SA will have two semi-finalists
16 Jul 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his Business Day column, says the Bulls’ Super Rugby campaign will end in Christchurch on Saturday but the Sharks have a good chance of beating the Reds.
For all the criticism about a flawed Super Rugby tournament format, a loss of momentum due to the three-Test international series, and an undoubted first and second division in the competition, it all came down to the last 40 minutes to determine the make-up of the six play-off finalists.
What a weekend it was, starting with the Hurricanes upstaging the Chiefs with a controversial TMO try in the last play of the game and the Brumbies imploding at home against a Blues team that have been abysmal all season.
The Brumbies’ defeat was the biggest shock and their last 80 minutes of the regular season proved costly in every sense.
Jake White’s overachievers started the match as Australian conference leaders and, given the opposition, as the probable hosts of one of the quarter-finals next weekend. When the siren sounded in Pretoria to conclude the regular season, the Brumbies were out of the play-offs; their heroics of the past five months blown away in 80 minutes.
It would have been an anxious wait for White, who would have expected more grunt in the South African derbies and possibly even an upset by the Cheetahs in Durban. It never happened as the Sharks got the win and the four-try bonus point, and anyone backing the Lions to do the dirty on the Bulls in Pretoria would have done so out of loyalty and not logic.
The Bulls were adequate in victory but even this was good enough to get the five league points and extend their participation in the tournament by a week. The side will crash out in Christchurch because there isn’t the belief in the squad that they can beat the Crusaders in New Zealand.
There never is such an issue when playing New Zealand’s champion side in SA and the Bulls, more than any other side, have crushed the Crusaders in recent play-off matches. Not this season.
For the Bulls, any title aspirations depended on hosting play-off matches. The Crusaders have always been the exceptions in being able to win away from home come play-off time. No other team in the history of the competition has mastered the demands of a short turnaround week, which has often necessitated flying across the world to play the final.
The Bulls certainly won’t change their history. They couldn’t do it when led by the magnificent Victor Matfield and strengthened by the imposing Bakkies Botha and the inspirational Fourie du Preez. They’ve no price this weekend and they will take a beating.
What it means is the Crusaders will play the Stormers in Cape Town and if there is one team that has always turned an away fixture into a home game, it is the Crusaders at Newlands. The Crusaders won twice last season, including an emphatic semi-final win.
The Stormers, rightly, will be nervous. It is the one side they didn’t want to face and it is the one side that beat them fairly comfortably this year, albeit in Christchurch.
The Stormers, league winners for the first time, have to be applauded for the achievement. It is quite something to win ugly nearly every week and if they should go all the way, no one in Cape Town will care how the victory was fashioned. Then again, it is a big if because at no stage in the season have the Stormers blown away the opposition and produced a performance that screamed champions.
Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe, in his final Super Rugby appearance, said the Crusaders were the form team of the tournament and the best his side had encountered. But if they are to add to their seven championship titles they’ll have to do it the hard way because home semifinals and finals have been rare in recent years, and they have stumbled in the final fortnight as much as they succeeded in the early years of the tournament.
The Sharks will be pleased to have avoided the Crusaders and there will be optimism that it is possible for them to beat the Reds in Brisbane and beat the Chiefs in Hamilton. Hell, they may even have to stay in New Zealand and face the Crusaders in the final. It is a possibility and what a story that would be if the Sharks won it.
That’s just one of the permutations and such a scenario would be a remarkable turnaround for the Sharks, who in the past few weeks have delivered in quality, in attack and in defence.
The Chiefs, to win the tournament, have to host the final and even then they’d have to beat the Crusaders. I don’t see it happening. They are not good enough to beat the Stormers in Cape Town.
The Reds, at home, are a menace but like the Bulls they turn to putty on the road.
Whoever wins in Cape Town in a fortnight will have one hand on the title but keep an eye on the Sharks. If they get past the Reds they could deliver something quite magnificent in the final fortnight.
814 Comments
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16 Jul 2012, 18:59 pm
No Dusty,this thread has turned into your pedigree as a rugby union and the lies ghetto boy and the rest of you boys trying to spin regarding your lack of success for 100 years.if you accept your place in the higher scheme of things it might be a good beginning for all concern.
