Form will decide Super Rugby semis
23 Jul 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his Business Day column, says play-offs are all about momentum – and all the momentum this weekend will be with the Sharks and Crusaders.
The Stormers’ and Chiefs’ reward for claiming the top two spots in the league stages was a home semi-final and a week’s breather in between games. But what was supposed to be a favour for the consistency of the season could be the curse that ends the Super Rugby season for the hosts of both semi-finals.
Form is definitely with the Sharks and Crusaders and form is all that will matter this weekend. League clashes count for nothing when the teams meet in a match in which there is no second chance.
The Stormers, in 2010 and 2011, were the best defensive team in the competition, yet losing in a final and a semi-final is the return of a good side and not a champion one.
This season they’ve exceeded expectation. Their defensive record is unrivalled and so too is their lack of attack. The players have shown impeccable discipline in respecting the coach’s strategic approach to what best suits the strengths of the team. The squad has been depleted through injury, yet the resolve of the reserve players has been strengthened.
You have to applaud the Stormers’ campaign, regardless of whether the climax is a first home final and a trophy or a second successive home semi-final defeat.
A year ago there was an expectation because of momentum and player availability. This year needs more perspective, even if it may bring no comfort.
The Stormers have the respect of every team in the competition and they are now recognised as among the most powerful in the league. It is a respect that has been earned over the past three years through consistent performance. A team whose players were once labelled pretty boys with no appetite for a scrap are now the biggest scrappers in the tournament. Again, this may not be enough to win the title. The quality of Stormers players in too many positions does not match the desire of those who will play on Saturday.
A team doesn’t fluke winning Super Rugby’s trophy. No limited or poor team has ever ended the season champions because when the big moments have come the quality players have produced — and that’s why I also give the Sharks an advantage, despite the travel back from Australia and the venue being in Cape Town.
The Sharks have the greater individual pedigree in the pack and big-name players are flexing their muscles at just the right time. The physicality that was absent earlier won the Sharks the match against the Reds, who had lost just two of their past 23 matches in Brisbane.
The Sharks, individually and as a unit, were brutal in the collisions, but never did the need to impose themselves physically come at the expense of composure or attacking intent.
It was a glorious evening for the Sharks and South African rugby. It also ensured one all-South African semi-final, which means SA will be represented in the final. That makes a statement that had to be made after the Boks’ disappointment of the 2011 World Cup.
It is also confirmation of the strength of the South African game, which is why South African players must always be expected to be among the leaders in the game
We have always had the players, but the belief of those players hasn’t always matched their playing pedigree.
The Sharks never doubted they could win against the Reds because they’ve won there before. The Bulls never believed they could win in Christchurch, despite all the pre-match boasts of changing history and fearing nothing. The result was as predictable as the traditional Bulls success at Loftus.
There is no need for crisis in Pretoria. The best Bulls team in the past decade couldn’t win in Christchurch.
The Crusaders, inconsistent this year, relied on the incomparable Richie McCaw and the equally magnificent Dan Carter. McCaw, in particular, was a beast and to produce a performance of such influence in his 11th season of Super Rugby was monumental, even by his incredible standards.
Carter was as imposing and as good as at any stage of his career, yet even if he had produced the worst game of his life it wouldn’t have changed the result. The Bulls were beaten before they got on the aircraft.
The Crusaders were very good because, like the Sharks, their best players stood tallest. It is why they will beat the Chiefs in Hamilton.
And while it isn’t the popular view in Cape Town, the Sharks have the better combinations and the better individuals.
476 Comments
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23 Jul 2012, 10:28 am
Seeing as Ernie is sponsored by Boeing maybe they will give us a discount on Zoomers new Jet.
#wemusthaveit.
23 Jul 2012, 10:28 am
@THE MAULER-50: Oh hell dont even go there boet
23 Jul 2012, 10:28 am
@Heavens Game-46: Or was this Stormers team also a “B” team…
You poor angst ridden dumbfucks… I cant farken wait….
BOOM!
23 Jul 2012, 10:30 am
SL lol… Had to mention it… Steve gives me nightmares!!
23 Jul 2012, 10:31 am
@Tacitus-42: Ja, he is a much respected competitor wherever he plays. HIs commiseration with Adam Scott was genuine.
Poor Scott must feel terrible. It really was his Open to win. And apart from missing a 3 foot sitter for par on the 16th, he didn’t do all that much wrong.
One thing he probably does regret is not forking out for a proper caddie, opting for a secondhand Kiwi instead. You get what you pay for.
23 Jul 2012, 10:32 am
@>^..^< katman-36:
Just wrote you an essay but Keo told me I was posting too quickly…
Said I was surfing between golf and cricket – stopped the golf for a while as Adam was three ahead. Went back and saw him in a bad position off the putting green at 17. Then I knew…the choke was about to happen…
23 Jul 2012, 10:33 am
@sharks_lover-52:
@THE MAULER-54:
On a serious note I also have no great faith in Steve but prefer him over Craig Joubert (from a stormers perspective).
