they will keep the Stormers honest.

I can’t see any team really gaining an advantage at the breakdowns but maybe Chilliboy can steal one or two Stormers balls.

One of the biggest battles will be faught in the lineouts. I said in a post earlier the Andries Bekker must step up if he has any hopes of being seen as Matfield’s successor. If he is outplayed by any of the four relative rookies on Saturday he will have a hard time claiming the Bok number 5 jersey. But for both teams’s lineout options doesn’t stop at number five though. Elstadt’s inclusion together with Estebeth greatly increases the Stormers’ options in this area. Ruan Vermeulen can also catch a few throwins at the back.

Juandre Kruger has been quite a revelation for the Bulls at the lineouts and do not forget Matfield’s input as a consultant. Flip van der Merwe more than holds his own in this department and Pierre Spies is a viable option at the back. While the Stormers have a bit of an endge regarding their jumpers, Ralapele makes up for this with his accurate throwins this season.

While both teams have done reasonably well in the scrums, the Bulls were penalised a lot this season in this particular setpiece. A lot will depend on how Craig Joubert interprets the scrum situation and if the Bulls can get a good shuff on you can expect Hougard to be all over Duvenage like a rash. I cant see many tightheads being claimed by any of the teams though.

All in all, the Stormers looks to be the better team in the tight exchanges, but not enough to expect the Bulls to shy away from these situations. The Stormers will have their hands full stopping an inform Pierre Spies and if he, Jaques Potgieter and CJ Stander can regularly cross the advantage line in in the area just more than five metres away from the advantage line, players the Stormers will have a hard time forcing themselves on the Bulls. As long as the Bulls refrain from just bashing into the Stormers close to the breakdown, the Stormers’ heavies can be taken out of the equasion. Of both teams it is the Stormers who leats can afford not playing close to the breakdown areas.

The Stormers’ biggest weakness however is at halfback. Both Duvenhage and Grant are very talented players, but both are very limited in helping their team play in the right areas on the field. While Duvenhage posesses a decent kicking boot he will rely heavilly on his forwards to gain momentum and keep Hougard out of his hair. Grant is not nearly as good as Steyn in the kicking department and the Stormers’ physical pack will count for nothing if their half backs cant get them playing in the right areas. Not to mention Steyn’s abbillity to slot any kick within 50 metres from goal.

The battle at midfield will be an interesting one. Sadie will be playing his third match for the Bulls and will want to impress againts his old teammates. Olivier is on fire at the moment and he will definitively test the Stormers’ defence. De Villiers and De Jong are growing as a combination and, although the Stormers haven’t score many tries so far, the Bulls will have their hands full. The Bulls might be in danger of Sadie’s inexperience being exposed, but other than that I cant see this battle being won or lost without any help from the big guys in the pack.

The Bulls’ chasing has been a revelation. Bijorn Basson leads the charge and he is the top try scorer in the tournament so far. Together with Ndungane, who has rediscovered his form that made his such a formidable provincial player, they can really test the Stormers’ defence. Bryan Habana seems to be on an upward curve and also chases the high balls really wel. Geo Aplon will provide some spark and might score a try from nowhere.

At the back we’ll see two fullbacks who are both solid yet not very exciting thus far. Zane Kirschner have done really well when joining the line and he is a solid catcher under the high ball. Joe Peterson is capable of creating a few oppertunities, but hasn’t really showed this sonce his return to the Cape. He might have the added responsabillity of having to kick at goal as well.

This match really is well balanced. Both teams have a very physical pack of forwards with the Stormers adding extra bulk in the form Elstadt at number seven. Although Vermeulen and Kolisi have shown good mobility this season, Pierre Spies really turned on his form when it was needed the most and Stander slotted perfectly in at number six. The forward battle might go down to who can get the most momentum. If the ball stays close to the breakdown, the Stormers’ added bulk will grind the game away from the Bulls. If the Bulls manages to take it to the area between the breakdown and the flyhalf channel they might gain momentum through some powerfull runs by Spies and Potgieter with Chilliboy securing the loose balls.

However, even if the Stormers win the forward battle, they will have to win it by quite a margin if they want to take the Bulls’ halbacks out of the equation. Steyn will happily try and keep the Bulls out of their own 22 and if can get some distance on his kicks Grant will have a hard time. Duvenhage will rely heavily on his forwards to aid him in keepinh Hougard out of his hair. Hougard can also be dangerous if the Bulls’ loose forwards regularly cross the advantage line and he manages to make his sniping runs of these moves.

At the back Habana and Aplon will have their hands full fielding high bombs from Steyn and fending off Basson and Kirchner. However, the outside backs of both teams are very equally matched and whoever benifits from momentum gained from his forwards will have the best oppertunities to score tries.

On an individual basis the Stormers will look to Estebeth to stay in the Bulls’ faces and frustrate them enough to concede a penalty or two. They’ll also hope for a spark of brilliance from Geo Aplon to create something out of nothing.