16 Jul 2012, 18:59 pm
@Dusky(Dusky)-345: There is a conference “trophy”…?
And there I was thinking it was a “title”…
Funny that its not trumpeted by other conference “title holders”. like the Chiefs and the Reds…
I think they’re more focussed on winning the Super Rugby Trophy… like the rest of the “lowly” sides in the playoffs…
16 Jul 2012, 19:00 pm
@Dusky(Dusky)-340:
Jeez, that sounds bad, you better qualify you’re only talking about a tattoo…
16 Jul 2012, 19:01 pm
@Dusky(Dusky)-350: Good Idea… But then again maybe Heynek can use it a Bok trial…
Two birds with one stone…
16 Jul 2012, 19:04 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-326: Crawl up those bullschmuck highfalutin gatte as far as your yellow bellied arswipe chicken licken sharkshit cowardice gonna take you.. fact of the matter is Bulls won’t make it and Sharks got about a minute little meandering measly hope of a measly weasly chance..
Only franchise that got ANY chance from SA is Stormers.. that’s right sluk the reality UP.. Stormers done the hard yards now they only gotta finish it off while Bullshark arsewipe arselicks get fck’d up ten to the dozen down under.
Sharks reckon they so f’ng grandiose meanwhile Stormers got a better head to head ratio and Sharks got FOKOL Super rugby championship in the bag – only SA teams to have gotten that right THUS far are Bullschmucks in 07, 09, 010 and Gauteng Lions before 1996.. Sharks been to one final and lost at HOME same as Stormers did AWAY
16 Jul 2012, 19:04 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-354:
Morning HG, how’s it hanging?
Seen any gingers lately?
I thing HM would rather prefer all his players out of S15 asap and at a Bok training camp or resting and avoiding injuries
16 Jul 2012, 19:05 pm
Dusky my little 48kg sharksupporter
Why would you want a tattoo from a man?
16 Jul 2012, 19:05 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-351: You lot still got that blikke Silvo from the last century to polish your “trophies”
16 Jul 2012, 19:05 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-355: Well, I disagree
16 Jul 2012, 19:06 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-342: no no no go further back, it was a known fact, what you think T Bedfords whole arguement was with SA rugby?? come now
16 Jul 2012, 19:06 pm
@ Vic what is your take on Pyper as the ref on Saturday
16 Jul 2012, 19:10 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-356: Huzzit VB… No gingers thank goodness…
Maybe King Heyneke persuade the Sharks and Bulls to contest the final with their Vodacom Cup teams…
Howzat for Win/Win?
16 Jul 2012, 19:10 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-355: Idiot get your facts right, here are the facts
The Sharks are a South African rugby union team competing in the Super Rugby competition (Super 10, 1993 – 1995; Super 12, 1996 – 2005; Super 14, 2006 – 2010; Super Rugby 2011- ). They are based in Durban and centred around the Natal Sharks union, also based in Durban and drawing players from all of KwaZulu-Natal Province.
In 1993-1995 South Africa was represented in the Super 10 by their three top unions (top three teams from the previous years Currie Cup). Natal (as they were called then) qualified in 1993 and 1994. Natal were runners-up in 1994 after having lost to Queensland 21-10 in the final. In 1996 and 1997 South Africa was represented in the Super 12 by their four top unions rather than franchises, and Natal qualified and competed both years. They have never won any of the Super Rugby competition, but have reached the final three times, as Natal in 1996 and as the Sharks in 2001 and 2007.
16 Jul 2012, 19:12 pm
No Skoppie .They have lost three finals and then this dusty character wants to talk about chokers.
16 Jul 2012, 19:12 pm
That green spinach juices are smuggling with skoppies mind, or is he smoking the weed???
16 Jul 2012, 19:12 pm
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-360:
He pulled a bit of a Cheeky
16 Jul 2012, 19:12 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-344: you little sharkshit runt can fuckoff off this Stormers thread who got a WAY better chance of making the final than your useless fuckups have….you little nobody twaddle stick arsehole.. what exactly have your useless sharkshit bok beladed impostors ever WON…!! ???