23 Jul 2012, 10:33 am
@>^..^< katman-55: hey, you’re talking about the once highest paid sportsman in kiwiland
23 Jul 2012, 10:35 am
@>^..^< katman-55: lol
23 Jul 2012, 10:37 am
@trupisero-58: He prefers racing beat up cars in the mud these days. This guy put caddying on the map in New Zealand, but his heart is just not in it anymore.
23 Jul 2012, 10:38 am
Robzim true… Steve has been quite good this year actually… Lets home he blows a great game… For both sides…
23 Jul 2012, 10:38 am
Home=hope
23 Jul 2012, 10:38 am
Thrilling Super scenario for all but Aussies
JUSTIN MARSHALL
Last updated 05:00 23/07/2012
OPINION: I’m still scratching my head trying to figure out how it happened but somehow Super Rugby has contrived to produce a semifinals showdown featuring the competition’s four best teams and each one could go all the way.
The last month has bordered on a nightmare for Sanzar administrators as they grappled with everything from flawed TMO processes to controversial decisions such as the Reds hosting a playoff most believed they were not entitled to. Those controversies had a serious impact on who played whom, when and where in the finals.
There’s almost some justice that the two best New Zealand sides face each other while South Africa’s two best teams duke it out. I don’t know if it’s fate or fortune that has thrown up such a salivating semis scenario – also guaranteeing a New Zealand v South Africa final – but the fans will be as thrilled as the organisers (all except the Australians of course).
If the Stormers, who convinced me when they came to New Zealand that they are a genuine contender, defeat the Sharks and thereby secure a home final, Chiefs supporters may still feel miffed about the impact the controversial loss to the Hurricanes will have had on their championship quest.
The team most sides don’t want as opposition in a finals scenario is the Crusaders. The Chiefs’ preference would have been for a jaded or tired South African or Australian side. Instead they will face a confident and proven finals force who will arrive an hour after stepping on a plane.
But the Chiefs’ destiny is in their own hands. And if the Sharks do upset the Stormers, and the Chiefs win they will have the home final they believed they were destined for before the TMO saga. That’s something the Crusaders understand.
Chatting to their CEO Hamish Riach before the game, I mentioned the poor crowd turn-out. Hamish said he understood the reasons but, more importantly, pointed out that all within the Crusaders environment were willing the Sharks to keep winning.
“If they keep winning and we keep winning, we’re back in Christchurch for one more game – the final,” he explained.
And on the evidence of the Sharks’ mauling of the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday night, who’s to say that won’t happen?
They’re mobile, full of powerful ball runners and know how to win away games, so won’t be daunted by going to Cape Town.
The Stormers and the Sharks are the African title contenders I had expected the Bulls to be. Instead, this year’s Bulls proved to be cumbersome plodders obsessed with kicking the ball to the opposition.
The street savvy Crusaders lapped it up, setting their line, running good blocking lines and punishing a Bulls outfit for their tactical naivety. The Bulls didn’t offer a shot all night.
The Crusaders won’t have it as easy in Hamilton. As they showed when they were down 20-6 in their last encounter and clawed back, this is a far more resilient Chiefs outfit than the past.
The Bulls didn’t know how to climb back into the game last Saturday night. The Chiefs do. It’s going to be a cracking showdown.
The Reds worked hard to get into a position to defend their title and were ultimately assisted by a fortuitous series of results and a hosting anomaly.
But they were never quite convincing and although Australians will be miffed the competition still has a fortnight to go and they have no contenders, they shouldn’t be – their teams haven’t aimed up this year.
The only light at the end of their tunnel is that Robbie Deans will get his players earlier than expected for the upcoming Rugby Championship series. On the evidence of their Super Rugby performances, Robbie is going to need every bit of time he can get with them. On the other hand, the All Blacks selectors couldn’t be happier.
They get to see the two best New Zealand teams go head-to-head in a white-hot, parochial atmosphere in a high-stakes knockout game.
I’ll be especially interested in the halfback battle. The All Blacks will take three halfbacks on the end-of-year European tour. The selectors have had a good look at Piri Weepu and Aaron Smith and with T J Perenara out injured, I’m pretty sure that third No 9 will be either Andy Ellis or Tawera Kerr-Barlow.
Then there’s the locks battle where we get to see if Craig Clarke can advance his dark horse European tour claims alongside Brodie Retallick up against Luke Romano, Sam Whitelock and company. Steve Hansen must be grinning from ear to ear.
23 Jul 2012, 10:41 am
I want to know how it was possible for some eejit to steal my username over the weekend? Don’t these Keo IT fellows block ANY new accounts where names are similar? And don’t they prohibit/block any use of usernames which are carbon copies of others?
