Bulls were bullied in brutal contest
2 Apr 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day column, says the Super Rugby match at Newlands on Saturday evening was a great advertisement for South African rugby.
The Stormers and Bulls produced an electric contest, which was complemented by an electric atmosphere.
The Stormers were worthy winners and it would have been an injustice — on the night’s performance — had the Bulls even left the stadium with a share of the spoils, which looked the likely outcome with the teams at 17-17 after 77 minutes.
The Bulls were courageous in everything they did, but the cleverness in tactical approach did not match the bravery in the collisions and at the breakdown.
The Stormers bullied the Bulls in contact and the manner in which the final three points were fashioned — from a scrum penalty — was befitting the home team’s set-phase superiority. Young Stormers prop Steven Kitshoff, in particular, produced the effort of a veteran and emphasised his enormous potential.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee and forwards coach Matthew Proudfoot got the selections right from numbers one to eight and each one of the starting pack contributed to a night worth remembering if you just happened to be at Loftus on that awful afternoon some years back when the Bulls scored 75 points against the Stormers.
The Cape Town franchise have come a long way since their lowest point in Super Rugby history and the Bulls have maintained a consistency that makes them SA’s premier provincial and regional side.
The Stormers certainly are no longer the powder-puff brigade and no one can accuse them of being show ponies, although their attack certainly could do with a show pony or two. I had the Bulls to win by 10 because I backed their pack to do enough to give their impressive backs enough ammunition with which to fire.
I got it wrong and the Stormers got it very right because in this most brutal of contests the home team always held an advantage in every collision. Games of this nature are decided by who has an edge in every tackle or every attempt to break the tackle, and I was surprised at how decisively the Stormers dealt with the Bulls forwards-inspired attack.
The Bulls backs were not a factor because the forwards never built momentum and simply did not have any individual or collective ascendancy in determining gainline advantage.
Given the superiority in the contact and the quality of ball given to the backs, the Stormers still struggled to convince on attack and the backs, as a unit, were as impotent as the forwards were potent.
Ironically — and I use the word because he is seen as the glue that keeps the Stormers backs together — captain Jean de Villiers’s structured style is a restriction to the Stormers attack when once he was a revelation in all things creative.
De Villiers shoulders so much defensive responsibility that the natural attacking instincts of his game have suffered.
The Bulls — and most definitely former Stormer Johann Sadie — will learn from the experience at Newlands and they left with a valuable bonus point, while the Stormers got four quality league points.
In a sense it was a win-win for the South African challenge in the competition.
Our two best teams each got something for their efforts, but the Stormers maximised the advantage of playing at home.
Elsewhere, the Cheetahs produced the most inspired performance in their Super Rugby history to turn a 32-11 deficit after 25 minutes into a 47-38 win against the Hurricanes in Wellington, and complete their most successful Super Rugby overseas adventure.
The victory was their second in four tour matches and with a bit of good fortune the Cheetahs could well have won all four matches overseas. They lost to the Brumbies in the last minute and had the chance to beat the Crusaders. It has been a brilliant month for the boys from Bloem, more so because they left SA after taking 50 points from the Bulls in Bloemfontein.
The Cheetahs’ win was also another reminder that to be successful in Super Rugby you need a pack with grunt, as much as you need gifted game breakers. The Canes were feeble up front and the Cheetahs were colossal in the last hour of the match. It proved to be the difference in a fantastic match.
The Sharks continue to battle with the search for an imposing back five in their pack but they did well to beat a confident, if limited, Brumbies outfit in Canberra.
The Lions were again the disappointment of the weekend — and each week shows that they are not good enough. Coach John Mitchell has given them belief and structure and they are the team who best use the width of the park in attack, but they don’t possess the class of player to make all these ingredients a winning recipe.
284 Comments
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2 Apr 2012, 12:13 pm
@Bagel(Bagel)-92: i don’t see anything wrong in zille’s statement.the statement should be seen in the context it was made.you people are way too sensitive down there in the republic.
2 Apr 2012, 12:16 pm
On the subject of booing.
