I will play with stats a few times this year. Nothing is scientific or reliable. You are welcome to provide more. Add more scenarios.
Obviously benchmarks were set by the Bulls so this might sound like a Blue Bulls ego trip. I will try and find great nice to read stats from the other sides too. That’s where you come in, help me out. Differ from my not so unbiased views, let’s discuss it. But remember what looks good this week might look ugly next.
This competition runs over 15 weeks and a lot will change during this time. The teams running smooth now might fall out of the bus later. Ask the Sharks what went wrong in the last four weeks in 2009, you might find a book filled with explanations. The fact was that they did not score enough tries(31) and as a result not enough bonus points.
My first observation in the 2010 competition is the similarity of the Sharks start of 2009 and that off the Stormers in 2010. Defence was a high priority in both teams start of the respective seasons. Both won their first 2 games.
2009 Sharks PF 45 PA 25
2010 Stormers PF 53 PA 19
That shows a marginally better performance by the Stormers, but the tries for is the same. They both scored 5 in the 2 games. The Stormers again having the better try difference because they only conceded 1 try (Sharks conceded 3).
So although it is early days for all teams here is my advice.
Stormers play the whole 80 minutes, in both games your last 65 minutes was scoreless. Get your bonus points early.
So by the way Bulls had the same start last year, scoring 2 bonus point wins, and scored 11 tries in both years and conceding 6 in both.
Top Point Scorers
|
T |
C |
P |
D |
Pts |
|
|
Morné Steyn |
3 |
10 |
8 |
0 |
59 |
|
Stephen Donald |
1 |
10 |
7 |
0 |
46 |
|
Quade Cooper |
2 |
5 |
7 |
1 |
44 |
|
Joe Petersen |
1 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
33 |
|
Naas Olivier |
0 |
3 |
8 |
1 |
33 |
|
Rory Kockott |
0 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
33 |
|
Michael Hobbs |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
24 |
|
Earl Rose |
0 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
24 |
|
Stirling Mortlock |
0 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Try Scorers
| Morné Steyn |
3 |
| Michael Hobbs |
3 |
| Richard Kahui |
3 |
| Wandile Mjekevu |
3 |
| Quade Cooper |
2 |
| Andy Ellis |
2 |
| Bryan Habana |
2 |
| Wynand Olivier |
2 |
| David Smith |
2 |
| Gerhard van den Heever |
2 |
How to analyze the Circus game played between the Chiefs and the Lions is impossible for me. What was seen on Friday night is not the type of Rugby the public wanted, just look at the polls. Read the articles in the press, it was aweful joke.
Very good article but I battle to comment on this article as my beloved Sharks are a shadow of the side they used to be..
Big Sione Lauaki cited after freak show
Chiefs coach Ian Foster believes his team’s record-breaking win over the Lions is a freak result and won’t become the norm under the attack-friendly law interpretations impacting the Super 14.
Both teams scored nine tries with Stephen Donald’s 12 from 12 with the boot ultimately proving the difference in a result that was a record score by an away team and a record points aggregate for a match.
Cynics will suggest the new interpretations are in danger of turning rugby into touch football and it looked that way at times as both teams’ defences were exposed.
Having three Chiefs players sin-binned by Jonker certainly opened the game up for a Lions fightback, especially with skipper Lauaki and de Malmanche both off at the same time at one stage.
“It’s one of those games in some ways you just have to enjoy it for what it was and hope those sort of games don’t happen too often,” Foster said.
“It was at altitude, it was hot and I think our fatigue factor in that last quarter helped them score those last three or four tries. It’s not a usual game of rugby.
“Last year, we had a 63-34 game against the Blues and it sort of felt similar to that. So I’m not sure it’s totally foreign to rugby but clearly I don’t think it’s going to be a weekly occurrence.”
OPINION: It was difficult to know whether to be entertained or annoyed. Whether to cheer or jeer; to laugh or cry.
