TRUTH BE TOLD

Sheriff did a post on veteran Springbok wing, Bryan Habana, and whether he should still be seen as first choice , currently nowhere near his best, and with the amount of talented young wingers we have competing for his spot. I have gatherred some season stats, unfortunately, the format is weak, and I can’t get them pasted into a proper table. 

                                                                                                 Bryan Habana        Lwazi Mvovo     Bjorn Basson

• Starts                                                                                    11                                 7                           12
• Defence
• Assist                                                               5                          3                      13
• Forced turnovers                                            8                          2                       9
• Tackles made                                                40                        24                     65
• Tackles missed                                              10                        2                       17
• Contact
• Ball carries                                                    69                        28                     46
• Line Breaks                                                     7                           6                      8
• offloads                                                         10                          4                      5
• % over gain line                                           65                        64                     75
• Metres gained                                             748                      361                  535   
•  Handling 
• Total passes                                 38                         10                    19
• Playmaker passes                         5                            3                      0     
• Handle count                               127                        40                    97
• Errors                                        
• Penalties                                         3                            1                      3
• Total Errors(forced/unforced)  21                           8                    22  
• Handling Errors                             23                           5                    23

There are some interesting stats, and specially at the Error count, where it’s almost strange hpw even Bjorn and Habana are. to see what the players contributed per game, you’d have to devide the stats by the amount of games played. I only used stats from games that players started. 

In defence, Bjorn assisted much more in the tackle, and Lwazi and Habana are about even. Habana and Basson are just about equal on forced turnovers, almost double the amount that Mvovo makes per match. Mvovo and Habana both make about 3.5 tackles per game, while Basson makes just less than 5.5 per match.  A worrying site is that Habana missed 25% of his attempted tackles, while Lwazi appears much more solid on defence, only missing 8.3%. Bjorn Basson , although making more tackles misses more than 26% of his tackles. 

The contact stats show Habana’s high work rate, as he carries the ball at least 6 times per game, while Mvovo carries 4 times per game, and Basson has just less than 4 carries per game. Bjorn Basson also dominates the gain line stat, as he breaks the line 75% of the time he carries, Mvovo leads the line break stats, breaking the line 6 times in his 7 starts. Mvovo and even more so Basson seem reluctant to offload in the contact situation while Habana offloads almost once per game, Habana gains 68m per game with ball in hand, while Basson gains 44m and Mvovo 51m. an interesting stat considering the Sharks’ more attacking approach. 

Handling also makes for interesting reading, where you can see how Habana looks for work on the field, as he completes much more passes, not known to happen on the wing. 

There isn’t much in it error wise, all three player giving away about the same amount of penalties per game, Bjorn and Habana make quite a bit of errors, 1.9 and 1.8 errors per game respectively, Mvovo also makes a forced or unforced error every game. Handling wise, Mvovo seems to have “safer” hands, making less than 1 handling error per game. while Basson and Habana make about 2 handling errors per game. 

Conclusion, there doesn’t seem to be much between the three players, taking into consideration Bryan Habana is terribly off form, and he still competes with the young guns stats wise, then perhaps the national selectors aren’t THAT crazy for sticking to him. add experience to his cause to stay in the Bok starting line-up, and he’s the logical choice.

however, the one stat that isn’t mentioned above is tries scored, Bjorn has 8, and currently joined top try scorer, while Mvovo has 3 and Habana 1. Habana’s try scoring drought has been an issue right through the 2010 international season, and being a wing, he may still on current form tick most boxes as to what you want from a hard working winger. for some reason, since equaling the try scorig record of Joost, he has put himself under huge unnecessary pressure to make the record his own, and hopefully the pressure of scorring that 39th try is the only thing standing between him and getting back to his best. ad a couple of tries to his stats above, and you wouldn’t say these are the stats of a man in the worst form of his life…

The Lions have shown this weekend, that they are capable of competing at super rugby level, after they beat the Highlanders in Dunedin, their 3rd win this year. 

