Absa refocuses sponsorship strategy

Absa continually reviews its sponsorship portfolio to ensure that our investments meet the needs of our business and are aligned to our strategy. Based on this review, we are consolidating our sponsorship portfolio to enhance the strategic focus thereof.

“One of the outcomes of Absa’s portfolio rationalisation is a change in our approach to stadium exposure. Thus, over the past few years, the decision was taken not to renew stadium naming rights, as evidenced by the discontinuation of naming rights of the stadia in Kimberley and East London. The decision regarding the Absa Stadium Durban is a continuation of this strategy,” said Happy Ntshingila, Absa Chief Marketing and Communication Officer.

Absa is a strong supporter of rugby in South Africa, and remains committed to the promotion of the sport, inter alia, through our involvement in the Absa Currie Cup. The bank also supports, among others, the Eastern Province Kings, three provincial rugby academies, including the Sharks Academy.

“In addition, we are in the final stages of negotiations to conclude a contract which will see Absa becoming the Official Team Sponsor of the Springboks,” stated Ntshingila.

He added: “This latest development will solidify Absa’s strategy of sponsoring leading teams and tournaments in two of the top sporting codes in the country, namely soccer and rugby.”

“Our strategy around our sports sponsorships has changed, and we are in the process of consolidating our properties so that we can focus on the league, national teams and development,” emphasised Ntshingila.

Regarding the Absa Stadium Durban naming rights, Ntshingila clarified that Absa was not the sponsor of the Sharks rugby team but had held naming rights over the Absa Stadium for the past 11 years. “It is this sponsorship that we are not extending. Our sponsorship of the Sharks Academy continues. We were never sponsors of any of the provincial rugby outfits,” concluded Ntshingila.

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Supporters get screwed

I have just watched the Lions rugby team get drubbed 59-10 by the Cheetahs and I re-affirm my view from last week that the Lions supporters get screwed.This is important - the supporters make the franchise - not the other way around.

Dick Muir can talk as much as he likes about rebuilding the Lions like he did with the Sharks but there is a fundamental difference; the Sharks had a strong brand and franchise.

Over the last decade, the Sharks had won trophies and consistently been able to attract thousands of fans to their stadium. The Lions have been consistently shocking for the last eight to ten years and Ellis Park has really battled to attract decent crowds to many of their fixtures.

That in turn has meant that the franchise hasn't been able to attract quality players. You only need to look at how Jaque Fourie has flourished at the Stormers to appreciate what the Lions have missed out on.

How do people like Killian and Baywatch come out every week and give it their absolute everything and have to leave the field with 50 points against their names? Their careers are only so long. Professionally they don't get the luxury of sitting back and waiting while different coaches "rebuild" their squads.

If there was enough money to entice Carlos Spencer to come and play then there was enough money to hire coaching staff with a plan!

Don't get me wrong - I have no issue with a side that goes through a slump. It happens to the best of the teams at some point in a cycle. I however have an issue when the administrators forget that it is the fans who they play for. The fans generate the sponsor and TV interest (read revenue).

It might be great for Lions administrators to entertain in their corporate boxes at Ellis Park, but they are killing the golden goose - their fan base.

You might argue that it is the TV revenue which drives these Super 14 franchises (I agree) but not so long ago when the Lions were a force in rugby they attracted decent TV viewing. Today I barely glanced at the game.

If fans aren't going to both coming out to watch the games then sponsors are also going to start asking questions about where to put their money. At the moment if you are having to weigh up sponsoring the Cheetahs - with a number of potential Boks in their lineups and a moderately successful Super 14 team and the disastrous Lions, it has to be a toss-up.

What sponsors wants to put their money behind a team that has no real big name players?

I don't have any numbers to back this up, but from a merchandising perspective I'd assume that the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers are far more successful "brands" than the Lions. At some point this has to become very apparent to sponsors.... who do you want your branch attached to?

Anyway I am having a heated debate with a Lions supporter who argues that Muir has done enough to stay and more money should just be thrown at him to resolve the problem...

... I am not so sure.

Without being too facetious does anybody want to bet that Andy Goode is busy penning a deal with Dick Muir to be their "inspirational flyhalf" for the Currie Cup and 2011 Super 15?

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More disappointment for Sharks fans

The Sharks are over-rated this season and the Lions are kak... that's my final conclusion for this 2010 Super 14 season.

I don't know if the Sharks supporters are just super optimists or they get too much fresh air down by the beach but these guys genuinely thought:

A) They would beat the Bulls at Loftus (say what?!)
B) They were in contention for a semi-final spot (huh?! They were 9th on the friggin log before the weekend started!)

The Sharks fans were deluding themselves if they thought that the Bulls and Stormers were going to toss away points in the run in to the semi-finals in front of their home crowds.

As for the Lions - geez they've just been atrocious! Apart from the spirited performance against the Sharks two weeks back the Lions have been absolutely nowhere. The Cheetahs - who have far less resources - at least have shown a bit of "gees" or spirit even when they have lost key players and been outgunned.