The Bulls will rely on Jaques Potgieter to keep Estebeth at bay and make a few powerfull runs of his own. At the back we can expect Francois Hougard to make a few sniping runs round the rucks and later move to wing and create some magic.

Both teams will also rely heavily on their captains to lead by example. Both Spies and De Villiers have redicovered the form they lost during last year and both have been sensible when tasked with decision making.

The winner? It’s Newlands, the Stormers are very good defenders and their pack can bully the crap out of anybody, but the Bulls can standup to these bullies and they do have an edge with strong runners like Spies and Potgieter. From there Steyn and Hougard will control procedings and unleash the likes of Basson and Kirshner. Expect Olivier make a few powerfull runs between De Villiers and De Jong.

If the Bulls can get lead of more than seven points, the pressure will be on the Stormers to score tries. How they handle it will determine if they’ll win this one or loose.

My heart says the Bulls by sixty. My brain says the Bulls by three.

Cheers!!!

Bloues

Ok, I’ll try to take my mind a bit off Saturday’s North/South derby and talk about the national cause for a change.

As we all know, it’s been almost two months since Meyer was appointed as Springbok coach and he is still doing it alone. With all the players still with their clubs and franchises in the domestic leagues and still no assistant coahes being recruited, the only productive coaching Heyneke can do is to watch the Super 15 games like the rest of us.

Ok, I’m sure there’s more to coaching a national side than talking strategy with your staff and hands on coaching. Meyer will never neglect his team the way I neglected my Blackout Rugby club for the past two minths only to find out that they are actually promoted to the next league. Go figure!

Using the oppertunism required to be a rugby journo, Mark Keohane phoned Nick Mallet after Lancaster’s appointment as England coach and immediately asked him if he is available as an assistant for the Boks. Mallet’s reply:

‘I have huge respect for Heyneke as a person and as a coach. I was very pleased he finally got the opportunity as he’s done the hard yards over the last decade and enjoyed tremendous success in getting results, identifying talent and evolving that talent,’ said Mallett. ‘He (Heyneke) is a really good mate so I would help with pleasure if I was ever asked.’

Here’s the link to the article (Mallett’s ours if we want him – Keo.co.za)

Of course Meyer coached the forwards under Mallet at the 1999 World Cup and, according to Keo’s article, the two coaches talk to each other from time to time. Apparently they have quite a good relationship. Mallet has been round the block a few times on the international circuit and he definitively can add value to the Boks. Maybe as a consultant. I’m not so sure if he can fit the assistant coach mold though. When Heyneke was first involved with the Boks he was the assistant and Mallet was the boss. This situation will now be reversed.

Both of them have different approaches regarding their handling of the players. Mallet is an in your face say it like it is millitary general. Meyer’s approach is much softer and philosophical approach. Like one of the blogger on Keo said. You cant have Meyer motivating the players telling them to be the best they can be and that they are part of something great etc. and then have Mallet telling them how piss poor they were last week and excactly how the must go f*%k these bluddy English.

But both of them are proffesionals. Both of them will reallise that they are part the national setup of one of the greatest rugby nations on earth and if they can somehow find a way to both pull in the same direction they will be a formiddable coaching team. Imagine if Rassie Erasmus can be succesfully incorporated as well. They say too many cooks can spoil the broth. I hope that SARU can surprise us all and put together a team of coaches that really can take the best out of a country wich such a rich talent pool as ours.

I cant wait for tomorrow’s match. Counting the ours!

Cheers!!!

Bloues

Since his accession to a permanent place in the national side in 2008, Andries Bekker was always seen as heir apparent to Victor Matfield’s position as lineout supremo in South Africa. This lead to a couple of fierce lineout battles between the two skycrapers where Bekker seldomly dominated procedings in this crucial facet of play. Matfield himself acknowledged that, apart from Paul O’Connol, there is no other opponent that forced him to spend more time to prepare ahead of a match than Bekker. Bekker also said in an interview that he spent many sleepless nights ahead of a game against Matfield pondering how he will finally beat the big man at his own game.

While the duals between these two were fierce and their respect for each other was mutual, Bekker also served a four year apprenticeship under Matfield which came to a premature end when Bekker was ruled out of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. With Matfield out of the picture (as a player, at least) Bekker must now prove that he has indeed finished his apprenticeship and he is ready to step up as ruler supreme in the lineouts. Both in South Africa and the world.

This weekend Bekker will face the old foes again sans Matfield’s on-field presence. But he still needs to negotiate Matfield’s other understudy, Juandre Kruger, who also showed that he can at least hold his own enough for the Bulls’ lineout domination to continue. And, to make life more dificult, Matfield still plays an active roll in analizing the opposition lineouts and plotting the Bulls’ lineout strategy. So, while he will not be battling Matfield directly, the battle in the air between these two giants still goes on behind the scenes.

The time is ripe for Bekker to show that he can finally emerge from Matfield’s shadow. He must make his presence felt and force the Bulls to think twice on how they are going approach the next lineout and rethink their kicking game. If he doesn’t Kruger will get an psychological advantage that will aid him in his quest to dethrone Bekker even before the latter could properly secure the number five jersey for the Boks.

