With an ace up their sleeve, the Sharks and Stormers will have their greatest chance yet to end their Super Rugby trophy drought this year.
So different, yet so alike. That’s how one can describe South Africa’s top two franchises in recent years.
Their gameplans could not be more contrasting, the Sharks thriving off high octane, attacking rugby while the Stormers rely on their near impregnable defence and goal-kickers to get the job done.
For their distinct tactical difference, they share the reputation as perennial bridesmaids and have long been labelled chokers due to their inability to win the big one.
The Durban side have played in four finals in the SANZAR era (in 1996, 2001, 2007 and 2012) while the men from Cape Town reached their maiden final in 2010 and hosted home semifinals in the last two years – with nothing to show for it.
That could all change this year with the introduction of a new foe in the Southern Kings and several law changes that will be used in the tournament for the first time. The farcical manner in which the Kings was included in the tournament has set the Eastern Cape franchise up to fail.
The newcomers don’t have a squad that even slightly resemble the necessary depth to stay afloat in the deep, shark-infested waters of Super Rugby and consequently, are destined to be the whipping boys of 2013.
Their loss – likely a forgettable one-year Super Rugby stint – will be South African franchises’ gain as instead of facing the traditional defiant Lions in ultra competitive derbies, the Sharks, Stormers, Bulls and Cheetahs will have the opportunity to pick up ten points from their home and away conference clashes against the Kings.
As a result, South Africa are set to have three teams in the play-offs, as they did last year. The Sharks will have an additional and potentially crucial advantage under the implementation of a number of law changes.
The changes, which include the five-second rule at ruck time, have been adopted to speed up the game and therefore play directly into the hands of the Sharks and other attack-orientated sides.
The Stormers have hosted back-to-back semifinals due to their unrivalled consistency. They topped the log after the regular season last year thanks to 14 victories, two more than eventual champion Chiefs.
But they also managed the least amount of bonus points – just two – while the Sharks and Bulls both bagged 11. Contrary to popular belief, the Bulls know their way to the try-line; they scored a South African best 50 five-pointers last season, a tally eclipsed only by the Hurricanes (58).
If the Pretoria side can find an alternative for or speed up the formation of their chain of blockers for scrumhalf Francois Hougaard to avoid being hampered by the five-second rule inside their half, they should be in the top six again this year.
The Sharks and Stormers are the true title contenders, though, and considering that they will profit from a weakened national conference, the Super Rugby title could be on its way back to South Africa this year.
By Quintin van Jaarsveld
Ek het nooit so daar aan gedink nie… Welkom die Kings, en dankie vir die 10 punte!
Super Rugby 2013 Team Preview – Stormers
The Stormers built their 2012 season on defense as solid as a wall and an attack as blunt as one.
It was a simple strategy that worked a treat until the Sharks came to Newlands and took away their candy.
This season the men from Cape Town will be after more than just a semi and they’ve started by recruiting some of the big-name Lions during the off-season. The migration South includes some front-row grunt up front in Pat Cilliers as well as the barn-storming Jaco Taute and play-making Elton Jantjies who should both add the attacking dimension that the fussy fans have been demanding.
OK i know i love to copy & paste but i love it more to read stuff like this on other sites
“The 2012 Stormers uncovered a diamond in Siya Kolisi who made everyone forget Burger was even gone. In the ‘incredible Schalk’, Duane ‘I don’t have a Nick Name’ Vermeulen and ‘dragon’s blood’ Kolisi”
“If Bekker stays off the wing and Brok Harris stays off the fly half spot (or better yet, the field) the Stormers tight five will be a force to be feared”
Fantasy Rugby
Some prices of Stormers players:
Siya Kolisi (9.5m) was the Stormer’s break-out player of last season. He also scored a hat-trick of tries in the warm-up game against Boland…
Tiaan Liebenberg (8m) scored 3 tries last season and played well enough to keep Deon Fourie out the starting lineup.
Deon Fourie (7.5m) plays second fiddle to Tiaan Liebenberg so he’s not a first choice Fantasy buy. However, if Liebenberg get’s injured or they have a back-row crisis Fourie could be in the points. Especially if he plays at 6 like he did in the Currie Cup.
