Out with the Old and In with the New
June 28, 2012 in Uncategorized
Contrary to popular belief this post won’t be focussing on the new blog platform. The move seemed to be seen as a disruption by everyone and I can understand that no one is ever really comfortable with unwanted or unnecessary change, I’m no different. -
I have tried to change my backround and header, and it seems that I was partially successful. I also tried adding the subscribe button, as everyone seems to be providing their ‘know how’ on the matter, with no luck. - so the new system, while confusing at times does seem to offer many new ‘functions’ that could only improve our blogging experience. so I have no real complaints…I just sincerely hope that the majority of us make the transition without giving up along the way, it would be sad if any of the regular bloggers or new comers were to quit due to feeling a little lost.
On to the rugby then, This weekend sees the return of Super Rugby after the conclusion of the June test window. There are some good Rugby to be seen on both Friday and Saturday.
Fixtures:
some interesting and strange things have been happening in Cape Town recently, with Duane Vermeulen, Nick Koster, Schalk Burger and Nizaam Carr all ruled out for at least another two weeks, despite quite a bit of talk about their return to action after the June Break. There were also some interesting movements with Quinn Roux announcing he’ll be leaving for Ireland at the end of the season. a very strange move for the young talented lock who was apparently first choice for the #4 jersey at the start of a the season, only to lose this position to his age group lock partner Eben Etsebeth who then proceded to make the starting position his own.
Here’s an update on some of the players in the WP & Stormers squad.
DHL WP player movements
Quinn Roux
Quinn Roux whose contract ends after Super Rugby this year will take up a 1 year offer with Leinster. Roux (who currently plays behind Bekker, Etzebeth, Elstadt and Steenkamp) has decided that it will be in his best interest to further his career and develop in a foreign environment. Roux has indicated that he would like to return to WP and finalisation of this matter will take place over the next few weeks.
Kurt Coleman
Kurt Coleman has gone on loan to SWD Eagles and will get much needed senior game time in the 1st Division of the Absa Currie Cup. Fixtures commence on Friday already as SWD take on Border. Coleman will return on 29 July 2012 and will be available for DHL WP in the Absa Currie Cup, which commences 11 August.
Danie Poolman
DHL WP wing Danie Poolman has been released from his contract with WP and will take up a contract with Connacht in Ireland.
Pieter Louw
Pieter Louw who retired from WP, but has been training with the WP squad, has opted not to continue playing rugby given work commitments. – taken from the Stormers’ facebook page.
There seems to be some misperception that the Stormers have fielded a strong line-up for their clash with the Lions on Saturday, I guess taking the injuries into consideration, the suspension of Elstadt and the departure of Nick Fenton-Wells, that this may well be a good side. The only area of concern is the loosies, where Don Armand, and Tyrone Holmes(two players I have seen very little of) will make their starting debuts on the side of the scrum with Siya Kolisi moving to the back of the scrum, Siya’s move is an exciting one, that may just add some weight to his Springbok aspirations.
The rest of the team is very similar to how it usually looks, with Bryan Habana taking up a spot on the bench as he gets some much needed rest, Eben Etzebeth won’t be in the 22 as he also takes a needed rest, he is also struggling with an ankle niggle. while Deon Fourie gets a starting opportunity to counter the Lions’ expansive game.
