Contenders and pretenders
16 Feb 2009
Keo, in his Business Day column, writes of the familiarity of the opening round of Super 14.
One weekend does not make for a championship promise but the early signs are more than promising that there could be a South African presence in the Super 14 final later this year.
And that presence will come from Durban. The Sharks are a damn good side and they showed the one-eyed Capetonians just how good they are with a win that was far more impressive than the five-point differential.
The Stormers got a losing bonus point, but if they are to take comfort from their performance then talk of a championship title is delusional. Had this game been played in Durban the difference would have been 20 points. In fact it should have been 20 points in Cape Town.
The Sharks, despite three missed penalties in the first half, dominated the collisions and dictated where the game was being played. The momentum was with the Durbanites from the opening minute and even when they trailed 10-nil after 40 minutes they had the advantage because they were the ones making the play and the Stormers were the ones having to make the tackles.
Teams forced to defend for sustained periods usually take a beating that isn’t always obvious to the eye, and for those who say the match was won because of a Sharks 20-point third quarter I say the match was won in the first half when the Sharks landed blows that were unrelenting and painful.
It was an important victory for the Sharks because it emphasized the quality of their squad. Away wins usually determine a home play-off advantage and home defeats are inevitably a death knell for championship pretenders. To be making these statements after just one round may seem outrageous, but the significance of this particular match cannot be overstated. If the Sharks could not beat the Stormers in Cape Town then what price on them winning a final away from home? Equally, if the hyped Stormers could not win at home playing to a capacity crowd, then what price of winning away from home in a final?
Saturday’s game answered a lot because it confirmed the Sharks to be contenders and the Stormers nothing more than pretenders who will win more than they lose this season, but they won’t win when it matters most.
Refreshingly, from a South African perspective, the match delivered more than typical South African derby physicality and the intensity was matched by individual skill, awareness and a willingness to offload in the tackle.
The decision-making was not always accurate but at least there was evidence of thinking. It hasn’t always been this way in South African match-ups.
Elsewhere in the competition the first round proved predictable, with the early matches on Friday offering too much of the basketball-type exhibitionism that so rankles the northern hemisphere purists, who rightly argue that for the game of rugby union to be beautiful one team has to attack and the other has to defend. When no one defends it is basketball and there was very little defending in Dunedin and in Johannesburg.
The opening round also reiterated the view that this is not so much a competition about 14 super teams, but a two-tier league in which six realistically challenge for a top four and eight make up the numbers.
One week into the tournament and you can pick three of the four semi-finalists in the Sharks, Waratahs and Crusaders, with the Brumbies, Stormers and Hurricanes the likeliest contenders for the fourth place. And to be able to do that is an indictment of the staleness of the tournament.
Individually, Crusaders captain Richie McCaw was monumental in the defeat of the Chiefs. McCaw made 23 tackles and won numerous turnovers and his only blemish was fluffing a try-making offload.
If McCaw, the All Blacks captain, was huge in Christchurch then his Springbok counterpart, John Smit, was as prominent in Cape Town, as were Stirling Mortlock and George Smith in Dunedin and Fourie du Preez in Pretoria.
The old faces dominated at the weekend and that completed the predictability of the opening round because this tournament needs a youthful injection and new superstars as much as it needs a revamp in structure.
291 Comments
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16 Feb 2009, 17:11 pm
anyway manne
goeie nag!
16 Feb 2009, 17:15 pm
#245 Sheriff: whose name PDV or Joost;s.
16 Feb 2009, 17:16 pm
#252 bananaboy:
Joost’s. Had a spat with a security guard at the Dainfern reception.
16 Feb 2009, 17:16 pm
#246 cab: They should employ them to tape the All Blacks/Wallabie training sessions.
16 Feb 2009, 17:17 pm
#251 ashley: Earl Lewis is No 15…. kicks to posts as well for UJ…. skop maar bra kuk !
16 Feb 2009, 17:18 pm
Howzit guys!!
