After 3 weeks of gruelling Super 14 rugby we start to see patterns of the various problems emerging in the South African Super 14 sides. Here is a sideways glance at how I see the respective shortcommings and possible areas to work on.
Bulls:
Although the Bulls are top of the log and have achieved a full 15 from 15 possible Log points, there are areas of concern. Firstly, there is still a slight problem on outside centre, the Bulls simply do not have an International standard No 13. In addition, although Gerhard van den Heever has performed on attack, his defence needs radical improvement.
The Bulls will have to better their kick-off accuracy as well, with most kick off’s going too far and with the Bulls losing quite a few kick-off’s which they should receive and control.
The Bulls cannot continue to get behind on the score board early on either, then come from way behind to win the game.
Sharks:
3 Losses on the trot, 2 of them at home, says it all. There is something dramatically wrong in Sharks infested waters!
Let’s start up front… I believe a lot of the woes stem from very average locks, who let their front rows down substantially, who are sloppy at line-out time and who do not graft hard enough in the loose. In addition there is a dicipline problem with key players… the Duppies…. or as I call them, “the Doctor and the Mental Patient”. Too many penalties which could easily be avoided is given against the Sharks for ill dicipline. How do we fix this, well start with Steven Sykes at No 4 and with Wilhelm Steenkamp at No 5, put Muller and Splitpin van den Berg out to pasture…. and tell Hargreaves that he better shape up or ship out. Tell the Duppies that they are on a very short leach regarding dicipline…. and move John Smit permanently back to hooker.
Then we move slightly back…. who knows who the ideal starters should be amongst the plethera of loosies at the Sharks… the balance seems wrong, the combinations not clicking. Fix this by playing a combination of Deysel (6), Alberts (7) and Kankowski ( 8), with Botes on the bench as more mobile flanker and impact player.
At Halfback, there is a conundrum of note…. I would put Ruan Pienaar at scrummie and never ever play him at Flyhalf again. In addition, I would bench Kockott and I would start with Andy Goode at Flyhalf, with young Lambie also on the bench. Seems radical, does’nt it, yet something has to be done towards creating total change in this very important and pivotal link between front and back.
At centre I would choose Riaan at inside centre, Adi at outside centre and forget about ever playing Waylon Murray again. At wing I would tell JP Pietersen that he better get himself sorted out and if he still does not regain form, I would bench him… teach him a lesson in humility that way. Odwa on the other wing has been OK’ish but I would be tempted to start with Mvovo.
Stefan Terblanche has been the only solid fella in the whole Sharks backline, so I would leave him there and slowly bring Ludik through from the bench.
Stormers:
There is such a lot of promise in the Stormers and one senses that they are very near to clicking as a 15-man unit, but they’re still far from perfect.
Firstly, Wikus Blaauw needs to return from injury, Schalk Burger too, then the forwards are pretty much sorted, with Andries Bekker and Tiaan Liebenberg having impressed me so far.
Behind the scrums is where the problem lies…. Ricky Januarie has performed well, against expectation, so keep the little meerkat there, but for heavens sake a change is needed at Flyhalf.
When others swooned about Peter Grant in the past, I have maintained that he is incapable of dominating the territorial game, like a good flyhalf should. Willem de Waal should get the nod now, at least he dominates territory from No 10, but I will try and bring Lionel Cronje through more and more to eventually be the first choice No 10.
At No 12 Juan de Jongh still has to grow into the role of inside centre, having played at No 13 mostly before, so I would leave him there to settle properly.
Jaque Fourie has been solid, albeit a bit quiet, Aplon is a perfect fit at right wing and Habana is a perfect fit at left wing (despite his wayward game this past weekend).
At Fullback, one does not disturb the points machine, Joe Peterson, leave him exactly where he is.
The Stormers defence has been solid enough but they have not scored enough tries, largely due to 2 things, namely firstly the defence-minded approach as a team and secondly the bad link at No 10 (Grant). Fix that and you have a team which should go very far.
Cheetahs:
I think the Cheetahs mainly need a kick up the bumper…. damnit, why should they always give easy Log Points to overseas teams, yet play their hearts out against SA opposition?
They have a solid tight 5 and good loosies, no problem… but once again, it is behind the scrums where things go wrong. Tewis de Bruin is just not up to it in the Super 14, play the much more attacking option of Sarel Pretorius, for goodness sakes!
Naas Olivier is very average, although good as a kicker for posts, but that’s exactly where his game starts and stops. He is a weak defender and the 2nd weak link apart from Tewis, in the backline.
Is it not time to bring Robert Ebersohn through as Flyhalf next to the nippy Sarel Pretorius.
With the back 3 there is nothing wrong, speed to burn and solidity, no problem.
So, apart from 2 key players, the only thing the Cheetahs need is a total mind and focus shift!
