So the weekend has finally arrived, all my bags are packed and I am ready to go, well, after my half work day today that is.

The weekend could almost not be more perfect for a bunch of sports enthusiasts, with the Proteaboks playing against the Gayle Force Windies today, tomorrow we will be at the Zebra Stripped Mbombela Stadium watching two test matches live and on Sunday Bafana Bafana tackle Ethiopia, it’s like that Castle add, we just don’t have to celebrate everything in one day, but over three days, Castle will be thanking us after their revenue will undoubtedly be a bit bigger with us in Nelspruit.

Hope the weather holds up, according to our very reliable weather websites it is sunny and lekker hot up there, nothing more can be asked for.

For all those travelling up, travel safe and see you guys there. Good times await.

Peace!

Tomorrow will be a classic clash between the two SA inland teams, and Bloemfontein has not made it any secret who they support in tomorrow’s clash!!

Go Cheetahs!!!

Peace!

There seems to have been some actual thinking going into this year’s Super Rugby Tournament, it seems that SANZAR has finally sorted out the Conference System and the combined log issues of years gone by.

A lot of people have always pointed out the team placed in 4^th has more points than the team placed 3^rd, which has been the case in the past with the Australian teams having the easier of the three Conferences, so what was their master plan, well, give the Aussie teams one week head start, this seems to have leveled everything out and the table leaders are actually placed in numerical order. (Yes I know it is because of the B&I Lions tour, but it works)

I also believe that this weekend’s fixtures were specifically selected ahead of the International Window to allow for the Bulls, Stormers and Sharks an “easy” run into the Springbok season as the bulk of the Springboks will come from these provinces, with the “Need to be match fit seeing as the Captain playes for them” Stormers taking on the “Believed to be a cricket score team in the beginning of the season” Kings taking on each other, and then the “according to some Bulls supporters, the team that just wants to end on top of the Kings, but surprised many” Cheetahs taking on the “HM” Bulls and the Sharks getting a bye after taking on the mighty Bulls the weekend before.

Things have changed since this plan has been implemented, with the match between the Cheetahs and Bulls possibly a conference decider and the Kings by no means the push over originally expected. This is why I love this game, any team can win on any day and this being Super Rugby it makes it even better because nothing pleases me more than an underdog beating a NZ and Aus team.

P.S. I was watching the classic matches on SS1 with the B&I Lions tours and noticed something I haven’t seen in a while, when was the last time you saw international players swop jerseys after the match?

Peace!

I will have to start of this post with a “VVVVRRRRRYYYYYSSSSTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT”

I have always liked the Sharks and have considered them my second team, if such a thing even exists, and have liked the way they apply their trade on the game. That was until this Saturday.

They seemed to have lost their mojo and most teams have worked them out and their ability to create something from nothing seems to have left with Freddie. Sadly you can see that the pressure is getting to them, with Daniel and Steyn acting like 4 year old children, throwing their toys out of the cot after the Willie le Roux try, which didn’t really matter at the end and then their coach hits back saying that it is the Cheetahs fault that the Sharks lost. Boohoo.

The facts are, the Sharks have now not scored a try in three matches and tries win matches, simple as that. Plumbtree says that the Cheetahs played negatively by kicking the ball back to the Sharks the whole game, that is called strategy, did he expect the Cheetahs to go out in the rain and play their running game in atrocious ball handling conditions? That being said, the Sharks also kicked a lot, but most importantly, the Cheetahs handed them the ball by kicking it to them, possession is key in rugby matches and the Sharks had most of it but couldn’t use it, and that somehow is now the fault of the “negative” Cheetahs.

I think things are not well in camp Sharks with both captain and coach showing signs of pressure and frustration.

Back home, well done boytjies!!! Beating the Sharks in the tank with rainy weather is something a lot of teams have struggled with and you did it. Somehow being the only Cheetah supporter at a bachelors this weekend amongst 6 Sharks supporters, the beer and brandy tasted a lot better.

I hope the Sharks bounce back this weekend and we don’t see a reply of last year’s final and get rid of their negative frame of mind.

Go Cheetahs!!

Peace!

