South African Super Rugby Round 2 provided fans with a lot to talk about around the water cooler on Monday.
Chiefs 32 Emirates Lions 36
Chiefs – Tries: Tom Sanders, Damian McKenzie, James Lowe, Brad Weber Conversions: McKenzie (3) Penalties: McKenzie (2)
Emirates Lions – Tries: Malcolm Marx, Courtnall Skosan, Warren Whiteley, Ruan Combrinck Conversions: Jantjies (1) Penalties: Jantjies (4)
The Lions earned their first win ever in Hamilton using a superior running game, superbly orchestrated by halfbacks Faf de Klerk and Elton Jantjes. The Lions built up a 24 to 11 lead, but the Chiefs fought back to take the lead at 25 to 24 after James Lowe’s try, so reminisent of Pieter Rossouw’s try against the All Blacks in the former Tri-Nations tournament. Off a set piece Aaron Cruden passed the the ball inside to the flying Lowe, who caught the Lions midfield flat footed. The Lions then outscored the Chiefs by two tries to one to emerge worth winners.
The game was highly entertaining and deservedly our game of the weekend as both sides continued to play ball in hand rugby with a high entertainment value. The Lions made 140 passes to the Chiefs 112 and made 435 running meters to the Chiefs 361. The most relevant statistic that will put this match into perspective though is the tackle success rate of both teams. The Lions made 63 tackles and missed 24. The Chiefs made 90 and missed 28. Both defensive coaches will be hard at work this week.
The Lions have now racked up two away wins, which could prove invaluable later in the tournament.
Vodacom Bulls 45 Rebels 25
Vodacom Bulls – tries: Bjorn Basson (3), Nic de Jager, Travil Ismael, Jannes Kirsten Conversions: Francois Brummer (6) Penalty: Brummer
Melbourne Rebels – tries: Jonah Placid, Ben Meehan (2), James Hansen Conversion: Jack Debreczeni Penalty: Debreczeni
The Bulls started this game at a very high tempo and raced to a 42 to 3 lead and the Rebels appeared to be facing a huge hiding. For the second successive game though, the Bulls fell away in the second half and scored 3 points to the Rebels 22. Time will tell if this is a bench strength, concentration or fitness issue. The Bulls backline did appear to be a lot more effective with Burger Odendaal at inside centre and Jan Serfontein will have a tough job keeping his place at outside centre once Jessie Kriel returns from injury
The Bulls are starting to show a lot more enterprise in their pattern of play, but they are a long way off the finished product.
Toyota Cheetahs 10 DHL Stormers 20
DHL Stormers – Tries: Leolin Zas and Sikhumbuzo Notshe Conversions: Robert du Preez and Kurt Coleman Penalties: Kurt Coleman 2
Toyota Cheetahs – Try: William Small-Smith Conversion: Fred Zeilinga Penalty: Fred Zeilinga
This game was a lot tighter both in the score and the pattern of play by both teams. The Cheetahs scrum stood up surprisingly well to the much celebrated Stormers pack, hampering the Stormers ability to attack off solid first phase possession. The Cheetahs lineout on the other hand was exceptionally poor, losing 7 of their own feeds. The Stormers will also need to take a long and hard look at their decision making and finishing ability. A winning margin of ten points after enjoying 60% of both possession and territorial advantage will be a disappointment. To their credit the Cheetahs tackled their hearts out, having made 155 in total, missing 15. The Stormers made only 65 tackles, missing 15.
The Stormers now await news on young flyhalf Robert du Preez, who hobbled off with what might be a serious knee injury.
Cell C Sharks 19 Jaguares 15
Cell C Sharks – Try: Marcell Coetzee Conversion: Joe Pietersen Penalties: Joe Pietersen 4
Jaguares – Tries: Emilliano Bofelli and Santiago Cordero Conversion: Nicholas Sanchez Penalty: Nicholas Sanchez
For the second game in a row, the Jaguares discipline let them down and they were reduced to 13 players on the park. Whilst it did not hurt them in this game, they in fact scored a try during this time, it could start costing them games if they continue to play with fire in the head and ice in the belly instead of the other way around. The greatest facet of their game was their pace on attack, but the Sharks countered this with a far superior driving maul that gained significant ground every time it was used. Handling was an issue for both side, with 38 knock-ons being recorded. All other match day statistics were pretty much even and that was reflected in the the final score.
Sharks supporters will take the win, but will be disappointed that the style of play is not the attractive running game that they value so much.
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