I am curious.
23 Jul 2012, 10:41 am
@Gumboots-56: Yes, what’s up with this site? I also get told I’m posting too quickly, after my first post. Also, my phone (blackberry) has switched back to the regular website display and I don’t know how to set it back to the mobile display. I’m sure there used to be a button at the bottom somewhere, but I can’t find it.
I watched most of the golf and only switched to the cricket every now and then. I found it embarrassing to watch, from the so-called no.1 test nation.
23 Jul 2012, 10:43 am
You’d think the Sharks had ended in the top quarter of the log the way their followers are going on.
23 Jul 2012, 10:46 am
@>^..^< katman-55:
Ja, Ernie is a top class person.
Oscar Chalupsky (the loud mouthed surfsk- paddler from Durban who won the famous Molakai surfsk race about 10 times) once bumped into Ernie who was trying to balance a canoe on a lake in the Wilderness area- He gave Ernie some tips, they chatted a bit and after learning that Chalupsky had no decent sponsors and the prize money was just about nothing he offered to pay for the full trip including accomodation in Hawai on condition the Oscar win the race.
He did win and Ernie paid for everything as promised and and also include a fat bonus.
What a legend
23 Jul 2012, 10:46 am
@Michael-66: And how are we carrying on Mickey?? by supporting our team is bad??
23 Jul 2012, 10:53 am
@>^..^< katman-65:
It was a fantastic weekend of sport. Really happy for the Sharks and think Saturday will be a cracker. Either way we have a team in the final. Not going to count my chickens before the fat lady sings on Saturday. Would dearly want a Stormer final but time will tell. We can debate until the chickens come home but only time will tell. The Sharks are playing fantastic rugby and as a Stormer supporter I’m really nervous. We can only hope for the best.
Also hoping the cricket has a fairytale ending too…
Go Boys…
Congrats Ernie the Big Easy…
23 Jul 2012, 10:54 am
@Robzim-67: Ja, I really like the guy. He’s a family man who put his career on pause without second thought to look after his autistic son, and now funds a lot of care and research projects dealing with autism. He has a strong opinion on golf issues and speaks his mind about them, regardless of what the old establishment think, without coming across as a jerk. And he stays relaxed about the game, whether things are going well or poorly for him. He also seems like the guy you want to have a beer with after the game. Quite a few golfers could take a leaf from his book.
23 Jul 2012, 10:54 am
@sharks_lover-68:
Your team is making me very nervous…
23 Jul 2012, 10:57 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.-64: when they disable the double nic in the reply then any blogger can register with a new arbitrary nic and just change the “appear as” column to match your nic, this is not the 1st time, when the Boeremag used to rule this place my and a few other’s nics we “stolen” all the time as part of the propaganda masjien..
23 Jul 2012, 10:59 am
@sharks_lover-68: Oh the usual “Cape arrogance”, Stormers don’t stand a chance BOOM, Sharks are so brilliant, “AC writing off the Sharks”, “Stormers thinking they are in the finals already” and all that strawman rubbish.
The Sharks team has too many good players not to be a threat. However, the way certain Shark supporters are carrying on reminds me of Tacitus Homogenious Whoopass of yesteryear.
23 Jul 2012, 11:00 am
@Gumboots-71: LOL
23 Jul 2012, 11:03 am
Thanks Keo, I appreciate the kiss of death you have just blown to the Sharks!
23 Jul 2012, 11:04 am
@Michael-73: BOOM!
23 Jul 2012, 11:06 am
@Michael-74:
Any news on our Alberts, being Vermeulen?
23 Jul 2012, 11:07 am
@Transformation-72: Now that’s a bumble of note. Hell, it must be chaos when everyone starts doing it.
@Michael-73: Just tell Sharks_lover to stick to the promise he made above when he stated that he will ‘stay positive but be quiet about it’. (Since then he has made about 15 posts, so that didn’t last long)
23 Jul 2012, 11:09 am
@Transformation-72:
Now Heavens Game will really have reason to claim a “multinic” conspiracy…
23 Jul 2012, 11:24 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.-78: I said quietly confident, where have i said we will win??, again fo seek attention elsewhere, enough said
23 Jul 2012, 11:25 am
@BreakdownBoy-75: Has his “kiss of death” mojo, been operational this year? I have not noticed.
23 Jul 2012, 11:26 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.-78: you see, now mine has been stolen too @ #79 hahahahaha
23 Jul 2012, 11:27 am
i think the sharks will have the beating of the stormers.
this is my opinion.
its a gut feel because neither game between the two this year featured full lineups of both teams so we will only see the real deal now, in the semis.
its gonna be epic, like the snoek i shot on the weekend in 20 meter viz.
