- Team: 15. Hadleigh Parkes, 14. George Moala, 13. Rene Ranger, 12. Ma’a Nonu, 11. Rudi Wulf, 10. Gareth Anscombe, 9. Piri Weepu, 8. Peter Saili, 7. Luke Braid (Captain), 6. Daniel Braid, 5. Ali Williams, 4. Filo Paulo, 3. Charlie Faumuina, 2. Tom McCartney, 1. Tevita Mailau
- Replacements: 16. James Parsons, 17. Pauliasi Manu, 18. Liaki Moli, 19. Chris Lowrey, 20. Alby Mathewson, 21. Michael Hobbs, 22. Benson Stanley
|
- Team: 15. Luke Morahan, 14. Rod Davies, 13. Digby Ioane, 12. Mike Harris, 11. Dom Shipperley, 10. Ben Lucas, 9. Will Genia, 8. Scott Higginbotham, 7. Liam Gill, 6. Beau Robinson, 5. James Horwill (Captain), 4. Rob Simmons, 3. James Slipper, 2. James Hanson, 1. Ben Daley
- Replacements: 16. Albert Anae, 17. Greg Holmes, 18. Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19. Ed Quirk, 20. Jake Schatz, 21. Nick Frisby, 22. Anthony Faingaa
|
Blues
Brumbies
Chiefs
Stormers
Cheetahs
Crusaders
Fark the Tjarks are lucky to have a bye.
Bulls touring squad:
Zane Kirchner, Akona Ndungane, Bjorn Basson, JJ Engelbrecht, Wynand Olivier, Johann Sadie, Francois Venter, Louis Fouché, Morné Steyn, Jano Vermaak, Francois Hougaard, Pierre Spies (c), Arno Botha, Deon Stegmann, Jacques Potgieter, CJ Stander, Juandré Kruger, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Dean Greyling, Frik Kirsten, Dawie Steyn, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Bongi Mbonambi, Willie Wepener.
@ Loosehead,
Not at all, they should get 4 points lol
About the only time I am certai of a Tjarks outcome this year lol.
Guess I am in agreement with Loosehead’s picks. What can I say, I am learning from the leaders lol.
I believe Nick Koster is also out! Stormers are fading to a light breeze, all the stalwarts dropping like flies.
Worried about everone calling a Stormers win against the Force a certainty … it is not.
What’s it with all the Super Rugby injuries this year?
A lot of Franchises rather look like casualty wards…
The Lions…. barra bing, tingeling… Joburg General Hospital Casualty Ward on a Saturday night!
The Sharks… like a massive explosion in Point Road
The Stormers… The all have rabies or something… maybe Langbeksiekte… Jean de Villiers, Schalla, Vermeulen, Langbek, Etsebeth, Aplontjie & a few others
Cheetahs… Juan Smith, Rayno Benjamin, Goosentjie, some locks, some props… Adriaan Strauss was even geflok for a game
Bulls… Stegmann, Dewald Potgieter, Flip… hell Wepener can’t even smile due to that facial muscle disease thing
The Saders… Carter, MaKou… and a few others
Blues…. no they have just been shit!
Canes… also some vital players that was out, some still are.
Landers… heavily hit at the start of the season
Chiefs… remarably in tact and no wonder they’re heading the overall Log
The Reds…. barra Boom… farktup… Surfer Dude, a gazillion other flyhalves, half the team after the Bulls game, the rest on crutches…
Rebels… James O’Bieber, Beale was out for a while and a heap of other suckers
Waratahs… Rocky Elson and a number of other freaks… all crocked
Force… At stages they looked like a farce and a circus freak show
Brumbies… only the young ponies still whole.. and doing damage
Is it a remnant of the Rugby World Cup last year?
Can’t be, because there were no Lions there who could use that excuse!
Too much rugby… can’t be either because we had an unusually long off-season!
Too much conditioning or overdoing the gym portion of training?
The attritional nature of the Super Rugby Competition… meaning the way aspects of the game is reffed and interpreted… and include in that the stupid scrum engage Laws, how the breakdowns are reffed and the inconsistent Law Interpretations?
Is the modern player so pumped full of supplements that natural muscle and natural fibre has been replaced by useless pumped up soft shit?
It seems it gets worse, year by year!
Maybe too many Teams per Country, depleting competative depth?
Whatever the situation, it is taking away from the spectacle which should be the elite Rugby Competition in the World!
@ GBS,
Cheetahs have been fortunate this year (welcome change), King Juan, was doubtful from the start, so we can discount him. And Strauss, was out as a result of illness, not injury. So the only real injury hiccup we have had is Benjamin, and Goosen, was out for a half against the Chiefs.
So the Cheetahs have had a good run, and hopefully thay can build on that.
