The Currie Cup final prediction from the Sports Trader blog
With half an hour to go before the kick off to the Currie Cup final, I'll admit I'm still not sure which way I think it's going to go. Being a WP supporter I'm a bit ambivalent seeing as the 'big name' teams already finished their season a few weeks back.
;-)
In all seriousness though, I'm leaning toward the Sharks purely based on the home ground advantage. I think both sides are both very evenly matched, both sides have quality players and either side has a handful of players who could turn the game on it's head without a second thought.
Black Pearl Betting has the Sharks at 6/10 while the Bulls are at 13/10 - not much in it either way.
Black Pearl however have two very interesting plays that might make it interesting:
First up they have a competition for the first try scorer and I think JP Pietersen at 12/1 has to look good.
The second option they've got going is the "STEYN ALIVE" which pits Morne Steyn against Francois Steyn around drop goals and total points scored. A leaning toward Francois to deliver a drop goal is quoted at 11/10. A few bucks either way here might be a bit of fun....
Showing posts with label Francois Steyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Francois Steyn. Show all posts
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The drop goal
Yesterday afternoon Francois Steyn drop kicked a monster of a drop kick (some 55m) that I believe changed the entire tempo and momentum of the Sharks vs. Free State game yesterday. This kick proved what a vital weapon a good drop kicker can be in your side.
Both sides were pretty evenly matched and each had a try to their credit.
In fact I thought Free State were playing like men on a mission. But there is nothing you can do when you kick the ball to a guy sitting in the other half of the field and he looks up and kicks it straight between the posts with nobody around to do anything about it.
It knocks the wind out of the sails of the opposition simply because they can't find a way to defend against it and you find yourself behind on the back of a sheer piece of brilliance.
Johnny Wilkinson, Jannie De Beer and Joel Stransky are just a couple of names of players who have drop kicked their side through tough games.
Defensive strategies
Every defensive strategy in the world is designed to help you counter a running game from the 1st or 2nd receiver.
"Chip and chase" from set pieces you can also defend against with any half decent back 3 reading the game well.
But the drop kick (especially if it can be kicked from anywhere on the park) is a killer blow. Not just because it lands 3 points, but because it also gives the opposition side - "Go forward" momentum and makes the opposition feel like it doesn't matter how their defensive structures lineup, you are going to be taking a crack at them.
That psychological advantage is something that you can carry with you toward a win....
Both sides were pretty evenly matched and each had a try to their credit.
In fact I thought Free State were playing like men on a mission. But there is nothing you can do when you kick the ball to a guy sitting in the other half of the field and he looks up and kicks it straight between the posts with nobody around to do anything about it.
It knocks the wind out of the sails of the opposition simply because they can't find a way to defend against it and you find yourself behind on the back of a sheer piece of brilliance.
Johnny Wilkinson, Jannie De Beer and Joel Stransky are just a couple of names of players who have drop kicked their side through tough games.
Defensive strategies
Every defensive strategy in the world is designed to help you counter a running game from the 1st or 2nd receiver.
"Chip and chase" from set pieces you can also defend against with any half decent back 3 reading the game well.
But the drop kick (especially if it can be kicked from anywhere on the park) is a killer blow. Not just because it lands 3 points, but because it also gives the opposition side - "Go forward" momentum and makes the opposition feel like it doesn't matter how their defensive structures lineup, you are going to be taking a crack at them.
That psychological advantage is something that you can carry with you toward a win....
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