Did you guys see how Butch James was boo’ed at Ellis Park on Saturday after he stuffed the final kick?
Them boys were NOT happy.
At
All.
2 Apr 2012, 12:18 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-93: it seems you on;y “wonder abput scribes” when the heap praise on other teams but lap it up when it is the bulls getting written up.
just the other day u were like a love-crazed school girl over comments made by keo
“The Bulls are playing with expression and belief, and incumbent Bok flyhalf Morné Steyn has profited from the bulldozing dominance of his team-mates in contact and at the set piece.
Steyn is showing that he can control a game with more than his boot.
To convince me that it can be any other way, the Stormers have to change the way they win games and the Lions have to start winning some games. Ditto the Cheetahs and Sharks.
As for the Bulls … don’t change a thing.”
but today there’s no “perspective”
met eish ja!
2 Apr 2012, 12:18 pm
@CAPECRUSADER(CAPECRUSADER)-101: Agree. I wonder if there’d be such an uproar if she’s put “education refugees” in inverted commas……..
Besides, voting for the ruling party en-masse, then abandoning your province when it collapses under their ‘rule’ for an opposition province, then burning local schools when you get there is just asking for sh*t….
ANC PR rule no 1: Deflect, deflect, deflect
2 Apr 2012, 12:19 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-103: lol. Yoh. You are being very unnecessary.
2 Apr 2012, 12:20 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-104: @CAPECRUSADER(CAPECRUSADER)-101: 100%
It is being milked by the ANC fot their own gain, that’s just politics.
The Eastern Cape is so removed from the Western Cape in terms of Governance that it may as well be a different planet, never mind a different country.
2 Apr 2012, 12:24 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-104: absolutely.it fills me with pride returning to the cape once a year and seeing the city and province in such great shape.don’t tolerate these burning of schools, especially in the wc .
2 Apr 2012, 12:24 pm
@CAPECRUSADER(CAPECRUSADER)-107: …..or the burning of trains.
2 Apr 2012, 12:25 pm
@ufo(ufo)-97: It’s always a few who start the booing, but what really hacks me off is how many people then join in. Do they not have brains of their own?? Just join in blindly, sheesh, it’s such bad sportsmanship
A media campaign would be good. Something like the Imperial ‘I Pledge’ campaign…
Like “I pledge not to be a blind mindless sheep”
2 Apr 2012, 12:25 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-103: trans, don’t be following him around. he also doesn’t remember any convo’s where his gravitas has not been imparted, so if he has no recollection of any of it, it’s probably because he couldn’t care less. We should be glad he graces us with his aura.
2 Apr 2012, 12:27 pm
@CAPECRUSADER(CAPECRUSADER)-107: Ja boet, I agree….donner them! They want to make k*k, they must go do it at home. Don;t come and cr*p in our back yard
2 Apr 2012, 12:30 pm
Tacitus is one nasty piece of work.The man claims that he only reads certain bloggers’ posts (those who share his views,i.e maak die Bulle almal Bokke).Whenever somebody attempts to engage him in a genuine rugby conversation he resorts to snide remarks.Ou bal you need to get real and realise that in the grand scheme of things your views mean as much as anyone elses on here…FOKOL.Now go on and enjoy this lovely Monday with all the Stormers out there!
2 Apr 2012, 12:32 pm
@Rage(Rage)-112:
2 Apr 2012, 12:33 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-93: Relax, we had Quintes van Blouwen, what do you expect from journous, objectivety, honesty ?? Then you are looking in vain.