Gio Aplon (11.5m) bounces around like a pinball, harder to catch then a spring-hare. Was the Stormer’s leading try-scorer last season crossing the chalk 8 times.
Brian Habana (11.5m) has the South African Super Rugby record with 52 tries, 7 behind all-time leader Doug Howlett. Scored 5 tries in 2012 during a season where he finally found his form. No assists though, there’s a surprise.
Jaco Taute (10m) even when he was at the Lions he was worth having in your fantasy side. Being part of the Stormers setup makes him a huge fantasy prospect.
Juan de Jongh (8.5m): standing outside JDV can be a deserted place with all those crash-balls but de Jong still managed 3 tries in Super Rugby 2012. His price is nice and that brilliant try during the Currie Cup Final showed what he can do given just a fraction of space.
On the Fence
Elton Jantjies (11.5): Cheaper than the likes of Pat Lambie and Dan Carter, he broke the Super Rugby record for most penalties (9) in a single game last season for the Lions. We’re on the fence because he’s competing with Peter Grant for a starting position. Moving to the Stormers is both a blessing and a curse for his Springbok ambitions because on one hand he can showcase his talents in a better side but on the other, a Stormers jersey might as well be an invisibility cloak as far as Heyneke Meyer is concerned.
Peter Grant (11m): Kicked 50/52 last season including some last-minute heart-stoppers. If he keeps his spot as the 1st choice number 10 at the Stormers, he’ll be great value for money. Grant’s club The Kobe Steelers are into the semi’s of the All-Japan Championships and if they beat Toshiba on the 16th of Feb, he’ll miss the Stormers first Super Rugby game. Two quality flyhalves competing for one spot could cause fantasy managers a few nightmares.
Think it’s time we get him one….
3 @ superBul:
Bwahahaha. ROFLMHO
superBul wrote:
icall this a low blow again. HM picked more Stormers last year than any of the previous 2 coaches.
that off course made me wonder a bit , is he really that great?
Super Rugby 2013 Team Preview – Sharks
The Sharks won 8 out of their last 9 games going into last season’s Super Rugby final before getting hammered by the Chiefs.
Four finals and still no trophy, does anyone know the Heimlich manoeuvre?
Heckling aside, the Sharks playoff performance was admirable considering they beat both the Reds and Stormers away. If the Durban side want to do better this season they need to finish higher up the table to avoid the amount of travelling usually reserved for Airline staff and Gypsies.
Is there anyone who plays Fantasy League?
Well they have a guy or a few called scout, he has a lot to say about the teams and the players. Maybe i must put all my C&P skills together and make a combined article up.
I’ve been saying this very thing for the past year. Unless you are a Lions fan, this is great news. SA teams play the Kings twice, and (some) overseas players play them only once. Some not at all. The Lions used to roll over and play dead against the overseas teams, gifting them bonus points but suddenly grow a pair against the local teams, not necessarily winning but in some cases denying them a bonus point and then celebrating like the kid who just spat on the birthday cake and ruined it for everyone else, when in fact no one gains from that.
Plus there’s the bonus of some extra players to spread around. The true value of Franco Van der Merwe will come to light this season at the Sharks.
Also i think that the draw is really unfavorable towards the Stormers. A really tough start, this year I honestly think it is the Sharks’ to lose.
I am of the opinion that one cannot just call a winner, Already the sharks have 4 main squad members out for between 6 and 10 weeks, have lots their capt to make things worse, and to make it even worse the tournament has not even started yet, one cannot forecast if and when there will be more injuries etc.
It is a long season and no doubt thast week by weeks matches and injuries will path out a teams chances.
Elton Jantjies should be an easy choice above Peter Grant who only kicks easy shots at goal and doesn’t have any real distance with his kicking. Peter Grant has a reputation for being a “fierce” defender but that’s one of those places where stats and perception don’t really meet up. Stormers needs to score tries if they want to win the Super rugby competition. Allistair Coetz
Elton Jantjies should be an easy choice above Peter Grant who only kicks easy shots at goal and doesn’t have any real distance with his kicking. Peter Grant has a reputation for being a “fierce” defender but that’s one of those places where stats and perception don’t really meet up. Stormers needs to score tries if they want to win the Super rugby competition. Allistair Coetzee’s rotation or lack there of is very flawed. He’s burning out all his players.