Lions:
Where does one beging to analize this broken lot of ball chuckers….
Unfortunately for Dick Muir, he is now forced to work within the current structures and group of players contracted, which is where I feel the core of the probelm lies… too many ordinary Club Level Players in an International Competition, amongst the ranks!
Let’s not be over critical though, they have a solid enough front row, average locks and very good loosies, so the forwards should compete well enough.
There are problems beyond the forwards though! When will Jano Vermaak be ready from injury, because JP Joubert is just not fit for this kind of tournament…. must say that the little Puma scrummie has impressed though, from the bench. “King Carlos” has been average at No 10 but still is a better option than Burton Francis, who is of Vodacom Cup standard only.
In the centres, the Lions have been porous and leaking the tries by the numbers, they better shore up defences here, big time. On the wings they have 2 speed merchants but one cannot help but wait for Chavanga to get injured sooner rather than later.
Earl Rose at No 15 has done his thing and I would leave him there.
In general, the Lions attitude of all out attack at the expense of a milder blend of better defence with structured attack has been their biggest downfall. Shore up defences all around, Lions, and you might actually win a couple of games!
yes blouste
ek sien jy werk ALWEER nie, hehehe
29: goed so, maar onthou, ‘n ware bul het ook horings !
30
gbs
Ek sukkel maar om ‘n paar van daai spanne se name te noem…vandaar die hakkel 😯
gbs @ 30
flokken bliksems kannie rugby spelie man
…
flok, laat ek liewers los voor ek weer begin!!
blouste @ 33
lol
bdb @ 32
😀 daai horings op haai helmet wat djy altyd dra, is oek sieker die enagste stywe horing wat djy het nê?
34@ Asbak – Ek hettie die Stormpoppies game gesien nie, net paar van die highlites… vertel my bietjie waar was die foute…. regtig, ek is ernstig, sal graag wil weet!
Ek hoor Habana was heel van sy perdjie af… en vol streke…
Vertel bietjie, man!
flok
nou waars die blou-f*kken-bulls ondersteuners nou weer heen?
Nee Ash…vertel ons man.
Dit behoort interessant te wees… 😆
gbs @ 36
wel die hele f*kken k@k het by die witleeu begin 😀
blouste @ 38
lol
I see Carlos Spencer is most probably injured and not able to play this weekend for the Lions
Ek kan seker oor so 10 minute terug kom, want hier gaan ‘n lang verduideliking kom… 😆
Kom nou Asblik, vertel ons alles van vrydag: die wedstryd bedoel ek !
Wat was die seerste: vrydag se misskop, of MS se oorskop in die CB semi laasjaar ? 😉
41
Francis begin die naweek vir die Leeus.
41: Leeu span is klaar uit, sien op WTR. Francis is losskakel.
bdb @ 43
lol, altwee
O, OK, thanks…
Siende dat ons Leeu-korrespondente hier op R-T nie daai nuus opsit nie, moet ek seker maar self so maak, nê!
47: GBS ek is verkeerd. Dit was net Willa se span wat hy voorstel, die span word eers more bekend gemaak.
bdb @ 48
duh
jy’s ALTYD verkeerd!! 😀
German scientists dug 50 meters underground and discovered small pieces of copper. After studying these pieces for a long time, Germany announced that the ancient Germans 25,000 years ago had a nation-wide telephone network.
Naturally, the British government was not that easily impressed. They ordered their own scientists to dig even deeper. 100 meters down, they found small pieces of glass, and they soon announced that the ancient Brits 35,000 years ago already had a nation-wide fibre net.
Israeli scientists were outraged. They dug 50, 100 and 200 meters underground, but found absolutely nothing…
They concluded that the ancient Hebrews 55,000 years ago had cellular telephones.
49: Stormers gaan die S14 wen ! 😉
A Frenchman and an Italian were seated next to an Australian on an overseas flight. After a few cocktails, the men began discussing their home lives.
“Last night I made love to my wife four times,” the Frenchman bragged, “and this morning she made me delicious crepes and she told me how much she adored me.”
“Ah, last night I made love to my wife six times,” the Italian responded, “and this morning she made me a wonderful omelet and told me she could never love another man.”
When the Australian remained silent, the Frenchman smugly asked, “And how many times did you make love to your wife last night?”
“Once,” he replied.
“Only once?” the Italian arrogantly snorted. “And what did she say to you this morning?”
“Don’t stop.”
bdb @ 51
my ou vriendjie
soos jy weet …. jy’s ALTYD reg!! 😆
Lees bietjie hier….
Team talk (Gallo Images)
Pretoria – The Vodacom Bulls are the team which has adapted to the new Super 14 law interpretations the best according to statistics released for the first three rounds.
