41 Responses to Super 14 – Round 8 Teams, make your Picks

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  1

  superBul on 4 April 2010 at 4:20 am

  Try this format and Please give us time to fine tune this survey feature.

  Thank You
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  2

  superBul on 4 April 2010 at 4:29 am

  15.
  Answer: Patric Lambie
  14.
  Answer: Odwa Ndungane
  13.
  Answer: Jaco Pretorius
  12.
  Answer: Meyer Bosman
  11.
  Answer: JP Pietersen
  10.
  Answer: Morné Steyn
  9.
  Answer: Ruan Pienaar
  8.
  Answer: Jean Deysel
  7.
  Answer: Dewald Potgieter
  6.
  Answer: Jacques Botes
  5.
  Answer: Victor Matfield
  4.
  Answer: Flip van der Merwe
  3.
  Answer: Werner Kruger
  2.
  Answer: Bismarck du Plessis
  1.
  Answer: John Smit
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  3

  superBul on 4 April 2010 at 4:31 am

  Sorry i will be out today and maybe tomorrow, but will check if this works later. GBS might also adjust some features. Enjoy your weekend.
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  4

  Winston on 4 April 2010 at 8:13 am

  Lambie is the next big thing,I hope and pray Snor picks him for the Boks 🙂 And what makes it better is that he is a Shark :p
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  5

  FireStraeuli on 4 April 2010 at 8:46 am

  Deysel at 8?!

  @Winston
  Lambie the kamikaze fullback, never afraid to take the high ball and tackles men twice his size and age with confidence….just hope he stays humble, unlike one Frans Steyn.
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  6

  FireStraeuli on 4 April 2010 at 9:22 am

  How poor did the Tjietas perform…..again!

  They were boys amongst men on defense. On attack they were as flat as the local high school first team. They pride themselves on beating fellow South African franchises but embarrass South Africa against international opposition.

  It seems they don’t have the resources (due to POOR management) to effectively compete at this level, having had to field their fitness coach on the bench two weeks ago. Excuses for their expected yearly S14 failure range from ‘lack of depth’ (having two franchises to pick from and btw able to effectively compete in the Voda-Cup) to not having enough funds to keep their team intact (having been the team competing the CC final more than most teams this past decade).

  Now I know I’ll be scourged for being too harsh on a team that miraculously managed 2 wins thus far, but this is the same team, no, this is a stronger team than the one almost winning the CC last year. The Tjietas and their supporters think themselves to be boys amongst men, aiming only to upset the odd ‘big side’, but never really expecting themselves to reach the semi’s.

  This is my call for the reinstatement of the Cats, or a relegation system by which we’ll at least be subject to different excuses for the bottom of the log team’s failure to effectively represent their country with a morsel of pride.
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  7

  Loosehead on 4 April 2010 at 10:09 am

  6: 3 wins and now the Sharks supporters are getting above themselves.
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  8

  Bluebeard on 4 April 2010 at 10:16 am

  15. Zane Kirchner- Never put a foot wrong in a hugely trying match for him. Lambie- good under high ballwithout much pressure from Reds-close second.
  14. Odwa Ndungane- best on offer from a thin group.
  13. Jaque Fourie- not at his best, but no-one else from group put hand up
  12. Wynand Olivier- Missed some tackles in a very trying match for him, but still best on offer.
  11. Habana- more on reputation than anything else,
  like JF @ 13- not a weekend for the SA wings
  10 Morne Steyn- best on offer, but not his best
  9. Ruan Pienaar- kept his team in the game with overall play. FdP had a shocker by his standards
  8. Piere Spies- good with ball in hand but missed a lot of tackles- still best on average.
  7. Dewald Potgieter-defensively huge in a very testing game.
  6. Jaques Botes- strong showing and good discipline/Stegmann just too many penalties
  5. Matfield- best on offer
  4. Flip vd Merwe- High workrate and effective, but watch discipline.
  3. Werner Kruger- solid
  2. Bismark duP- worked hard.
  1. Gurthro Steenkamp- huge on defense, something like 17 tackles plus solid in scrum. John Smit close second.