Bulls blew it cause they wanted to intimidate the Stormers youngsters in stead of playing their game ,which they did after half time , it then looked a lot better. They have themselves to blame. Dean was big culprit. Potgieter ans CJ went awol first 40min
2 Apr 2012, 12:34 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-109:
absolutely…
we need to chat to jeraldjay… maybe he can put a word in with his company and the union to make newlands a ‘fair fan’ stadium… of iets
if he’s around when i’m not please would someone chat to him…
(i also think it puts way more pressure on kickers when you could hear a pin drop in the stadium…)
2 Apr 2012, 12:48 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-104: @stormersboy(stormersboy)-106:
come on. if zille is guilty of anything, it is playing cheap political games about emotive issues.
yes sadtu and the anc have virtually crippled education in the eastern cape BUT that is not the sole reason why people are moving to the western cape! so keep your de-facto prejudices in check
as for “abandoning your province when it collapses” hahahaha things ain’t always what they may seem
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=168653
Farmers truck in newcomers to Grabouw
CAROL PATON
Published: 2012/03/30 06:55:26 AM
The Western Cape farming town that was last week torn apart by racial violence between coloureds and Africans owes its burgeoning population to farmers who truck in labour from villages in the Eastern Cape.
Fruit farmers in the cluster of Grabouw, Elgin and Villiersdorp, about 100km from Cape Town, recruit about 3000 men and women in January and February every year from the villages.
The casual workers are transported to the fruit farms where they are housed in hostels for the harvesting season.
When the season ends, in May, many migrant workers decide not to return home and set up house in informal settlements.
But, in the following season, farmers in the area say, the newly settled migrants look for better paid and easier work than farm labour, which means the farmers have to begin the recruitment cycle afresh each year.
James Rawbone-Viljoen, who serves on the council of the Elgin, Grabouw, Vyeboom and Villiersdorp Farmers Association, said it contracted with labour brokers who brought people from the Eastern Cape during the harvesting season to live on the farms.
“We provide them with transport and pay their fare from there and back home. But in the end, when people leave, who knows where they go? I have no doubt many stay,” he said.
Mr Rawbone-Viljoen said after the seasonal workers settled in the towns, “they are not really willing to work on farms”.
“So we have got to start again every year and fetch labour from the Eastern Cape.”
Imvusa Recruitment, a labour broking company operating from Grabouw, reports the same trend. “Every year there are new people here. People who have worked on the farms for a year, then look for better work in the packing sheds,” says Imvusa manager Estelle Williams.
“They realise they can earn more, so they go to the orchards for just one year.”
The 2001 census put the population of Grabouw at 21500. Municipal authorities said the town now had more than 50000 residents.
why do they have to “fetch labour” from the eastern cape, are there no people to do the manual work in the cape flats for instance?
2 Apr 2012, 12:55 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-84: So your side has only ONe player from a team that is unbeaten and top of the log?
I am starting to to think you hate the Stormers more than Tac…
On current FORM and not those biased eyes the team should be:
1. Kitshoff
2. Chillieboy
3. Brok the rock
4. Eztebeth
5. Bekker
6. Brussouw
7. Kolisi
8. Spies
9. Hougaard
10.Goosen
11.Aplon
12.JDV
13 Wynand olivier
14 Basson
15. Viljoen
Subs there is so many to pick from!!
2 Apr 2012, 12:58 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-5:
You’re such a droogdoos or drycunt.
When the bulls won the 2007 super rugby final you were ranting about how good the bulls are and how they deserved to win etc etc. the fact was that the sharks were leading that game, frans steyn missed a easy kick at goal which would’ve sealed the game. Habana the scored a fortuitist try but still you were gloating like a lamp in the dark or a cheapwhore on the weekend.
What happened to the can of whoopass or maybe piere spies should have played fullback because he ran away from every ruck.
You biased towards the bulls is mind-blowing and actually very embarrassing to read.
If I was you then I would hide my head in the sand like a ostrich.
Ts ts ts
2 Apr 2012, 13:00 pm
Sorry 13. should read Meisiekind…
2 Apr 2012, 13:00 pm
@Provvas(Provvas)-117: The team is 22 strong, and I count 4 Stormers. Go back and try again.
Brock? How can you talk about bias?
2 Apr 2012, 13:04 pm
@NoRugbyGuru_0_(RugbyGuru_0_)-118: When the bulls lose Tac says but “IF” morne was kicking better.. or “if” they only played in blue…
Just do not come here on a Monday and say “if” when the stormers lose.. o Jinne you will get a good talk over of how you are trying to steer away from the fact that the stormpies are k@k…
2 Apr 2012, 13:05 pm
you did not need to be a rocket scientist to have known that transformation would come out fighting to protect his precious ec.
