3 Responses to The road to the finals in the 2010 Super 14 competition

• 

  1

  superBul on 18 April 2010 at 10:15 am

  Puma the Sharks next hurdle is the Blues, for me that is the game of the week.

  You can keep your hopes alive and shatter the Blues hope. It could be a double blow. For your team and the rest of SA.

  Lekker win for the Sharks yesterday, you have now won all your fights with the Lions.
• 

  2

  superBul on 18 April 2010 at 4:08 pm

  News24 take on this

  The brilliant Stormers, disappointing Bulls and poor Cheetahs showed the weekend’s extremes of South Africa’s Super 14 sides with the clash between the Lions and Sharks bringing some excitement to a good crowd but not much good rugby to enthuse about.

  Pride of place must go to the Stormers, who were unstoppable in their match against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday. The 49-15 scoreline included six very good Stormers tries – but the bonus point win still wasn’t enough to overtake the Bulls who stuttered to a rather flattering 19-12 loss at the hands of the Reds in Brisbane.

  The Stormers’ perceived weaknesses – their scrum and support of numbers in the rucks – were not noticeable as they ran the home side ragged. Their one try was probably the best of the season as forwards and backs combined for nearly the length of the field.

  It isn’t possible and won’t be fair to single out Stormers players in what was probably the standout team performance of the competition to date despite their third place on the log, the Stormers are undoubtedly the form team and will be hard to stop if they can keep up this quality performance.

  However, three of their last four matches are against present top-four sides. They play the Reds in Brisbane this weekend, then face the Crusaders at Newlands, the Sharks away and the Bulls at Newlands.

  No easy task – but then, they’ve shown what they’re capable of.

  Conversely the Bulls, who were so good in South Africa, were out-thought and out-run by the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday. The home side had the pace and the skills to turn around the Bulls’ ill-directed kicks from a staid and rigid game plan that clearly had to be adapted but wasn’t.

  Full marks to the Bulls defence against a side that no longer should be regarded as merely a dangerous match opponent. The Reds have become serious challengers for title honours.

  The Bulls performance underlined that flyhalf Morne Steyn – as predicted by sports scientist Tim Noakes – is going through a trough that only extended rest will remedy. Fourie du Preez is also not near his best, but in the land without quality flyhalves Steyn’s downward spiral, in particular, is cause for concern at national level.

  The Bulls, who even in their home wins showed signs of vulnerability as they more often than not had to chase the game in the second half, have some serious thinking to do about their game plan and perhaps also about over-confidence. With the Lions, Sharks, Crusaders (all at home) and the Stormers away in their run-in, the Bulls are no longer certainties for a home semifinal.

  The Lions gave a performance of character in going down 32-28 to the Sharks at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday. Conceding three tries and 19 points in the first 22 minutes, it looked like more of the same to the side that has now conceded 47 tries.

  Then the Lions fought back from what seemed an impossible task at 19-6 and shrunk the scoreline to 19-18 and again came back to run the Sharks very close indeed. In fact, the Sharks scored their fourth try in the 43rd minute and were held scoreless for the remainder of the match’s 37 minutes by a committed side of triers who scored three good tries themselves.

  In the end, however, no side can expect to concede three soft tries and then come back to win.

  The bonus point for their four tries mathematically kept the Sharks in the run for a play-off berth. However, they have to get 20 log points plus other results going their way against the Blues (in Durban), a smarting Bulls sides (Pretoria), Stormers an Western Force (both in Durban). This seems too much to expect.

  The Cheetahs were shocking in going down to the crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday. They’re fast catching up to the Lions with the number of tries conceded in nine matches (38 to the Lions 47) but have scored only 13 compared to the Lions’ 28.

  The two bottom teams on the log clash in the last round in what should decide the wooden spoonists – and right now the Cheetahs look good for at least that dubious title.

  For the record: Crusaders, without their top halfbacks Andy Ellis and Dan Carter, cantered home 45-6 with six tries to move to the top of the log, courtesy of patches of play that showed they will be a handful come the play-offs.

  The inconsistent Blues, as is their custom, on Saturday turned last week’s nightmare against the Stormers around for a scintillating 38-17 win over the Western Force before a happy Auckland crowd. The Blues in this form are a handful as the Bulls can attest to, and they are still in with a fair chance of making the play-offs despite three away matches against the Sharks, Lions and Cheetahs before they end off against the Bulls in Pretoria.

  The Brumbies have to date been quietly effective without really convincing in their matches, but their frailties were thoroughly exposed by the Hurricanes who won 23-13 on Friday after fighting back magnificently in this tough, tight match in Canberra.

  The Brumbies are only four points behind fourth-placed Reds on the log.

  However, the Brumbies still have away matches against Crusaders and Derby opponents Waratahs, and have to play the Reds and Highlanders in Canberra.

  Clearly not an easy run-in.

  The Hurricanes, like the Sharks, need help from other results and four five-pointers in their lastfour matches. It seems unlikely with the Highlanders (away), Chiefs and Reds (at home) and the Waratahs in Sydney on their path.
• 

  3

  grootblousmile on 18 April 2010 at 5:44 pm

  There is still hell to pay for the 3 top teams…. they have the most difficult road ahead, they play each other….. my feeling is one of the 3 will not make the semi’s…. the team who loses 2 games against his foes in positions 1 – 3 should fall by the wayside and not make the semi’s.

  The Reds should win 3 from their 4 remaining games

  The Waratahs could win 4 from 4 or at least 3 from 4

  The Brumbies should win 2 from 4, but it could easily go pear for them, only winning 1 more game.

  The Blues could easily win 4 from 4 if they can get past the Sharks this coming weekend.

  The Canes should win 2 from 4.

  The Sharks have a difficult road… Blues (win), Bulls (50/50), Stormers (loss), Force (win). I do not see them get bonus points in at least 2 games here…. this weekend is absolutely crucial and thereafter each week is also a final!

  The Chiefs will win 1 from 4… they will beat the Cheetahs, but that is it.

  After this coming weekend’s results, we will have a much clearer picture…

  Difficult matches to predict…. Reds / Stormers, Tahs / Brumbies, Bulls / Lions (even though it should to rights not be), Sharks / Blues.

  Gooooooooo SA Teams!!