But I do know the Chiefs’ second straight win of the new Super 14 season in Johannesburg yesterday will have my old mate Stephen Jones, at the Sunday Times, nearly spontaneously combusting.
This no-tackle, airy-fairy 18-try romp that finished 72-65 to Ian Foster’s men is just the sort of match that the suspicious northern scribes point to when they decry southern hemisphere attempts to make the game of rugby more attacking, and more fun to watch.
In fact, you can guarantee this will be Exhibit A in the UK media as it picks holes in the latest attempts by the sport’s rulers and shakers in this part of the world to give things a bit of a tweak. The conspiracy theorists will have a field day.
There have, of course, been no new rule changes this year. Not since the debacle of last year’s ELVs. But for the Super 14 there have been a couple of interpretation shifts aimed at freeing things up a little for the attacking teams.
After sitting through a 2009 rugby season that got progressively more stodgy, one-dimensional and downright boring, the southern hemisphere superpowers have decided to see if they can give things a little nudge in the right direction. As they do.
But judging by Jo’burg yesterday, they may just have unleashed a monster. This match, which broke the records for a game aggregate and also for the points haul by an away team, had some entertainment value. After all, nine tries apiece and a final margin of just seven points meant there had to be something worth watching.
But was this what we really want in our rugby now? I suspect not. And I’m certain that’s exactly what Jones and his ilk up in the north will point out in no uncertain terms.
To paraphrase a line from the great Dr McCoy, I’m sure the general observation in the north will be: “It’s rugby Jim, but not as we know it!” The problem was that neither the Chiefs nor the Lions defended with anything other than token effort. In fact, the only tackle the Chiefs mastered all game was the spear one, and the Lions weren’t a lot better. It’s sometimes called turnstile defence. Or matador tackling. What it resulted in at Ellis Park was a procession of tries and a quite bizarre game of rugby.
If it had been tit-for-tat the whole way, maybe we could have labelled this a classic. But this was most definitely a game of runs from the moment the Chiefs found themselves down 17-25 after the opening half-hour. Foster’s men rattled off 48 unanswered points as they stormed to a 65-25 lead, scoring five tries in 20 minutes. It was about then that the Chiefs lost interest as their hosts went on a 40-7 run of their own, including the game’s last 28 points. Momentum had changed horses mid-race, as it’s prone to do.
But in the end, I’m not so sure we should read too much into a contest that resembled basketball, as much as it did rugby. Sure it was ridiculously easy to score tries. And, sure, some of the tackling made you wonder if you were watching touch or sevens. But there was also some highly skilful stuff, too, and it was hard not to appreciate the hat-tricks from Richard Kahui and 19-year-old Lions star Wandile Mjekevu.
There were two key factors at play here, I reckon. This was the Lions, on a dry night at altitude, playing against a New Zealand side that rather enjoys shifting ball. Last year, the Lions coughed up an average of 31 points in their three home matches against Kiwi sides; the year before it was 41. It’s what they do.
THEN THERE’S the Chiefs. These are the sort of games they can have. They back themselves to prevail in a slugfest. To land more punches than you, even if it’s only one more. When they went through a mid-season purple patch last year, they beat the Blues 63-34, the Reds 50-26 and the Lions 36-29, and were nudged 33-27 by the Bulls in Pretoria. It’s what they do.
So maybe we – and when I say we, I mean even the Stephen Joneses of this world – give this match the benefit of the doubt and hold it up as the exception that proves the rule. After all, elsewhere the scores were a lot more normal, even if the results weren’t.
The Blues scored three tries to two to pip the Highlanders in a pretty combative contest in Dunedin; the Queensland Reds caused the shock of the round with a high-quality 41-20 victory over the Crusaders in Brisbane; and the Cheetahs showed that precision kicking can still win games when they upset the Sharks 25-20 in hot ‘n’ humid Durban in a match featuring just a try apiece.