Saw some interesting stats in the Volksblad, about the Sharks defence, and the stats from Verusco raises some interesting points. And a few articles have alluded to the Stormers “defensive” game plan, being the cause of their injury toll!.
Meeste duikslae: 1. Rebels (1439); 2. Sharks (1383); 3. Chiefs (1280); 4. Hurricanes (1255); 5. Brumbies (1231); 6. Stormers (1206); 7. Cheetahs (1200); 8. Crusaders (1194); 9. Waratahs (1193); 10. Reds (1145); 11. Bulls (1031); 12. Western Force (925); 13. Blues (888); 14. Highlanders (838); 15. Lions (820).
Meeste duikslae verbrou: 1. Sharks (215); 2. Rebels (177); 3. Waratahs (163); 4. Brumbies (161); 5. Cheetahs (158); 6. Crusaders (151); 7. Hurricanes (150); 8. Bulls (147); 9. Force (140); 10. Chiefs (137); 11. Blues (135); 12. Reds (134); 13. Stormers (123); 14. Lions (108); 15. Highlanders (107).
Meeste druk-aangeë: 1. Highlanders (127); 2. Sharks (125); 3. Brumbies (111); 4. Chiefs (106); 5. Waratahs, Hurricanes (albei 93); 7. Cheetahs (88); 8. Reds (81); 9. Crusaders, Blues (albei 74); 11. Lions (71); 12. Force (70); 13. Rebels (63); 14. Stormers (56); 15. Bulls (41).
Meeste lynbreke: 1. Highlanders (73); 2. Brumbies (59); 3. Cheetahs (57); 4. Crusaders (56); 5. Chiefs (55); 6. Sharks, Bulls (albei 54); 8. Hurricanes (50); 9. Waratahs (49); 10. Reds, Blues (albei 45); 12. Rebels (43); 13. Lions, Force (albei 38); 15. Stormers (29).
Meeste skoppe: 1. Stormers (208); 2. Force (199); 3. Crusaders (195); 4. Sharks (194); 5. Brumbies (175); 6. Bulls (170); 7. Cheetahs (168); 8. Hurricanes, Chiefs (albei 165); 10. Reds (164); 11. Rebels (159); 12. Waratahs (153); 13. Blues (150); 14. Highlanders (124); 15. Lions (118).
Meeste kere in teenstanders se kwartgebied: 1. Reds (33); 2. Sharks (32); 3. Waratahs (31); 4. Lions, Highlanders, Cheetahs, Brumbies (almal 30); 8. Blues, Force, Bulls (almal 29); 11. Chiefs (25); 12. Crusaders (24); 13. Hurricanes (23); 14. Stormers (22); 15. Rebels (21).
4@ Cheetah4eva:Yup, he is on a flight home already, his knee injury flaring up again. Eish, this is beginning to make it easy for the Farce!
Cheetahs team up, and my only concern is the Marriott man
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Cameron Jacobs, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 George Earle, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Philip Snyman.
Date: Saturday, April 28
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 17.05 (15.05 GMT)
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Sindile Mayende (South Africa), Stefan Breytenbach (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Seems Naka is playing it smart, and rotating key players. Next week, he can give Ratel a rest, and unleash Lappies Labuschagne on the WForce, but then again, Pocock will have to be kept in check, and Brussow, owes him a favour after being taken out by Vickerman, in the WC
Cheetahs and Stormers sides updated…
So Etzabeth has been rested completely, thats a good thing. Interesting team, with Poolman starting and JP Du Plessis on the bench. Scarra comes onto the bench as Deon Fourie will cover as a loosie as well. Don Armand on the bench as well, as Nizaam Carr slots into Vermeulens No.8 spot.
Glad it’s the Farce we are encountering, to make it a bit easier for a new look team, but will be very interesting to see how the boys perform. This is really pushing the depth of the squad, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Looking forward to this one. Goooooo Stormers!!!!
Reds & Hurricanes sides also updated
11 @ Just For Kicks:
Still not a bad Stormers Team and squad…
Poolman could be a bit suspect on defence and attack, loose trio seems a bit off balance, but heck let’s see how the revised Stormpoppies go… it’s only the Farce they’re up against
13@ grootblousmile:Yup, and a good tester for the team, They’ve been forced into the situation, so good to see how the team handles it. As you say, at least it’s against a perceived weaker team.
What’s the highlander scrum like?…Any good?. I think everyone noticed the Cheetahs weak scrum in previous games and will be looking to exploit that and force a lot of errors.
@ Bos_otter,
Also a pretty strong scrum, but I dunno, if they will be as dominant as the Chiefs scrum. I think the Cheetahs will edge the match.
@ Cheetah4eva:
Is it just me, or does the Cheetahs have more Springboks in their starting line up than the Stormers?
