The Vodacom Bulls delivered their best performance of the season as the Cell C Sharks kept their grip on the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby table.
The three-time champions from Pretoria scored four tries to one in their impressive victory over the Blues at Loftus Versfeld – their first try-scoring bonus-point of 2014 in a 38-22 win.
The Cell C Sharks’ score over the Lions was similar – 37-23 – and they also got a bonus-point for four tries which, as in the Vodacom Bulls’ case, was scored very late in the match.
The two South African teams currently touring Down Under both lost – the Toyota Cheetahs by 43-33 against the Reds in Brisbane, while the DHL Stormers put in a very spirited performance in Christchurch, but ultimately lost by 14-13 against the Crusaders – their 33rd successive home win over teams from the Republic.
Two of the three remaining unbeaten teams in the competition, the defending champion Chiefs and the Waratahs, had byes this weekend.
Reds (29) 43 / 33 (20) Toyota Cheetahs:
The Toyota Cheetahs lost their second successive Vodacom Super Rugby match in Australia when they went down by 43-33 to the Reds in Brisbane, their ability to hang onto the ball and build any form of meaningful momentum again costing the team based in Bloemfontein dearly.
It was the most points the Toyota Cheetahs have ever scored away against the team from Queensland, but also the most they’ve ever conceded at the Suncorp Stadium.
The first-half was a high-scoring affair, with more than a point a minute scored by the two teams. However, a try on the stroke of half-time by Reds hooker Rod Davies, after some iffy defence by the Toyota Cheetahs, put the visitors on the back foot.
Ultimately they slipped too many crucial one-on-one tackles close to their own try-line, which cost the Toyota Cheetahs dearly.
They did score three good tries, by inside centre Francois Venter, flanker Boom Prinsloo and replacement flyhalf Elgar Watts but conceded five as they struggled to keep possession to build a good attacking platform.
Their line-outs and scrums were very good, but unfortunately the Toyota Cheetahs could not capitalise on this.
Scorers:
Reds:
- Tries: Chris Feauai-Sautia (2), Rod Davies (1), James Hanson (1), Penalty Try (1)
- Conversions: Quade Cooper (3)
- Penalty goals: Quade Cooper (4)
Toyota Cheetahs:
- Tries: Francois Venter (1), Boom Prinsloo (1), Elgar Watts (1)
- Conversions: Johan Goosen (2), Elgar Watts (1)
- Penalty goals: Johan Goosen (4)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5xf92W0PB0[/youtube]
Crusaders (3) 14 / 13 (3) DHL Stormers:
It was heartbreak for the DHL Stormers as they got pipped at the post and lost to the Crusaders by one point, 14-13, in a tight Vodacom Super Rugby match at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday morning.
The Capetonians put in one of the gutsiest performances away against the Crusaders in more than a decade by any South African team, but they conceded 11 unanswered points in the final 20 minutes as the Cantabrians snuck home.
The one-point win was the Crusaders’ narrowest home victory over any South African team since they lost to Cats in 2001.
Typically, the DHL Stormers’ defence was again superb as they missed just five out of 122 tackles. With 10 minutes left, the visitors, who only try was scored by Damian De Allende, were still in the lead and they were looking good to cause a major upset, but Crusaders flyhalf Tom Taylor had the last say with a penalty goal in the 76th minute, which saw the hosts take the lead and hold out for their first victory of 2014.
“The game was there for the taking but it just slipped away from us in those final 12 minutes,” said a dejected DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee afterwards. “In the end, some of our own errors cost us again – we left two tries out there for instance – but after an effort like that you cannot help but feel for the guys.”
Scorers:
Crusaders:
- Try: Kieron Fonotia (1)
- Penalty goals: Tom Taylor (3)
DHL Stormers:
- Try: Damian de Allende (1)
- Conversion: Demetri Catrakilis (1)
- Penalty goals: Demetri Catrakilis (2)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbe_KwMaxQA[/youtube]
Vodacom Bulls (25) 38 / 22 (12) Blues:
The Vodacom Bulls put in their best Vodacom Super Rugby performance of the season when they comfortably beat the Blues by 38-22 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon.
The home team outscored their visitors from Auckland by four tries to one – three of these, by Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Jono Ross and Jan Serfontein, coming in the first half where the Vodacom Bulls controlled the game very well.
The Vodacom Bulls’ defence was rock-solid against a Blues team who scored seven tries in their first two matches, but could only get one on Saturday.
The foundation was again laid upfront, where the Vodacom Bulls pack simply had too much power for their opponents, and while the backline looked much better this weekend, they can still improve.