ANC politicians in the ec should stop lining their pockets full of mandelatjies and start fulfilling their mandate given to them by the electorate……one should think that,since 1994, those pockets must be bursting at the seams now or is it a case of extremely deep pockets?
2 Apr 2012, 13:06 pm
@Provvas(Provvas)-121: He used to disappear when the bulls lost a game. He was like Houdini in his prime, could escape any situation.
I wish he would start doing that again
2 Apr 2012, 13:10 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-120: You are one of those like in the media that gives all the credit for the stormers forwards to Kitshoff, tiann etc, but Brok makes out a major part of that succes in recent years actually.. and his workrate is much better than Werner’s… he also do not give away half as much penalties as Mr Kruger does…
16. Bismark Du Plessis
17. DP Oosthuizen
18. Juandre Kruger
19. Duane Vermeulen
20. Sarel Pretorius
21. Pat Lambie
22. Lwazi Mvovo
2 Apr 2012, 13:13 pm
@Provvas(Provvas)-124: Don’t tell me what I’m like when you have no idea. I have never credited Tiaan or Brock with anything because I think they’re not the big contributors to the success. Kitshoff, Etzebeth, Bekker, Kolisi and Vermeulen are the stand-out players in the Stormers pack.
2 Apr 2012, 13:14 pm
@Provvas(Provvas)-124: You must be joking? brok harris is the weaklink in our tight five. werner kurger murdered him on saturday, i spoke to stormer on the weekend and he said that if carstens wasnt injured then he would be starting
2 Apr 2012, 13:14 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-125: SNAP
2 Apr 2012, 13:18 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-125: Ja Katman that is exactly what you read on some other sport site isn’t it?
2 Apr 2012, 13:28 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-125:
@Provvas(Provvas)-124:
Brok Harris Werner Kruger
Games 5 5
Minutes played 262 387
Tackles made 34 27
Tackles missed 0 4
Minutes/Tackle 7,71 14,33
Runs 12 9
Metres/Run 5,83 3,44
Rucks/Mauls 12 7
Penalties 1 7
2 Apr 2012, 13:30 pm
Ok….to all those Bulls supporters blaming Craig…here is a deal….. Since you scored two tries and we only one and we had 15/9 penalties…..you can have the win and the 4 log points…….BUT….then we want the 2010 Title since then Craig cost us that final….when we scored 2 tries to your 1 and the penalty count was like one zillion /6….DEAL?????
2 Apr 2012, 13:33 pm
@ufo(ufo)-129: Thank you !!
Although I am not a great believer in stats… this confirms that he does do a lot of work around the park, and not getting the credit for it… I stand by the other bloggers saying he is too much in the 10/12 channel, but that can be rectified…
2 Apr 2012, 13:33 pm
@Provvas(Provvas)-128: What you on about, poepol? What sites? Those are my words. Why would I feel the need to secretly quote someone else? Come on, try and keep up with the grown ups here.
2 Apr 2012, 13:33 pm
@ufo(ufo)-129:
Interesting, but still question the use of stats to prove whose better or maybe the stats need to be more in depth.
Tackles made – did the player drive the opposition back or simply just held on?
Tackles missed – was there an overlap or somebody failing do complete a player causing him to miss his opponent?
Runs/Meters I’m okay with
Rucks, Mauls – how effective was the player’s contribution at ruck, did he clean out or assist a turnover or did he simple just arrive there and held his ground?
Penalties is okay is well.
2 Apr 2012, 13:34 pm
I actually think Spies is getting back to old form…what is concerning is he is too a nice guy to ref up the boys when it is needed or cool them down which was needed with Juandre and “Maak ‘n plan” Greyling. (Mcguyver)
2 Apr 2012, 13:35 pm
@ufo(ufo)-115:
Point taken ufo. This is definately an valid issue that has to be addressed.
Booing only started around 2005. Pisses me off. Watched the game with my brother from Aus. He emmigrated in 2003 and said that Newlands had a proud history of never booing the kicker.
