In 2013 the whole Lions side did not take part in Super Rugby, however some of their frontline players were out on loan with other South African Super Rugby franchises. In addition a number of South African players were injured for most of, if not all, of Super Rugby in 2013, whereas some seasoned campaigners did not take part in the Currie Cup, due to injury.

Amongst the Stormers, we can look forward to seeing Schalk Burger, Peter Grant and Jaco Taute back in Super Rugby, whilst Demetri Catrakilis will be determined to make his switch from the Southern Kings to the Stormers, a memorable one.

Amongst the Sharks there will be a total rebirth in the coaching and administrative setup, with John Smit now the CEO of the Sharks, Jake White the Head Coach and Director Of Rugby and a totally changed coaching formula, having replaced John Plumtree. Then there is also the return to Super Rugby of Frans Steyn (who was in France in the 2013 Super Rugby season) and maybe Ryan Kankowski will be back as well. In addition there is the addition of some Southern Kings imports, like SP Marais and Justin Downey and if rumours could be believed, even the possible addition of Luke Watson.

At the Bulls we will see the return to the field of Pierre Spies, Arno Botha, Deon Stegmann, Francois Hougaard, Louis Fouché as well as a possibility that Victor Matfield and Derick Hougaard could make their return to Super Rugby. In addition Bandise Maku, Vleis Engelbrecht and David Bullbring were added with their migration from the Southern Kings.

The Cheetahs will have Johan Goosen back at pivot and the luxury of some astute buys from elsewhere in South Africa. They will have the services of Heinrich Brüssow back at openside and their whole squad will be richer for the experience they garnered in 2013.

This all changes the Super Rugby landscape somewhat!

With so many high profile players returning from injury, the form of the Currie Cup of 2013 will have a limited bearing on how the teams will or should perform in 2014.

Let’s look at the impact it will or could have on the individual South African Super Rugby franchises:

Lions:

The Lions, now without their MTN tag (MTN chose not to renew their title sponsorship with the Lions), went through a mixed year in 2013, with quite a few of their scheduled or pre-arranged games against opposition from overseas not materialising.

They however believed in themselves and their structures and will probably field the freshest squad of players in Super Rugby.

They certainly were one of the fittest squads in the Currie Cup!

They also did not suffer the burden of providing players to the National side for the End Of Year Tour, providing yet more rest and recuperation time for their Currie Cup crop of players.

In addition, some players to note for the future emerged from their ranks. Here we specifically refer to the likes of Jaco Kriel at openside flank, Marnitz Boshoff at flyhalf and fullback and Anthony Volmink on the wing.

They will be super-motivated to show that they belong in Super Rugby for the long haul after their re-admission at the cost of the Southern Kings and will know they have something drastic to prove in the process.

Perceived weaknesses are at hooker, depth in the squad in general, props, locks and scrumhalf.

Passion and motivation will make up some ground, as we initially saw from the Southern Kings at the start of 2013, but dare I say that we should not expect miracles from them in the overall competition. We can however expect them to come out blazing in their first few encounters.

Uncage the mighty Lions!

Stormers:

The Stormers will be a settled side, apart from the loss of 2 seasoned wings in Bryan Habana and Gerhard van den Heever to overseas duty, but they have young Cheslin Kolbe to partly make up for that loss.

The return of Schalk Burger, who was still a bit off-beat upon his return in the latter stages of the Currie Cup, will bolster their looseforward stock, which is not shabby anyway, whereas the addition of Peter Grant and Demetri Catrakilis will be a welcome boost to their flyhalf ammo, where one could argue that they were severely hamstrung in their 2013 Super Rugby onslaught.

Jaco Taute should also boost their back three and if rumours are to be believed we might even see the return of Joe Pietersen at fullback.

Add to that the import power of some Argentinians to boost them at lock and possibly at wing and the intention to play a more attacking game and you have conference and title contenders, as their supporters would have us believe each year, saying “This is our year!”

Their achilles heel is still their lineout throwers and sometimes their too conservative mindset, as coached by Allister Coetzee.

I never write the Stormers off, one does so at one’s peril, so maybe good things lie ahead for them in 2014.

Storrrrrrrrrrmers… spit, spit, spit!

Sharks:

The Cell C Sharks will be like a new Operating System in a computer, a bigger and more complex bunch of of geek-speak software, bound together by a totally new core of products and revisions. Let’s call them “Sharks Edition 2.2”, for good measure.

The thing is, a new Operating System can only be judged after being implimented and fully tested, so judgment will be reserved to see if they will be like Windows Vista (very poor and resource hungry) or like Windows 8.1 (quite a pleasant change but hard to understand for the novice).

The palace revolution at the Sharks in mid 2013 saw the emergence of John Smit as CEO, the axing of John Plumtree as head induna of the team, the temporary placement of Brendan Venter as Head Coach / Director Of Rugby, Brad Macleod-Hendersen as Assistant Coach, a return to the core values of team spirit and innovation, all leading to a Currie Cup title for the hungry Sharks in 2013.