Sharks_forever wrote:
if you are a betting man , now is the time to put your money down.
Why not try R10 on the Kings, its like one Coke and the odds are 500-1
or Try R50 on Cheetahs @ 101-1
15 @ superBul:
I’d rather buy the Coke, thanks…. it just makes much more sense
Hey fellas there are 10 non-South African teams who have also seen some very interesting moves by a number of influential players (Pocock, Higginbotham, Hooper etc) and a coach who is a knight of the realm SIR John Kirwan who is building an exciting looking young team in Auckland. From my point of view, I can see more wins for Oz and Kiwi teams when visiting South Africa than any season so far!!
@ ozziekiwi:
I have a feeling that SA ruby is awakening. I think we will be winning more, so i disagree. But that is anyway MY opinion.
17 @ ozziekiwi:
I also think it’s presumptious to think the South Africans are suddenly in a better position than the years before.
However, I think the Blues under Kirwan will suffer, I also think the Rebels and Force will remain bottom of the pile with the Southern Kings.
Realistically one looks at any of 9 sides to takes the title, 2 from New Zealand, 3 from South Africa and 3 from Australia.
I think the Brumbies are on the up in Australia and would not be surprised if they win the Aussie Conference.
I think we can expect big things from the Crusaders and Chiefs from New Zealand.
And I think the Sharks and Stormers are the 2 South African danger sides… Bulls trailing a bit in third.
Take the Bulls performance overall and after 2007
VS NZ Teams
Overall
played 79
won 30
lost 47
draw 2
From 2007
played 33
won 18
lost 15
VS AUS
Overall
played 53
won 26
lost 27
From 2007
played 24
won 17
lost 7
Surely the Stormers figures will be the same if not better
Sharks might be consistent, but they have a average of nearly 50% overall
The fact is SA have in reality 3 big teams , sorry Cheetahs , you can hate me as much as you want but feeling chuffed by ending 10th says it all.
So we do have easy points to collect
The Bulls worries me by losing against the bottom dwellers in the Australian Conference. Have a look back where we spilled points.
But anyway all the talk here can change to egg in your face. The job must be done on the field.
The structures HM always talk about is the difference. If a franchise have 2x more money to spend and they spend it on a good foundation the structures will be stronger. If there is no flaws
20 @ superBul:
Interesting stats, thanks for relaying them…
What are you trying to imply with them as far as your previous comment No 18 is concerned? Last year we had the same type of stats for the SA Sides, yet the Chiefs stormed to an impressive win in the Competition.
Seems like Father (SARU’s head clown) and Son (Cheeky) will soon have a domestic ha ha.
That was rather cheeky!
Herinner my aan ‘n ou grappietjie!
Juffrou: Wie was die eerste man op aarde?
Jannie: Jan van Riebeck juffrou.
Juffrou: Neeeeeee Jannie, dit was Adam!
Jannie: Juffrou het nie gesê ons moet buitelanders ook in berekening bring nie.
@ Cheetah4eva: Bly my juffrou het nie vir my gejok en gese Adam was die eerste man op die aarde nie. Hahahaha
25 @ vanStraaten:
Ek dink Adam was die 1ste mode reus op aarde… wat van vyeblare gebruik gemaak het… hehehe
Dit was seker die “Spoedbroek” (Speedo) se voorganger… hahahaha
Ek kannie spoedbroeke dra nie, veral nie in die openbaar nie, netnou loop daar ‘n wafferse juffie verby, dan het ek en die broekie grooooot moeilikheid….
@ vanStraaten:
Why pick them when you can pick Cruden?
@ superBul:
South Africa will always struggle cause we do not spread our talent pool evenly. Some of those Vodacom players could have played or help fill the gaps of injured players from Lions and Cheetahs.
Once we start sharing and spread the pool evenly making all 5 competitive and evenly match our rugby will improve a lot.
If you do that then a union let another franchise loan a player where he gain valuable experience and top level play time. Its crap watching the Lions get hit by injury and see them falter where players of quality run around in Vodacom cup where they could have been playing Super Rugby. Just a thought
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