In many ways it might be more accurate to hold up the Reds-Crusaders match as an example of what can be achieved under the new rule interpretations.
The Reds have been the competition doormats in recent years, but they showed on Friday night that under a good coach, with some attitude and commitment, and by giving it a bit of a shake, even a disciplined unit such as the Crusaders can be broken down.
It was an impressive performance by the Reds who built pressure throughout the contest on the back of a fine forward effort and a breakout display from mercurial five-eighth Quade Cooper. It also, surely, hastened the return of Richie McCaw for next weekend.
The Crusaders are not given to panic and knee-jerk reactions, but their at-times shambolic effort at Suncorp indicated they badly need McCaw back, as much for his leadership as his peerless play on the openside flank. The summer solstice is surely over.
Still, all told another promising weekend for Super 14 rugby. Two big upsets indicate a levelling of the playing field, and for the most part the rugby was high quality. And let’s not forget the Chiefs have now won two in South Africa. Regardless of the method, or the madness, that’s flat-out impressive.
Highest scoring game in Super Rugby History
Fri 19 Feb 2010, 23:45
Since 1996, the highest scoring game in Super Rugby was a total of 118 points. This was during a match on the 8th of March 1997, when Natal beat the Highlanders by 75 points to 43.
Back then, the laws were much different, and the supposed law changes ever since, endeavoured to make the game more open and attractive. A seemingly pointless excercise given games like the on in 1997. It seems though, that these law changes have certainly achieved in its goal to make the game more open, since tonight, that almost 13 year old record was broken. This time between the 12th placed Lions of 2009 and the 2009 runners up, the Chiefs, where the Chiefs beat the Lions by a mere 7 points, but would you believe, a total of 137 points were scored. Chiefs 72 – 65 Lions.
The game started off pretty excitingly, and after 5 minutes I thought the Lions are in for one of “those” nights, and my 18 point margin pick for the Chiefs on Superbru suddenly seemed a bit optimistic for the Lions. But the Lions showed an impressive fight back, and a clever game plan to speed up the pace of the game and run the Chiefs tired at every opportunity, and had the Chiefs trailing by 25-20 just before half time. But a try just before half time to the Chiefs gave the lead back to them at 27-25 at half time. Sadly, this is when the Rugby ended, and a game, which reminded me of a mix between school break touchies and “open the gates”, started.
In 20 minutes time, the Chiefs ammassed a further 35 points, and not long after, lead by 72 – 25. What happened next, was the Lions running around with the ball and scoring just about at will, much like the Chiefs in the beginning of the second half. It was as if the Chiefs were next to the field having a drinks break. A bit like the story of the turtle and the hare having a race…
Next thing we know, I am back with a margin point chance on Superbru, but the Lions kept on playing, and scored another try 4 minutes into extra time to earn the losing bonus point. They celebrated almost as if they just finished a marathon, with total disregard for the near humiliation they have suffered.
Well, this certainly was not a rugby match for the purists. Maybe there were some people who enjoyed seeing some guys making turns to run virtually untouched from one end of the field to the other, but for me, the second half had about as much rugby in it as the local old age home’s crochet club for the blind. It was rediculous. They could have just as well only had one member of each side on the field, to see who can outsmart the other the most. It might actually have been more entertaining.
Make no mistake, had the Lions completed the near miracle tonight by coming back and winning the game, which they were not far off doing in the end, it would have been an incredible achievement for them and their supporters. But in terms of quality of Rugby, I think the new laws which have been introduced since that game of Natal vs HIghlanders in 1997, has done nothing more than open up the game, since attractive, this game was certainly not.
A try feast of a record of 18 tries in Super Rugby, the previous record made in the game on 11 May 2002 between the Crusaders (14 tries) and the Waratahs(3). With 9 tries a piece, the Chiefs and the Lions can certainly not walk away from this game, thinking they have incredible attacking powers. Pathetic defense on both sides was the biggest feature of this game. It is understandable when 1 team dominates, as in the 1997 game and the 2002 game, that at least one team can walk away and feel they have achieved something great. In this instance, both teams were either incredibly pathetic or incredibly great. I opt for the former, and I think both should consider whether they will be able to defend agianst their opposition in the coming games.