  Look at Ruggastats website and you will see that 6 Blues players made their stats-only team. And only Jannie duP from SA. It tells us that the Bulls were hugely under the kosh and that statistically, the tightheads were poorish. In context, Charlie Faumaina of the Blues was huge at loosehead, only coming in as a late replacement for Tony Woodcock, but for me, on the day, in spite thereof, Werner Kruger still had a better allround game than Jannie duP.
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  9

  Loosehead on 4 April 2010 at 10:46 am

  15 Lambie
  14 Van den Heever
  13 Fourie
  12 Swanepoel
  11 Whoguard
  10 Grant
  9 Ruaan
  8 Verneulen
  7 Louw
  6 Botes
  5 Hargreaves
  4 Flippie
  3 WP
  2 Bismark
  1 Smit
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  10

  Loosehead on 4 April 2010 at 10:47 am

  In the backline I really battled to fill in positions except for 9 and 15.
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  11

  Winston on 4 April 2010 at 10:48 am

  Fires.Frans is a very sore point with me,he was not managed properly and he might be lost to Sa Rugby forever,I know my blue friends dont agree with me but he’s the most talented player we have produced since re.admission,lets hope Lambie gets the right management and keeps his head screwed on properly..
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  12

  FireStraeuli on 4 April 2010 at 10:49 am

  Loosehead,

  Sharks performance has nothing to do with why the Tjietas under performs EVERY year, even a Lions supporter can see the Tjietas under perform in the S14.

  I struggle to believe how apathetic the Tjietas supporters and management are towards their yearly gutless performance in the S14. Yet during the CC they are able to beat all the top teams locally.

  Mine was not merely a cheap shot at some team, but rather an inquisition as to why it is that the Tjietas after all these years are still unable to compete at the top?

  Don’t blindly assume I’m raising these facts merely because the Sharks started performing, this has been a Tjietas problem since their inception to the S14, a problem that’s not being resolved, nor are the Tjietas doing anything to try and rectify the problem.

  The tjietas has this swagger in their step when beating top class opposition, yet when losing they fall back to the same old lame excuse of ‘not being a big enough union’ or ‘not having enough money’.
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  13

  Loosehead on 4 April 2010 at 11:17 am

  12 FS, except for the Bulls NONE of the SA teams have really been anything to write home about.
  In all fairness your comment should be directed towards the Sharks and Stormers who have always had the team and money, yet no results in either competition.
  We Freestate supporters are realistic about our team. We make very few excuses when we don’t perform. Happy when we win any game, be it against a CC team or a S14 team, unhappy when we lose.
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  14

  FireStraeuli on 4 April 2010 at 11:58 am

  Loosehead 13,

  There’s a difference between losing vs. consecutively ending bottom or close to bottom of the log. For how long was it the Sharks flying the flag for SA? How many times have the Sharks’ performance been embarrassing to watch?

  I support South African rugby, I don’t mind the Nulle losing once in a while, but the Tjietas and Lions getting flogged week in and week out is not good for South African rugby. This is not merely a franchise vs. franchise comp. Rather it’s which country has the best teams, the most depth and the most character. And it sux seeing the ozzie and kiwi sides merely taking points from our sides without having to put up a fight.
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  15

  FireStraeuli on 4 April 2010 at 6:24 pm

  Btw, has no one any comments on Craig Joubert?

  No one can accuse me of being a Nulle supporter at all but Craig Joubert was SO biased towards the Blues. He might have mistaken the Blues for the Streamers (whom he obviously supports).

  He was the 4th blemish on this South African rugby weekend.
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  16

  Bluebeard on 4 April 2010 at 6:47 pm

  I refuse to blame any ref for a match outcome. All I’m prepared to say is if I were a ref, I would study the teams to play in the match I have to ref, look at their penalty record in their previous games and see if there are any glaring stats which indicate a tendency to commit a specific offense. Example? Did Stegmann overnight decide to become a serial infringer at the rucks after not having had any problems with previous ref’s interpretations? Another thing. There were rucks all over the paddock. Howcome Stegmann only commited offenses within kicking range?

  Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Joubert deliberately influenced the result. What I am saying is that he seemed to have made up his mind in advance the moment play got into the Bulls half to focus on Stegmann’s ruck play,ie. he was over-sensitive in the Bulls half, and because of that , whenever anything looked remotely suspiscious he was onto it in a flash.

  Pat Lam had made a stink about the ref’s performance in their previous game and even had a meeting with the Big Boss of the refs.Joubert obviously came under pressure, whether externally or from himself, to ensure that there were no complaints from the Blues in this game. It’s only human, so obviously he erred towards the other side.
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  17

  Wezwp on 4 April 2010 at 7:34 pm

  Bekker for sure.
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  18

  FireStraeuli on 4 April 2010 at 10:01 pm

  Bluebeard 16,

  Believe me, normally I can’t care less when a call goes against the Nulle, whether the Nulle were right or wrong, but it was glaringly obvious that Joubert chose to get on the Nulle’s case from the get go, especially as you say in their 22.