This is John Mitchell’s debut season at the club, and most felt he had it easy, as basically anything he managed this year would be seen as better than the previous season, when the Lions were lterally defenseless, hopeless and more importantly winless. 

interesting was that all three their victories this year came away from home, and it may even be that Coca Cola (Ellis) Park contributes to the Lions’ woeful form, I know I wouldn’t enjoy playing in front of a nearly empty stadium each week, with only a small bunch of unappreciative fools coming out to support (criticise) the team. 

So the Lions are set for a move to Soweto’s Soccer City

One has to feel for the Lions, they’ve tried basically everything, new Coaches, a new investor, which led to new players but little has changed for them results wise. Since the start of their scouting and signing process, I always felt they needed some experience, specially in the tight five, where except for Wikus van Heerden(who currently plays at lock) they have basically no test caps, ex bulls Hooker Maku being the only one who has represented his country. 

a Thing that I’ve wondered about in the past is, why SA sides are reluctant to sign players from the other two big Southern hemisphere countries(NZ & Aus). The Rebels in assembling their squad, did a great job of signing players who were playing in Aus , New, Japan and Europe. This hasn’t exactly worked for them, their squad had very little playing time together before the start of the SuperXV. The Lions on the other hand have a core of players who play together regularly, but still lack some experience up front, their set pieces specially isn’t up to scratch yet, and they appear vulnerable at the breakdown(as seen against the Cheetahs) 

although SA has an abundance of talented rugby players, experience against popular belief can only be bought. The Lions, apparently rolling in the Dough, need to look at players who: 

1. Have test and super rugby experience

2. aren’t in contention for national selection (if they’re from anywhere but SA) 

Tighthead: 

Al Baxter, he has more than a 100 super rugby caps, and has represented the Aussies 60+ times. he Currently plays for the Waratahs from the bench, and he probably has a good season or two left in him, currently 34yrs old. 

Hooker:

Corey Flynn, he may still be a surprise inclusion into the All Blacks WC squad, but after this year, he has a hand full of test caps, and about 80 super rugby caps. at 30 years old, he is still a strong ball carrier , and great at set pieces, a good scrummaging hooker. 

The Lions also need a genuine hard working no 4 lock, an enforcer , someone to boss the breakdown and secure go forward ball. Currently Wikus van Heerden has been given the role, but being a loose forward, he would be better off playing his natural loose game, with the arrival of Rynhardt Elstadt at the stormers, players like De Kock Steenkamp and Adriaan Fondse would both be ideal signings.

The examples given above are just players I like, but like the Rebels were able to lure Rodney Blake and Greg Somerville, certainly the Lions can sign a few heavy weight frontrowers. someone did a post a while ago on the amount of SA props plying their trade in Europe, and named almost 30. The Lions may also benefit from bringing those players back to their country of birth, one Brian Mujati would be the ultimate front row signing. 

The Lions have shown that behind a pack going forward, their backs (specially Elton Jantjies) play to their potential. for the Lions to be consistent performers, they need a pack of forwards who are able to consistently front up to the best that Super rugby has to offer. 

Source:superxv.com

The Stormers have suffered a late blow with the withdrawal of first choice flyhalf Peter Grant from the team to face the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.

Grant had being receiving treatment for an ankle injury and was bracketed with 21-year-old Kurt Coleman (pictured), who will now make his starting debut for the Stormers.

Grant, meanwhile, has returned home with the Stormers calling up former Lions pivot Earl Rose, who will join the squad in Melbourne next week.

Rose has been playing for Griquas in the Vodacom Cup competition.

Captain Schalk Burger says that spirits are high and the team is confident of following last week’s result in New Zealand.

“The team is in high spirits after last week’s win.” he said on the Stormers site.

We really had to dig in and we managed to pull victory out of the fire. Confidence is up and now we are looking forward to the challenge ahead against the Brumbies.

“The Brumbies are a better team than the log suggests and we will need to be up for it if we want to come away with the victory. As a team we have never beaten them away from home so we would like to put the record right on Saturday.