Potgieter had another good game for the Pretorians – he scored their opening try and contributed a total of 21 points, which included a well-taken drop goal, three penalty goals and two conversions.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls:
- Tries: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (1), Jono Ross (1), Jan Serfontein (1), Marcel van der Merwe (1)
- Conversions: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (2), Handré Pollard (1)
- Penalty goals: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (3)
- Drop goal: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (1)
Blues:
- Try: Pita Ahki (1)
- Conversion: Simon Hickey (1)
- Penalty goals: Simon Hickey (4), Piri Weepu (1)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3mNAnaxaaY[/youtube]
Cell C Sharks (23) 37 / 23 (9) Lions:
The Cell C Sharks cemented their position at the top of the log after beating the Lions by 37-23 in a hotly-contested local Vodacom Super Rugby derby at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on Satuday evening.
Like they did in their season-opener against the Vodacom Bulls a few weeks ago, the Cell C Sharks bagged the four-try bonus-point, but only got it in the dying moments of the game after having scored their third try in the 50th minute already.
After that, it seemed like the KwaZulu-Natalians went to sleep though, while their ill-discipline also cost them some momentum during the match.
They did well upfront and looked in control, but the Cell C Sharks’ wheels came off a bit as a bunch of substitutions were made. The Lions pounced with two quick tries midway through the second half, which saw them trial by only seven points with a tad more than 10 minutes remaining.
But the home team remained composed under pressure and in the end they were simply better at finishing their opportunities, with Frans Steyn putting in a good performance at flyhalf after moving into the position following the late withdrawal of Pat Lambie.
Scorers:
Cell C Sharks:
- Tries: Paul Jordaan (1), Cobus Reinach (1), Odwa Ndungane (1), Marcell Coetzee (1)
- Conversions: Frans Steyn (4)
- Penalty goals: Frans Steyn (3)
Lions:
- Tries: Faf de Klerk (1), Deon van Rensburg (1)
- Conversions: Marnitz Boshoff (2)
- Penalty goals: Marnitz Boshoff (3)
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWELWGL5gLw[/youtube]
Other results – Round 4:
Hurricanes 21 / 29 Brumbies (Wellington)
Force 32 / 7 Rebels (Perth)
Ek het die vertoning van Victor en Flip baie geniet vir die Bulle. Ek dink die move om Flip kaptein te maak was goed van FL. Twee weke terug wou ek FL braai, nou begin sy span beter speel en ons sien lig. Wat dan wel baie duidelik is is dat die Bulle “under cooked” was en nie wedstryd skerp genoeg was teen die Sharks en die Cheetahs nie. Dinge het begin werk in wedstryd 3. Dit is natuurlik FL en sy coaching span se eie skuld.
Kom ons se hy is dalk besig met n strategie on later te peak, dalk target hy sekere wedstryde en tye om te peak. Hy was immers nog laasjaar nog op pad na die finaal toe. 1 minuut kort gekom.
Maar die span gister het goeie bal gekry van die masjien wat mooi geloop het. Ross , Matfield , Du Plessis het myle beter gelyk. As ons net ons ou kwaal om na n loslootjie terug te val los, kan ons die bordjies verhang teen die Sharks.
Brendan Nel says this
A fortnight ago the Bulls were being written off by anyone with an opinion as they lost their opening games in the rain to the Cell C Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs respectively.
But instead of panic, the Bulls simply stuck to their guns, returned to Loftus and continued on their same path.
In defence they were exceptional – stopping the powerful Blues side, who a week ago decimated the Crusaders with their attacking play – with no fewer than 116 tackles.
Congrats to the Bulls and Sharks
Good wins and both well deserved.
My only gripe this weekend is that the Sharks are expected to beat the Lions, they could, should and would beat them, but why then would they require a cheating pile of crap for a ref to make sure they get the bonus point?
Surely they are good enough to get that by themselves?
@ nortierd:
Hello all.
Yes Nortie, that was absolutely embarrassing, Pyper’s display of ineptness in front of millions of rugby fans across the globe, just as well no foreign team was involved.
And one really has to feel for the Stormers, what a chance they had to beat the Saders!
Anyway, it was a great day of rugby all round.