Why is it that the Lions just can't seem to get it right? Money is not a problem, decent players are not even a problem... and yet they can't even burgle a win against the Force in front of the Ellis Park / Coca-Cola Park faithful...

... Will be interesting to see if Dick Muir survives another season here. Muir might have rebuilt the Sharks after a bad first year in charge, but this has been really disappointing and only he seems to see a plan.

C'mon the Stormers!

Rugby betting - Super 14

There is an interesting weekend of Super 14 rugby ahead of us and we have made some controversial picks for this weekends fixtures.

We're backing all the home teams to come in:

• Highlanders vs Waratahs - it is hard work to come to the House of Pain at this point in the season


• Stormers vs Crusaders - Mouthwatering fixture but its hard to look beyond the Stormers at Newlands


• Hurricanes vs Chiefs - Another interesting fixture but the bumps and bruises will add up for the Chiefs?


• Brumbies vs Reds - From a South African perspective the Brumbies would do us all a favour and knock the Reds back


• Cheetahs vs Blues - The Cheetahs can take heart from their last fixture of a hard tour. They might surprise here


• Lions vs Force - The Lions have to come good at some point this season and the Force look like they're going to be the team they do it against


• Bulls vs Sharks -.... Sharks = FISH PASTE... that's all I am saying on the subject!

Happy punting!

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Super 14 picks

Wow - it is going to be another exciting weekend in the Super 14 and we're expecting the Sharks to stumble against the Blues this weekend - even in front of their home crowd

There are some tough fixtures to call but here are out picks:

• Chiefs vs Cheetahs - Chiefs to win comfortably
• Reds vs Stormers: Stormers to win but it will be tight
• Force vs Crusaders: Even if they are blowing hot and cold Crusaders should make it
• Highlanders vs Hurricanes: This is a tough fixture to call but its about time for the Hurricanes to fade.
• Waratahs vs Brumbies: Waratahs should do well with the homeground advantage
• Bulls vs Lions: Bulls shouldn't break a sweat here, the Sharks will have taken the stuffing out of the Lions
• Sharks vs Blues: We think the Blues are going to surprise here
  

The Sharks had to work hard last week and they haven't looked like the most cohesive unit this season. We've lost money backing the Blues who have been the masters of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory but this might be the game they come right.

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Easter Super 14 picks

Hopefully the Easter weekend will be good to you. There don't look like too many surprises this weekend in the Super 14 rugby ...

... which normally means there is going to be an almighty upset somewhere along the lines.

The two potential upsets which I see are the Blues against the Bulls and the Sharks taking on the Reds.

The Bulls have had some defensive issues and the Blues in front of a home crowd have the ability to get some momentum going. The Bulls are going to need to haul in some of their attacking instincts and get the points when they are on offer.

As for the Sharks versus Reds game. I read somewhere that the Sharks have never beaten the Reds at Kings Park. I can't verify that and I am too lazy too Google it but I wouldn't be totally surprised. The Reds have been very hot and cold this season and the Sharks are desperate for points. It doesn't look like the most inspired Sharks backline with Goode at 10 and Tereblanche suddenly becoming a centre but home ground advantage should count in this instance.
Here are my picks

• Hurricanes to beat the Crusaders
• Stormers to beat the Force
• The Blues to beat the Bulls
• Chiefs to beat the Highlanders
• Waratahs will thump the Cheetahs
• Sharks will beat the Reds

Happy punting!

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Good effort from the Lions

I thought the Lions played well last night against the Sharks. Bearing in mind that the Sharks had all their international players to pick from and the Lions are falling apart at the seams in terms of injuries, they were in the game up until the last minute when Ruan Pienaar sunk that penalty.

Have to say my team (Western Province) are looking very tough to beat and with their Aussie import, it looks like they haeve some real depth to call on!

It would be very nice to pick up the Currie Cup this year!

Currie Cup predictions

Another round of the Currie Cup is here and there are some very interesting fixtures up this weekend. Last night Western Province went top of the log with an average victory over the Leopards and that has put the pressure on the other five sides competing for three more places in the semis.

Griquas vs. Lions
Geez what a fixture this could turn out to be!

The Lions are showing signs that they may be discovering some form and confidence but taking on the Griquas in Kimberly could be like walking in to a street-fight in Hillbrow on New Years Eve.

Points here for Griquas and they could be in for the play-offs, if the Lions drop points here then they are probably out of the running for the top 4.

First points are probably going to come from the boot and I am backing the Griquas to score first.

Prediction: Win for the Griquas.

Boland vs. Bulls
A tough fixture but I suspect the Bulls will come away as winners here.

A small bet on the Bulls scoring first courtesy of a try.

Sharks vs. Cheetahs
If this fixture was being played in Bloem I would have money down on the Cheetahs to upset here. The Free State side hasn't played the worst rugby this season, even if it has been a little inconsistent.

The Sharks welcome back Boks Ryan Kankowski, Jannie du Plessis and Odwa Ndungane on the bench so they'll have depth and their fanatical supporters behind them but don't expect one-way traffic.