The battle field is set. Will Bekker remind the Bulls that Matfield is not there anymore or will the Bulls show Bekker that he is no Matfield?

Cheers!!!

Bloues

Since the start of this year’s Super Rugby tournament had quite a bit of fun with my conclusions column every week after the weekend’s games. I find it nice to go back to the previous weeks and have a look at how things were shaping up back then. But now I’ll admit that many of these “conclusions” are preconceived on a Thursday already. So I just watch to game to proof myself right or wrong.

This week will be different. I’ve already started thinking about what I’ll write next week yesterday! This weekends clash between the Stormers and the Bulls will be huge. It wil have tha atmosphere of a test or a knockout match. Every time the ref puts out his arm in the direction of one of the teams will be met with both cheers and boooos from the crowd. Every scoring opperunity will have them on their feet and it wont be different for those watching at home.

Finally this is a Bulls/Stormers clash without any drawbacks. Both sides are on form. Both sides are at nearly full strength and both sides have everything to play for. I simply cant wait!

But what will happen after the match? What questions will be answered? Will the Bulls finally be seen as contenders? Will the Stormers show that they can score tries? What?

So far this season looks as if its going to be the most unpredictable one yet. It’s hard to put all the results so far in context. The Crusaders looked like the real deal when they played the Blues, but the lost to the Highlanders in the very next game. More question marks were hanged over their true abbilities when their win over the Blues were put in context after the Blues’ dissmal performances so far.

The Reds look like the champions they are supposed to be when the season started, but after two week in SA they look pretty ordinary now.

The Bulls put in a few great performances against the Sharks and the Cheetahs, but the Cheetahs lost the previous week to the Lions and they were generally seen as one of the tournament’s pushovers. That has changed now, but what can one read then from a fivety point drubbing at home? How can you put the win over the Sharks in context if they are clearly a bit off the pace? And where does the defeat to the Blues fit in?

The Stormers let the Hurricanes, the team tipped for the NZ wooden spoon preseason, back in their game to make it a much closer match than it should have been. They have beaten the Sharks in a snorefest at Newlands a week later, but it is already established that the Sharks are not as on form as they should be. Their win against the Blues was spectacular, but the Blues have been vulnereable in defence the whole tournament. They also did not do much better at Ellispark than the Cheetahs did.

So, after five weeks we can assume that the Stormers are the best side because they are unbeaten at the moment and they are currently sittin at the top of the log. But they haven’t really played a team capable of going all the way yet. The Blues clearly wont finish in the top half of the competition and Sharks were still a work in progress when they met in week two.  They still are.

The Bulls’s victory over the Sharks can be seen in the same light as the Stormer’s victory the following week. Their win over the Cheetahs, amazing as it was, was against one of the lesser sides in the tournament. Their loss against the Blues can be blamed on many things, but ultimately Morne Steyn’s boot failed them for the first time in three years. This hopefully wont be happening again soon. They absolutely demolished the Reds, but how good are the Reds really?

I don’t know what conclusions can be drawn from this weeks match. If the Stormers comprehensively beats the Bulls then maybe they can finally be seen as outright faovourites for the title. If the win in by a small margin the teams might be seen as equals and the fight will go to Loftus on June 2. If the results just goes the Bulls’ way, they will be seen as top dogs. Worthy of fighting it out with the big boys at the top, but the Stormers’ reputation will mostly stay intact. Although their knack for choking will be braught up again. If it’s another fivety point drubbing by the Bulls they will be feared. They will not be seen as a team still in a rebuilding phase and expectations of winning the trophy will be put on their shoulders. The Stormers will need to do a lot of convincing to be reckoned as title contenders again.

I cant wait for this Saturday’s match. I wish it was Friday already.

Cheers!!!

Bloues

What a weekend. A Saturday on the farm filled with lots of Super Rugby watched in HD topped of with skaaptjops and ribbetjie on the braai washed down with a couple of Namibian Brewery’s finest shared with old friends. Oh, and the result went my way as well, most of the time.

The Sharks should be dissapointed for letting this one slip away, so should the Cheetahs and Lions who both could score rare wins this weekend. The Brumbies showed that Jake White is doing something right in Canberra, at the Highlanders’ expense and the Blues’ woes continue. More on the Bulls and Stormers below.

At first I thought that keeping up a conclusions column for 21 weeks will be hard, with everything being settled within the first three weeks and then I wouldn’t have anything to write about for the rest of the time. Well, apparently not because its been five weeks already and we still don’t know who are the favourites to win their respective conferences, nevermind who’s going to be the overall winners. Here goes:

1.) The Blues are out. I simply cant see them coming back from where they are right now. I know that the Super 15 isn’t won in in March, but it certainly can be lost by April. The Blues have lost four matches already including two home matches. They still have to play the Crusaders again as well as the Reds, Sharks and every other New Zeeland side. To stand a chance they musn’t drop any of their remaining eleven matches. On current form I simply cant see them acheiving this.