We all know that the Lions gained the upperhand due to the Chiefs running out of air. Yet, I cannot help but feel that the Lions should have won this game after the great first half they had, and the Chiefs should never have been allowed to lead 72-25 at one stage. I bet the stadium was starting to run empty fairly quickly at that time, and when those supporters got home and saw the final score, they might feel hard done by that they missed the Lions come-back.
Sadly, after such a 47 point margin has been achieved, the leading team will inevitably relax a bit and allow the other team a bit of a fight back, especially at altitude. 47 points is hardly only a fight back, yet, the point is, the Chiefs would never have allowed the Lions to win from there. If that had been the case, it would have been the greatest come back in the history of Sport, and would have superseded the 438 game in which the Proteas defeated the Aussies in Johannesburg.
This weekend has certainly delivered on surprises, with the Crusaders going down to the Reds for the first time since 1999, and the Chiefs for the first time beating the Lions at Ellis Park since 2002. I somehow cannot help but sense a shift in the major powers in Super Rugby. And if the current application of the laws is to blame, or to thank, will perhaps depend on your team’s ability to adapt to them. This weekend after 4 games a total of 277 points have been scored already. Historically, the most points in a round is 427 back in 2005, round 10. If tonight’s game was the intended result of the new laws, which I somehow suspect it is (favor the attacking team and penalise the DEFENDING team), we need to brace ourselves for a total new era in Rugby Union, and maybe, just maybe, this is the transition of Rugby Union, to Rugby League. I pray it is not so.
Guess witch side asks this question in week 2?
Are we heading for the wooden spoon?
No (57%, 68 Votes)
Yes (43%, 52 Votes)
Total Voters: 120
“That old Welsh fart, Stephen Jones must be in the ICU after seeing that 52 tries were scored in the 7 Super14 matches played this weekend. He of the stodgy 3-0 scoreline variety would not have coped with this basket ball type entertainment!”
From Tank Lannings blog
Front Row Grunt
The following 7 posts will give you the Refs Stats. Somehow they issue this weekly.
(i) Highlanders vs Blues
Penalties conceded: 16
Highlanders: 7
Blues: 9
Reasons for the penalties:
Highlanders:
Tackle: 4 (Newland, Hayward, Bekhuis, Rutledge)
Offside: 1 (McIntosh)
Discipline: 2 (Newland – collapsing maul; Newland – obstruction)
Blues:
Tackle: 6 (Kaino 2, Haiu, Haiu & Ma’afu, Afoa, Ranger)
Offside: 2 (Woodcock, Haiu)
Scrum: 1 (Woodcock)
Each side missed two penalty kicks at goal.
Free kicks conceded
Highlanders: 1 (scrum)
Blues: 2(1 scrum, 1 line-out)
Line-outs
Highlanders: 12 (1 lost, 1 free kick)
Blues: 10 (4 lost, 1 skew, 3 reset)
Scrums
Highlanders: 13 (2 resets, 1 penalty)
Blues: 12 (3 resets, 2 collapses, 1 lost, 2 free kicks)
Drop-outs
Highlanders: 3
Blues: 2
Stoppages: 77
(ii) Reds vs Crusaders
Penalties conceded: 22
Reds: 10
Crusaders: 12
Reasons for the penalties:
Reds:
Tackle: 8 (Braid*, Ioane, Higginbotham* 3, Holmes, Byrnes, Daley)
Offside: 2 (Byrnes, Braid)
Crusaders:
Tackle: 8 (Thomas Waldrom, Read* 2, Fruean, Owen Franks* 2, Sam Whitelock*, Adam Whitelock)
Offside: 2 (Thomas Waldrom, Ross*)
Scrum: 1 (Ben Franks)
Discipline: 1 (Slade – high tackle)
Each side missed two penalty kicks at goal.