“They have some very experienced guys and also great game-breakers in Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper so we know it will be a huge challenge. “

This is the first I’ve heard of this, but Apparently Earl Rose will make his Stormers return , as he joins the team next week? 

Wow…big call, but I’ve personally asked for the Lions to rather play Rose at FH than FB, this is surely just precautionary, but this still means Rose was called up ahead of young Gary van Aswegen. 

good call or just strange…what’s your opinion? 

Half time approaching quickly, Lionel Cronje has missed 2 kicks already. He has also picked up some injury, and Dewaldt Duvenage is on in his place…. 

Having no specialist FH replacement, we now have two Scrum halves next to each other. We didn’t have a lot of other options, Nick Koster and Danie Pollman the only other possible backline players on the bench, Gio Aplon could possibly cover FH, and he may inject some creativity and pace with ball in hand, but I’m not sure his kicking at posts can be banked on. 

Question: can the Stormers regroup, come back and win the match in the second half? (The Blues have struggled in recent weeks, to play the full 80min) 

34min. Blues 19 – Stormers 3

Francois Louw – Yellow card (32min)

65min. Blues 19 – Stormers 18

Full time. Stormers 28 – 26 Blues 

Answer: Yes 

The Weekend saw the Lions record their second win in as many seasons, when they convincingly beat the Brumbies in Canberra. The win now gives the Team and supporters some self belief, and confidence for the rest of the season. 

When their team was announced durring the week, there were quite a few changes, some forced, while others were strange, I personally judged John Mitchell for swapping his team around each week, and gave the Lions little chance, specially because of the way they went down to the Cheetahs at home the previous week, and with some injuries in key positions, their chances just appeared slim, the unnecessary changes was the final straw, and I predicted a Brumbies win. 

Mitcell decided to start with Elton Jantjies, giving the young fly half a second opportunity at super rugby level, after he failed in his first few attempts earlier this season. Doppies la Grange was ruled out through injury, and Alwyn Hollenbach made a surprise start, his first of the season. Warren Whiteley was dropped, and Josh Strauss moved to the back of the scrum to accommodate the return of Derrick Minnie. Strauss was also made captain, due to Doppies not being available. The Lions also lost Mchael Killian, and Jaco Taute was promoted from the bench.

Earlier this season, usual captain, Franco van der Merwe gave up the captaincy to focus on his form. The role of captain was passed on to Doppies, and in his absence Josh Strauss had to lead the troops… Josh Strauss’ record as captain now reads, played: 1 won:1 , and he does seem to be the real deal, he should definitely be added to the list of exceptional loose forwards we have in this country. his future looks bright,and I certainly won’t mind seeing him in Bok colours one day. The question though is, if Doppies returns from injury for the Waratahs clash, and returns to the starting line-up, will Mitchell reinstate him as captain, or will he be tempted to stick to what worked against the brumbies?  

Elton Jantjies entertained with his man of the match performance as he displayed his full potential and sublime passing skills,  by creating scoring opportunities out of nothing, he was also good with the boot. There were some doubt over his ability to play at this level, after he struggled at the beginning of the season, he has won back the support of those who criticised him, and that of the coaching staff. however, the man flown in from Europe to save the day started on the bench, after joining the team late in the week… after a full weeks training with the team this week, will Mitchell be tempted to start Butch James? 

This may have been a win against a struggling Brumbies unit, but it’s still a win away from home, and a convincing win. Was Mitchell simply trying to get the combination right with his swapping around? or was he simply lucky this week? and more importantly, with a winning combination now established …will the players’ performances be rewarded? or will Mitchell confuse us all again by Thursday with his selections when the team gets announced? 

The French Squad for the world cup in September has been announced. and although we all know experience wins you World cups

Their selectors have left out experienced Utility Forward Sebastien Chabal, and Centres Yannick Jauzion and Mathieu Bastareaud from their preliminary squad.

Mathieu Bastareaud

Yannick Jauzion 

Sebastien Chabal

Chabal who has 60+ caps for the national team is a brillaint loose forward, and can also cover lock, there is no doubt the French will miss him, but he is quite a fan favourite, and spectators, and French supporters will probabaly be more disappointed, as they won’t get to see the Cave man in action. 

al though this is a preliminary squad, it is unlikely that players will be added to the squad, unless there are some injuries. if anything, a few players will probably be dropped from the squad closer to the WC.