2.) The Waratahs’ execution is delayed. Their win against the Sharks gave the men from Sydney a much needed break. Defeat at home would alomst certainly have ended their prospects of reaching the playoffs. But they will have to improve considerably if they are to weather the storms coming their way. The Brumbies’ sudden rise in form does not help the Tahs’ cause at all. Both they and the Reds will need their countrymen to behave themselves should they come up against them in a derby.

3.) The Highlanders will need to improve if they want to be serious title contenders. The Brumbies are showing that they can cause an upset or two, but given how close the teams in the NZ conference is to each other, away victories against the less fancied sides is a must if you want to pip your countrymen. On this occasion the Highlanders did not deliver. They are known for starting the season in top gear and then fading away halfway through. Here’s hoping, for their sake, that Saturday’s defeat is not the start of their annual slump.

4.) Jake White is showing his class. Remember 2004? Remember how piss poor the Boks were in 2003, 02 and 01? Jake White has that ability to take young players from a stuggling team and help them forget the mistakes their forerunners made. Instead he helps them reallise waht a great history their team has and what that union is capable of. Helping him is this regard are former players from the Brumbies’ golden era George Gregan and Stephen Larkham. This week he even lended his ears to Eddy Jones, the man who started it all. Jake may not be the best technically astute coach on the planet and he may have been out of the game for a while, but he is a traditionalist to the core and his ability to make the Boks reallise what it means to be a Springbok immediately paid off in 2004. Time will tell if he can do the same at the Brumbies, but the small steps they have already taken proves that this might happen.

5.) Just as I was shoving the Aussie challenge out the door, they came back in again. The Brumbies’ win over the Highlanders and the Waratahs’ win over the Sharks implied that Australia might not be as easy a place to tour as I suspected. The Reds’ implosion, on the other hand, might be due to the fact that the Aussies are not very good tourists at the moment. I know that the Reds’ resources are a bit depleated right now, so the jury is still out on just how good the Aussie teams can be on tour.

6.) The Stormers are still number one. Our legel system is based on the assumtion that someone is innocent until proven guilty. The same implies to the Stormers. Based on their victory in the SA conference in 2011 and the fact that they are the only unbeaten team in the competition at the moment, they will remain the favourites to win the SA conference and the competition. However, their their tendency to play decent rugby for twenty minutes and then defend for the rest of the match might lead to their downfall in the coming weeks. The Bulls never had their feet of the gas for a second against the Reds and kept coming at them at full force. I cant see the Stormers having to make ninety plus tackles against the Bulls and not letting them past for sixty minutes. If the Stormers play at Newlands like they did at Ellispark, they will lose and it won’t be pretty, well not for them anyway!

7.) Finally, the Bulls. You can say as much as you want about the Reds being short on personnel and it being their second match on tour in South Africa, Saturday’s victory was a clear message to the Crusaders, Sharks, Stormers and everyone else considering themselves at title contenders that the Bulls will not roll over easilly. They have, with the exception of flyhalf, quality backup in every position and they have the ability to vary their game according to the situation. They have a captain who had to up his form if he wanted to be taken seriously and he did! Their vice captain, Wynand Olivier, also had his fair share of critic and he delivered! The Bulls are playing with purpose and intend and they have what it takes to go all the way.

The derby between the Bulls and the Stormers is my favourite regular season match of the year. This Saturday’s match at Newlands is shaping up to be one of the best ever. I am sure that both teams will not dissapoint.

Cheers!!!

Bloues

The Bulls didn’t play this weekend, but I still had enough rugger to fill up my Saturday schedule. As you would have read in my previous post, we had the annual Duineveld/Upington vs Grey College event on Saturday. Due to my work schedule, I still haven’t completed the Boksmart course yet, so once again I was confined to the touchlines. I ran as a touch judge for five straight games! Although being touchjudge is not nearly as tiresome as being refferee, it gets a bit boring after the third match and Upington’s sun, which gave us a bit of a breather in the morning, was scorching by 12:00.

I did manage to have one eye on what’s happening in the Super 15 and this is what I came up with.

1.) The Blues are in trouble. They are a quality side with quality individuals, but a return of one from four must have them concerned. They have a home match against the Hurricanes next week before their bye, but the Canes would have spent alomost two weeks back in New Zeeland, waiting for the Blues who only just have landed in Aukland. If they do not regroup in time, then they will have a lot of pondering to do during their bye.

2.) As much as I hate to admit it, the Stormers are the South African team to beat at the moment. They do have a difficult period lying ahead though. The Lions will give them a hard time in Jo’burg and the match against the Bulls in two weeks time will also be a hard one. This will be followed by a tour starting with the Highlanders, Crusaders and Reds in that order before having a bit of a breather against the Force. The Stormers will have to hit their straps running because a loss at home to the Bulls might boil over to Duneden and then it will be hard to record a win against either the Crusaders or the Reds. So, kevind, Hanjo, Met Uysh and all you Stormer fans out there, your real tournament starts in two weeks against the Bulls.