There is a lot of talk about this past weekend’s clash in Bloemfontein between the Cheetahs and the Stormers, a fixture which years gone by would simply have been chalked up to the visiting side as a definite 4 points bordering on a 5 point guaranteed, things have changed.

One thing is for certain, the Cheetahs always seemed to save their best rugby for local derby matches and that would generally cost them on tour and against foreign teams visiting Bloemfontein. That seems to have changed for the central franchise as they got their first win this year against a struggling Highlanders, who without Adam Thompson have not fired this year, the Cheetahs went on to beat the Waratahs and Force and returning to Bloemfontein beating the Rebels with a bonus point victory.

As mentioned before, people around the office were telling me that the Cheetahs had 4 “easy” games and any team would have gotten the 4 victories in a row, things were not going to be so fortunate for the Cheetahs against the stronger unions, Stormers being one of those. Many will argue that after Saturday that the Cheetahs were lucky again to play against a demoralised and struggling Western Cape outfit making it 5 wins in a row, I, really don’t see it that way. Because with that logic, the Bulls are also struggling and this should then be another easy game for the Cheetahs, which I can assure you, it definitely will not be.

I hope that Deon Fourie played the Lotto on Saturday,  he was probably the luckiest player on the pitch and here is why, the first try by the Stormers the ball rotated a full 180◦ out of his hand but was adjudged to be under control, the next try he was offside by a mile (Sarel Pretorius was not offside with his try, so that does not cancel this out. J) and the Brussow penalty where Fourie “placed” the ball and Brussow should have let go was actually not correct, Fourie never released the ball, simply placed his arm on the ground and got up again. Funny then that Alistair Coetzee had the following to say “I guess you also need a bit of luck in top-level sport… the ball doesn’t seem to be bouncing our way at the moment.”

Then Jantjies seemed to have forgotten he was on a rugby field, almost beheaded Strauss with that “dangerous tackle”. Anyway. The Cheetahs for once stepped up and won a tight game they should have and I will not allow anybody to take anything away from them on this victory.

The atmosphere on Free State Stadium was electrifying and I am glad that I was a part of it, if the Cheetahs continue playing like this, people will continue flocking to watch the game in life action rather than on DSTV 201.

Keep running Cheetahs!!

This has to be my favourite time of the year, Easter because of religious reasons and the fact that I had the chance to finally watch all the Super Rugby matches, and what a weekend it was, scoring 100% on Superbru doesn’t happen often.

That however doesn’t come without its complaints from the rugby public, firstly there was an outcry from Bulls supporters about the Referee’s decision at the end of the match giving the Brumbies the game. Here is the video of the incident, thing is, this happened after the 80^th minute with the Bulls attacking from their 10 metre line, if they really wanted that 1 point more, they would have kicked the ball out after the hooter went and taken the 2 points instead of being stuck with 1, let’s remember that call last year for the Brumbies vs. Cheetahs.

Secondly would be the CapeSaders which everyone is going so crazy about, I cannot but wonder if the Stormers won there would be this much fuss about it. Bryan Habana joined the choir of the unsatisfied mob, because had it not been for these “traitors” the Stormers would surely have won, it is not their game plan that cost them the game at all. WPRU have now announced that they will investigate the behaviour of the CapeSaders, and if they are serious I can only see one of two things happening when the Stromers face NZ teams:

• Separate the fans, one side hosting Stormers and one side hosting the opposition supporters to hold the peace.
• Ban all non Stormer supporters from the game

Then there is my solution to this entire mess:

• Just ignore them, don’t give them camera time, writing 50 articles and promote them before the games. If they aren’t pissing anybody off, they will soon lose interest and doing it.

I can’t really think of what else this investigation will achieve. I just can’t help but wonder how many Stormers Supporters there will be at Free State Stadium this weekend mixed in between the Cheetah supporters without too much of a fuss being made, yes it is two local sides, but it is still a divided stance and someone from the Cheetahs is going to want to moer someone of the Stormers or vice versa.

