The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers returned to winning ways on a weekend of Vodacom Super Rugby where 6 from 7 home teams were victorious.
Ironically both the teams from Pretoria and Cape Town were outscored by 2 tries to 1 in their respective matches against the Lions and the Hurricanes, but won mainly because of pin-point goal-kicking accuracy.
On Friday evening the DHL Stormers snuck through by 19 / 18 against the Hurricanes at DHL Newlands, while the Vodacom Bulls beat the Lions by 25 / 17 in the first Gauteng-derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.
It wasn’t a happy weekend for the Toyota Cheetahs though, as they lost their first tour match of the season by 35 / 14 to the Rebels in Melbourne.
The Cell C Sharks had a bye.
South African results – Round 3:
Melbourne Rebels (17) 35 / 14 (0) Toyota Cheetahs:
The Melbourne Rebels recorded only their second ever victory in 13 matches over a South African Vodacom Super Rugby team when they capitalised on a lacklustre performance by the Toyota Cheetahs to win by 35 / 14 at AAMI Park on Friday morning.
The team from Bloemfontein will be the first to admit it wasn’t even close to their best as they conceded five tries in 80 minutes in Melbourne – this after keeping the Lions and Vodacom Bulls try-less in their two opening matches of the season.
The Toyota Cheetahs’ inability to hold onto the ball – especially at the breakdown – and their struggles in the line-outs were probably the two main reasons why they were behind by 17 / 0 at the break.
Unfortunately their defence was also not as sharp as in their previous matches, while their kicking – tactically and at goal – was not nearly as good as a week ago against the Vodacom Bulls in Bloemfontein.
They never gave up though, with replacement forwards Jean Cook and Rayno Barnes crossing for tries in the second half. But it was the Rebels’ night as they also recorded their second biggest win ever – they played with pace, had the bounce of the ball and produced probably one of their best performances since joining the Vodacom Super Rugby ranks in 2011.
Scorers:
Melbourne Rebels:
- Tries: Lachlan Mitchell (1), Jason Woodward (1), Luke Burgess (1), Bryce Hegarty (1), Scott Higginbotham (1)
- Conversions: Bryce Hegarty (2)
- Drop goal: Angus Roberts (1)
Toyota Cheetahs:
- Tries: Jean Cook (1), Rayno Barnes (1)
- Conversions: Johan Goosen (2)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJRXYw1CYgQ[/youtube]
DHL Stormers (6) 19 / 18 (12) Hurricanes:
The DHL Stormers, thanks to a late maul try by loose forward Deon Fourie, recorded their fourth successive win over the Hurricanes when they won a nail-biting Vodacom Super Rugby clash by 19 / 18 on Friday evening.
Fourie’s try, in the 77th minute, was the DHL Stormers’ only five-pointer of the night, but as it stood that was all they needed to win a match in which they showed a lot of resilience and character.
Their discipline at the death was also exemplary as the ‘Canes took the ball through numerous phases, within striking distance, until almost three minutes after the hooter had sounded.
It was a well-deserved victory for the DHL Stormers, who never let their heads hang despite making a host of bad mistakes, especially with the wet and slippery ball in hand. It didn’t deter them though and when they were awarded a couple of penalties close to the visitors’ try-line, they opted for the line-out, knowing full-well that their maul will be unstoppable if they get it going.
Bad line-out play earlier in the match almost cost them, while their tactical kicking and option taking also weren’t up to scratch in the first 50 or so minutes. Thereafter they knuckled down, did what was needed and ensured they leave South Africa with a win under their belts.
The Hurricanes also deserve a pat on the back for scoring two great first-half tries when their wingers Julian Savea and Cory Jane crossed, both after good kicks in the DHL Stormers’ 22. It was the only chances the visitors had and they took them – something the home team struggled with for almost 80 minutes.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers:
- Try: Deon Fourie (1)
- Conversion: Demetri Catrakilis (1)
- Penalty goals: Demetri Catrakilis (4)
Hurricanes:
- Tries: Julian Savea (1), Cory Jane (1)
- Conversion: Beauden Barrett (1)
- Penalty goals: Beauden Barrett (2)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RshNyeslAvc[/youtube]
Vodacom Bulls (19) 25 / 17 (10) Lions:
The Vodacom Bulls recorded their 10th straight Vodacom Super Rugby victory over the Lions at a wet and windy Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon when they won the first Gauteng-derby by 25 / 17.
The Lions outscored the Vodacom Bulls by two tries to one, but in the end they simply conceded too many kickable penalties. It was the second time that the team from Johannesburg scored more tries than the Pretorians, but still ended up losing – this also happened in 2008 when the Lions got three tries to two, but lost 31 / 17.
In a match where both teams defended well, the Vodacom Bulls looked a bit more enterprising with ball in hand, built on a proper platform laid by their pack of forwards. They stole a number of the Lions’ throws at line-out time and also got a couple of penalties from scrums, which Jacques-Louis Potgieter duly converted into points.
