Finally the Super 14 got underway and WHAT A START! If this is the kind of excitement we are going to get for the rest of the tournament then we are going to be really happy rugby fans. For the first time since 2002 I will be able to watch Friday morning games at home without needing to go to work. When I grow up I want to be like me! So whilst the majority of people were at work on Friday morning I was making myself comfortable in the couch and ready to watch some footy. The first game between the Highlanders and the Brumbies was a cracker. I for one expected the Highlanders to loose as they are arguably New Zealand’s weakest team but they stood their own and did not look bad at all. Bar a late drop goal they should have won that game.
Although the Highlanders lost I was pretty chuffed with what I saw of them. They will not be a push over this season. 33-31 to the Brumbies, what a game! The Brumbies are looking okay and will def challenge this season in my views. As long as Mortlock is on the field they will always be a threat. The Brumbies should have closed out the game a long time ago but they let the Highlanders back in. Better teams will punish the Brumbies in situations like that.
Up next was the Force vs Blues. It was a close one to call before kickoff but I am glad the New Zealand team came out on top. I got a feeling the Force will blow hot and cold this season. There is only so much Giteau can do by himself. If the Force had a dominant forward pack they will be a threat. 25-19 to the Blues in this one and this was already two away wins in the first two games.
Roll onto Friday night and the Lions vs the Cheetahs. Guru had managed to convince me before kickoff that the Cheetahs are a force to take note of this season but after a couple of minutes all my hope for the Cheetahs went out the window! Credit to the Cheetahs for managing to pull back and make a game of it but in the end a 34-28 win to the Lions was a fair result. I have lost faith in the Cheetahs! As for the Lions, who knows what they can do this season, I still want to see them against better opposition before I judge them. They could just be the surprise package from South Africa.
Then Saturday comes along and for a change I did not go out on Friday night so waking up at 6:30 on Saturday morning was not a struggle at all. For me this was the game I was most looking forward to all weekend as the Crusaders were playing. Many had written off the Crusaders but I hope they now recoginise that the Saders are still a force even without Carter and Deans. Not a high scoring match but plenty of passion as expected in a local derby. I really liked what I saw of the New Zealand players and seeing Leonard back at srumhalf for the Chiefs was encouraging. 19-13 to the Crusaders, roll on the Saders!!
Then the biggest disappointment of the weekend for me, the Hurricanes going down 22-26 to the Waratahs. Credit to the Tahs, they played better than the Canes and deserved that win. The Canes need Conrad Smith in that team, as much as I am not a fan of him, he was missed on Saturday. The loss of Jerry Collins in Chris Masoe has also dealt the Canes a blow. Many had tipped the Canes to do well this season but I now have my doubts. Look out for the Waratahs and that boy they have at 13, they could just pull it off this season.
Then the big one of the weekend at Newlands. As much as I was looking forward to this game, I missed it! But judging from the reports and the highlights I have seen it was quite a game. The loss of Jean de Villiers really seemed to turn the game for the Stormers. I just wonder if they still would have lost if he had stayed on the field. I had predicted the Sharks to win this one anyway so I am glad they did. I gather Luke Watson was till being booed by his own fans. LOL! 20-15 win to the Sharks. The Durban team has gotten a good away win at a place I do not see many teams winning this season.
Finally the Bulls took on the Reds. I would love to hear was Robbie Deans has to say now when he predicted that the Reds could beat the Bulls at Loftus. A 33-20 win for the Bulls sounds pretty convincing to me. Yet again I did not watch this one and have not even seen the highlights yet but the result speaks for itself.
All in all, a great start to the Super 14. Still too early to make predictions based on one game but I think after this coming weekend we will be in a better position to see who is really who in the zoo!
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7 comments
Guru says:
Feb 17, 2009
What a weekend Ron and yes, the rest of the season promises to be exciting. All ga,es were quite close and too tight and tense for some of us playing the superbru prediction game.
However, what is of most concern to me (and i’d love to hear what everyone else thinks) is the fact that I still sense a significant difference between SA sides and NZ/Aus sides when it comes to the breakdown. A typical example is the the difference between the Saders/Chiefs and the Sharks/Stormers game where the NZ counter rucking and contesting at the breakdown just seems to be of a higher standard. I know Ron will love hearing this from me but it is a point that i felt should be discussed. Am i seeing things or are the NZ teams better at counter rucking and winning over ball that has initially been on the opposition’s side?