Firstly, Congrats sharks, you played well. Not the worst team in the world to lose against. Now KEO!!!:
Are you trying different tactics this year by trying to piss off Rassie or what? Or dont you like the fact that he doesnt want you journos hanging around at practises f%^cking up all his plans??
I have the following to say about the game.(In contrast to the crapp your talking!!)
The sharks were never IN the game after the first 40min… Go have a look at your PVR again and you will se how the stormers dominated with solid defense and some clever play. 0 kicks / 3 was justice for the poor referee( Who btw I see helps out at the sharks these days????? WTF????)
But I dont wanna be sour and make excuses. Im happy with the teams performance. In some instances we took the wrong options, played the wrong tactics…. but rather now than 7 games into the comp. I dont remember the Saders beatring everybody from game one in the bulk of their trophees??? I know there was the one perfect season….. but thats saders for you!!
Lawrence must just concentrate on the right penalty/ freekick and forget about the “other” stuff in his head….
16 Feb 2009, 17:19 pm
Ikeys 22 / 5
Kick to come
16 Feb 2009, 17:20 pm
Why are these tapes always such **** quality. If I want to nail someone I’d at least pay a few extra bucks for a decent camera.
16 Feb 2009, 17:21 pm
24 / 5
16 Feb 2009, 17:21 pm
#246 cab:
It does not make sense, does it?
It might be a simple as say Lady A telling a friend, guess who visited me last night, in fact quite often. Friend says, I dont believe you.
Lady A says: I will record it for you.
(I’M NOT SUGGESTING THAT PDV OR JOOST ARE GUILTY)
This friend then tells another friend and so on until it gets to a journalist. Or Lady A phones the journalist directly in an attempt to make money.
If Joost is indeed innocent then he should get a HUGE APOLOGY from Rapport, but he will prob have to go to court as well.
If innocent, the whole story will backfire on the journalist and Joost will be an even bigger hero!!
16 Feb 2009, 17:24 pm
O Ja, and KEO.. I will be saving this column to shove in your face come the semis. I know by then you will be singing a very different tune.. but hey.. thats what you guys do…
My prediction will be the same: We will struggle against Sa teams purely because of the perception of the stormers with referees here in Sa. But we will cream the overseas leg… again and will end up scraping it into the semis… I felt Jean is in it to winnit!!!
16 Feb 2009, 17:25 pm
I think people who say that the Stormers dominated the first half are deluded. We had 59% possession at halftime, and we had played 31% of the half in their 22. They just defended extremely well, that’s all.
16 Feb 2009, 17:49 pm
Carefully read Keo’s articles, he’s got a takeback clause in every single statement. By saying the Stormers will fail, means that they wont win the final, which makes them a pretender, there will be 13 of those.
If the Sharks end up forth on the log, and loses an away semifinal, he will claim that he was right about them being contenders.
If the Lions or Cheetahs do well, he would explain in depth how bizarre rugby has turned out to be, and how bad its being managed (he is actually prepping for this in this article already).
This oak is clever, he’s opinion should be thrown out with Joost’s worn-out garments.
16 Feb 2009, 17:51 pm
Sy lewe behoort aan die Here, maar sy tril aan almal wat belangstel. Naaih hulle Josie!!!!
16 Feb 2009, 18:08 pm
Keo, did we watch the same games? How can you say that the Stormers/Sharks game was of a higher standard than the Lions/Cheetahs game?
I was getting bored with the game at Newlands. Way too much kicking. In comparison the Lions/Cheetahs game delivered a fantastic running game.
Your being way too biased.
16 Feb 2009, 18:21 pm
#265 Lion till I die:
Lions played damn well and will be a handful during the season. I expect them to finish higher in the log than they have done in the S14 to date.
You have a good team there.
16 Feb 2009, 18:35 pm
n bloubul vreet nie van die vloer af nie
maar hy snarf coke van die speel
16 Feb 2009, 18:36 pm
#261 Provvas: Let’s do our talking on the field. I felt better after last year’s loss than i do after this past saturday. I believe the scoreline flatters us , and we can’t talk the talk, we didn’t walk the walk on saturday. period.