  If he was 50% consistent I wouldn’t have said anything, problem was he kept blowing the Nulle for non-infringements. Terrible to watch a saffa ref being that biased against a local team.

  I do however also fault Matfield for not chatting to Joubert more often….much can be said about John Smit, but he’s been ‘chatting’ to the ref consistently over the past weeks and it makes a difference.
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  19

  FireStraeuli on 4 April 2010 at 10:04 pm

  Wezwp,

  Bekker wasn’t himself this past weekend, didn’t have a very good game (not that any of the other Streamers were).

  The biggest under performer of this year’s S14 has to be Bryan Banana…..really been underwhelming which is a petty for the Boks.
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  20

  Manlybok on 5 April 2010 at 5:38 am

  I disagree on Habana Fire, he just didnt see the ball, especially in the 2nd half Fourie neither.

  I do agree with you about the Cheetahs though, that was embarressing. There is not a semblance of plan in that backline,no dummy runners,no subtlety, just shuffle the trouble and get tackled. There is also zero defence pattern, just every man for himself.

  Something I’ve noticed also with the Cheetahs since Brussouws injury, they stand off the opp ruck with noone slowing down the opp ball, even though their opp is clearly doing it to their ball, allowing their opp free reign and clean recycled ball, when they do try on the odd occasion, it is so blatantly obvious that they get blown up for it.

  Nee man, there is Zero plan there and Naka should be fired urgently, and Bosman to flyhalf with Uys back at centre, too many good players in the OFS to be this dismal.
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  21

  Snoek on 5 April 2010 at 7:32 am

  Definately no lawyers!
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  22

  Bluebeard on 5 April 2010 at 8:15 am

  FireStreali 18. Truth be told, any good ref could most probably find a 50/50 penalizable offense at every ruck which he can sway his way on interpretation, and as you say, if only a quarter of those calls went the Bulls way no-one would havesaid a word about it. It was cynical.

  Also true was the fact that certain Bulls players were targeted by the Blues for special attention. Not individuals but the players assisting/supporting the Fetcher. There were occassions where Jerome Kaino literally dove over the top and onto Bulls players (I recall one occassion under the Bulls posts which led to a try), and others where Sege Lilo and Kaino disengaged from the ruck to prevent Bulls players from entering the ruck. Again not once was anything done, not even a word spoken.
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  23

  Loosehead on 5 April 2010 at 11:00 am

  14 FS, it must have really been a bad day for you when the Cheetahs klapped the Sharks at the start of the season. The embarrasment of losing to such a lowley team after flying the flag for all those years.
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  24

  FireStraeuli on 5 April 2010 at 11:18 am

  Loosehead 23,

  Not as embarrassing as seeing the Tjietas handing out semi final spots to the kiwis and ozzies every year.
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  25

  Loosehead on 5 April 2010 at 11:24 am

  24- weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllll take a look at your results over the last few years……..not up there with the Bulls are you?
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  26

  Loosehead on 5 April 2010 at 11:27 am

  FS, 3 wins and the arrogance appears. Be humble, like the Bulls.
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  27

  FireStraeuli on 5 April 2010 at 12:14 pm

  Loosehead,

  Which SA teams have shown they are able to compete at S14 level, and which teams haven’t?

  Now tell me, why are the same two teams allowed to consistently hand out 5 points to the opposition countries, of which only one team seems to be trying to fix their structures?

  Time for a relegation system to be put in place.
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  28

  Blue Bird on 5 April 2010 at 12:29 pm

  Call in for coffee and the place is deserted!!

  Enjoy your Briaas – Another time perhaps.
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  29

  grootblousmile on 5 April 2010 at 2:34 pm

  Hellooooooooooo

  Had a good rest yesterday (Sunday) and today (Easter Monday)…

  Was busy this morning with some repairs around the house…. did some welding work I’d postponed for a while, wanted to do some painting of Metal Primer on a few things but the miffie rainy weather interfered… so I’m just lazing around…

  It was truly difficult to pick a team of 15 performing SA players, most SA teams having been truly shocking, so most of my picks reluctantly comes from the Sharks.

  The Cheetahs, Bulls and Stormers were absolutely shitty this weekend, worst of all probably being the Stormers.

  Come on SA pull yourselves right, dammit!
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  30

  Loosehead on 5 April 2010 at 6:22 pm

  FS, only the Bulls have shown that they can compete at S15 level. None of the other teams have done anything. Cheetahs, Lions, Stormers and Sharks are ALL underacheivers in the S14. Again my comment is: funny how 3 wins result in all this arrogance.