Sweet fanny fokol.. in fact you have won LESS than Fokol.. at least Stormers have won a couple conference titles.. sharkshits haven’t even managed to do that much yet..
16 Jul 2012, 19:12 pm
@Airwell(Airwell)-349:
Peyper is a kak ref, and completely anti-Bulls.
16 Jul 2012, 19:13 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-362:
Rather make it the Craven Week teams
16 Jul 2012, 19:13 pm
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-286:
You have a partial point but you are also exaggerating.
Sure historically Natal had a rough ride with the Broederbond.
What made it worse was that we did not have the mechanisms to attract players because we had no army, navy, air force bases to speak of. We also did not have a university that fast tracked you to the Bok side.
Our players got conscripted to Pretoria and cape town.
In the late 80s wynand claasen helped improve the university and the impact of conscription dropped as it moved closer to its end date.
However it’s wrong to say that rugby wasn’t pursued enthusiastically
Schools played soccer at primary school level but rugby at high school level.
Rugby was followed and soccer wasn’t big.
16 Jul 2012, 19:13 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-364: and your Stormers have only played in one, and chocked in that one so whats your point?????
If i was you i would stick my head in the deep sand like a Ostrich as your team is even worse
16 Jul 2012, 19:14 pm
@Biscuit(Biscuit)-370: hey if they can exaggerate?? so can i
16 Jul 2012, 19:16 pm
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-363:
Idiot get your facts right, here are the facts The Sharks are a pseudo South African rugby-lite team competing in the Super Rugby competition, when their mental state allows. (Super 10, 1993 – 1995; Super 12, 1996 – 2005; Super 14, 2006 – 2010; Super Rugby 2011- ). They are based in Dirtbin and centred around the Natal Sharks union, also based in Durban and drawing players from all of KwaZulu-Natal Province, (2), The Eastern Province (23), The Free State (10000000000000000) and the Western Province (19).
16 Jul 2012, 19:17 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-367: Conference “Titles”…lol… And there I was, like the supporters of all 14 other teams, thinking S15 was about winning the Super Rugby Trophy…
We must all have it wrong then… Therefore I must disagree again…
Well done on “winning” the Conference “title”… Maybe Sharks or Bulls win the trophy then SA can say we won it all…
But the again we can’t really because Chiefs and Reds are also “Title winners”… But it seems they dont trumpet this “success” like the “Top” team does…. Maybe they not aware of its importance?
16 Jul 2012, 19:18 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-369: Ja… Okay… Done deal
16 Jul 2012, 19:19 pm
Us them they us blah blah
16 Jul 2012, 19:20 pm
Oh dear! The Shark supporters still blowing each others horns…with one or two blue boys giving a blow here and there…
16 Jul 2012, 19:20 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-376: Shutup wench…
16 Jul 2012, 19:21 pm
Peyper will make sure the Bulls go home …although the Crusaders won’t need help to finish of the bulls.Die bulls gaan so hard gemoer word dat hulle nie die verskil tussen melktert en koeksisters sal ken nie.It will be a dark day for the Danville mob.
16 Jul 2012, 19:23 pm
Are the refs being blamed already…I thought they were Saffa refs? Excuses already… come on now the game is only on Saturday…
16 Jul 2012, 19:24 pm
@Biscuit(Biscuit)-370:
> Our players got conscripted to Pretoria and cape town
I remember going to Loftus in mid-Feb/March in the late eighties, early nineties, to watch Northern Transvaal play the SA Defence Force team, it was the only rugby played that early, Super Rugby wasn’t even invented back then
The SA Defence Force team had players the likes of Uli, Carel du Plessis, Jaco Reinach, Niel Burger and Wahl Bartmann and gave a good reckoning of itself
16 Jul 2012, 19:25 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-379:
> It will be a dark day for the Danville mob
I’m sure you’ll enjoy it in Kraaifontein?
Have an extra Papsak on me will you?
