That winning feeling

That winning feeling

24 Feb 2010

SA Rugby magazine selects six of the best South African Super Rugby wins.

Reds 25 Sharks 43
Brisbane, 1996
Queensland were a formidable unit in the first season of Super Rugby, and after beating Gary Teichmann’s Natal team in a Kings Park nail-biter in a league match just a few weeks earlier, they started this semi-final as overwhelming favourites. Even in those days Natal had a reputation for being good travellers, and from an early stage of the semi-final it was clear they were up for it. Their phalanx of Springboks were all in superb form, with Cabous van der Westhuizen scoring a hat-trick and André Joubert a double.

Highlanders 18 Cheetahs 49
Invercargill, 1997
Free State qualified for their first Super Rugby campaign in 1997 (ahead of Western Province) and finished a respectable seventh on the log. Arguably their best performance came against the Highlanders in Invercargill, where they scored seven tries, including two each from Chris Badenhorst and Naka Drotské. After leading 21-15 at half-time, they totally outplayed the hosts in the second spell. It remains the Cheetahs’ only overseas win in Super Rugby.

Stormers 28 Crusaders 19
Cape Town, 1999
The sad part of this game, which was played on a Sunday, was that it saw the end of Bob Skinstad’s finest form as a rugby player. The Crusaders were the champions, the Stormers were rated the form team in the competition, and with Skinstad outstanding as a player and leader, the Stormers were all over the Crusaders. Although there were only nine points in it in the end as the Crusaders launched a late rally, the result was never in doubt. The win established the Stormers as tournament favourites, but then came the late-night car accident that ruined Skinstad’s knee and effectively ended their title aspirations.

Blues 23, Stormers 51
Auckland, 2004
At the time this was easily the most emphatic win scored by a South African team over a major New Zealand franchise away from home. The Stormers had won well in Auckland on their previous visit, and in the early stages of the game there would have been no inkling of what was to come, as the two sides looked evenly matched. However, about a quarter of an hour before half-time, the Stormers suddenly hit a purple patch in which every ball bounced perfectly for them, with Werner Greeff and the rest of the Stormers backs running riot. The visitors finished with eight tries, including two each from Adri Badenhorst and Tonderai Chavhanga.

Force 24 Lions 25
Perth, 2007
This narrow win wasn’t the most polished performance by a South African team in Super Rugby history, but it warrants a mention simply because it broke a long drought for the Lions in Australia. It was Eugene Eloff’s first season in charge, and the Lions were in a confident mood and playing spirited rugby after beating the Crusaders in Jo’burg the previous week. But when the Force took the lead in the second half after the Lions had been in front for much of the way, it looked like a familiar theme would play itself out. That was when André Pretorius stepped up to slot a late pressure penalty that sent the Lions into a celebration rarely experienced by them away from Ellis Park.

Bulls 61 Chiefs 17
Pretoria, 2009
The first South African triumph in the Super 14 had come after a tense struggle between two local sides in 2007, but 2009 was the year where a South African franchise really took the competition by the scruff and underlined their dominance. The Chiefs scored first in the final and for a moment it looked like there may be a deviation from the anticipated script, but the Bulls struck back quickly and three tries in quick succession effectively shut the New Zealand team out of the game. After that it just became a stampede, with the Bulls completely overwhelming the Chiefs as they rattled up the biggest victory margin in a Super Rugby final.

By Gavin Rich

– This article appears in the latest issue of SA Rugby magazine


61 Comments

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  • 51.Tacitus: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 10:50 am

    @Robzim:

    Yup. Priceless!

  • 52.Oubaas2009: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 10:52 am

    @Tacitus: S10 different? And how so? Besides the obvious? Its still Super Rugby old chap. Doesn’t take anything away from your beloved Bonehead Bulls victories though, just means the Reds have 2 Super Rugby titles.

    In those days there were no easy weekends like there are now.

  • 53.Robzim: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 10:53 am

    @Tacitus:

    To be fair, he had one brilliant year.

  • 54.Tacitus: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 10:55 am

    @Oubaas2009:

    It was an inter-provincial competition, not a a regional one. And it was before the establishment of SANZAR, if I recall correctly.

  • 55.Tacitus: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 10:56 am

    @Oubaas2009:

    It was also in the days of amateur rugby. So no professional teams involved.

  • 56.Black Panther: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 11:05 am

    They were also invitation-only, exclusive rather than inclusive. Super rugby relevant from 1996 only

  • 57.Oubaas2009: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 11:10 am

    @Tacitus: well according to the s14 dot com website it was still super rugby. I will take their word for it over yours.

  • 58.Oubaas2009: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 11:28 am

    @Tacitus: Great to hear that amateur results don’t count. Lets scratch New Zealand and Australia’s name off the Web Ellis trophy oh ja and ours too!

  • 59.BULLETHEAD Jnr: Reply to this comment
    24 Feb 2010, 15:22 pm

    @Oubaas2009: why not at least we’d have one cup . :)

  • 60.DonutDunning: Reply to this comment
    25 Feb 2010, 03:06 am

    @BULLETHEAD Jnr: As would we :)

    @Oubaas2009: Bloody good team that. Made a couple adjustments just based on consistency and duration. Some of the players on yours only played 1-2 seasons in Super Rugby, while others were fantastic Test players but never actually achieved much in the Super format.

    1. Craig Dowd (Auckland Blues)
    2. Sean Fitzpatrick (Auckland Blues)
    3. Mark Hammett (Crusaders)
    4. Victor Matfield (Bulls)
    5. David Giffin (ACT Brumbies)
    6. Owen Finegan (ACT Brumbies)
    7. Richie McCaw (Cantebury Crusaders)
    8. Zinzan Brooke (Auckland Blues)

    9. Justin Marshall (Cantebury Crusaders)
    10. Dan Carter (Cantebury Crusaders)
    11. Bryan Habana (Bulls)
    12. Aaron Mauger (Cantebury Crusaders)
    13. Stirling Mortlock (ACT Brumbies)
    14. Joe Roff (ACT Brumbies)
    15. Christian Cullen (Hurricanes)

    16. Jeremy Paul (ACT Brumbies)
    17. Kees Meeuws (Blues)
    18. Bakkies Botha (Bulls)
    19. George Smith (Brumbies)/Reuben Thorne (Crusaders)/ Josh Kronfeld (Higlanders)
    20. George Gregan (Brumbies)/Fourie Du Preez (Bulls)
    21. Steve Larkham (Brumbies)/Carlos Spencer (Auckland Blues)/Andrew Mehrtens (Crusaders)
    22. Chris Latham (Queensland Reds)/ Doug Howlett (Blues)

    This is harder than it looks. So many players I want to pick!

  • 61.DonutDunning: Reply to this comment
    25 Feb 2010, 03:09 am

    @DonutDunning: Woops I buggered up that front row.
    Hammett was meant to be at no.2 with Greg Somerville (Crusaders) at no.3

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