While the defending Super 14 champions are riding the crest of a wave and are the only side to have a full house of points, it doesn’t come as a surprise they are also the side to have conceded the least penalties thus far in the competition.
According to the statistics released by the SA Referees Society, the Bulls have conceded just 21 penalties in their three matches, one of only two teams to have conceded less than 25 penalties thus far.
It all makes for interesting reading, especially after the worries there were before the start of the season that the Super 14 would have been overrun by the whistleblowers penalising any who does not adapt to the new laws.
Bulls captain Victor Matfield has admitted his side’s failure to defend their Super 14 title in 2008, after their first win in 2007, was mainly due to their failure to embrace the new laws. No such luck this time as Matfield and co were exceptional in their second half performances in all three games in strangling their opposition and forcing them into penalties.
The Cheetahs may have only conceded six penalties in the opening game against the Bulls, but the real story in their dominance comes in the two matches against the Brumbies and Waratahs, where they were behind at the break, but produced scintillating controlled performances in the second half to control the game.
The Brumbies and Waratahs both conceded 12 penalties in those games, many of which were within striking distance for Morné Steyn’s boot – another reason why he has already amassed 78 points.
Yet the run of penalties have also brought a new aspect to the game with the normally conservative Bulls looking for tries instead of upping Steyn’s boot tally last weekend.
“Sometimes you get a feeling on the field,” Matfield explained his decisions, “But with the new laws, once you get into an opposition’s 22 metre area, it is very very difficult for the attacking team to lose the ball if they play properly. Often this leads to further penalties and tries.”
Those who proposed the law changes will be rightfully smiling at this – coaxing the Bulls to be more adventurous. But it also shows in the stats again, with the Bulls by far the highest try scorers thus far, with 17 – four more than the Chiefs.
It is certainly interesting that the Sharks, who have had a nightmare start, have only scored one try this season.
But stats don’t tell the entire story, nor are they a key indicator for success at times. The Western Force are the side who have conceded the second least penalties over three rounds – only 23 – but are sitting firmly at the bottom of the log.
That too seems to be the case as the Brumbies (36 penalties), Chiefs (38) and Hurricanes (38) have all been on the wrong side of the law far too often, but have backed themselves and their gamebreakers to score when it mattered.
Interestingly enough, the Bulls are also the team with the least stoppages in each round, averaging around 58. The match with the most stoppages was the Waratahs-Stormers tackle festival, with 91 stoppages in the match, won by the Stormer 27-6.
And while it is difficult to analyse with statistics, it is a worrying factor that collapsed scrums spike whenever there is an Australian team present. The number of resets and collapses are ultimately more when the Aussies play. Could their scrum be feeling the pressure of the new laws? Time will tell.
Penalties per Team
Blues: 13 + 9 + 13 = 35
Brumbies: 10 + 12 + 14 = 36
Bulls: 9 + 8 + 4 = 21
Cheetahs: 6 + 15 + 8 = 29
Chiefs: 9 + 21 + 8 = 38
Crusaders: 7 + 12 + 9 = 28
Highlanders: 6 + 7 + 15 = 28
Hurricanes: 12 + 12 + 14 = 38
Lions: 9 + 11 + 12 = 32
Reds: 14 + 10 + 5 = 29
Sharks: 14 + 10 + 9 = 33
Stormers: 11 + 12 + 12 = 35
Waratahs: 9 + 12 + 12 = 33
Western Force: 9 + 7 + 7 = 23
Tries per team
Blues: 2 + 3 + 4 = 9
Brumbies: 3 + 3 + 1 = 7
Bulls: 6 + 5 + 6 = 17
Cheetahs: 3 + 1 + 2 = 6
Chiefs: 1 + 8 + 4 = 13
Crusaders: 4 + 2 + 4 = 10
Highlanders: 2 + 2 + 3 = 7
Hurricanes: 1 + 7 + 4 = 12
Lions: 1 + 8 + 2 = 11
Reds: 3 + 4 + 2 = 9
Sharks: 0 + 1 + 0 = 1
Stormers: 2 + 3 + 1 = 6
Waratahs: 2 + 0 + 4 = 6
Western Force: 0 + 3 + 1 = 4
53: moet nou nie van deuntjie veranner nie !
bdb @ 55
ag my ou vriendjie
sal ek nou so iets doen?
I’m very proud of my gold pocket watch. My grandfather, on his deathbed, sold me this watch.
woody allen
I’m off…
Cheers julle manne.
That’s the fastest time ever run – but it’s not as fast as the world record. – David Coleman
bdb @ 59
lol
Users Online
Total 207 users including 0 member, 207 guests, 0 bot online
Most users ever online were 3735, on 31 August 2022 @ 6:23 pm
No Counter as from 31 October 2009: 41,263,189 Page Impressions
_