Talk laters, I am off to a meeting, it’s ‘Monday’ here, eishhhh!
nortierd wrote:
Pietman wrote:
nortierd
i said this last year too, why take the contest away. Let the teams play to the rules and accept that surprise wins are earned MR Ref
Pietman, i thought he was the star Ref last year. If it is so , wonder if they must not do a breath test before the game, or some investigation must be done
3 @ nortierd:
4 @ Pietman:
5 @ superBul:
One MUST remember that the Lions were their own worst enemies too…
When the Sharks were down to 14 men, with Kanko off with the yellow, the Lions scored their try and then went deep into the Sharks 22 again on a number of seperate occasions.
They received a few penalties, pop-over ones, and each time the Lions decided to kick for touch, then proceeded to lose the ball on their own lineouts or the mauls / rucks thereafter.
At that stage the score was 30 / 23 and if they had taken the sure points, only twice, the Lions would have been only 1 point behind… with 7 or so minutes left to play, setting up a drop goal or penalty winning opportunity, whilst at the same time denying the Sharks their bonus point opportunity.
A silly Yellow card also cost them near the end.
Undersand me well, I do not say Peyper is blameless… but one needs to see things in perspective.
The Bulls did much the same throughout the first half against a weak Blues side… having most of the quality possession and then, when in their own half, giving Simon Hickey the opportunity to slot a number of penalties, which kept the Blues in the match for a long time…
GBS, I’m saying that the Sharks would have won, the Lions are not in their class re players, coaches, support, money etc. but that still doesn’t mean a ref has to try his utmost to secure them the bonus point try just because they are at home and are the conference favorites.
It also doesn’t do the team any favors, when they play away with a ref who is not on their side they are going to see their arse because they will be expecting some favors that won’t be forthcoming.
8 @ nortierd:
Yeah, agree… I said Peyper is not blameless.
I have made and added a Sharks vs Lions Highlites video!
I see the T20 Cricket between the Proteas and Aussies in PE was rained out, match abandoned.
There are no highlights from the Cheetahs game.
grootblousmile wrote:
Absolutely, and the perspective is that in both of the Sharks first 2 home games of the season the outcome has been directly influenced by POOR, sorry not poor, ATROCIOUS referreing BY THE SAME OFFICIAL IN CHARGE.
Against the Bulls the head of the IRB ref’s admitted retrospectively that the on field officials combined with the TMO managed to stuff it up, and on Sat’ Pypers appeared to think that the ACTUAL rule didn’t matter as he had a different opinion.
I’m not making any excuses for the Lions, they didn’t deserve to win, the Durban team were better on the day, but sometimes the game has a different idea, and things transpire to make things more even.
Then of course along comes an “official” such as Messrs Peyper, & Lawrence (Bryce) etc and their perceived idea of the “status quo” is firmly entrenched in the record books.
For a number of years now, week after week we seem to talk about poor officiating.
It does absolutelty zip for the credibilty of Rugby Union to have these issues.
Oh, and for the record, IMO Pyper wasn’t the worst ref’ on display this weekend. Christy du Preez who blew the Community Cup game between Despatch and Spring Rose seemed intent in ensuring that it was as close as HE could possibly make it. Rather an inept performance INHO.
Maar nou ja, Good luck to Mr Peyper in the future. I personally shall not raise your inept abilities on this hallowed blog again.
And im sorry lambie fanboys, but If the sharks want to win this year… keep fiks fransie at flyhalf.
Why didnt the Stormers play in their power ranger jerseys?
because they were protesting against eskom?
Forwards Scarra Ntubeni and Pat Cilliers will have to head home, joining Rynhardt Elstadt who returned to Cape Town last week, whilst Frans Malherbe and Michael Rhodes are in doubt ahead of Friday’s second tour match (v Chiefs).
Boland prop Martin Dreyer will fly over as injury cover and negotiations are presently underway to secure Martin Bezuidenhout (who was part of the squad last week) as cover at hooker.
The full DHL Stormers injury report (10/03/14):
– Hooker Scarra Ntubeni (torn calf muscle) and Pat Cilliers (rib cartilage) are on their way home from tour with injuries. Ntubeni has a grade two tear and could be out for five weeks. Cilliers could be out for up to six weeks.
– Tighthead prop Frans Malherbe (broken baby toe) and lock/flank Michael Rhodes (shoulder) will be given until Wednesday to prove their fitness.
– Fullback Jaco Taute (AC Joint) is making good progress from the weekend and has a big chance of facing the Chiefs.
– Boland prop Martin Dreyer will join the squad in Auckland this week and negotiations are presently underway to secure Griquas hooker Martin Bezuidenhout as cover for Ntubeni. If Bezuidenhout cannot make it, DHL WP Vodacom Cup hooker Stephan Coetzee will fly over as cover.