What i have noticed is that when the NZlanders arrive at a ruck, even if the opposition has the ball, if they are outnumbering the opposition by 4 to 2, they will counter ruck and literrally step over the opposition’s territory and claim the ball. I am just worried that this difference could be as a result of coaching more than anything else.
Responses would be appreciated because i am concerned. Or maybe it’s just that the NZ teams had better match practice in pre-season. Anyway, time will tell as teams start touring and this coming weekend, i will be closely watching the breakdown area, at the moment, i ma worried from an SA perspective.
Ron says:
Feb 17, 2009
Valid point Guru and worried you should be because I am sure the British Lions are looking at this with a smile. I think it is simple: NZ and Aus teams are just far superior at the breakdown than SA teams and its purely a matter of coaching and the pure desire of trying to win the ball back at the point of break down. SA teams get to the breakdown and wait and linup their defences to defend against the team with the ball when infact they should try an compete. The best for of defence is attack and that is what NZ and Aus teams do.
I would think that the Stormers would use this tactic well (mind you i didn’t see their game against the Sharks so can’t comment on if they did it on not) but they have the ammunition in the form of Burger to be attacking at the breakdown and with a coach like Rassie who I would think would encourage such.
If memory serves me correct, back in 2000 with Andy Vincent, wasnt his mentality that if we get to a breakdown and we dont have possession we should commit as few players as possible and lineup our defence? So it could be a South African thing!!!!!
BP says:
Feb 17, 2009
haha Ron, how do you have time on a friday to watch all the games ek se?
from what i saw it was a great start to the weekend, gary boschoff’s comments on news24 saying it was same old, same old, is a load of trash. i think it looks like its gonna be very entertaining with some surprise packages as well, highlanders and lions already showing what they’re capable of.
i can hardly comment on the turnovers not watching enough games to add decent input, but the counter rucking has started to actually take shape in teams now, and the SA teams seem to be slow on the uptake with this…its not that they’re lacking in players to do it, probably just something they didnt think would feature that much in these games. saying that tho, i think in the waratahs game, they only counter rucked a few times, with some success, most of the time tho they fanned out and defended or hoped for george smith to work some magic and nick the ball….but i definitely think it’ll become a bigger part of the game in the near future…so all teams better start getting with the program or find themselves being turned over more and more….
Guru says:
Feb 17, 2009
Ron, you are spot on, Vincent did state that if the ball is won by opposition, just fan out. But then again, that was 10 years ago and the game has evolved since then.
As I said in my comment, I am not sure if I saw correctly so that is something i will be looking out for this coming weekend. Unfortunately I am not as fortunate as you Ron so i cannot watch the Friday games. I will ask you to assist me with looking out in the Friday games bacause i am very interested in seeing this counter rucking concept being used by the NZ teams. It amazes me because it takes a whole lot of strength and I am sure BP will agree with me that counter rucking and taking back a fully grown man weighing over 120kgs is not an easy thing. Man these S14 players are special!!!!!
kambas says:
Feb 18, 2009
lets take a look see, Springboks play a superb blend of attacking defense and it comes very rarely i might add, in the counterrucking but in fanning out and blitzing up as a unit. i too guru will be watching avidly this weekend to see how things pan out at this area of the game.
The NZ and Aus teams when counterrucking are just looking distract the scrumhalf enough so that he gives bad ball whereas the SA teams are looking to attack the 1st 5/8 it seems like.
input please
Guru says:
Feb 18, 2009
Kambas, there are times when they look to just disrupt and that’s normally when you see them slapping at the scrummy’s hands. However, what I am referring to are times when the NZ players arrive at a ruck after one of their teammates has made a tackle, and then they realise that the opposition only has 2 or 3 players at the ruck when they have maybe 4 or 5 players. Now at this point, these boys will counter shove from beneath and literally step over the ball as they push the opposition backwards. Anyway, as you say, we will watch closely. I am particularly interested in comparing the Saders vs Brumbies game, Tahs vs Chiefs game and the Sharks vs Lions game. I think it will be very interesting to note how these various teams handle the rucks.
BP says:
Feb 18, 2009
chiefs are gonna battle without luaki and muliaina, but still looks to be a solid contest. as are the other 2 mentioned, so far full strength sides available to play this weekend.
when counter rucking is done effectively its not with the intention of disrupting the scrummy, i’ve seen the welsh do it as well and its effective in turning over poorly protected ball as guru says. the amount of times the tah’s turned over canes ball last weekend from the canes having a lack of numbers at the ball was ridiculous, goes to show that you need to commit numbers when the opposition are competing for the ball