Congratulations to the Cheetahs for being the only SA team to win this past weekend keeping the flag waving. On that, some Bull or sour Lions supporter told me today that the Cheetahs had a lucky tour and that anybody would have come back from it with 3 out of 4. I thought for a second and answered him, yes the Waratahs are an easy win, just ask the Blues, so are the Force, just ask the Reds, who co-incidentally beat the Bulls. I had to agree that coming back from the tour and playing the Rebels is somewhat a bonus, but still a match that needs to be won. The Bulls got lucky by having a Bye after returning from their tour having two weeks to shake of the jet lag, where the Cheetahs are facing the Stormers and then the Bulls after their Rebels game, both teams who have had byes and the Stormers still need to go on tour.

If the Cheetahs ever had a chance to finish in the Top 6 it would be this year, seeing as they miss the Crusaders and Brumbies, I will be supporting them full out!

Did I mention that I got 100% on Superbru?

Peace!

The Cheetahs have returned safely to Bloemfontein from what has been the franchises most successful tour to date, three wins out of four games is something that any touring squad would be proud of, so well done boytjies!!

The Cheetahs usually leading the stats in missed tackles, losing matches they should have won and throwing away games after the 60^th minute seem to have turned a new leaf and the stats so far this year read something of a fairy-tale for the Central Franchise.

Here is something I never thought I would write in a blog post, Lappies Labuschagne is leading the tackles made table along with 2 other Cheetahs in the top 10, so much for the Cheetahs don’t have a defence arguments.

Good on you Lappies! Keep this up and the whole Flouw and overseas players argument is gone and you will be Bok nr 7, much like Juan was.

Lappies Labuschagne

The team is finally coming together as a unit, losing Goosen definitely wasn’t part of the game plan, but Super Rugby is about adapting and overcoming injuries within the squad, Riaan Smith seems to be a good replacement by running and passing more and kicking a lot less than he did last year.

The loose trio of van der Walt, Labuschagne and Brussouw seems to be complimenting each other, losing Frans Viljoen would have been a bigger blow if Brussouw wasn’t ready and having Prinsloo on the bench is also a big positive and he is a good impact player.

I hope the Cheetahs don’t underestimate the Rebels after their crushing defeat against the Sharks, the Rebels will be looking to bounce back and prove that they are better than that, especially now that Vuna and Beale also decided to take up boxing. The Cheetahs also have the travel factor to deal with, although with coaching and sleeping programs designed to combat the effects these days, that should not really have a big influence, so the only thing that can cause the Cheetahs to lose this weekend, will be complacency.

Keep on tackling boys!!!

Peace!

I are having a confession

Today according to the Free State Cheetahs Facebook page and website, they have announced breaking news that will rock Bloemfontein, the city itself as well as the fans.

The Central Franchise have announced that they will finally start playing in the Super Competition this weekend, Management and Coaching staff have mistakenly mislead the players in what can go down as the biggest sports blooper of both February and March, they led the players to believe that the matches between the Sharks and Chiefs were friendlies and they subsequently did not give it their all, using these matches to try new calls and combinations.

Luckily this has been clarified and the players and Management alike are now fully aware that they are in the competition and will fully bring it all this weekend.

The Otago Sun have also spread a warning on the frontpage, where clearly some expat is a reporter reading “Boere skrik wakker” accompanied by the Otago Herald stating “There can be only one, except if you leave your wife alone with Naka”. Clearly Otago is rattled and Naka’s mind games to get into the players bedro.. I mean minds have worked.

The Cheetahs will have shaken off the jetlag from their previous “friendly” match against the Chiefs and will be looking to get back that touring form from last year taking at least 4 points out of this weekend’s match against the Highlanders, boosted with Brussouw returning on their last tour match in New Zealand before jetting over to Sydney, where they have to complete a hat trick against the Waratahs and will hopefully end the tour well against the Force.

Go Cheetahs!!!!

Peace!

As I gaze at my ID Book and look at my year of birth, I cannot help by compare my age against rugby players of note, thinking what could have been if I maybe hit the gym a bit harder at 15, if my knees were still in good health or even and maybe most importantly, if I actually had real talent.

This used to be quite a reasonable endeavour a couple of years ago, being younger than most of the top players, putting in the hard miles at the gym and training track and being an avid member of club rugby, waiting for my day to come, sadly though, last year was my last year as a club rugby player as my wife and I decided it is time to start on that family and focus needs to be put on that and my professional career which sadly is not a Professional Rugby Player. Some dreams I guess were just not meant to come true.

