Last weekend at this time I had a difficult time trying to find positives in a very disappointing week to report on. Super Rugby Round 9 proved to be a much more positive weekend for the South African Franchises.
Waratahs 18 DHL Stormers 32
DHL Stormers – Tries: Damian de Allende 2, Kobus van Wyk and Cheslin Kolbe; Conversions: Demetri Catrakilis and Kurt Coleman 2; Penalties: Demetri Catrakilis 2
Waratahs – Tries: Teqele Naiyaravoro and Rob Horne; Conversion: Michael Foley; Penalties: Michael Foley 2
For all their failings during their Australasian tour, the Stormers out thought the Waratahs to leave Sydney with a full haul of 5 points. They produced a very solid defensive pattern to nip most of the Waratahs attaking intentions in the bud and scored their tries through pressure, turning loose ball into scoring opportunities. The Stormers were determined to not commit players to the break down and instead presented a solid line of defense, mostly taking the Waratahs much larger back line players out of the game. Waratahs wing Tequele Naiyaravoro did show what he is capable of during the opening minutes, bouncing off three would-be defenders to score in the corner.
Demetri Catrakilis produced a much more assured performance this weekend and this seemed to rub off on Damian de Allende, who produced two tries of his own. Juan de Jong also answered many of his critics with a very strong defensive game. Between himself and Damian de Allende, they managed to put intense pressure on the Waratahs centers to shut them out of the game. Cheslin Kolbe also reminded everyone of his attacking prowess, scoring from 85m out.
The Stormers will probably regard this as a job only half done and would put a lot of pressure on themselves to take another 5 points out of the game against the Force in Perth next weekend.
Force 15 Toyota Cheetahs 24
Western Force – tries: Luke Morahan, Chris Alcock. Conversion: Sias Ebersohn. Penalty: Ebersohn
Toyota Cheetahs – tries: Raymond Rhule, Heinrich Brussow. Conversion: Joe Pietersen. Penalties: Pietersen (3). Drop goal: Pietersen
After three losses on tour few would have been convinced that the Cheetahs would be in with much of a shout in this game, but the doubters were left to eat a slice of humble pie after the game. Their often suspect defense was easily able to repel most of the Force’s attempts at attack. For their tries, Willie le Roux presented Raymond Rhule with a fantastic long pass to put him away and Heinrich Brussow steered the ship behind a big driving maul for his try.
Brussow certainly kept social commentators busy with yet another stand out performance in the loose and a few of his pin-ball runs. Coenie Oosthuizen had a good day in the scrums on the tight head side and also produced a number of impressive runs with ball in hand.
The Bloemfontein faithful will welcome them home with open arms for their match up with the Reds next weekend.
Emirates Lions 23 Cell C Sharks 21
Emirates Lions – Tries: Howard Mnisi, Faf de Klerk and Harold Vorster; Conversion: Elton Jantjies; Penalties: Elton Jantjies 2
Cell C Sharks – Tries: Renaldo Bothma, Lwazi Mvovo and Thomas du Toit; Conversions: Fred Zeilinga 3
The Sharks traveled to Johannesburg with a much-changed starting fifteen, hoping to erase the memories of the hammering they suffered at the hands of the Crusaders last weekend. For much of the first half it looked like this this was a master-stroke as the two sides fought it out for the win.
This Sharks side did play with a lot more intensity and passion that what has been on display over the last couple of weeks and Sharks Head Coach Gary Gold will have something to work with going forward. During his time at the Sharks, Jake White bemoaned the quality of his assistant coaches and we have to wonder if there was some substance to his complaints.
For their part, the Lions once again did what was required of them and continue to defy their critics who thought that they would once again prop up the table. This is no longer that team and now deserve a lot more recognition than they currently receive and I suspect the Johannesburg will become a lot more attractive to players who come off contract on 1 October. They were possibly not at their best on Saturday night, but still produced the goods.
For the Sharks, Renaldo Bothma crashed over for a try after multiple phases of pick and go. Lwazi Mvovo scored after an electrifying run down the left flank and promising young prop Thomas du Toit muscled his way over late in the game.
The Lions spread their tries either side of half time via Howard Mnisi, Faf de Klerk and Harold Vorster. Young Vorster is promising to be one of the stand out centers in South African rugby for the future.
For both sides this game came down to the final kick of the match. Fred Zeilinga had the opportunity to snatch the win away from the Lions with a late penalty kick, which would have sent the Sharks fans into raptures. The Lions would have been devastated if the kick had gone over as in the final analysis they had done enough to deserve the victory.
The Lions enjoy a well earned break next weekend, while the Sharks return to the Shark Tank to prepare for a visit from the Bulls.
Vodacom Bulls 43 Reds 22
Vodacom Bulls – tries: Francois Hougaard (2), Pierre Spies, Marcel van der Merwe, Burger Odendaal, Piet van Zyl Conversions: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (3), Tiaan Schoeman (2). Penalty: Potgieter
Queensland Reds – tries: Lachie Turner, Will Genia, Nick Frisby, Marco Kotze Conversion: Turner
The Bulls put their loss against the Lions last weekend behind them with a six try dismantling of the visiting Reds. Many local pundits were giving the Reds very little chance in this game, missing both James Horwill (suspended) and Quade Cooper (injured). They did surprise everyone with their combativeness and put in a strong performance at scrum time.
The deserved man of the match was young Jessie Kriel, who was superb on defense and under the high ball and also created a lot of opportunity with his powerful line breaks. Francois Hougaard was back to his mercurial best and scored a brace of his own. For his second try, he ripped the ball loose in a tackle and sprinted 50m to score. Jacques-Louis Potgieter left the field just after half time and was replaced by another youngster in Tiaan Schoeman, who is beginning to show some real class as both a kicker and an attacking option.
In the analysis, the Bulls rooted their game in a very strong defensive performance and attacking when opportunities presented themselves. They will be disappointed with the ten minutes after halftime in which their defense nouse seemed to abandon them and they leaked two tries. Another player to watch in the Bulls squad is Burger Odendaal, who is putting pressure on Springbok Jan Serfontein for the inside center spot. Springbok Trevor Nyakane was originally selected as an emergency replacement tighthead prop earlier in the season, yet seems to have cemented himself as a regular starter in the position through continued strong scrummaging performances.
Next weekend, the Bulls will take on the Sharks in Durban and the Reds move on to Bloemfontein to welcome the Cheetahs back from their Australasian tour.
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