I’ve gone for the Stormers by 4
The other fixtures for the weekend makes for some interesting picking, with the Rebels picking both O’Connor and Beale in their starting line-up against the Reds. possibly an upset opportunity as the Rebels are playing at home. I’ve backed my paranoia and went for the Rebels by 1
The Chiefs and Highlanders open the weekend’s action with a match which should deliver some tries. The Chiefs have Nanai-Williams back, and his combination with Robbie Robinson, starting at fullback, at the start of the season was very exciting. The Chiefs have arguably been setting the pace this season, I’ve gone for the Chiefs by 3
The Crusaders and Hurricanes should be a great spectacle, with the Hurricanes looking very good prior to the June Test break, the break may have dented their momentum just slightly, but if they start firing, this may turn into a try-fest , The Crusaders are without Dan Carter but should still have the upper hand due to their superior forwards. Crusaders by 3
In what promises to be yet another typical Aussie derby that isn’t worth watching, the Brumbies should have too much for the Force – Brumbies by 5
In the final match of the weekend, the Bulls face off against the Cheetahs, the Cheetahs have selected a new loose forward combination, personally I liked Phillip van der Walt in the no8 jersey, he was making a silly amount of tackles, carrying well and doing his bit at the breakdown, a very fine traditional no8 imo. however, the combination of Lappies, Ashley and Brussow is an exciting one, which should give as an idea of what the Cheetahs’ approach will be. I am also looking forward to Marcel van der Merwe’s debut, a great loose head who will be starting on the Tight head side, we all saw what happened to Coenie when he was rushed into playing on the dark side of the scrum, hopefully vd Merwe doesn’t suffer a similar fate. The Bulls have dropped CJ Stander, probably due to his move to Munster, and looking at the ‘future’ , The Bulls players such as Morne Steyn and Francois Hougaard haven’t been at their best at test level, but The Bulls should still have too much for the Cheetahs at Loftus, although I wouldn’t rule out an upset. Bulls by 6
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Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
thanks for the update on him. – he’ll be missed.
The Dutchman said on June 28, 2012
Phillip has a foot injury and could only be considered in 2 weeks sadly.
I maintain that the Cheetahs will take this one.
Powa said on June 28, 2012
Trying to link up via my wordpress blog. Please reply so I can see what happens
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
I see your comment, if that’s what you’re asking.
guntz27 said on June 28, 2012
Phillip van der Walt is nursing an injury sustained earlier in the campaingn, they said he played with it throughout.
Lappies is a good player, with a bright future, he WILL give Marcell Coetzee a run for the bok jersey in the near future.
I for one hopes Heinrich has a storming game and he could well win the game for the Cheetahs if he does.
But as most games it will be won in the tight five which may be the only area where the Cheetahs could struggle.
Labach Tanai said on June 28, 2012
I think it could be interesting to see the battle between Chilliboy and Adriaan who took away the 2nd hooker jersey from him in the last 3 tests.
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
I also rate Lappies, although I see him as more of a Kanko, Daniel, Spies type player who does well when the game opens up. I also think Brussow will be key. he’ll be fired up. I rate both Nyakane and vd Merwe, so should be a huge contest up front.
guntz27 said on June 28, 2012
I don’t rate Nyakane, He struggled against the Crusaders and I was really hoping van der Merwe would be chosen ahead of him.
Lappies is a good runner and a good tackler, he showed that in the Currie Cup last year, he has a few more skills than Marcell but I’d still bracket him more in his class than a Kanko, Daniel or Spies type.
Another interesting match up will be JJ and R Ebersohn, with JJ getting the nod I think Robert would like to show HM why he shouldve been chosen.
Morne steyn and Riaan “True Blue” Smit will also be intersting, If Riaan can match the type of play he ditched up against the stormers we could also be in for a humdinger. But if Morne finds form it could be a long night for the Cheetahs.
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
Riaan enjoys taking the ball up, so it should be very interesting to see how Morne copes with his direct style, also with Willie coming into the FH channel. – Wynand might have to keep help out.
I also think your Ebersohn vs JJ match up will be interesting, as JJ hasn’t been great defensively. – Nyakane may not be the best scrummager, but he’s a good all round player. and is solid in the scrums and can scrum both sides, very valuable player imo. he’ll be on the loosehead side, so up against Werner who hasn’t been great, so I assume he’ll do well
Labach Tanai said on June 28, 2012
Well, if the Lions could beat the Sharks by following their own game plan after kicking out the coach, and the Sharks beat the Stormers. Who knows what will happen?