In the meantime the loud-mouthed Jake White, love him or hate him, has replaced Brendan Venter, in another mini-revolution and buddy-buddy coup between John Smit and his favourite coachie, Jake White.

Don’t sell Jake White short though, he brought a seriously disfunctional Brumbies side to the brink of Super Rugby glory in 2 short years, before dropping them like a sack of wet donkey doodoo.

The return from injury of almost the whole Sharks midfield, plus the addition of Frans Steyn in midfield, will certainly bolster the Sharks attacking power, which was severely lacking in the 2013 Super Rugby campaign.

In SP Marais they have bought well to cover the last vestage and in Fred Zeilinga they have a handy replacement at flyhalf, should Patrick Lambie have another horrible year.

The Sharks are the South African Super Rugby franchise with the most depth in all positions.

Sharks supporters truly believe they are entering “The Golden Era”… but where have we seen this before and where has the sand castles tumbled more than on Durban’s oil-soiled beaches?

Take the Sharks seriously in 2014, they will be contenders, even if they have to buy their way to a title fight!

We are black, we are coached by White, we are Dynamite… we never get it right!

Bulls:

The Blue Bulls suffered in the Currie Cup in 2013, having to field almost their entire Vodacom Cup and Tuks squads.This was after ending as Top Dog in the South African Conference in Super Rugby.

They lost 10 Springboks and former Springboks to overseas after Super Rugby and also lost the services of Pierre Spies, Deon Stegmann, Arno Botha and Francois Hougaard due to injury. In addition they lost their 2nd flyhalf option, in mule-kicking Louis Fouché, due to a long term injury.

They had to make do with a stand-in captain in Jono Ross (nogal an Englishman as well), 2nd rate scrumhalves and vastly inexperienced flyhalves in Tony Jantjies and Handré Pollard and hookers who could count themselves lucky to play the game of rugby at all.

Their props did not prop, their locks did not lock, their looseforwards were too loose, their wings did not fly and their fullback was an “empty back”, in the Currie Cup.

They deseved to be taunted in the Currie Cup!

2014 Sees the return of 4 key positional Springbok players, Pierre Spies, Arno Botha, Deon Stegmann and Francois Hougaard as well as the injection of Springbok scrumhalf import, Piet van Zyl. 2014 Could also possibly see the return of the lineout maestro, Victor Matfield and possibly even the Loftus “Liefling”, Derick Hougaard. Victor Matfield, we believe, is awaiting SARU’s yay or nay on a national contract before his participation for 2014 is confirmed or shelved.

The 4 props who proudly did duty in Super Rugby 2013 will be there in 2014, the Bulls always have excellent locks, the looseforwards are class, the 2 prime scrumhalves are both recent Springboks, there is the excitement of Jan Serfontein in midfield, the scoring machine Bjorn Basson at left wing and in fact 14 Springboks will still do duty for the Bulls in Super Rugby in 2014.

Problem areas are at hooker, flyhalf and fullback.

At the start of 2013 I was sceptical of the Bulls prospects for the season and predicted a mid-table finish for them, they surprised us, they fought valiently and fully deserved where they finished in Super Rugby, FIRST in the South African Conference and 2nd overall on the Combined Log.

Decision-making is going to be key in 2014, will we ever forget the critical mistakes in the semi-final against the Brumbies!  How they attack the breakdowns and how they improve on their less than impressive scrummaging is going to paramount. How they alleviate the problems in key areas where they are vulnerable, will determine their season.

This time I am just as sceptical as prior to the 2013 season and I predict a mid-table finish once again in 2014….

Be warned however, write the Bulls off at your peril!

Beware we are InvisiBull, we wear camo, we wear horns… moooooooooooo!

Cheetahs:

The Cheetahs had a great Super Rugby campaign in 2013, ending in the play-off’s for the first time.

In addition they seem to have held on to most of their player squad for a change and have also contracted well to replace those who have left to feed off the Euro and the Pound.

At prop (both sides), hooker, No 5 lock, looseforwards, scrumhalf, flyhalf and fullback they have some world beaters. They also have players with lots of potential in the other positions.

Their depth will be tested in Super Rugby and that might prove vital, but they will be aiming to go a bit better in 2014.

The open question is whether Johan Goosen can stay injury free in 2014 and whether he will regain the form he is romanticized to possess?

When on song, the Cheetahs play a very exciting and attacking brand of rugby, and always refuse to die wondering. When off form, they often fall completely to pieces!

Their perceived weaker defence will be tested at scrumhalf and on the wing but if the “Mielie farmers” click, there will be some mielie cobs deeply buried up the rear of the Sharks, Bulls & Stormers. There will be some very surprised Lions facial expressions, some Kiwi’s with rumpled feathers and some kangaroos with even dumber features than normal.

Beware the sleeping giant from central South Africa…

Or is it another also run-year for all South Africans 2nd favourite side?

“Soppie koppie”, here come the Cheetahs!