I enjoy seeing who the other countries choose, I’m not really up to date with Northern hemisphere rugby and the form of these players, but it gives one an indication of who we’ll be facing, should we come up against these teams.

The important question though is….will we see some shock exclusions when our squad is announced…?  

The Lions who have gone winless last year, have only managed 1 win from 11 outings on “home soil”, sitting firmly at the bottom of the overall log, their fate basically decided. They start their tour against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday. I believe John Mitchell, as good as he may be, has really lost the plot, and if the Lions manage a few upsets , it’ll probably be the doing of the players, who get tired of losing(you’d think they’d be tired after a whole season) or just luck.

When Mitchell started at the Lions, everyone was optimistic, if I’m not mistaken, he’s the most successful All black Coach ever…and he did fairly well in the Currie cup, where the Lions missed out on the playoffs by a whisker. Lions supporters were pretty optimistic for the Super rugby season, as their team, on a high, wasn’t disappointing. They acquired the services of Bulls Hooker Bandise Maku , Sharks Prop Pat Cilliers and Griquas Prop Jocobie Adriaanse to strengthen their frontrow. They also Signed Waylon Murray, Rory Kockott and Michael Rhodes from the Sharks, and The impressive Lionel Mapoe from the Cheetahs. Along with this, they had the ever improving Josh Strauss and Warren Whiteley, young Jaco Taute and Elton Jantjies…destined for greatness…. Then Captain Franco van der Merwe , Doppies la Grange, Jano Vermaak and Michael Killian were some of their regular performers that would join these new players in what could obviously only become a force in Super rugby…

They started off relatively well, for such a young team, in terms of playing together.

Week 1: losing to the Bulls by 4 points, little did they know the Bulls team they nearly beat wasn’t the same team commonly known as the Champions. But a win would’ve gone a long way to create some sense of belief , anyway…

Week 2: losing by 3 points against a stingy Stormers outfit, another result where you could see this Lions side wasn’t far from a win.

Week 3 saw them going down by 9 points to the current log leaders, and very much one of the form sides in this year’s competition.

Week 4: The Lions beat the Cheetahs away from home, to start their resurgence …

Week 5: The Lions, supposedly on a high, lost against the Western Force at home, and this may have been that one “bad’ game, the one that very team has.

Week 6: The Bulls beat the Lions again, this time by a slightly bigger margin, 7 points, and at this point, the Lions were dealing in close losses and a win, with the force game a bit of an exception.

Week 7: Franco quits as captain, and the trend continues, as they come close, but go down again, this time against the Reds, by 5 points.

Week 8: sees them suffer a 24 point loss against the sharks, in what can only be described as one way traffic.

Week 9: Another convincing defeat, two in a row, at this stage, as a coach and player, you’d probably be feeling pretty frustrated…with Franco gone…things seem to have gone worse..or has it??

Week 10: The Lions lose another match, another close one though, 4 points in it at the end..was this maybe just the Chiefs being average this season?

Week 11: BYE

Week 12: The Cheetahs demolish any hopes that the Lions may have had that they could make it two from two, the Cheetahs got proper revenge and scored 53 points to 19 in a one sided match…their first real embarrassing defeat this season…a sign of things to come?

Now currently, this young Lions side have quite a few injury problems, their coach has his own unneeded selection issues, as he gets more desperate for a win each week, after 12 weeks of Super rugby, the Lions supporters haven’t learnt anything, regarding their team’s supposed rise to competitiveness …is this just another trademark “building fase” their going through? When will the Lions have a season where they’ll be able to feel satisfied with results …will they ever be able to step up, and win consistently? We’ve seen, even with a world class coach, they seem hopeless…Jake White, Frans Ludeke , and now John Mitchell have tried their luck at rectifying things at the Lions, but not only did they fail , there is NO sign of improvement, the players are streets better this season, but the result remains the same. Will buying some experience make any difference…looking at the results above in general, they came pretty close on 6 occasions, if they were successful in converting half of those half chances, the future surely wouldn’t be looking that bleak? Experience may have pulled them through when it mattered? Who knows..

