Good SA rugby on Saturday

There were important wins for both the Stormers and the Cheetahs yesterday as they put in credible performances against the Highlanders and the Hurricanes respectively.

I’m a Stormers fan so I am probably going to gush too much if I start with them so let’s take a look at the Cheetahs who were playing against a side which was tipped to thump them.

In Super 14 you have to win your home games – drop points when you have your fans behind you and it makes for a miserable trip on the road. The Cheetahs have dropped points – although impressively beaten the Sharks in the Tuna Tank – and then picked up the points against the Hurricanes last night in Bloem. While the rest of the season will probably be quite tough they can say they have beaten two “big name” teams and still have the chances for points against the Force and against the Lions.

The Stormers got the “bonus point monkey” off their backs with that late try from Bryan Habana but for me the critical point was that they did not concede a single point against the Highlanders. Everybody knows the Stormers can attack but it appears that they’ve now stepped up their defensive game as well and showing a lot more composure at the back – maybe the influence of Jaque Fourie?

It was also very noticeable that the team spirit is really high at the moment – smiles all round from Wicus Blaauw, Fourie and Schalk Burger just highlighted the upbeat attitude in the team.

It was also good that the youngsters such as Deon Fourie, Juan De Jongh could put in such measured performnaces and that Lionel Cronje was given some gametime as well.

One person who does deserve a mention is our big Fijian wing Sireli Naqweluviki. I had pretty much written him off as a contributor and couldn’t understand why they kept him around. He was potent yesterday and he went looking for work which was very pleasing to see.

It is still early days in the Super 14 but its good to see two SA sides wracking up wins after the less than thrilling performances last week…

Cracking stuff

Luke Watson might not want to slate Sireli Naqelevuki but that high-tackle cost us... I don't think he touched the ball or made any other real contribution to the game except to make that tackle.

Apart from that I think both semi-finals went way beyond their expectations and fans were treated to a phenomenal weekend of rugby.

How good was that tackle by Schalk Burger on Fourie Du Preez?! It was a monster and I think even the great Du Preez will remember it for the rest of his rugby career. Brilliant stuff!

So now the final comes down to the Bulls vs. the Cheetahs - lets hope we get the same treat next weekend.

Well done Bulls

I have to tip my hat to the Blue Bulls side yesterday - they played with serious "gees" to get them through a tough home game against Western Province.

As an out and out Province supporter, I thought the result was encouraging. I think some players let us down and I Duvenhage made a bad mistake not taking the 3 points on offer when we had that penalty in front of the posts but all in all an encouraging performance.

For me the biggest disappointment on the day was AGAIN Sireli Naqelevuki - I think he either has to shape up or ship out - his novelty factor has worn off for me. He had one bull run down the touchline where he flattened somebody but that was about it.

For the rest of the time, he was dropping passes, dawdling around and missing tackles / opportunities to work.

In comparison the Bulls had a 20 year old in his first year of big-league rugby (Gerhard Vd. Heever) and a scrumhalf who was playing as a makeshift wing..... How many balls did these guys drop? How many times did they secure ball from the up and unders? How many tries did they score? How often were these two involved in defensive tackling?

Go back and look at that game? Go and see Van den Heever tackle the prop with Mangweni to disallow the try. Go and see why Van den Heever is there scoring the tries. Go and see how Hougaard patrolled the sidelines and got stuck in.

It is all good and well having a big winger who is supposedly a try scoring machine but on the strength of yesterdays performance I would be disappointed if he kept his place in the Province starting line-up. There must be hungry young wings in the Cape that we could be looking to include?!

C'mon Rassie....

Phew!

The Stormers finally got a win on the road! I was starting to worry that my team was going to be an absolute wood-spoonists - at least now we know that the Lions and Cheetahs should finish beneath us again!

It looked like somebody finally lit a fire under Sireli Naqelevuki as well - he was piling into rucks, charging through half-gaps and looking for work from the moment he got that try - HOW BLOODY REFRESHING!

What is going to be interesting to watch is how Rassie Erasmus / Stormers management / Western Province management are going to approach the 2010 season.

The side isn't getting younger and despite their stars, they are battling to string together consistent performances.

2010 is going to be an interesting year for the team:

• Percy Montogemery, Willem De Waal, Wylie Human, Bolla Conradie and even Gcobani Bobo to some extent aren't getting any younger (Bobo's had a great season in my opinion)
• Injuries to Nick Koster and Tonderai Chavanga haven't helped but Rassie decided to play the likes of Human in favour of blooding new youngsters
• The scrums this year have been a mess - we're so keen to be mobile that we're not winning the basics like scrums to unleash a decent set of backs
  
• Peter Grant is rumoured to be moving to the Western Force.

On top of that I'm not a huge Schalk Brits fan and the backup hooker we used this year (Tiaan Liebenberg) was drafted in from France... doesn't look like much in the continuity department.

As a Stormers supporter, I think it would be good to see us making a bid for the likes of Louis Ludik, Jaques Fourie and Heinke VD Merwe from the Lions and maybe Potgieter the Cheetahs flyhalf....

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.