Comments on: Stormers finish first at fortress Newlands

By: KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark)

KeurboomPark(KeurboomPark) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 23:17:13 +0000

And peple say AC is limited. Kiss my ar$e. Playing Fourie at 8 was a masterstroke. Wakker word, julle mense. AC is dobbeling like a genius with one hand tied behind his back. The best coach in Super 15. Bruine Nasie. WP.

By: ufo(ufo)

ufo(ufo) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 10:49:03 +0000

Cheers Puma…

And to the Sharks and Bulls… Sharks looking very hard to stop going al the way… Peaking at the right time for sure…

Bulls have a tougher assignment but not impossible if they bring their A game…

Said at the beginning of the season it would be great to get 3 teams into the play-offs… at the time I thought Bulls and Sharks would be there and maybe the Stormers could squeak in…

anyway… great for South African rugby that 3 teams have made it… lots of praise and hi^5s, air punches and backslaps all round…

the rugby tide is definitely shifting IMO…

Will support the Sharks and Bulls next weekend as if they were my team…

let’s see if we can get 3 teams into the semi’s…!!

By: Puma(Puma)

Puma(Puma) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 08:27:07 +0000

Congrats Stormers on topping the log. Whether they scored tries or not, they played to win. And that is really what it is all about, winning your games. The very thing that has gotten them to the top, is winning more games than the rest. Well done, deserved to top the log.

By: ufo(ufo)

ufo(ufo) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 05:45:09 +0000

Expansion to 15 teams
On May 19, 2009, following prolonged negotiations, SANZAR unveiled its model for an expanded season to start in 2011. This model was due to be presented to current broadcast rights holder News Corporation for approval before the end of June 2009. The new structure is based around the original ARU proposal for three national conferences, whereby each side would have played the other four teams from their own country twice and all of the other teams once, before a six team finals series. However, there were two major compromises that – while somewhat complicating the model – were designed to accommodate the wishes of all three countries. Firstly, each team would only play four of the five teams in each of the other two national conferences, meaning sixteen regular season games for each team. This ‘trimming’ of the model would allow for a late February start (somewhat placating the ARU and NZRU who wanted a March start), a three week gap for the June test matches (favoured by the SARU) and an early August finish so as not to overlap new streamlined versions of New Zealand and South Africa’s domestic competitions. Secondly, the three conference winners and the three best performed of the remaining teams would qualify for a three week finals series, with seedings deciding the match-ups. This system would be a hybrid of the conference-based qualification system favoured by the SARU and the ‘top six’ model favoured by the ARU and NZRU.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Rugby#Expansion_to_15_teams

By: ufo(ufo)

ufo(ufo) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 05:44:03 +0000

lots of confusion about this… people quoting what they believe…

people quoting apples and proof for pears…

one of the NZ bloggers Chch or Cane or someone (apologies to the man just just recall or find the post now…) posted last week a link to wiki-superrugby where basically states it was aus and Nz that pushed for this play-off system…

according to wiki… (at least a neutral observer…) saru pushed for the conference system… but nz and aus pushed for the top six play-offs… each apparently compromised to get the best of their proposals accepted…

so basically all our boards and sanzar farked up…

By: viewer(viewer)

viewer(viewer) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 05:38:48 +0000

The Damn stormers made the Rebels look like a top half of the table team. They better win the thing this year because they’ve painted themselves into a corner with this season-long defensive play. If it doesn’t win them the title what will they do next year. Outscored 3 tries to 2 at home? Ridiculous. Close this thread again

By: wallabie.(wallabie.)

wallabie.(wallabie.) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:30:19 +0000

The stormers must cite their own 7 for foul play on aplon….he was trying to do a dirty on the rebels player but got his own player!

By: wallabie.(wallabie.)

wallabie.(wallabie.) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:26:53 +0000

@papashanga(papashanga)-24: Save energy..for when? Most of the stormers except 3 had a 3 week rest during the internationals...they then have a weeks break now. How much rest do they need! In fact the stormers need more game time!

By: wallabie.(wallabie.)

wallabie.(wallabie.) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:22:53 +0000

@blueboy(blueboy)-25: It was SARU that insisted on a team being represented in the final by the republic every year...the outcome of this was the play off system with saru insisting again each conference winner has a home game play off. Unfortunately this is not common knowledge with the supporters in the republic! I dont like the system especially when the 3 and fourth place dont get home ground advantage due to position. But having said that there has bern some un eveness in the weak conference i.e. bulls and stormers having to play the lions and cheetahs twice and getting 18-20 points from them. Look at the aussie conference. The top team lost a game to the bottom team.

By: RefuGSpot(garth)

RefuGSpot(garth) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 22:55:28 +0000

Jon, why is the Stormers thread during the game often shutdown? It’s about the 4th time this season? Is it deliberate or a technical problem?

By: NZMaori(NZMaori)

NZMaori(NZMaori) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 22:20:03 +0000

It wont be Fortress Newlands when the Crusaders come to town next week. Sad thing for Japie rugby fans is all your teams will lose in their first playoff match. This weekend it will be the Bulls and Sharks departing, then next week the Stormers will bow out. It probably would have been better to finish second and hope to meet the saders in the final rather than the semi.

By: stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)

stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 20:56:49 +0000

Fortress Newlands indeed JC.No one,and I repeat,no one will defeat us at SA’S greatest stadium.

By: sharks_lover(sharks_lover)

sharks_lover(sharks_lover) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 20:30:38 +0000

@blueboy(blueboy)-27: this was said to be the case by Tony Johnson on the Kiwi rugby program Reunion, he was like that was crazy

By: blueboy(blueboy)

blueboy(blueboy) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 20:15:40 +0000

#26 sharks lover thank you for setting me straight on this for some reason i was not aware of SARU insisting this system.i knew that sanzar held talks on this,but i must have missed that bit about saru,what a real bunch of arseholes there is nothing else i can say.

By: sharks_lover(sharks_lover)

sharks_lover(sharks_lover) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 20:08:50 +0000

@blueboy(blueboy)-25: Let me help you right there mate, It was SARU that insisted on this system, YES believe it or not it was to our own doing that we sit with this stupidity

By: blueboy(blueboy)

blueboy(blueboy) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 19:58:32 +0000

i think this conference situation is a load of shite the reds have less points than the bulls or the sharks but they finish above them what kind of system is this,we all know this was done to make sure that the ozzies had a team in the play-offs.SARU should insist that the top four teams qualify for the semis like it used to be in the super14 it was much fairer than this **** system,if it is 4 ozzie teams or 4 kiwi teams or 4 sa teams in the semis so be it.

By: papashanga(papashanga)

papashanga(papashanga) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 19:08:04 +0000

To have won so many matches means they’ve got something the other teams don’t. Steel I suppose.
As for today’s game I thought the Rebels played exceptionally well. When they’re trying they’re good,as was shown by their victory over the Crusaders.
As for the ‘stuttering’,please remember this wasn’t a full strength team,and they brought on reserves to save the energy of such as Becker. Also Etsebeth was sitting watching. Presumably he’ll add some oomph.
De Villiers had a stomach complaint and was well below par.

By: Nils(Nils)

Nils(Nils) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 17:42:25 +0000

@Michael(mikeybrass)-22: On Stormers today’s performance?

By: Michael(mikeybrass)

Michael(mikeybrass) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 16:54:12 +0000

Jealousy running riot

By: RL(RL)

RL(RL) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 15:47:09 +0000

Next week thousands of toothless CapeCrusaders will be making their way to fortress Newlands in the hope of securing their tickets for the seme featuring the home team, the Crusaders against the visitors the Stormers.