The weekend, they have another chance of winning, as they take on the Brumbies, who haven’t been all that this season either, this will be an away match, and the bulk of the Lions team, will be playing their first super rugby game overseas, which might also influence them. Apparently The Lions have been hit by another injury, Fullback/Wing Michael Killian won’t be touring with them, and this is a bog blow, Killian was one of their better players this season, and probably their best last season. But in saying that, this does open the door for Jaco Taute, the Young fullback’s form makes John Mitchell’s decision to leave him on the bench in recent weeks simply unjustifiable.

There are a few things I believe the Lions should do, reinstate Franco as captain, Mitchell should ask him, and if he’s unsure, he should be told that irrelevant of form, he is the man to lead to Lions. I mean, you don’t see John Smit Stepping down as captain of the Springboks to concentrate on his form, probably because he doesn’t necessarily get selected on form. An alternative would be to make one of the younger players, either Josh or Warren Captain, they also have Grobbelaar and van Heerden, who have both captained the side before, you need someone capable of inspiring the rest of the team to dig deep, a player that’s currently on form is ideal, leading from the front, always gets the team motivated.

If Butch starts his training with them today, as reports suggested, then he is a must for the 22, I’d have him on the bench though, Francis has been solid, and it might just give him the wrong idea if you choose Butch ahead of him even if he has barely trained with the group. There will be an understanding between Francis and his half back partner, and Butch getting 30-40 minutes from the bench, will be key to him starting in the future, throwing him into the starting team, and losing, may just do his own confidence harm.

Not sure if it’s just me, but the Lionel Mapoe , Taute, Strauss, whitely, Maku, and Doppies have looked very good this season, and if they’re all fit, they should all start, The Lions, just like the Bulls have a very good winger, who’ll probably score quite a few tries, if he was used properly, Mapoe is marked closely on the wing, and he should really shift to outside centre from time to time, where Doppies can put him into the gaps. His pace, power and talent is wasted if he sees the ball twice each game. Taute should also regularly join the line on attack.

Despite only winning 1 game this season, The Lions have narrowly gone down far too many times, most results ending with less than 10 points in it, could’ve gone either way, and winning these close games are usually the difference between an average and ,in their case, a terrible season. Hopefully they’ll surprise all by returning to Johannesburg from a successful tour, I’ll predict a lions win this weekend. Because surely they can’t follow their winless season up by a 1 win season, The Brumbies will be expecting a win…an upset may just on the cards, and may just be exactly what the lions need, never too late to turn your season around… 

It has been confirmed that the Stormers will return to their winning ways this weekend when they face the Chiefs in Hamilton:

Chiefs v Stormers, Hamilton 
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia) 
Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Nick Briant (New Zealand) 
Television match official: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)

The past weekend of Super rugby delivered mostly predictable results,

(unfortunately, I predicted some upsets)

The Blues, even though not very convincing, kept their no1 spot in the overall log when they defeated the Hurricanes on Friday Morning.

The Reds predictably beat the Rebels by a comfortable margin.

The Lions lost yet again.

The Chiefs upset the Highlanders in one of the few games that could’ve gone either way.

The Waratahs who haven’t been themselves unconvincingly beat the Force who are exactly that. 

The Crusaders and Stormers put on a great show until the final whistle. 

The Sharks won comfortably on home soil. 

a Few talking points that emerged after the weekend: 

-is Adi Jacobs now the best the Sharks have at IC? more importantly, is he a better option than Meyer Bosman?