3.) The Sharks are pretty well positioned right now. Their return of two out of four looks quite good on the eve of their upcoming tour. They will face the ‘Tahs, Brumbies, Canes and Blues on tour. All of them tough encounters, but if the Sharks want to be considered title contenders they should at least get a three out of four return from their tour. Four out of four is not too far fetched though.

4.) The Wallaby challenge is down to one now. The Waratahs were the only Aussie side other than the Reds who stood an outside change of being in the mix for a playoff spot, but their loss against the Force showed that they are in a fight with the Force for second place in the Aussie conference. Expect them to finish as low as eighth overall.

I cant see any of my conclusions from week three being dismissed yet, but this is mainly because so many teams had their byes this weekend. For the Bulls the real test starts now. A win against the Reds will go a long way in erasing the memory of the Blues defeat and will give them a lot of confidence going to Newlands next week. The Crusaders will play their first match after their bye at home against the Cheetahs, cant see that one slipping and then they head over to the republic for matches against the Lions and the Bulls repectively. Chances are good they’ll come to Pretoria with two wins against Saffa opposition already in the bag.

This tournament is already shaping up to be a very exciting one! If the teams can lift the bar regarding the quality of play then we’ll have one of the most exciting tounaments yet. I don’t think that we will know who’s going to win it before the final whistle blows in the final!

Cheers!!!

Bloues

I’ve been living here almost all my life, but the Upington sun still gets the better of me on a Saturday next to the rugby field. It was that time of the year again. Eleven Big Sky busses lined up on Duineveld Highschool’s school grounds and the day was set for twenty rugby matches and four hockey matches. It was the anual event where Grey College came to town.

This event, an initiative from Duineveld a few years ago, is a rare occasion where the town’s two rival schools, Duineveld and Upington, burry the hatchet for one day and join forces against the giant from Bloem. Upington’s Under 14 A will play Grey’s Under 14 B, while Duineveld’s A team will take on their Grey counterparts. Duindeveld’s Under 19 D would take on Grey’s U19 E and then Upington’s U19 C would take on Grey’s U19 D and so on. Until, finally Upington’s First team will play the Cherries followed by the main event. Duinveld’s Wittes vs Grey’s First XV.

This day is always accompanied by high scores. With a Grey team never on the losing side. Sometimes a local team comes close though. Last season Upington Under 15 A’s match against Grey’s U15B was drawn. But most of the time it is a runnaway victory for Grey. Last years’ main event between Grey and Duineveld ended with Grey winning 3-85. This led to many people, myself included, wondering why this event should continue.

But on Saturday I witnessed something different. I don’t know if somebody gave a monumental speach on Friday or what happened, but some of the top local sides had an attitude that was different from previous seasons. They stood up in defence and suddenly it was a different ballgame. The moment a team from Duineveld was in Grey’s faces, the heavy favoured visitors suddenly looked vulnerable and in many case they settled for underhand tactics. Their forwards scrummed inwards and they were involved in off the ball incidents after a very hard, but perfectly legit tackle nearly dismembered them. Although no team from Grey lost, the overall scores weren’t nearly as high as they used to be.

After a hard fought 25-13 victory for the Cherries over Upington’s U19 A, the main event kicked off. We all braced ourselves for the worst. Many spectaters watched the first exchanges with their car keys in hand ready to try an beat the traffic on the way out. But, after twenty minutes the score was 0-0 and everybody was still standing or sitting next to the field, holding their breath. When Duineveld scored a penalty five minutes from half-time you could sense the exitement from the stands. The half-time score line of 3-0 to the home team was enough for everyone to ponder the possibillaty of an upset.

When the second half kicked off, both teams were as determined as ever. Duineveld managed to fend off a five minute surge on their own tryline. Stopping wave after wave of a Blue attack with bonecrunching tackles. When a penalty for holding on finally braught the opportunity to get out their half, Duineveld launched an attack of their own. After the first period in Grey’s 22 ended with a knock-on in midfield. Duineveld got another opportunity minutes later. After failing to breach Grey’s defence Duineveld’s no. 10 attempted a drop goal, wich rather looked like a poor grubber than a drop goal attempt and so another opportunity was lost.

While they were being outplayed as a team, Grey showed that they had the indiviual star power to cope with situation like this. After retaining possesion form the 22 drop out they launched another brilliant attacking move, but Duineveld’s defence held on. Grey’s fly-half rejoined the backline between his midfielders and he ran through four would be tacklers to score underneath the posts. Their scrumhalf converted and the score was 3-7.

A few minutes later, a very good run down the touchline from Grey’s tighthead prop was offloaded to the flyhalf who darted on the wing for his second try in the corner. The conversion was missed and the score was 3-12.

