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!

Promising young players

I am not a Bulls fan but for me the most under-rated (under talked about?) young player in South African rugby is Gerhard Van den Heever (pictured).

For a 19 year old he has got Super 14 experience - and rightly so. He is big, he's damn fast, he scores tries and (for me) most importantly he just has a cool head on his shoulders.

He doesn't seem to get wrapped up in off the ball incidents or do weird and wonderful things when he is under pressure. He puts his head down and he does what a winger is supposed to do - goes for the line.

I like him - think he has some serious potential.

On the Western Province side, one of the most talked about players is Morgan Newman. He also seems to have stepped up in the last few weeks and seems to be a pretty solid choice in midfield - but that Juan de Jongh kid who came on late in the second half in the game against the Sharks looks like he could be a real handful.

(he reminds me a bit of a Brent Russel type)

Apart from the Ebersohn brothers - any other youngsters catch the eye this weekend? Didn't think that the new Sharks flyhalf did the business I'm afraid - hopefully he improves a bit. Burton Francis over at The Bulls also blew very cold on the weekend.