16 Feb 2009, 18:37 pm
#267 saru1983: lol
16 Feb 2009, 18:39 pm
#265 Lion till I die:
Keo is being way too biased?
Yes *Lion* Till I die!!
Yes I support the Sharks and am a tad biased in their favour.
You can’t just look at the amount of kicking. Kicking is part of the game and it was bloody windy at Newlands (probably still at Coca Cola Park)
Technically the conditions were tough.
Both games were at a high std. Which is good
16 Feb 2009, 18:42 pm
#261 Provvas:
So the SA refs cheat you because you are the Stormers?
You lost on Saturday because the other side was better. Period!
Come on! Evidence please and not a list of bad decisions. Every side can come up with those
Just because Keo critcises your beloved side does not mean the Stormers are cr@p
16 Feb 2009, 19:00 pm
#271 Biscuit:
Keo’s just in the midst of a lover’s tiff with province. Don’t worry his eyes will eventually align themselves into an eclipse once more. Keo has his love/hate moments with Province. As soon as Province get their first win it will be back to the rheotoric we know and love.
16 Feb 2009, 19:16 pm
#272 OCO:
Well I am not sure what you are saying.
I agree that Keo and all the journalists (Ashfak et al) are peed off with Rassie over the access to the team on practice days.
You give the journos nothing to write about after a practice they will write about other stuff so Rassie only has himself to blame for the bad press.
However are you saying that Keo should go back to blind love for WP?
16 Feb 2009, 19:25 pm
#273 Biscuit:
I think it would be a bad move but guess it’s inevitable.
Mind you I guess he could be rescued but for others like Gavin CrowMore there’s no hope of redemption.
In all seriousness I think that Province believe that Rassie can do no wrong and will take the cup (whichever one) for Stormers/WP.
I think that Stormers have some gifted players – match winners – but I also think they have some match losers too.
Right now the balance doesn’t seem right (especially the light 5).
Rassies plan also seemed to be to rely on defense and break out and score from their own try-line for the win. Might work in football but not in Rugga.
Saturdays match was built on two opposing ideas/strategies and Rassie lost it to Plum.
16 Feb 2009, 19:33 pm
#270 Biscuit:
I’m not biased at all. What I’m saying is that the manner in which Keo describes the Cheetahs/Lions game is totally rediculous. Comparing it to the NH? Laughable.
I’m also not saying that the Sharks/Stormers game wasn’t good at all – I know that kicking is a huge part of the game, but you have to agree that there was a lot of senseless kicking into the opp hands which in my books is bad kicking. Even JDV and John Smit kicked a couple of times.
Looking forward to this week-ends game though. Gonna be a cracker.
#266 OCO:
Hoping we can end in the top 6 this year.
16 Feb 2009, 19:40 pm
#275 Lion till I die:
Still too early to tell but Lions put in some great performances last year against more fancied opposition like the Stormers. They looked very good against the Cheetahs, not-with-standing that this was a local derby which is not always the best ‘viewing’ rugby.
There were some lapses in midfield but if those are eliminated then they do stand a chance of finishing in the top 6. I do expect them in the top 8.
All depends on how they do from here on in. if they keep winning and believing in themselves then they could well leave a few teams red faced (and commentators/pundits too)!
They’re playing a nice ‘brand’ of rugby.
16 Feb 2009, 19:51 pm
I wonder if Joost is gonna be on Super Rugby? lol
16 Feb 2009, 22:48 pm
agree with Keo – sharks are SA’s only hope for the title – but stormers stand a very good chance of making up the numbers in the semi’s in the same way the sharks have done every other time they’ve made the knockouts.
obviously the stormers are stating they want to win the title – you have to be ambitious to succeed after all. but deep down i think they will be pleased with a top 4 finnish. anything after that would be a bonus. anyways thats my thinking.
16 Feb 2009, 22:51 pm
#276 Osama the desert seagul:
in my opinion the Lions are a bottom 4 side. as are the cheetas and the reds. only question is will the force or highlanders complete the bottom 4?