Free kicks conceded
Reds: 1 (scrum)
Crusaders: 1 (scrum)
Line-outs
Reds: 7 (1 lost)
Crusaders: 9 (2 lost, 1 quick)
Scrums
Reds: 10 (4 reset, 2 collapses, 1 penalty, 2 free kicks, 1 wheel)
Crusaders: 5
Drop-outs
Reds: 1
Crusaders: 2
Stoppages: 62
(iii) Sharks vs Cheetahs
Penalties conceded: 25
Sharks: 10
Cheetahs: 15
Reasons for the penalties:
Sharks:
Tackle: 7 (Hargreaves, Pienaar*, Ndungane, Deysel*, Smit, Pietersen, Daniel*)
Offside: 1 (Sykes)
Scrums: 1 (Smit)
Discipline: 1 (Botes – air tackle)
Cheetahs:
Tackle: 8 (Breedt, Frans Viljoen 2, De Bruyn, Brüssow*, Smith, De Villiers, Pretorius)
Offside: 3 (Brüssow*, De Bruyn, Strauss)
Scrum: 2 (Strauss, Nel)
Discipline: 2 (Frans Viljoen – man without ball; De Villiers – +10)
The Sharks missed three penalty kicks at goal, the Cheetahs one.
Free kicks conceded
Sharks: 2 (scrums)
Cheetahs: 1 (scrum)
Line-outs
Sharks: 8 (1 skew)
Cheetahs: 9 (1 quick)
Scrums
Sharks: 6 (3 resets, 2 collapses, 2 penalties)
Cheetahs: 13 (4 resets, 4 collapses, 3 free kicks, 1 penalty)
Drop-outs
Sharks: 1
Cheetahs: 4
Stoppages: 76
(iv) Lions vs Chiefs
Penalties conceded: 32
Lions: 11
Chiefs: 21
Reasons for the penalties:
Lions:
Tackle: 7 (Franco vs an der Merwe 2, Grobbelaar, Joubert*, Buys, Mjekevu , Minnie)
Offside: 2 (Heinke vs an der Merwe, Clever*)
Scrum: 1 (Heinke vs an der Merwe)
Discipline: 1 (Stoltz – elbow to the face)
Chiefs:
Tackle: 11 (De Malmanche, Messam 3, Retallick 2, Bruce, Willison, Latimer, Taumalolo 2)
Offside: 4 (Taumalolo*, Clarke, Kahui, Leonard)
Discipline: 6 (De Malmanche – collapsing maul; Retallick – obstruction; Lauaki – dangerous tackle; Kahui – dangerous tackle; Messam – diving on try-scorer; Lauaki — man without ball) (Instead of Kahui, Nanai-Williams should have been sin-binned.)
The Lions missed a penalty kick at goal.
Free kicks conceded
Lions: 1 (scrum)
Chiefs: 1 (scrum)
Line-outs
Lions: 9 (2 quick)
Chiefs: 7 (1 skew, 1 quick)
Scrums
Lions: 8 (1 resets, 1 free kick)
Chiefs: 12 (2 resets, 2 collapses, 1 free kick, 1 penalty, 1 lost)
Drop-outs
Lions: 0
Chiefs: 1
Stoppages: 74
(v) Hurricanes vs Western Force
Penalties conceded: 19
Hurricanes: 12
Western Force: 7
Reasons for the penalties:
Hurricanes:
Tackle: 7 (Tialata* 2, Broadhurst, David Smith, Hore, Vito, Paterson)
Offside: 4 (Nonu, Tialata, Conrad Smith, Weepu)
Discipline: 1 (Nonu – not 10)
Western Force:
Tackle: 2 (Haylett-Petty, Sheehan)
Offside: 2 (Hockings, Hodgson)
Scrums: 1 (Fairbrother)
Discipline: 2 (Sare – man without the ball; Haylett-Petty – late tackle)
Western Force missed a penalty kick at goal.
