Super Rugby Round 8 produced a cricket score by the Cheetahs, a loss for the Sharks, an improved Bulls performance and an entertaining local derby between the Lions and Stormers.
Toyota Cheetahs 92 Sunwolves 17
Toyota Cheetahs – Tries: Sergeal Petersen (3), Paul Schoeman (3), Torsten van Jaarsveld, Francois Venter, Uzair Cassiem, Raymond Rhule , Shaun Venter, Hilton Lobberts, Clayton Blommetjies, Jacques du Toit Conversions: Niel Marais (8), Fred Zeilinga (3)
Sunwolves – Tries: Derick Carpenter, Mifi Paea Conversions: Tusi Pisi Penalties: Pisi
At the start of the 2016 Super Rugby season, most pundits had put their money on the Southern Kings being the first of the new teams to suffer a major blowout. The battering that the Sunwolves were subjected to in Bloemfontein on Friday night was a little bit of a surprise, but was a harsh demonstration of how tough this competition really is and how the travel involved can hurt a team. The Sunwolves must have had one foot on the airplane home already, as they simply did not pitch up.
It is difficult to highlight any great moments in the game other than the Cheetahs put the Sunwolves to the sword as they oppportunity presented itself. This was an incredibly poor display by the Sunwolves, with every single facet of play being really poor. Their set pieces fell apart and their defense was non-existent.The litmus test of their entire season will be how they pull themselves up by the bootlaces and face the rest of the season.
Blues 23 Cell C Sharks 18
Blues – Tries: George Moala and Reiko Ioane Conversions: Ihaia West 2 Penalties: Ihaia West 3
Cell C Sharks – Tries: Beast Mtawarira and Paul Jordaan Conversion: Joe Pietersen Penalties: Joe Pietersen 2
Before commenting on this game, we need to pay our respects to former Blues lock Kurtis Haiu, who succumbed to cancer at the tender age of 31. May he rest in peace.
The Blues eventually broke their ten game losing streak against the Sharks with a hard fought win in Auckland. They did this on the back of a lion’s share of possession (72%) and playing in the right areas, enjoying a 70% territorial advantage. The match never really raised to any great heights aside from two moments of magic. Willie le Roux’s entry into the backline from fullback, followed by a short pass to Paul Jordaan who had run a great line off him was special, as was Reiko Ioane’s solo effort from deep to score which was effectively the difference between the two sides.
The Blues dominance of possession had a knock on effect on a number of important statistics. The Sharks were forced to make 195 tackles, missing a massive 39. The Blues only had to make 67, missing 10. The Blues ran the ball 608 meters to the Sharks 293. Simply put, the Sharks did not play enough rugby.
Vodacom Bulls 41 Queensland Reds 22
Vodacom Bulls – Tries: Marcel van der Merwe, Adriaan Strauss, Lappies Labuschagne, Travis Ismaiel, Piet van Zyl Conversions: Francois Brummer (5) Penalties: Francois Brummer (2)
Queensland Reds – Tries: Chris Feauai-Sautia, Samu Kerevi (2) Conversion: Jake McIntyre (2) Drop Goal: Liam Gill
For the first team this season, the Bulls displayed some of the ball in hand attacking intent which they have been promising to deliver. It was strange to see a Bulls side prepared to offload the ball in a tackle and they were aided by a some poor tackling by the Reds. The Bulls still have some serious work to do at scrum time and they were embarrassed on a few occasions by the Reds scrum. Marcel van der Merwe has done little at Super Rugby level to justify his continued starting position and it is specifically at tighthead that they are struggling, along with the height they set their scrum at.
An unusual highlight of this game was Liam Gill’s perfectly struck drop goal from 40 meters out.
The Reds were coming off a win against the defending champions, the Highlanders, so the Bulls will take some confidence with them on their trip to Australia, which comes after their bye next week.
Emirates Lions 29 DHL Stormers
Emirates Lions – Tries: Ruan Combrinck and Faf de Klerk Conversions: Elton Jantjies 2 Penalties: Elton Jantjies 4 Drop-goal: Elton Jantjies.
DHL Stormers – Try: Siya Kolisi Conversion: Jean Luc du Plessis Penalties: Jean Luc du Plessis 5
South African derbies are generally known to be tight affairs and this one was no different. The main difference though was the attractive game these two teams dished up. The Stormers started out with the the obvious game plan to disrupt the Lions with an aggressive defensive. This paid dividends during the first half as they two flyhalves enjoyed a place kicking duel. The Lions did eventually breach the Stormers defense and once they had built up a four point lead the Stormers were forced to chase the game more, opening the game up for both sides. Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies was deserved named as Man of the Match and has surely earned another tick next to his name in new Springbok coach Allister Coetzee’s little black book.
This result, along with the Bulls victory, creates an interesting situation in each of the Africa conferences. The Stormers lead the Bulls by one point in Africa 1, with both sides still having to tour. The Lions sit atop Africa 2, five points ahead of the Cheetahs, but have already completed the bulk of their touring.
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