As for the stats, I think you also have to look at the playing style as far as the defense stats are concerned.
If you cannot hold on to the ball, of course you will have to tackle more… anyway, just a thought.
Vermeulen out for 10 weeks with a torn ligament
@ G-G,
True that, that is why it’s daft comparing teams, from stats. Because the Cheetahs play attacking rugby, they will also be more prone to handling errors and turnovers from dropped passes etc. Now their is a perception that their defence is leaky, when in fact, in only two matches were they really poor defensively, vs the Bulls, and vs the ‘Canes. Then we look at how many tries the ‘Canes have scored against tough oppnents, and then you have to be honest, and give credit, for the lines they run, and with the enterprise with which they attack.
That said, the Stormers, surely could score more tries with a powerful pack, and some excellent backs? Imagine what the Cheetahs could be like with locks like Eztebeth, and Bekker? Man it will be hell on wheels, oh and add a flanker like Coetzee, or Kolisi, till, (if) Juan returns.
@ Cheetah4eva:
C4E
have to agree about the Cheetahs and handling errors stats. It’s “high risk” rugby, and it works for them.
Here is the problem with the Stormers on attack
And THATS why the Stormers are not scoring tries
1.) Defense based system
2.) Relying on opposition mistakes
3.) Personal abilities of the back three & 13.
4.) Absense of basic lines, passes.
I don’t want to go too much into it, but if I have to summeris my hours of thougts, that would be it.
@ Just For Kicks:
So thats till after the Eng tours. Great.
Brumbies
1. Ruaidhri Murphy
2. Stephen Moore (c)
3. Ben Alexander
4. Scott Fardy
5. Leon Power
6. Peter Kimlin
7. Michael Hooper
8. Fotu Auelua
9. Nic White
10. Christian Lealiifano
11. Joe Tomane
12. Pat McCabe
13. Andrew Smith
14. Henry Speight
15. Jesse Mogg
Replacements
16. Anthony Hegarty
17. Scott Sio
18. Sam Carter
19. Ita Vaea
20. Ian Prior
21. Robbie Coleman
22. Tevita Kuridrani
Force:
1. Pek Cowan 2. Nathan Charles 3. Salesi Ma’afu 4. Toby Lynn 5. Nathan Sharpe 6. Matt Hodgson 7. David Pocock (Captain) 8. Ben McCalman 9. Brett Sheehan 10. David Harvey 11. Napolioni Nalaga 12. Winston Stanley 13. Nick Cummins 14. Rory Sidey 15. Alfie Mafi
Reserves
16. Elvis Taione 17. Salesi Manu 18. Phoenix Battye 19. Richard Brown 20. Josh Holmes 21. Ben Seymour 22. Samu Wara
Chiefs
1. Arizona Taumalolo
2. Hika Elliot
3. Ben Tameifuna
4. Craig Clarke (c)
5. Brodie Retallick
6. Liam Messam
7. Tanerau Latimer
8. Alex Bradley
9. Brendon Leonard
10. Aaron Cruden
11. Tim Nanai Williams
12. Sonny Bill Williams
13. Richard Kahui
14. Lelia Masaga
15. Andrew Horrell
16. Mahonri Schwalger
17. Toby Smith
18. Michael Fitzgerald
19. Sam Cane
20. Augustine Pulu
21. Jackson Willison
22. Asaeli Tikoirotuma
Crusaders
Dagg
A. Whitelock
Freuan
Carter
Guildford
Taylor
Ellis
Read (c)
Todd
G. Whitelock
Romano
Donnally
O Franks
Flynn
B Franks
B Funnell
Crockett
S. Whitelock
McCaw
Heinz
Crotty
Marshall
@ Cheetah4eva:
Thanks mate….bit out of touch with the teams and how good or bad they are. Only been able to watch a handful of games so far.
Only the Highlanders Team not updated yet
Julle die nuus gesien.Siestog….almal in Auz kerm nou oor die drie wat nie n drie moes wees nie. Vergeet hoe die Cheetahs ingedoen is met die FS vs Brumbie game, en ook dat Bryce die Bokke goed ingeloop het.
You win some, you loose some.
Freegin difficult picks this week…
I have a sneaky suspision the Blues might just beat the Reds.
Brumbies should comfortably take the Lions.
Chiefs should take the Canes, with relative distance.
Surely the Stormers can’t, or should I say won’t lose to the Farce, even as a depleted side, away from home and on their last week on tour.
Battling with the Cheetahs vs Landers pick… Cheetahs just too loose on defence, I feel….
Saders should take the Waratahs, even away from home.
My picks made, tomorrow’s Live Game Article already scheduled for the morning game.
Time to go out to dinner… it’s seafood tonight…
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