I must first admit, I didn’t watch the Sharks game, but I have watched a few this season. and Meyer hasn’t been at his best. specially defensively, where he has leaked tries, most evident was his recent showing against the Stormers, (the Sharks players in general had a bad game that day) Jacobs coming from the bench, has been mutch better, and probably deserves a starting place, my opinion is, I don’t think it’s as much the players as the combination that isn’t working, Meyer Bosman is a genuine talent, his distribution is world class, (always felt he’d be better as a Fly half because of his distribution. I think he’d be good in a team like the Stormers where extra focus is put onto defense and defensive structures. I am not sure if the Jacobs / Stefan Terblanche combo would give better results, they also seem a bit “lite” to me. Plumtree’s best option will probably be to experiment and determine his best combination, I do however feel he has left it too late, and shifting players around at this stage of the competition where winning close games are vital, will be risky.  

-why aren’t the Lions able to win matches in Super rugby? 

some say, they’re simply useless…talentless…just not good enough….I still feel mentally they simply need a win or two to get them to that point where they realize they are good enough, they can compete at this level. see, anyone who has played the game, will know , a players mental approach is as imporatnt as his physical abilities. when one player, (the ball carrier) comes face to face with another(the tackler), and either of them doubt their abilities , the other is almost sure to come off best. Your unlikely to brush off a tackler if you doubt you’re able to. I believe the Lions are playing with Doubt, I watched the game, and a player like Lionel Mapoe looks extremely dangerous. but he isn’t scoring tries, neither is he making influential breaks. There are some brilliant players in their squad, players who are good enought to represent any other union. The Lions desperately need a win, an upset. The biggest difference between the Lions and Cheetahs was confidence. 

-Punte of kantlyn…did Schalk Burger make the right decision when opting for the Line-out rather than the possible 3 points? 

6 points behind, 5m out, (the stormers love to maul it up) … obviously it was the right decision, poor execution was the problem. The Crusaders did a great job disrupting the Maul, not exactly legal, but penalty after penalty knew at some point, frustration would lead to some mistake from the Stormers. I won’t go as far as saying either side was particularly better on the day, as it was an even contest, were the Stormers to cross, converted or not, there would’ve been  1 point in it, probably a better indicator of how even it was.

-If Ruan Pienaar is to return to super rugby this season ahead of the WC, where should he go? 

Apparantly teh Stormers and Bulls are interested, and the other unions should be too. specially the Sharks, I know Lambie has been brillaint, but his ability to play Inside centre gives you an option of shifting out Meyer Bosman, who has been struggling, and playing Pienaar and Lambie next to each other…Sharks supporters will probably be screaming outof position allready, so perhaps not the best Idea, The Lions have too many talented backline players to accommodate Pienaar , with Butch also on his way, he’ll be wasted at the Lions. The Cheetahs have a top half back pair, who’ve been in top form, their fullback also chipped in with a hattrick this weekend, and I can’t see them accommodating him either, The Stormers can probably play him at fullback or Scrumhalf where they’ve been average. The Bulls also have some under performing players, and some suggested Ruan could be a good option at the back for them. A talented player like Ruan could be a great addition to one of these above mentioned teams , should be interesting to see who signs him, and how he’ll be used. 

Hurricanes vs Blues 

The Hurricanes surprised all with a win over the Reds last week, where they appeared to be finding form, after a dismal season thus far. The reds management justified their selections for the match , saying they had to change their approach seeing that NZ teams play a different style of rugby than SA teams. despite being “prepared”, I feel the Reds probably had THAT one game, where they just didn’t pitch up. so I’m still not totally convinced about the Hurricanes’ form. The Blues on the other hand are topping the overall log, fellow blogger Whistleblower feels they’ve had an easy run, and I agree to some extent.. They’ve lost all black fullback Isaia Toeava for the rest of the season, a big blow, but the blues, known for their attacking backline players have shifted their backline around to fill Toeava’s spot. Jared Payne slotting in at the back. this game should be another close one, unless the Blues run away with it…. They should take it. BLUES BY 6

Rebels vs Reds

Digby Ioane returns for the Reds, while the Rebels are yet to name their team. The Reds until last week have been pretty much the pace setters in the Australian conference, and in the overall tournamnet along with the Crusaders from NZ and Stormers form SA. I won’t go into the Reds’ last game again, I do feel with a strong loose trio of Samo, Robinson and Higginbotham they should be strong at the breakdowns, and with ball in hand. the Rebels have been pretty inconcistent since their debut in the competition, capturing a surprizing win one week, only to go down to average opponents the next. For that reason, you’d be taking a gamble in backling them in any match. REDS BY AT LEAST 4