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
haha….funny old game, rugby is. I think defensively the Sharks have been pathetic at times this season, The Stormers shouldn’t concede more than two tries against the Lions even if they are playing well. but I wouldn’t write them off. I also think the ease with which the Sharks came back in that game would give the Stormers some hopes of running in a few tries
powa said on June 28, 2012
I enjoy change and in fact welcome it but to be “changed” to something that only partially functions is very difficult to understand.
I’m really worried by the forced selections in the loosies but I’m sure AC is confident in his selections. I also have Stormers by 4
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
yes, I agree completely with you on the functions. I also think the Stormers won’t run away with this one. the Lions have quite a few issues, like Dar said, should be interesting to see how they respond.
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
any idea how to disable the comment approving function?
Labach Tanai said on June 28, 2012
does it notify you that you need to approve the comment? That could be a plus, but no idea how to get rid of that function unfortuantely
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
Hey LT, if you go to your dash, you’ll see a comments bubble at the top, that shows you how many new comments you have, the comments are then listed below with the option to approve , reply, etc….if you don’t approve them, they don’t display below the post…weird. if you reply there’s a ‘approve and reply’ button
Labach Tanai said on June 28, 2012
Thanks Hanjo, if the email-notifications get going, I will be quite happy. I used a very simple theme on my LD blog, so I am not that fussed by the peripherals, just want to be able to reply to comments on my blog in time.
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
for some reason there’s no reply button below your last comment, so I’ll just reply here. I’m also not particularly worried about the theme, here’s an option to edit your header, see mine above(not exactly what I intended) , and backround, but the backround option does nothing. – the email notifications work for friend requests and messages, so it might just be some technical issue, as they clearly have a notification function available.
Labach Tanai said on June 28, 2012
What I just realized is that the blog frontpage is set up to work on the recent activity on a blog, i.e. if someone left a comment, and not on the creation date of said blog. That is a bit annoying for me unless there is something wrong with my settings/dashboard, but where is the damn things gear lever? LOL
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
sucking on the hind teet as usual as usual it appears.
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
can’t reply again – anyway, I don’t have that problem, are you sure you’re on the right page? if I’m on the home page, Guntz27′s post is followed by GF’s post and Powa’s post and then this post. – which is in line with the times they were posted?
Labach Tanai said on June 28, 2012
I have no idea where my reply button went. When I click on the Blogs-button I get to a page where I can only choose from Newest, active and random. So no mine does not do the same. Maybe a setting somewhere is wrong
Labach Tanai said on June 28, 2012
What I realised is this, if I click on the sport24blogs icon up top or go to http://blogs.sport24.co.za/, I get the following message: LetterDash is down for maintenance.
I also run a different anonymous blog on parent24, this problem does not exist there. They have wonderful themes and a homepage that works as you imply, so what is going on here? Are we just partially migrated or what?
Labach Tanai said on June 28, 2012
My fault, for some reason FireFox still linked that URL to letterdash, once I deleted all history, everything works!
Hanjo said on June 29, 2012
Great to hear LT.
Darwinia said on June 28, 2012
I am interested in seeing how the Lions will respond with the mess in their camp.
The Bulls also haven’t really looked sharp all season, Cheetahs may just take it.
I see you winning margins are small. I have opted for larger margins. Probably a mistake, we shall see.
Hanjo said on June 28, 2012
Dar, I completely agree that both these derbies are very much in the balance, specially with teams likely to be slightly rusty after the break, and others(test players) possibly tired. I am also interested in seeing if without Mitchell the Lions will be better or worse. the bulls always perform, so I wouldn’t go against them, while the Cheetahs have made plenty changes to their side, have lost Coenie, benched WP and regular number 8 philip vd Walt. so they might also disrupt their relative success prior to the June break. – on the margins, I always take the conservative route, I’m very seldom confident of a result going the way I predicted