Duinveld enjoyed a period of good fortune when, after they aimlessly kicked the ball away just outside Grey’s 22, Grey’s fullback kicked the ball directly out and Duineveld had the throw-in 5 metres outside Grey’s 22. This opporunity was also lost due to a knock-on in Grey’s 22. Minutes later Duineveld did recieve a penalty and it was game on at 6-12.

Grey, though, had the final say with a converted try in the closing stages making it 17-6. The refferee blew the final whistle a few minutes later and the sense of relief on Grey’s faces were apparent. While it was a great performance by Duineveld (Not to mention an 68 point turnaround from the previous match) Grey showed their class by taking the opportunities they were given and converting them to points. Especially those two knock-ons from Duineveld showed the difference in composure between the two sides.

The result bodes well for Duineveld’s upcoming FNB Classic Clash with Upington in a few months. And I believe they sent a message to their local rivals, who were watching in the stands, that they will be tough opponents when Upington’s own little civil war begins in May.

But, as the saying goes, rugby was the overall winner on the day and the results achieved on Saturday showed that maybe events such as this is neccesary. Although I cant see any of the two schools beating Grey on a regular basis in the next few years, the input they get from interacting with Grey is allready showing as both schools are getting more and more profesional coaching and medical staff on their payroll. A regular spot on the FNB top 20 for at least one of the schools isn’t too far off.

Cheers!!!

Bloues

PS – I wanted to get one, but I couldn’t get my hands on a program for this event so, unfortnately, I could only supply you with the players’ positions and not their names. I’ll post the lineups for both teams as soon as I can get hold of one.

So , the Bulls lost and I feel gutted. And it feels great! It’s good to wake up on a Sunday morning pondering the what-ifs of a Saturday evening that didn’t go according to plan. It means that you believe in your team’s prospects of going all the way and you are not satisfied with a narrow defeat against a team many still regard as title contenders.

Three weeks ago it was seen as a given that the Bulls were going to lose against the Blues, never mind if the match was going to be played at Loftus. Now, after their first two victories and the Blues’ first two losses, the Bulls were suddenly expected to win the encounter at Loftus. And, unfortunately, they didn’t.

I don’t think this means the end of the road for the Bulls. The match against the Reds in two weeks time will paint a much clearer picture in this regard. I also do not want to jump on the Allistair Coetzee We-are-a-young-team-and-we-learned-a-lesson-today bandwagon. I hate it as much as I hate losing. I am of the opinion that the Bulls would have learned a much more valuable lesson if they were victorious than they would have learned in ten defeats. It’s this mindset that keeps the Stormers where they are – trophy less and in danger of being overtaken by a young Bulls side that doesn’t believe in a rebuilding phase.

It’s irrational to think that a quality side like the Blues will go down three times in a row regardless of who and where they play. The tactical brilliance the Blues showed in the second half was testament to what they are capable of. Their good play coupled with the ball bouncing right for them more often than not helped their cause immensely. The Blues will either have a brain implosion and be blown away by the Stormers next week, or they’ll run the Stormers close and it will again be a test of the Stormers’ metal.

I have a local referees meeting tonight and I’m sure that Steve Walsh’s decision at the end of the match will be discussed. Will keep you posted.

Now, for my conclusions after week three…

1.) The New Zeeland conference IS the toughest of the three. It may be not as physical as the South African derbies, but the Kiwi’s are going to take points off each other throughout the tournament. Good luck to anybody who’s Superbru reputation relies on the Kiwi derbies. As long as the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers keep on winning their home derbies and pick up wins in Bloem and Jo’burg, they have an advantage over the Kiwi’s in this area.

2.) The Bulls must either have signed Derick Hougard or they must put more trust in Louis Fouce. Back in the day when Morne was still warming the bench at Loftus, they never hesitated to replace Hougard when he had an off day. Gary Botha even was accused of deliberatly stepping on Hougard’s knee in 2006′s final so he could be replaced with Morne. Nowadays, it seems, Ludecke will either be hopefull that Steyn comes good at the end than trust the understudy to do the job.

3.) The Bulls have depth. It was tough on Frans Ludecke though. The performances of CJ Stander en Jano Vermaak proved that the Bulls have depth in several positions.  But how was he supposed to expect Morne give a 3/7 return on his kicks for the night. The Bulls seem to have every position covered except fly half. I do believe that Saturday’s performance by Morne was the exeption rather than the rule, but he must be rested at some stage. And it is inevitable that you will loose players to injury during the course of the sixteen weeks. Morne is no exception. I hope that Fouce does impress the moment he gets his oppertunity.

4.) There’s a kicking revlution going on in New Zeeland. I have always thaught of Kiwi players, especially flyhalves, as lazy. They always did the flashy stuff and relied heavilly on natural talent. NZ always have a bunch of extremely gifted runners with the ball throughout the country. This is what comes natural to them. A decent kicking boot is not something that comes natural. It takes time and dissipline and requires a lot of boring kicking practice. Something the Kiwis doesn’t seem interested in.

