Pussycats to roar
10 Feb 2006
It pains me that with the first roll of the bones in 2006, the Stormers have been reduced to ash!
First round matches in the Vodacom Super 14 are always a lottery. You never quite know what you’re going to get and pre-season match-ups are meaningless. I worked this into the chant before throwing the first ever Super 14 bones. When it was over, there were some surprises and one very big shock.
First the surprises, the pussycats of Johannesburg will roar to a victory that will prove rare as the season unfolds. Let’s not forget the Cats also won their first round fixture last season and then rolled over and played dead for the rest of the tournament.
They’ll win against the Stormers, not because they are any better than the Cape-based side, but rather due to the mediocrity of both teams. Home ground advantage is the biggest factor here in a match-up that features some of tomorrow’s stars, but way too many of yesterday’s heroes.
The Cats will take it by seven.
Equally, the Cheetahs will start their season on a high against an ordinary looking Bulls pack. Those in Bloemfontein must enjoy the victory because there won’t be too many after that.
Cheetahs by four.
Of the overseas games the two easy picks are the Waratahs winning away against the rubble Reds and the Brumbies brushing aside the Farce. That will be two away wins.
The Blues v Hurricanes match is fascinating because the Canes offer more than ever before, but history is stacked against them, even if they did win for the first time against the Blues in Auckland last year. Previously I’d written that they’d never won against the Blues in the competition and within 10 minutes Adoons had given me a reminder that the result so obviously pained me I’d removed it.
Forced to delve into the record books I can categorically state that Adoons is right and the score was 22-10 on May 6. I therefore apologise for my refusal to acknowledge the Canes history-making effort and do so to the Muppits of those 135 countries who log into Keo.co.za every day.
Blues by eight
The Crusaders, traditional slow starters, will beat their southern rivals by 10 points and erase memories of sluggish starts. They play at home and that’s a big advantage, despite their NPC semi-final loss to Otago. It is a new year, a new competition and the five-time Super 12 champs won’t stumble again.
Which leaves us with just one game … and that’s the shock. The Sharks, the clownfish of 2005, will start the season with a bang in scalping the Chiefs. The Durban humidity will get to the New Zealanders, who’ll play an expansive game and beat themselves while doing it.
The Sharks will keep it tight, minimise mistakes and prey off a Chiefs side that will neglect doing the basics up front and put themselves under pressure among their potent backs.
The Sharks, despite their ability to be the comedians of the tournament, are always a good bet to win the first one at home. What happens thereafter, once they go on the road, won’t be as big a shock as the roll of the bones was when it called a Sharks win against the Chiefs, by a comfortable eight points!
Keo’s bones
Round one winners
Blues
Brumbies
Cheetahs
Crusaders
Waratahs
Sharks
Cats
110 Comments
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10 Feb 2006, 06:57 am
keo
i see the australian players agree with you; in a recent survey, they rate the cheetahs to take the wooden spoon. i love it…..surprise!
10 Feb 2006, 07:03 am
GCC,
Keo didn’t call the cheetahs to take the wooden spoon. He called the Farce for the wooden spoon and The Cats for the weekest SA side. He called the Cheetahs at #11
10 Feb 2006, 11:03 am
I really think the Cats needed someone like Dewey Swartbooi on the wing. This guy is big and strong. Nokwe will die if this giant was in front of him. But seems like the white boys will always get that preference…
10 Feb 2006, 11:07 am
shame, jomar1, don’t slit your wrists.
10 Feb 2006, 11:23 am
GCC
I just feel bad for the guy, since his injury he never had a proper chance to prove himself. He was a reserve for the Cats last year, moved to Rassie and still his on the bench. He was one of the stars in the U21 WorldCup of 2002. I remember him next to Rathbone. So Wylie Human got his chances here and abroad. Why not give this exciting player a proper chance?
10 Feb 2006, 11:28 am
jomar1, i doubt his commitment. he’s hardly ever been available for selection while he was at the cheetahs. i rated him as well, but unfortunately he hasn’t made the step up.
10 Feb 2006, 11:41 am
GCC
I just hope Swartbooi will get a chance when Ludeke rest Julies or Fourie.
10 Feb 2006, 11:47 am
i think once he decides he wants to make a career out of rugby and use his God given talent, he will be picked. it’s got nothing to do with the colour of his skin. he needs to get his head right.
10 Feb 2006, 18:09 pm
“Swartbooi is big and strong”
And so is Jona Lomu, or isn’t he?
The issue is defence where backs are expected to tackle or at least to slow down a charging loose forward, I am not sure of Swartbooi credentials in this department.
The Cheetas have their quota of 4 players filled and someone got to sit out.
13 Feb 2006, 10:35 am
GCC
Funny enough, we had a debate around the position of wing on Friday. Jorrie failed with flying colours…seems like we need to look at Dewey Swartbooi for Friday against the Chiefs?
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