Lions vs Cheetahs

the Lions have once again swapped around their players, this week due to injury. Dylan des Fountain makes a surprize debut in red alongside Doppies la Grange, quite a few bloggers have praised Doppies , and pointed out that most if not all centres playing on his outside perform above what you’d expect from them, therefor I am excited about des Fountain’s inclusion at the expense of the injured Murray. another plus about his inclusion is, he isn’t exposed to the ‘Lions’ mindset’. Edgar Marutlulle , a bright prospect also starts at hooker. even though the Cheetahs are favourites, I’m backing the Lions for an upset. LIONS BY 7

Chiefs vs Highlanders

The Highlanders even though losing against the Blues last week, are having a good season by their standards. The chiefs on the other hand are struggling, and are returning from SA. last week probably left the Chiefs confused, as they lost a game, they probably thought they had in the bag already. The Highlanders should have the upper hand,I see they’ve brought back their first week FH, Lima Sapoaga.they should be too strong, if they can continue their form this season. HIGHLANDERS BY 8

Waratahs vs Force

The Force displayed great form against the Crusaders, and they’ll be going into this week confident of their chances. The Warathas have had a few injuries, and along with that, just don’t look to be the same side that reached the Semi’s last year, something just seems missing, I watched the Force game last weekend, and O’Connor’s seemed to be injured or carrying a niggle as he took and made some big hits. he still performed well, despite looking off his usual pace, the form of David Smith is something that will excite the Force supporters, as he seems close to unstoppable with ball in hand, I’m predicting another upset, if you can it an upset, FORCE BY 3

Stormers vs Crusaders 

This match has been talked about all week, and specially the SBW/Fruean VS Fourie/de Villiers midfield battle, and I look forward to seeing what Alistair and the boys are planning on doing about SBW’s offloads in the tackle, and how much damge he’ll be able to cause against world class opposition. I beleieve the Force did a good job of taming SBW, and keeping him quiet. specially later in the game. last year the Stormers destroyed the Crusaders beating them convincingly, and in the comments by Crusaders coach and captain, you could see there’s a lot of respect for the Cape town side. hopefully this respect is mutual. the breakdown is one area where the Stormers got the better of the Crusaders last year, and M’ccaw and his troops will look to rectify that. on Current form, home ground advantage and last year’s result the Stormers should be favourites, but only a fool will say it out loud. this game should be a tough close one, and isn’t easy to call. STORMERS BY 5

Sharks vs Brumbies 

The Brumbies like the Waratahs just don’t seem the side they were beofre, they’ve been pretty average this year, and playing away from home against the Sharks, who have been good, just don’t seem likely to win. They went down to the Cheetahs last week, while the Sharks lost to the Stormers. both teams will be desperate for a win , as both teams wouldn’t want the gap between them and the nearest team above them in their conference to widen (Brumbies 10 behind Waratahs) (Sharks 8 behind Stormers) . The Sharks would’ve had a hard look at themselves after being humiliated by the team that called them their “Bogey team” as recently as last year. Sharks should win on home soil. SHARKS BY 5

The Lions experienced a winless season last year, losing every match they played in the then Super14 tournament. This year, with a new coach, some wealthy investors and the acquisition of some talented young players, they’ve managed to win a match early in the seaon, but ever since, they’ve been back to their old ways, looking dangerous at times, even promising but somehow still just not getting it right. 

The problem at the Lions to the naked eye, appears to be the players, the Bulk of their squad are the same players that struggled last year. Lions coach John Mitchell is convinced management should recruit players to strengthen certain positions .

Lions supporters, and rugby supporters in general have mixed views regarding his views.

- On the one hand, people feel the Lions have the talent to win against top opposition, and that the problem is merely a mindset, losing has become a habbit at the club, and players doubt their own abilities.