I always had a laugh at the NZ derbies where kicking diplays like Morne’s on Saturday were dished out by both flyhalves if it wasn’t Carter playing. But suddely this is not the case. The young Kiwi flyhalves are still some of the best runners with the ball around, but they suddenly show an appreciation for a good kicking game as well. Daniel Carter beware!

5.) There’s no point in five Aussie teams. There simply isn’t enough quality players in Australia to fill up five competive Super Rugby teams. The Brumbies, Rebels and Force will be slaughtered against any NZ and Saffa side outside of Australia. They simply wont come as close as the Cheetahs did on Saturday if that match was played in Bloemfontein. I even think that the current spread of talent between the Waraths and the Reds wouldn’t have been enough for any of them to reach the playoffs if they didn’t play the Melbourne, Perth and Canberra schools for the blind twice in a season.

As for last week’s conclusions, I still think that the Bulls can surprise many people this season. Having lost to the Blues severly dents their chances of a home playoff though. We all know how much the odds are against you if this is the case. The Crusaders though are proven to be mere mortals, but underestimate them at you own peril.

Cheers!!!

Bloues

Our own General de la Ray started a nice and heated conversation yesterday regarding Dean Greyling’s try that should not have been in the Cheetahs/Bulls game on Saturday. I just thaught I’dd ad my two cents regarding this issue.

First of, here’s what happened according to Planet Rugby’s Richard Anderson. By the way, if you are looking for a good weekly read, read Loos Pass on PR. Its a very toungue in cheeck though honest take on the weekends events in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

“The most specific was in the Bulls-Cheetahs game, where Dean Greyling went to ground in a tackle, set the ball back for a ruck, had a coffee and thought about it a bit, weighed up the pros and cons, calculated some mathematical formulae, then edged the ball forward, fumbled it slightly, finally pushing it onto the tryline and looking up hopefully at Craig Joubert.”

Joubert reffered the situation to the TMO, asking the big question:”Is there any reason that I cannot award the try?”

The TMO, Johan Meuwessen, first asked Craig whether he must check the first or the second grounding. Craig clearly did not know what he was talking about and the TMO ruled that the try has been scored.

Lets look at the law regarding the TMO.

Law 6.A.6

“(b) A match organiser may appoint an official who uses technological devices. If the referee is
unsure when making a decision in in-goal involving a try being scored or a touch down, that official may be consulted.

The official may be consulted if the referee or assistant referees are unsure when making a
decision relating to touch-in-goal and the ball being made dead if a score may have
occurred“

(Thanks to Baylion for this piece of information, I know it’s on my computer somewhere, but copying and pasting from your post was faster)

It clearly states the the TMO should only be used if the referee is unsure of what happened when play moved away from him in that split second that the ball was grounded. Was the player in touch? Did he knock the ball on? Was it held up?

He can also ask on something that happend in-goal while play was going on somewhere else. Was there any foul play? Which team? What was the player’s number?

But it is still the refferee’s responsibilaty to see the transgression. If he doesn’t suspect that the player was in touch and aks the TMO to check the grounding, the TMO can only rule on the grounding and visa versa.

If the double movement was as obvious as it was described above, Joubert was supposed to have seen it and he should have asked if there was any double movement. He didn’t see this and hence he didn’t ask the TMO to check for it. When the TMO is asked try or no try, he can only rule on what he saw happening IN THE IN-GOAL AREA. What happened in this case? The ball was grounded, the player did not knock on and the try was awarded.

The first grounding of the ball happened outside the in-goal area and was thus not included in his review. When a TMO is asked to check for double movement, this inclines that the refferee did actually see that double movement has taken place, but he wants the TMO to check whether the first grounding occured in-goal or not. This the TMO can do, but only when prompted to do so. This was not the case on Saturday.

There has been a lot of talk on expanding the TMO’s capabillaties so he can make a call on the events that lead to a try being scored as well. The problem with this is the fact that it wont solve the above problem. The most importent aspect is the fact that it remains the reff’s responsibillaty to see or even suspect that a transgression has taken place. If the reff does dot suspect that the ball was passed forward to the try scorer, he won’t reffer it. If the ball was passed forward, but he was unsure of the grounding, the TMO must check the grounding. The main reason for this is consistancy. We don’t want to end up with every singly try being reffered to the TMO, because that will be time consuming. But, if the TMO can suddenly make a can on everything he sees, then this will be a case.

For example, team A scores a try in the corner, the refferee is uncertain whether the player was in touch and the TMO is called in. The TMO rules that the player was not in touch, but he recieved the ball from a forward pass. The try is dissalowed. Later on, team B scores a try from a forward pass. The refferee didn’t see this, but this time the ball was grounded behind the posts and the refferee had now doubt about the grounding, so the TMO is not called in. The try stays. Team A loses, an global outcry emmerges and suddenly we are playing NFL where every single touchdown in checked by the TMO.