16 Jul 2012, 19:26 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-375:
How’s the Banshee?
16 Jul 2012, 19:28 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-374:
what have the Sharkshits actually WON.. beside couple of CC titles.. in Super rugby what have Sharkshits actually WON?
Fokol.. thats right you have won exactly Fokol which is less than Stormers who at least have a couple ‘conference titles’ behind their name.. which ain’t saying much but its still better than FOKOL..
in 2007 you thought you had won the title and then Habana ripped it right from under your overrated over aggrandized highfalutin sharkshit nose…
now lets see you come to Cape Town and try get it right this time…. I doubt it MUCH…
as for Bulls they don’t stand a hope in hell in 2012.. so if you looking for a Bok trial between 2 SA teams the best you can hope for is a Sharkshit / Stormers semi.. which Sharkshits will lose.
16 Jul 2012, 19:29 pm
How the fck can losing one final be worse than losing three finals??ffs Tyrone how did you come to that conclusion?It seems old Ty been putting more than the regular ingredients into his cheesecakes down there in canal walk.stop munching on those cheesecakes ghetto boy!!!
16 Jul 2012, 19:30 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-383: Okay… Had to make her cook for me tonight and made her a proper, honest woman for a change… Mattress strapped to her back and in the kitchen… She’s not that happy but she must learn this is the Saffa way…
16 Jul 2012, 19:30 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-384:
Why so angry, Skop?
16 Jul 2012, 19:31 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-378: who you think you are telling people to ‘shurrup wench’..
that how you address your banshee.. same way as that.. ‘shurrup wench’
I hope she klaps you f’ng stukkend.
16 Jul 2012, 19:31 pm
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-383: Probably tied to a pole in a shack out back, whilst His Highness struts around in a turtle suit singing Bette Midler songs, stopping only to throw water on the banshee and scream ‘dynamite BOOM’ at 45 second intervals…
16 Jul 2012, 19:32 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-387: He ran out of KY.
16 Jul 2012, 19:33 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-389: Hello fagwad. You still up for the tattoo ?
16 Jul 2012, 19:34 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-384: Still Bulls 3 – Stormers 0 though.
16 Jul 2012, 19:35 pm
@Dusky(Dusky)-391: Mate, I wouldn’t touch you if I was covered with a body condom.
Roid users are usually vuil.
16 Jul 2012, 19:36 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-393: bang gat.
16 Jul 2012, 19:37 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-384: More than a couple CC titles… And more than a couple more than WePee/Stormers over the past 20 years or so… Certainly WP have a proud history but they have been a shadow of themselves over the past two decades…
It seems the Sharks have usurped them as the Bulls fiercest rivals as a consequence…
Hence a Blue Bull legend, Victor Matfield – record breaking Bok, stating that Bulls vs Sharks is the “Hardest Game in Rugby”…
But again it seems your team is improving… its about time another team joined the Bulls and Sharks as a real threat to the ANZAC teams….
And so, there we have 3 SA teams in the playoffs… And who knows, a final between 2 of them… Its great for SA rugby either way…
Maybe the Sharks can go one better than being the best team never to have won the Super Rugby trophy… and win the damn thing… Much like Spain in FIFA WC…
16 Jul 2012, 19:37 pm
Heita Victoria.No,unfortunately I will be jetting of to Paris for the weekend to celebrate my EU passport.You know they have been taking from us ******* for centuries so it’s just right we get something back from them.
.
16 Jul 2012, 19:38 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-373: FO you idjut,
16 Jul 2012, 19:40 pm
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-397: He has already run away once like a little b!tch today.
16 Jul 2012, 19:41 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-389: You fantasising my other little cheerleader… Never fear… Pitch up to Castello HG anytime and I make an honest woman out of you too…
Dont worry about bringing your own mattress… Will organise a spare… along with a recipe book for the Kitchen…
16 Jul 2012, 19:41 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-388: Men who talk as big as what this fellow does, are usually victims of domestic abuse. He and the Staub pot are tight
Psychology 101 – Take the big talk and flip it on it’s a r s e as the opposite is usually true.
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