Potgieter contributed 20 of the Vodacom Bulls’ points in his first game back for the side from Pretoria since the Vodacom Super Rugby final in 2010.
Jan Serfontein scored their only try, which came from good counter-attacking play from a turn-over. Had the home team been better and finishing off, the score could’ve been even bigger.
The Lions tried hard to throw the ball around but the adverse conditions didn’t help. Both the Johannesburgers’ tries, by Stefan Watermeyer and Willie Wepener, came after they put the Vodacom Bulls’ kickers under pressure and charged down kicks close to the try-line.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls:
- Try: Jan Serfontein (1)
- Conversion: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (1)
- Penalty goals: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (5)
- Drop goal: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (1)
Lions:
- Try: Stefan Watermeyer (1), Willie Wepener (1)
- Conversions: Marnitz Boshoff (2)
- Penalty goal: Marnitz Boshoff (1)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHsZ0bebsng[/youtube]
Other results – Round 3:
Blues 35 / 24 Crusaders (Auckland)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc2QQPejZ-E[/youtube]
Chiefs 21 / 19 Highlanders (Hamilton)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HZFeSj08JU[/youtube]
Waratahs 32 / 5 Reds (Sydney)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtgBzTBmK5o[/youtube]
Force 14 / 27 Brumbies (Perth)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HWGKnB58sU[/youtube]
7th Video added… Bulls vs Lions.
Now have highlites videos of all 7 Super Rugby games of Round 3 up!
From a South African perspective there are no highlights.
cheetahs crap,stormers bietjie minder crap,lions se honeymoon verby,en die buls gaan teen die blues pak kry as hulle so speel….
Sorry, I had 7 FULL GAMES on… now changed it to 7 HIGHLITES VIDEOS!
Bulls looked a bit better. More commitment. It looked like they want to play. But then again, it was only the Lions. Don’t think you can measure your progress against them. I’ll wait and see what they do against the Blues. They always stuggle against the Blues.
Bulls was slordig om die minste te se. Twee afstorm driee. Twee senters wat saam n bal probeer vang wat kon lei tot n pragdrie.
Ek hetgevoel ons kon maklik nog 28 punte geswaai het. 14 weg gegooi en 14 weg gegee
haha Sarel Pretorius met daai laaste drie…
Demetri showing he is a match winner, I think hid overall game was quite tidy. Best flyhalf for stormers rugby this year.
JLP dkop nog baie, maar ek dink ook die kwaliteit bal wat hy gekry het die week was baie beter, hopelik kan hougaard net aanhou verbeter. Weti hoekom Serfontein met sy gesig in die grond try in duik nie haha.
dkop*skop
My deepest concern is the quality of the coaching these sides appear to be suffering under. I fully appreciate the limitations the coaches operate within, in terms of the personnel at their disposal. Certainly the lure of foreign contracts has increasingly seen some players who should be gracing Vodacom Cup fields competing weekly in Super Rugby. Each of the franchises in question have a number of men who fit that bill. Even so, the best coaches are able to tailor their game plan around the resources at their disposal and wring most of the potential out of their players.
Neither Frans Ludeke, Naka Drotské, Allister Coetzee nor Johan Ackermann appear to have the capacity to do this, which is dangerous for the health of South African rugby. Time restrictions mean Heyneke Meyer and his staff can’t do extensive technical coaching when players are with the Springboks. The building and refinement of their technical skills base should happen at franchise level prior to that, as should their tactical awareness, execution and appreciation.
Exceptionally gifted players will continue to stand out despite their coaches’ aptitude. It is the level of player below that that I’m concerned for. They really are the heartbeat of the South African Super Rugby challenge.(Ryan Vrede)
So it looks like we will have to back Jake, John and the Sharks to carry the flag for us this year.
Cheetahs lack the defense of last year, also Lappies & Van Der Walt have been largely anonymous. I am starting to doubt my belief in Goosen.I think that Naka’s time is up.
Bulls, well one win and they will have their belief back, but the squad is limited and so is the coach & tactics.
Lions, will do well against the SA teams, but once they tour it will be game over. Limited squad, not a bad coach!
Stomps, no hookers, no backs, no coach, shit tactics.
Go Sharks!
9 @ superBul:RE: The vodacom cup: We all agree that the Vodacom Cup is a low quality tournament. Why don’t we “Strengthen” teams via a Franchise system? Vodacom cup teams are already playing on club grounds, no one really cares unless their “teams” makes the final.
So these guys can sharpen their skills playing the second best, not win by 100 points against players that won’t even carry water for Super Rugby players.
14 teams, really? I don’t know the finances, but do teams like the Bulls, WP and Sharks play Vodacom Cup at a loss (financially)if they do not win?
@ superBul: That comment about that RV made about JA is a bit unfair. JA has only been the head coach at the Lions for 5 SR games and 2 CC seasons. I think that he has done very well with the player resources at his disposal. And he seems to be learning fast as well.
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