Prediction: First points scored to come via a try and the Sharks to come away as winners.C

Rugby predictions - Saturday 15 August 2009

From The Betting Hub blog

Saturday provides an interesting day of rugby in the Currie Cup and we've made a couple of bold predictions for today that could pay off handsomely.

Boland vs. WP
This is the one game on the day where we are not going with the home-side. Upfront I will declare my bias for Western Province as I am an unashamed supporter.

Predicting a WP win with the first points coming from a WP try

Lions vs. Sharks
Probably going to irritate the Sharks supporters - but without their first-choice scrumhalf (who is a points machine with his goalkicking) and battling to find a flyhalf to give them forward momentum - I reckon that the Lions can beat this Sharks team.

Things haven't gone the way of the Lions for a couple of the earlier fixtures but there seems to be some self-belief returning to the side.

I have gone with the Lions to win and first points courtesy of a Lions try.

Griquas vs. Bulls
The high-flying Griquas side play host to the Bulls in a fixture that the men from Pretoria will probably not be relishing.

I don't think anybody likes to go and play at Kimberley at the best of times but games against a physical Griquas side which is winning is a stretch.

We have picked Griquas to upset and score early with a try as the first points.

Let's see how these play out.

Selection grumble

I have a grumble .... Was just reading on Sport24 that Brad Barritt has flown in to fill in for the Sharks at centre. This follows injuries to Frans Steyn, Waylon Murray and Adi Jacobs have robbed them of their experienced players in midfield.

Remember that Barritt was lured overseas earlier this year with promises of a big money contract at Saracens.

Now suddenly injuries are hitting the Sharks' setup and instead of going through their existing structures they are going to pull a player from another club to fill in.

The Stormers did a similar thing earlier this year when they called up their old hooker Tiaan Liebenberg from France to come fill in.

Now I don't argue that either Liebenberg or Barritt add value - hell anybody to save the Stormers from Schalk Brits - but it does make a mockery of selection policies and talent development within your own setup.

Yes they will probably know many of the calls and moves, but surely they've made their bed and picked which side they want to play for?

• Is the player motivated to play for you considering he is been treated as little more than a hired-gun for a few weeks?
• What message does it send to other players in your setup? Something like you can train as hard as you like, put in all the extra hours etc... but at the end of the day if we need somebody we're going to pull from outside ranks

Any thoughts on the subject?

Foreign players...

... it's interesting - at the start of the 2009 Super 14 season and post the Rugby World Cup, a lot of noise was made about the outflow of quality players into the big money European leagues. If all was to be believed, South Africa was facing a MASSIVE talent drain....

A few rounds left in the Super 14 and we've got two of the top four teams on the table.

In contrast South Africa has effectively had two "foreigners" in our ranks - Sireli Naqelevuki and Todd Clever.

As a Stormers fan, I've been very unhappy with the performance of Naqelevuki and I have no idea what he has done to enjoy regular starts for us - yes injuries have been a problem but he just looks like he has no interest.

Todd Clever (Cleaver?) has been a really valuable addition to the Lions lineup - plenty of enthusiasm and some nice skill as well - an example of foreign talent boosting a local franchise.

Next year, I believe that Peter Grant has been considered for the Force so that will be another guy going out... wonder whether there will be any big name foreign signings for the local franchises.

Brave or stupid

I am not sure which one I am but I've decided to put a couple of bucks on the Cheetahs to beat the Sharks in their Super 14 game tomorrow.

Dunno if I am brave or stupid but I reckon a return back to Bloemfontein may just be the psychological boost the Cheetahs have been seeking.

Defence...

Another action packed weekend of Super 14 rugby has come and gone with a bit of predictability from a South African sides perspective.

The Stormers have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory
The Bulls stomped all over a really poor Lions side
The Sharks managed to hold off the Chiefs

I know quite a lot has been made of the South African affinity for the "Rush Defence"... but I'm not totally convinced it works particularly well under the new ELV's where there is more kicking. I think the Cheetahs, the Lions and the Stormers have both been undone with their rush defence strategy whereas sides like The Crusaders and the Waratahs have appear to have adopted the strategy of stepping back that extra pace, reading the play and then shifting their defence as it is needed.

Whereas a side like the Crusaders appear to be dictating the pace of the game, these sides are trying to force broken play and then hoping for the best when the pace gets to their liking - in other words they never actually dominate the play - they're relying on the other side playing to their game....

Is this something endemic to the South African sides? Am I just imagining it?

Currie Cup final from Sports Trader

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....

Currie Cup rugby picks

From the Sports Trader blog.

As most of you know, I have been covertly backing the Lions from around 7-1. While I never admit in public that the bet exists, I think they are going to be the surprise package this weekend.

They have a problem at flyhalf and I think even they acknowledge it. The decision to move Rose to fullback (in my opinion) is a vote of no confidence.

I think a lot is going to revolve around Jaque Fourie amongst the backline.

Don’t write the Lions side off, they have a sneaky ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

In terms of the Bulls - I suspect they simply have way too much firepower for the Cheetahs this year…

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....