2 Apr 2012, 13:35 pm
Bringing up the ref again… the stats for the stormers with Craig Joubert asref now reads 2 / 7..
28.5%….even if the stormers were to win the next three games with Craig as ref would it get to a 5/ 10 situation….. Ons win does not make me believe he favours the stormers..
2 Apr 2012, 13:36 pm
I saw Brok getting bent in the scrum, and I saw him making plenty of tackles in the flyhalf channel, where he also fcked up more than one promising attack.
2 Apr 2012, 13:36 pm
@Hoops(Hoops)-130:
In your opinion, who will win the competition this year?
2 Apr 2012, 13:36 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-132:
Bullman….how far are you from converted now that your team will be out of S15 very soon….very soon indeed……
I see you are trying hard to pull in the bulls supporters so that you can justify yourself next year shouting for the pink team!
2 Apr 2012, 13:37 pm
“South African teams need to play with more skill and less reliance on physicality and penalty kicks” Given the performance of the Sharks and the Cheetahs on their travels and the form of the Bulls and Stormers when is Keo going to eat humble pie and admit this article was just so more of his Aussie / Kiwis are always better/smarter/fitter rubbish! It is only going to get worse when Stormers / Bulls go overseas Keo!
2 Apr 2012, 13:38 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-132: Hahaha I merely pointed out that you say exactly what the main stram media says.. it is mos the obvious statement to make… although it was your “own” words….
Name calling is not giving you anymore credit out here…
2 Apr 2012, 13:40 pm
@Provvas(Provvas)-131:
@wpstormerbok(wpstormerbok)-133:
of course… and i agree that stats are not everything… and would be great if more in depth…
but these are the available stats… and they are not just opinion or perception… and i don’t believe more in-depth stats would suddenly swing things around the other way…
fact is… brok puts in way more effort around the park than werner…
period…
2 Apr 2012, 13:41 pm
@Hoops(Hoops)-139: Bullman, hey? Old provvas nearly choked on his Pimms and Lemonade because I could only find space for four Stormers players in my Super15 Form 22. But you’ll notice there are only 5 Bulls players there. Not all that much in it, wouldn’t you say?
2 Apr 2012, 13:41 pm
@Provvas(Provvas)-128: katman is a closet bull supporter.he and tac have been crying into their pink undies since saturday night.on a serious note,they are not worth the trouble.
2 Apr 2012, 13:41 pm
@Mr Black(Mr Black)-138: How can one call the winner in beginnig of April??
I would think the stormers are doing well, but calling a winner right now is a bit far ahead of the play offs….. lets see how another top of the table clash goes on Saturday…
2 Apr 2012, 13:41 pm
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-135:
cool bud…
if your guys and the union could come up with something would be awesome…
thanks for taking the point…
2 Apr 2012, 13:42 pm
@Mr Black(Mr Black)-138:
I think the Stormers have a good chance, and not because they are so great but because the big contenders from previous seasons are not 100% there.
Crusaders are always in the running but this year might be one too far…..Bulls have too much young stars but will maybe get knocked out in play off away from Loftus.
The Chiefs have made finals before but with tight games they might come up short like they did when the Bulls brought too much brawn in that final.
The Stormers did lose their finals and semis now previously but I think they learned a lot from it like the bulls did the two years before they won the first cup!
2 Apr 2012, 13:44 pm
@CAPECRUSADER(CAPECRUSADER)-122:i can only assume that you either cannot read or are being purposefully obtuse but i’m leaning on the former
2 Apr 2012, 13:44 pm
@ufo(ufo)-142: Jip… I have always rated Brok the rock!!
2 Apr 2012, 13:48 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-143:
I was not even commenting on the team….just a cheap stab at what must be some serious worries for your union and teams prospects of making the S15 next year. Not only is financial burden keeping you back but also your team is not performing with all the injuries……..and not having the finance there is no real depth to fall back on….vicious circle!
I do feel for you though…..the stormers missed a super rugby in the nineties and that was bad enough……
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