This will be time consuming and will make it a stop start affair. Maybe this will be neccesary in the future as the game gets faster and faster, but I think a cheaper, less time consuming option will be to get an extra official on each touchline who’s sole responsibilaty is to keep up with play and to make calles on forward passes. Much like the Linesman in soccer who must check for offsides. The assistant refferee can do this, but in SARU’s AR course, the AR’s are told to hang back a little and not always run with the ball, but instead check for off the ball incidents.

It’s frustrating when the match officials get call wrong, but we are dealing with humans after all and they will make mistakes. One must also remember that the refferee takes charge of a match and, although he has help from his assistants, he  is the sole judge of events taking place. Until we find a failsafe sollution for the human error, this must be factored in for the sake of consistancy.

Cheers!!!

Bloues

This column should actually be called “Questions from week two” because I can see a lot more predictions going down the drain like they did this weekend. The only thing more surprising than the Chiefs result against the Blues was the margin of their win. That match was over as a contest when the falftime siren sounded.

But, I’ll stick my neck out again and draw some conclusions from what I’ve seen this weekend.

1.) It’s going to be tough in New Zeeland. Many expected the Chiefs to actually run the Blues close, but the Blues were the favourites to win that match. The Chiefs’ blitz in the first half ended the match as a contest by the time the halftime siren went and the Blues had a lot of catching up to do and never looked like pulling it off.

The Highlanders’ upset win over the Crusaders also came as a surprise. This might mean that the Chiefs and the men from Otago are stronger than we expected. But what’s for sure is the fact that no visiting team will have it easy in New Zealand. The Hurricanes have shown in Johannesburg that they do have some fight in them and they may proof hard to beat at the Caketin later on.

2.) It will be tough for the Blues though. Having lost their first two matches already and now they’re headed for South Africa where they’ll play the Bulls and the Stormers before returning home to play the Hurricanes. Being naught from four might not be the start they hoped for. If they loose their two tour matches then they’ll need to safe some face against the Hurricanes back home before having a much needed rest.

3.) The Rebels and Force may cause an upset or two, but they already are bottom of the log material. The Brumbies have impressed in their first match, but all that prooves is that they might be better than these two. The Reds and Waratahs might have it tough when they travel to Melbourne, Canberra and Perth, but I think they can at least bank on twelve away log points and fiveteen home log points when they play this lot. Keeping in mind the Chiefs, Highlandersand Hurricanes’ results over the weekend shows why this tournament is seen as Australia’s Super Pot of Gold.

4.) The Lions have come a long way since this time last season. It was sad to see them loose on Friday, but the manner in wich they faught back was really heartening. This time last season they would have looked at a result like that as progress, but John Mitchell’s men know that they’ve let one slip that they should have won. This just shows that, no matter how much Coetzee tried to sugarcoat the Stormers and WP’s defeats in crucial games for the past three seasons, the best lessons a team can learn is from winning. If the Lions didn’t win the Currie Cup last year their players wouldn’t have had the believe in themselves they showed by beating the Cheetahs and their comeback against the Hurricanes.

5.) The Bulls are for real. Granted, there still is a few tough challanges awaiting them. But the men from Pretoria are showing a kind of synargy in defence and attack that the Stormers and the Sharks lack. Last season I wished that all the senior players was able to play with Hougard’s youthfull vigour and this is just what’s happening this season. The junior players brings that vigour to the team and the senior players do not want to be left behind. You can mock Olivier about his hair and looks as much as you want, but he wont be giving his place in the starting lineup away easilly. The same goes for captain Pierre Spies. Although, it must be said, the competition for these two players’ positions are stiff.

Next week the Blues will pose a different challenge than that posed by the Sharks and the Cheetahs, but the Bulls already showed that they have a good defence and that they can vary their gameplan when needed. The biggest question mark that hang over this bulls side is wether they have BMT. But for now, things look good in Pretoria.

6.) There’s progress at the Stormers as well. I really hope that the Bulls can be South Africa’s flagship this season for more than one reason. If the rugby dished up at Newlands was the best we have to offer, then we are in trouble. 1995′s World Cup final had everything you could ask for in a match without any tries being scored. Saturday’s match with the same scoreline certainly did not! Passes went to ground, tackles were missed and the overall play was at a very low standard. The Stormers can be lucky that the Sharks were so clueless on attack because 18 missed tackles against any of the other contenders would have lead to at least three tries being scored.

The Stormers definately have some thinking to do on their bye weekend and the Sharks will need to straighten up things against the Lions if they are to avoid a home defeat against the Reds in two weeks time.

That being said, I cant remember the last time the Stormers won a match that was still in the balance after eighty minutes. This was, like last week, a very faulty performance by them and nowhere near what they are capable of. But the Stormer’s achilies heal have been the fact that they couldn’t win close matches. Maybe they’ve turned a page in this regard.

I cant really see any of my conclusions from last week busted, although the Crusader’s loss against the Highlanders sort of dissproves my conclusion that they are the early pace setters in this year’s competition. That honour might be going to the Bulls, but, out of respect the last season’s loosing finalist, I’ll see the loss as something that might happen to a lot of sides visiting the House of Pain this season.

Cheers!!!

Bloues