It will be interesting to see the circulation figures with this edition. Would a significant increase in readership prove that the reading ability of the typical Bulls supporter is higher than the rest of the other provincial fans…..

Tackler can you please rank the nz locks.
1 jack
2 ali
3 robinson
4 rawlinson
5 ryan
6 eaton

i am tempted on form to have rawlinson at 3, but think of robinsons experience and how valuable it would be.

ryan is top notch too, but he didnt perform much in his bread and butter role.

eaton is suffering from 2nd season pains, but will still be selection concern.

But, hey, who knows?

You don’t know whether pity or contempt for those troubled pilgrims is the more appropriate response…

Both are very similar in the enforcer role and both can go missing in games.

Bakkies with Matfield make a very good combination.
Lineout wise Matfield’s extra height is very important, however I’m forever reading that he’s lazy getting to rucks etc.

Where Bakkies and Matfield really get assistance is the extra options at the tail with the average height of 6,7 and 8 of the SA teams taller than other sides giving numerous variations on where the ball is going to be thrown, and numerous defending jumpers on the oppo throw.

In a dream team P.O.C. and Bakkies would be very nasty combo and P.O.C and Matfield very interesting.

Interesting enough by the way is that Donnacha O’ Callaghan is a bit of a late developer and will get much better. I was a bit miffed that the 4 of them didn’t get matched up in Dublin for the autumn internationals. Same as B.O.D Darce v J deV Fourie.

Schalk Burger has played a lone hand for the Stormers for so long now – on Saturday it meaningfully fell to him to give the pep talk after yet another demoralizing defeat! – that it is hardly surprising that he is the only one to gatecrash the Sharks/Bulls dominance of this week’s Springbok Barometer.

Burger, although not a classical fetcher, is in a class of his own as a destructive force and his steady improvement since coming back from his neck injury has once again made the green-and-gold No6 jersey his own.

The “Bokometer” not only reflected the supremacy of the country’s two top sides but showed – transformation quotas permitting – what a formidable side South Africa could pick to gear up for the World Cup.

Francois Steyn, at flyhalf, is noteworthy – especially if he improves his dubious option-taking – as is the presence of Bob Skinstad and the Sharks’ centre duo of Brad Barritt and Waylon Murray.

However the most significant aspect of Week 11’s Barometer is who is not in it. Victor Matfield for instance. Johann Muller’s strong game against the Blues, makes him the No5 lock, putting Matfield, who was up against less formidable opponents, on the sidelines while Skinstad shaded Juan Smith on the same grounds.

Add Jaque Fourie, André Pretorius, Jean de Villiers, AJ Venter, Heinke van der Merwe and Jano Vermaak, all of whom did not see action at the weekend and you start seeing the potential once the national selectors sit down to pick the best Bok side for the mid-year tests against England and Samoa and onward to the Tri-Nations.

The Springbok Barometer for Week 11:

1 Gurthro Steenkamp (Bulls), 2 Gary Botha (Bulls), 3 BJ Botha (Sharks), 4 Bakkies Botha (Bulls), 5 Johann Muller (Sharks), 6 Schalk Burger (Stormers), 7 Bob Skinstad (Sharks), 8 Pierre Spies (Bulls), 9 Fourie du Preez (Bulls), 10 Francois Steyn (Sharks), 11 JP Pietersen (Sharks), 12 Brad Barritt (Sharks), 13 Waylon Murray (Sharks), 14 Odwa Ndungane (Sharks), 15 Percy Montgomery (Sharks).

The Super XV for Week 11:

1 Aled de Malmanche (Chiefs) , 2 Tom Willis (Chiefs), 3 BJ Botha (Sharks), 4 Bakkies Botha (Bulls), 5 Johann Muller (Sharks), 6 Richie McCaw (Crusaders), 7 Chris Masoe (Hurricanes), 8 Mose Tuiali’i (Crusaders), 9 Brendon Leonard (Chiefs), 10 Dan Carter (Crusaders), 11 Roy Kinikinilau (Chiefs), 12 Aaron Mauger (Crusaders), 13 Casey Laulala (Crusaders), 14 Hosea Gear (Hurricanes), 15 Leon MacDonald (Crusaders).

Don’t know about that one.

By the way really nice cover!!!

Concerned Waratahs officials believe the NSW Rugby Union will struggle to make a profit this year because of plummeting home crowds