QUOTES FROM DHL STORMERS COACH ALLISTER COETZEE:
“It’s a long list of injuries, Scarra and Pat will join quality players like Rynhardt Elstadt, Eben Etzebeth, Manuel Carizza, Jean Kleyn, Juan de Jongh and Cheslin Kolbe back home and on the sidelines.
“But the guys are still positive and there’s a good feeling in the camp. We had a good training session today and also had a good video review of the game. There were a lot of positives from the game, but the big negative – again – was us not taking the opportunities we created for ourselves.”
@ nortierd:
Hi N – according to my info, Scarra has 3 seperate tears, no news on the grade/severity yet.
GoBokkeAndIreland wrote:
Very possible
That report is what the Stormers website gave, it does leave us in a bit of a pickle.
Tiaan hardly manages 2 games in a row without breaking down, and Deon has settled nicely at 6, will be a shame to play him at 2 especiallywhen we know he will get the yips come line out time and struggle.
We can only hope that Tiaan really is over the last injury and doesn’t break down again
Nortier and friends
You guys need to get perspective please. Just because you don’t like the Sharks you tend to show all the scenarios where they get advantage by the inept refs. But you are blind to the times they are on the receiving end. At some stage this past weekend they had a penalty count of 13-5 against them. And I don’t hear anyone talking about the clear truck and trailer of the Lions that lead to a try.
And it is not as if the Sharks need the refs help, they make dumb decisions all on their own. You lose credibility with your one eyed opinions. But I agree that Peyper was pathetic, making up new rules as he goes along. Laughable!
Stormers did me proud. Pitty about Brainfart Taute.
Some bad front row injuries and second game is usually the hardest, nogals against the Chiefs as well
Bulls getting better and better – Flip a good leader and Hougie slowly getting there, see if Jan gets decent ball what a match winner he is
Sharks as expected, Lions as expected
Cheetahs not going to repeat 2013 it seems…
@Snoek
Personally I don’t like or support the Sharks, but then again, I don’t like and support the Cheetahs, Lions, Bulls or Kings or any of the other SA sides either, I support only the Stormers.
Yet, from pre season, I have acknowledged that the Sharks will walk the SA conference and beat the other sides comfortably, because they were pro active and got proper coaches, have the best depth and the best structures in SA.
I still believe that they should not have to rely on Peyper for 2 games to help them get the 4th try, they should be good enough to get that on their own.
Anyone who has watched them at home with him officiating and walks away thinking that he didn’t favor them, well, I will respectfully disagree.
They got what they needed out of the games, it’s hardly a surprise anyway, they should get all the points in the derbies and home games easily enough, I just wonder when they hit that playoff with a neutral ref, or a home town ref against the Chiefs down in Hamilton, what will be said then?
Winning the SA conference is ok for some bragging rights, ask us, we got lucky twice there, but when that big final choke comes, it all counts for nought.
22 @ nortierd:
In your opinion, why do some ref’s obviously favour a particular teams above others?
A frightening stat’ that I recalled from 2012 is that the Lions NEVER won a game with Marius Jonker on the whistle. Just coincidence or something else?
I know what the ref’s will say.
What’s your take on it?
Super15 – won 3 and lost 12
CC – won 6 and lost 4
In those 16 losses, how many times did he officiate?
a bid harsh not?
All this ref conspiracy theories is very boring imo
@scrumdown
Difficult to say, but I guess refs are humans, and all humans have bias, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.
Then they probably also believe some of the hype that is written pre match about who is supposed to be the favorites?
Home town fans having a go when they show replays on TV, we saw that with the French twat last year.
Steve Walsh loves favoring the home side,and I get the shakes when I see Craig Joubert is reffing a Stormers match for instance.
At least we Cheetahs supporters admit that our team is shit. We don’t have to bang on about the ref.
24 @ Gena_ZA:
I was referring to Super Rugby in totality with Jonker not just 2012.
I’m the last person to blame a ref for a team losing AT ANY LEVEL.
ANY team should play at such a level to make any one eyed ref’ irrelevant.
@ Loosehead:
It’s not anbout banging on about a ref’. It’s about getting Rugby Union from being a minority sport in the big wide world, to a sport that can rival Association Football.
Also, can you, imagine what our ANZAC mates are going to say when they watch the highlight reel of the SA conference sometime during the week, and a certain ref’ makes an utterance that is totally at odds with the rules of the game?
Once again SA Rugby is made to look like a bunch of fools.
“Everyone has a right to be stupid. Some people just abuse the right.”
Scrumdown wrote:
What did he do / say?
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