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…

Awesome performance from the Stormers...

… and the Bulls weren’t too bad either.

This Stormers side looks seriously classy. Obviously it is still early days in the competition but they now have 2 out of 2 in South Africa and to drop the Waratahs takes some doing. For me there were a couple of key performance points:

• Stormers defence was top quality against some physically big opponents
• They stayed on the boil for an extended periods in the game and were less hot and cold than last week
• Juan de Jongh looks like a superstar in the making – mark my words he will be a Bok centre
• Jaque Fourie has brought lots of composure to the backline and Habana has brought some good quality finishing to the side
• How was that hit from Ricky Januarie on Phil Waugh?! He’s coming back to form nicely!
• There was a moment in the first half where Gio Aplon was defending against that big Waratahs full back and he showed no fear making a great tackle – I don’t rate him as the ideal for the position but wow he showed guts!

The Bulls also showed their class today. The Brumbies made them sweat a bit but in the end the quality came through. Maybe the Brumbies have been softened up a bit for their clash next week against the Stormers… hope so!

Speaking of next Boks… Francois Hougaard and Gerhard van den Heever must be right up there. Van den Heever in particular is a potent finisher for such a young kid. Cracking player!

At least the Stormers and Bulls restored some pride to the home sides early in the competition!

Hhhhmmm

The Lions finally got a Super 14 win on the table when they beat the Brumbies at home last night.... It has taken me 24 hours to recover from the shock before blogging on the subject.

I guess it is always good when an SA side beats an Australian side but geez they made it hard work for themselves.

There are a couple of guys I feel genuinely sorry for in SA rugby - Cobus "Baywatch" Grobbelaar, Louis Ludik, Heinke VD Merwe and Jaques Fourie.

Baywatch and Ludik are guys who simply try their hearts out game after game and they deserve to be on the winning side from time to time.

When it comes to Fourie - you almost wish he could be playing for a class side - between him, Adi Jacobs and Jean Devilliers, he is probably one of the best "pure" centres in South African rugby and yet he keeps turning out for the Lions every year.

Sorry to say but I think Andre Pretorius is finished.... His performance yesterday was weak and his kicking out of hand was directionless. The side has been banking on a Pretorius recovery for the last two seasons and finally he is fit and starting again and he's not delivering....

Dunno we'll watch the next few weeks and see how this Lions side plays out... So long as they don't interfere with the Stormers rebound to make the Semis.... ;-)

The Lions - Super 14 Squad reviewed

I'm anything but a Lions supporter but one thing that does seem to be developing amongst this squad is a sense of self-belief and "gelling" as a team...

Cobus Grobbelaar, Doppies la Grange, Jano Vermaak, Louis Ludik, Heinke van der Merwe, Jaque Fourie, Franco van der Merwe, Earl Rose, Anton van Zyl, Willie Wepener, Jannie Boshoff, Willem Alberts, JC Janse van Rensburg , Gert Muller, Henno Mentz, Ashwin Willemse, Michael Killian, Jannes Labuschagne, Chris Jonck, Hansie van Dyk, Shandre Frolick, Todd Clever, Siegelaar Allister, Lawrence Sephaka, Dusty Noble, Thiliphaut Marole, Ligtoring Landman, Okkie Kruger, Divan Kotze, Barry Goodes.

To compound their probles, the Lions also happened to have the longest list of walking wounded with:
Ross Geldenhuys, Ernest Joubert, Jannes Labuschagne, Derick Minnie, Gerhard Mostert, Andre Pretorius, Ethienne Reynecke, Jody Rose, Dewald Senekal, Justin St Jerry, Louis Strydom, Johan van Deventer, Walter Venter, Justin Wheeler

... all out of action.

Apart from Cobus "Baywatch" Grobbelaar and Jaque Fourie, the three players I would be watching quite closely are Barry Goodes (this guy could be good this year), Ashwin Willemse (purely out of curiousity to see whether he's lost the skills that got him into the Bok side) and Todd Clever the American...

Jaque Fourie – a rugby machine

When you try and define the term ‘class’ in a professional sports person, it is extremely difficult. It’s that special something that simply puts them head and shoulders above the rest of the team or competition. This weekend, there was a class performance that I believe may define the 2008 Currie Cup – it was the performance of Jaque Fourie for the Lions against Western Province on Sunday.

The requirements were simple for Western Province:

- Beat the Lions by 19 points with the support of your home crowd behind you

- Score 4 tries

- Don’t let the Lions score enough points to give them a bonus point

Let’s be honest – on paper, the Lions should have been blown away. There should have been no way they could go head to head with that Western Province side.

Instead Western Province couldn’t catch a cold let alone a rugby ball and they could only manage a 14-6 win.

You can say what you like about where the game was won, but I will tell you that it was won by Jaques Fourie in the Lions backline.

Fourie was charged with marking backline danger-man Sireli Naqelevuki the Fijian wrecking ball. If Naqelevuki had gotten going in the backline, then the Lions would have been toast. There is no stopping a guy who weighs 100kgs plus and can take 2 or 3 men with him in the tackle…. Unless of course you are Jaques Fourie.

Fourie never backed down and he charged the big man down every time he got the ball. Even when Naqelevuki got going Fourie was there to break down his momentum.

The spirit displayed by Fourie seemed to inject confidence into the rest of the backline and the others fed off him and tightened their lines. When a free running side like Province can’t make the gaps – then their game plan goes out the window.

And ultimately I think that is what happened on Saturday – Western Province wanted to run and Jaques Fourie wouldn’t let them. End result – game and campaign over for Western Province.

At the end of the day Jaques Fourie is a machine on the rugby field. A good combination of brains and brawn and Springbok rugby will be relieved to see him fit and flourishing….