- on the other some feel the players in the current Lions group are either inexperienced, or simply sub standard to what a winning super rugby team requires.

I feel the problem at the Lions may be a combination of the two, while players like Josh Strauss, Warren Whiteley, Bandise Maku and Franco van der Merwe have stepped up this year, and competed well at super rugby level, others like Lionel Mapoe, Elton Jantjies and Wicus van Heerden were basically ineffective. The Lions also have their usual candidates, who’ve been with the team for a couple of seasons and have always performed steadily, names like Doppies la grange, Jano Vermaak and Michael Killian come to mind. but perhaps there’s just something missing……..

…..a true leader? experience in the tight five? ……

so here’s what I suggest they do. firstly pick the strongest team available:

15.Jaco Taute (Taute is the form fullback this season, just a pity he gets 30min max these days.)

14.Lionel Mapoe

13.Waylon Murray (Dylan des Fountain is an exciting replacement, looking forward to him getting a run this weekened) 

12.Doppies

11.Michael Killian

10.Elton Jantjies (he just needs some stability, like Ruan Pienaar, he’s a bit of a confidence player, if the team performs, he’ll perform, and he’s a huge talent, he needs some time to settle into his position, this is his first super rugby season) 

9.Rory Kockott(Jano is my first choice, but he isn’t at his best currently) 

8.Warren Whiteley

7.Josh Strauss(same here, you can’t drop a player after one average game.) 

6.Derick Minnie 

5.Franco vd Merwe

4.Wickus van Heerden(equals having another loose forward on the pitch)

3.Kevin Buys 

2.Bandise Maku (Edgar Marutlulle is a fine replacement) 

1.Pat Cilliers 

This team should be good enough to compete, John Mitchell’s frustration was shown with the way he swapped around players for every game, this I believe played a big part in them struggling this year, you should give combinations time to settle, this could be seen specially at lock, where Mitchell is still undecided, FH and SH and fullback. If I look at the team above, the only real weakness should be in the frontrow. 

The key areas Mitchell was referring to, was probably the frontrow, FH position and lock. 

His options: Lock

-Anton van Zyl (currently not making the stormers bench, although he probably deserves a starting position)

-de Kock Steenkamp (a big strong ball carrying lock, with  some experience at super rugby level)

-Juandre Kruger (talented lock, not getting game time for the Bulls)

-Danie Rossouw (to be honest, the Bulls have Bakkies, Flip and Danie, and I’m sure they’re all good enought o start at no4, so if they have great enough aspirations for a starting position you could lure one of them away.) 

-Steven Sykes (although the Sharks’ starting lock, he’d be a very decent buy. Ross skeate and Gerhardt Mostert are also decent options to consider) 

FH:

With Butch soon to arrive, buying another FH would be a waste, considerring Francis and Jantjies are both capable FH’s. 

Frontrow: 

-Either of the Cheetahs starting frontrowers, Coenie and WP are both in great form, and would be an addition to any team. 

-Eugene van Staden (was seriously impressive last year in the CC, in the absence of Jannie) 

-Craig Burden (with the debate on who should start Bismarck or Smit, Burden has been unable to make the bench, I do however feel the Lions have two or three very talented young hookers.

-guys like Werner Kruger , Dean Greyling or Rossouw Klerk are also decent buys, but with injuries to starting props, the Bulls are unlikely to let these guys go. 

perhaps it’s time to bring back some of the players currently plying their trade in the NH. players go overseas to earn more money, and would probably hesitant to return, but seeing that it is close to the WC, and the Lions are cash strapped, players may just rethink their stay up north, to come rescue the desperate Lions. 

Even though I’m not a Lions Supporter, I feel sorry for their supporters, and the team, who seem hopeless. I really like the look of the current Lions team, and I still believe, a couple of upsets is all they need to turn their misfortunes around. their only win this season came against teh Cheetahs, so this week is an ideal chance for them to get a second, at least in this game, the Lions players now know they are good enough to beat the Cheetahs, should they get their act together. and that believe may be all they need.