Super Rugby Round 13 produced three intense nail biting games involving the South African Franchises.
Hurricanes 32 Cell C Sharks 24
Hurricanes – Tries: Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Reggie Goodes and Jeremy Thrush; Conversions: James Marshall 3; Penalties: James Marshall 2
Cell C Sharks – Tries: Subisiso Sithole, Marcell Coetzee and Odwa Ndungane; Conversions: Frans Steyn 3; Penalty: Frans Steyn
The Sharks certainly added a lot more starch to their recipe for this weekend’s match up against the table topping Hurricanes and being denied a losing bonus point is probably not a true reflection of how they steadfastly refused to be overwhelmed by their more fancied opposition. The truth be told, the Hurricanes are not quite the same prospect without the injured Beauden Barrett and they could be there for the taking in the next couple of weeks.
The Sharks defence was once again a huge frustration, with the Highlanders first two tries coming from poor defensive alignment and players falling off tackles. Their ability to break the line has also been brought into question, but the tries by Sithole and Ndungane were both the result of enterprising play. Lionel Cronje carried the ball to the line and got outside the shoulder of his defender, drawing the attention of a second defender. His long pass out to Sithole was delivered with pinpoint accuracy, who steamed down the touchline to a score.
Ndungane’s try was the end result of some determined running by Springbok JP Pietersen. Pietersen has certainly not been in the greatest of form this season and hopefully if the Sharks start spreading the ball a bit more he will come more into play. Frans Steyn also looked at lot more like the class player that he obviously is. Young Stefan Ungerer had a solid start at scrumhalf and probably did enough to bring Conrad Hoffman’s place on the bench in question once Cobus Reinach returns from injury.
One of the main talking points to come out of this game was the rolling maul try disallowed by the refereeing team. Most rugby supporters watching, including the commentary team were convinced it was a try, yet the TMO came to the rather odd decision that the Sharks were guilty of “Changing Lanes”. Given that Marcel Coetzee was in the boot of the drive and the original maul went over the line and the Hurricanes were still contesting it, this was a strange decision.
The Sharks are at a low point right now, but there is enough there to believe that they will spoil somebody’s party at the back end of the tournament.
Emirates Lions 28 Highlanders 23
Emirates Lions – tries: Courtnal Skosan, Harold Vorster, Jaco Kriel Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2) Penalties: Marnitz Boshoff, Elton Jantjies (2)
Highlanders – tries: Gareth Evans, Malakai Fekitoa Conversions: Lima Sopoaga (2) Penalty: Sopoaga Drop goals: Sopoaga, Ben Smith
When Lions coach Johan Ackermann announced his starting side earlier this week, his ploy was obvious. Set a trap for the Highlanders by bringing the Lions playmakers on in the second half, using their high tempo game plan against a side that had traveled halfway across the planet and were starting to feel the effects of the thinly oxygenated Highveld air. Being down 20 to 3 at halftime was probably not part of the plan. The Highlanders had blitzed the Lions in the first twenty minutes and it looked as if the Lions were facing a big hiding on their home ground.
Shortly after half time the reinforcements were called in, most notably the arrival of first choice halfbacks, Faf de Klerk and Elton Jantjies. The Lions immediately fell into their familiar high octane game plan and started to pile the pressure on to the Highlanders. Ackermann’s vision for this game proved to be spot on, as his Lions team went on to outscore the Highlanders by 25 points to 3 in the second half. On the downside, the Lions will need to work on their lineout as they turned over possession far too many times, especially in the first half.
Players like Harold Vorster and Jaco Kriel continue to catch the eye and it is surely only a matter of time before one of them is invited to a Springbok camp.
DHL Stormers 25 Brumbies 24
DHL Stormers – Try: Schalk Burger; Conversion: Demetri Catrakilis; Penalties: Demetri Catrakilis 5; Drop-goal: Demetri Catrakilis
Brumbies – Tries: Joe Tomane and David Pocock; Conversion: Christian Lealiifano; Penalties: Christian Lealiifano 4
South African rugby teams have a shocking record when it comes to playing in a commemorative jersey and the special jersey Mothers Day jersey looked to be continuation of this as the Stormers were 16 to 3 down in the first quarter. They appeared to be listless and looked uncomfortable playing a ball in hand game plan. Damian de Allende in particular appeared to be struggling to find the handle on the ball and dropped it three times in the first half. His poorly executed grubber kick that Joe Tomane collected and ran 45 meters without a hand being laid on him.
For their part, the Brumbies arrived in Cape Town with the intent to spoil and niggle throughout the game and Jordan Spiro’s wrestling suplex tackle on Schalk Burger being rather absurd. Referee Stuart Berry was very light handed in his handling of both the Brumbies continual break down and off side line infringements and did not have a strong hold on the game.
In the second half, the Stormers did return to their more familiar territory based game and it reaped rewards. They did concede a try when David Pocock picked up the ball in a ruck and found no pillar defense in front of him. His drive to the line was completely uncontested. Schalk Burger responded by driving himself over the line for the Stormers only try. The five penalties slotted by Catrakilis proved to be the real difference between the two sides and we question what would have happened if the Brumbies had arrived to play instead of spoil? The Stormers are well renowned for their fantastic scrumming abilities, so it will be of concern to them that they were regularly bossed around in the rucks, mauls and tackles.
For those who were not aware, the Stormers played this game in a jersey dedicated to their mothers. The white panels of their jerseys were filled with water-marked roses and their mothers’ names embroidered on the collar. The jerseys were then auctioned off on Twitter to raise money for charity. All the funds raised went towards helping Sisters Incorporated continue to do the good work that they do for vulnerable women and children in Cape Town
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