Free kicks conceded
Hurricanes: 1 ( scrum)
Western Force: 4 (3 scrums, 1 +10)
Line-outs
Hurricanes: 12 (1 lost, 1 skew)
Western Force: 10 (1 lost, 1 quick)
Scrums
Hurricanes: 6 (3 resets, 3 collapses)
Western Force: 8 (4 resets, 3 collapses, 4 free kicks, 1 penalty)
Drop-outs
Hurricanes: 1
Western Force: 0
Stoppages: 68
(vi) Bulls vs Brumbies
Penalties conceded: 20
Bulls: 8
Brumbies: 12
Reasons for the penalties:
Bulls:
Tackle: 5 (Stegmann* 2, vs an der Merwe 2, Kuün*)
Offside: 1 (Botha*)
Discipline: 2 (Wannenburg – obstruction; Kirchner – high tackle)
Brumbies:
Tackle: 7 (Moore 2, Elsom, Lealiifano, Fainifo 2, George Smith)
Offside: 2 (Hoiles, vs Valentine)
Scrums: 2 (Alexander** 2)
Discipline: 1 (Ma’afu – obstruction)
The Bulls missed a kick at goal.
Free kicks conceded
Bulls: 1 (line-out)
Brumbies: 1 (line-out)
Line-outs
Bulls: 8 (2 lost)
Brumbies: 12 (1 lost, 2 free kicks)
Scrums
Bulls: 1 (collapse)
Brumbies: 7 (3 resets, 7 collapses)
Drop-outs
Bulls: 0
Brumbies: 2
Stoppages: 55
(vii) Stormers vs Waratahs
Penalties conceded: 24
Stormers: 12
Waratahs: 12
Reasons for the penalties:
Stormers:
Tackle: 10 (Bekker, Steenkamp*, vs Vermeulen*, Fourie 2, Steenkamp & François Louw, François Louw 3, Habana)
Scrums: 2 (Kritzinger)
Waratahs:
Tackle: 7 (Beale, Barnes 2, Palu, Waugh 2, Mowen)
Offside: 2 (Palu, Douglas)
Scrums: 2 (Baxter, Kefu)
Discipline: 1 (Baxter – collapsing maul)
The Stormers missed a penalty kick at goal.
Free kicks conceded
Stormers: 4 (2 scrums, 2 line-outs)
Waratahs: 3 (scrums)
Line-outs
Stormers: 23 (2 lost, 1 quick, 1 free kick)
Waratahs: 15 (2 lost, 1 skew, 1 quick)
Scrums
Stormers: 6 (2 collapses, 1 free kick, 1 penalty)
Waratahs: 9 (5 resets, 2 collapses, 2 penalties)
Drop-outs
Stormers: 0
Waratahs: 2
Stoppages: 90
Ironically the Bulls game flow better or the ref is better?
Stoppages per match
Week 1
Western Force vs Brumbies: 73
Sharks vs Chiefs: 88
Crusaders vs Highlanders: 65
Cheetahs vs Bulls: 60
Blues vs Hurricanes: 69
Lions vs Stormers: 77
Reds vs Waratahs: 74
Week 2
Bulls vs Brumbies: 55
Highlanders vs Blues: 77
Lions vs Chiefs: 74
Sharks vs Cheetahs: 76
Hurricanes vs Western Force: 68
Reds vs Crusaders: 62
Stormers vs Waratahs: 91
“een ding wat ek nie kan verstaan nie al die bulls se spelers is wonderlik, ek dink crusty is kak (kirschner) maar die ding is hulle kry confidence van media etc”
iewers daar in die kuber ruimte reken die ou dat die Pers die Bulle confidence gee.
Box dis die wen kultuur, kyk maar hoe speel jul wegloopkind Jaque nou lekker in n wen kultuur.
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