A lot of people I know, played next to and against blamed the way that the Springboks get selected, you have to come from a big and famous School, play Craven Week for a big Province and some even went the route of blaming race and government for their own Provincial rugby and Springbok shortcomings.

I seem to always laugh at these points because I know 2 people personally who went a different route and became Springbok rugby players by pure dedication and of course, the dreaded talent word. Size is unfortunately not everything, luckily that is, because I am not the biggest guy out there. These “facts” that my teammates used in their defence at not being able to perform at provincial and national level are however completely untrue, here are the two living examples:

The first player I would like to mention here, is a kid who grew up in a small mining town in the Free State called Virginia, being a small town, they only had two high-schools, one for English folk and one for Afrikaanse mense, one had soccer and the other had rugby. He obviously went for the rugby and Afrikaans one, ever since primary school people in the small town were talking about this kid who plays a big and tough game. He represented the school’s first team since Gr 10 and was head hunted by numerous big schools like Grey College etc. he however decided to stay in the small school and went on to play Craven Week for the Griffons, not a big provincial team at all. He decided to take up UJ on their scholarship after school, this of course the days before Varsity Cup he went on to represent the Lions and later on the Sharks both in Currie Cup and Super Rugby, his name Jean Deysel.

You see, the second player I will mention, grew up in Bloemfontein, went to a high-school that is not a big name, and neither did he make the Free State Craven Week squad. He just went out there Saturday after Saturday giving it all for his school, this was spotted by a talent scout and he requested the player to go to UOFS as it was in those days and play for the Shimlas he impressed at the higher level and went on to represent the Cheetahs, struggling to get a place in the starting team alongside legends like his personal hero Andre Venter, Rassie Erasmus and Hendro Scholtz. He made his debut against the Pumas in Witbank on 8^th man and again immediately impressed the coaching staff, his ability to carry the ball and defend made him a regular in the then Cats starting line-up, even captaining the squad. He went on to be one of the best Springbok blind-side flankers the world has ever known, even Richie McCaw complimented him and said that he is the toughest opponent he has ever played against, his name, the legendary Juan Smith.

The point I am trying to make here is, stop blaming other people and circumstances for what you can’t achieve. If you want it badly enough, work had enough and are good enough, you will get there.

I would also like to thank Juan Smith for all he has done for the Cheetahs and Springbok rugby, being forced to retire is never a good way to go, all the best for the future and I honestly hope that this will not be the end of the relationship between you and the FSRU.

Peace!

This weekend the Toyota Cheetahs face off against the DHL Stormers in the next fixture of the pre-season warm-up matches.

The home side have made 14 changes to the starting line-up with only Hennie Daniller surviving in the starting 15 that ran out against the Lions this past weekend. Nothing here is unexpected, but if I look at the comments on the Sport24 and Supersport articles about these changes, either I am missing something or the public as a whole are. These are training matches to give the players some game time ahead of what will be a gruelling Super Rugby season. I does not depend on your previous performance if you get chosen but more along the lines of giving everybody a chance to see what they got.

Finally, the Legend returns!

The Cheetahs will be giving 5 players a run this weekend who are returning from injury, the most notable will be the long awaited vision of Juan Smith in an Orange and White jersey again, although he will only be on for 15 minutes, I am sure he has been prepping himself for two years for this and will probably be giving a 150% from the onset, although I hope that he takes it easy for the first while.

I am also looking forward to the comeback of the other injured players, Willie le Roux’s talent is unquestionable and will be welcomed back with open arms, the comeback of two of our star loose forwards Lappies and Philip should also bulk things up in front and of course new addition Johann Sadie will make his debut for the Cheetahs this weekend against his Province of birth and will be out to show what he’s got.

The Stormers will be led by a former Cheetah, Duane Vermeulen who will give his all to show HM that Pierre Spies is not better than him.

The FSRU have also made tickets to this game free that will hopefully see Free State fill-up with support for both teams, I will be in Bloemfontein this weekend also watching the game, I won’t miss Juan’s comeback for anything.

Peace!