16 Feb 2009, 22:55 pm
#256 Provvas:
hey mate – leave moaning about the refs to the bulls fans please. there is no anti-stormer conspiracy. the ref is not the reason we lost on saturday – we lost to a better team thats all.
17 Feb 2009, 06:39 am
Clearly Keo was watching a different game to the rest of us. It seemed to me that the Stormers were dominating everything in that first half and only really lost their momentum when Jean de Villiers was stretchered off the pitch.
The Sharks had nothing in reply to the de Villiers line breaks. Frans Steyn looked like a blind man in a fish shop and even the powerful Sharks scrum seemed rather impotent.
So where do you see the sharks dominating this game until the third quarter?
I think that the Stormers will fare well this year, as will the sharks and bulls. The Sharks will be our best team, but not at all based on this performance. I expected allot more from this team of superstars, they were rather dissapointing if you ask anyone who actually watched the game without sharkies underpants on.
17 Feb 2009, 07:30 am
If Ruan had made those 2 easy tackles on Bobo and Grant, then the sharks would have won by 20 points. Completely agree with Keo.
17 Feb 2009, 08:51 am
Nice one Keo.
I do think that the Bulls are going to be a force to be reckoned with this year and as such should be in your list of semi-finalists.
If I had to take a gander: Sharks, Bulls, Waratahs should make the semi’s, with the Crusaders the most probable to make the fourth team.
17 Feb 2009, 08:53 am
One last thought:
The Sharks was clearly not matchfit – as evident in the first half, but things picked up in the 3rd and 4th quarter…
17 Feb 2009, 10:57 am
Stormers played the better rugby for the first 20min, but once the sharks turned up the forward play intensity it was effectively game over. THis is a remarkable sharks team, and will take some beating. The stormers have massive potential, of that there is no doubt, but they lack pure forward power to be real title contenders. The fact that the stormers came back at the end was due to the sharks committing the cardinal sin of relaxing after scoring 20 unanswered points. Also, don’t expect the sharks to miss as many tackles going forward. I expect the stormers to challenge for 4th spot, they have enough raw firepower from loose forwards to backline not to be there at the end.
17 Feb 2009, 11:27 am
#282 hudders08: If the linesman and ref had seen the shark foot in touch at the beginning of the movement that resulted in the second sharks try the Stormers would have won 15 – 13. Of course they should have had an attacking lineout at that point 10 meters from the sharks line which may have resulted in more points for the Stormers.
17 Feb 2009, 11:34 am
#286 ARK:
What? If the Sharks never got their second try niether would the Stormers… if you change history you change it!!!
17 Feb 2009, 11:52 am
#287 THE MAULER: Precisely. I was responding to hudders08 who was saying IF Pienaar had made those 2 tackles the sharks would have won by 20.
17 Feb 2009, 11:56 am
#256 Provvas:
You don’t want to be sour and make excuses then you blame the ref.
The decisions were OK – the scrum calls are always 50/50 these days.
Remember the Sharks also got blown up for illegal stuff in scrums and breakdowns – but I suppose those decisions were correct?
SA Refs are not biased either way. They annoy me sometimes with incorrect calls but I don’t think they are biased.
And sides often bring in refs to help them with understanding the rules.
Biased? Nope.
Be a good sport (like Rassie) and say the better side on the day won – which it did. Scoreline could have been worse.
As for Rassie – keo (and the other journos bashing him).
What do you expect?
You exclude the journos they have nothing to write about – who p[ractices where, who’s carry niggles etc.
You are messing with their job – so they bash the coach for excluding them.
Rassie has the right to exclude but all these tearful defences of Rassie are plain stupid.
He knew he was going to get panned and he got panned. I don’t see him crying
17 Feb 2009, 11:56 am
#286 ARK:
If my auntie had b@lls she would be my uncle
17 Feb 2009, 11:59 am
#288 ARK:
Yeah thats just ****… If one thing changes then it all changes.. these guys must watch some Sci-Fi movies.. hehe
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