23 Jul 2012, 11:29 am
Plumtree: Australian rugby needs help
22/7/2012 5:42 AM Vince Rugari
John Plumtree caused a stir this week by accusing a weak Australian conference of bringing down Super Rugby, but he found vindication in the Sharks’ 30-17 win over the Reds on Saturday night.
The Durban-based side booked a semi-final date with the Stormers in Cape Town next weekend after surviving a second-half Queensland onslaught, but in truth the result was never in doubt.
And the Kiwi coach said the victory in front of nearly 37,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium backed up his claim the South African and New Zealand sides in the competition are ‘way ahead’ of the Australians.
“I created a bit of a storm, I didn’t mean to upset everyone like that,” he said.
“I guess the stats and the points do the talking. I really didn’t mean any disrespect to the Australians.
“But maybe they have to look at changing their (eligibility) rules to make sure that they are strong in every club.
“Australia has all the codes to deal with, and that’s not a problem we have in South Africa or in New Zealand. It’s not easy for them to generate a lot of players.
“I don’t know exactly what the rules are but if you look at a side like the Force, they’ve been struggling for three or four years now.
“Maybe they need some foreigners to come in – I know it doesn’t do Australian rugby any good in terms of their national set-up, but at the end of the day it’s not all about international rugby.
“We’ve got a showpiece, Super Rugby, and it’s really important. That’s one of the ways, possibly, and there might be some others.”
Plumtree said it was important the Sharks got off to a strong start against the Reds – and by skipping away to a 17-0 first-half lead, they did just that.
“We knew they’d come into this game with a lot of belief and obviously with a big crowd behind them, so we had to start pretty well and we managed to,” he said.
“The way we played in the first half was just outstanding. We’ve played patches like that right through the year – that’s what we’re capable of.
“The challenge is maintaining it. In the second half we didn’t get any possession and ultimately in the end we just had to hang on.”
The Sharks were assisted by an injury to Reds stand-in No.10, Ben Lucas, who lasted just 20 minutes.
Lucas was the replacement for suspended superstar Quade Cooper, and Plumtree said he was ‘delighted’ for his side when he learned the enigmatic playmaker would be sidelined for the match.
Perhaps he was ecstatic, then, when Lucas went down with an ankle injury and Reds coach Ewan McKenzie elected to shuffle Will Genia into the vacancy.
“I was a little bit surprised they didn’t put Harris at 10 and leave Will at nine,” Plumtree said.
“Will tried to be the playmaker and that allowed us into the game because he was throwing a lot of skip passes and we read them.
“It was actually a big blow for them, I believe, losing Quade for a start and then losing Lucas in a replica of what happened in Durban (in week four).”
23 Jul 2012, 11:31 am
one thing is for sure, there will be a whole lot of south african beef running full tilt into each other on saturday at newlands.
etsebeth, kolisi, bekker, vermeulen vs marcel, alberts, beast, bizness.
storemersfans, you will notice i left out both your props and your red faced hooker.
this was not an oversight.
23 Jul 2012, 11:33 am
@rangerman-85:
tiaan?
the fat controller?
23 Jul 2012, 11:33 am
how can the aussies get 37,000 people to a game and battle for youngsters to play the game though?
i mean the kiwis would give all access tot heir hobbit-holes for a 37,000 strong crowd?
23 Jul 2012, 11:33 am
@rangerman-85: Is that because Brok deserves a post of his own?
23 Jul 2012, 11:34 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther-86: yes, mr grumpy.
i will never forget john smiit shoving tiaan up his liebenberg at KP.
it was beyooooodiful.
and biz will grind him to dust and then eat his bones with his porridge.
23 Jul 2012, 11:35 am
@>^..^< katman-88: yes, it goes like this:
beast: hi brok, i am called beast, now that the introductions are over, let me introduce you to your a s s.
23 Jul 2012, 11:37 am
actually it was that wayne grady, the aussie ex wannabe pro golfer, who put the commentator’s curse on adam scott.
when adam was 4 ahead with five to play and ernie was his closest rival, he came up with this pearler….
“nothing aussies love more than beating kiwis and south africans” followed by a hearty chuckle.
can’t recall hearing him on air again for the rest of the afternoon.
23 Jul 2012, 11:38 am
i do notice a little flutter of fear running through the threads since saturday.
sadly i didnt see the game as i was 23 nautical miles north of cape vidal drifting an awesome ledge in 23 degree water shooting gamefish.
but i have cleared my schedule for this weekend.
23 Jul 2012, 11:38 am
@sharks_lover-80: You have to remember to keep breathing this week old fellow. I just seem to be picking up a few, “borderline hysteria” ^5 vibes from you. (Your spelling, grammar etc going to pot in the heat of the moment etc). You seem to be a Hatha yoga type? Take a few extra classes this week…….
23 Jul 2012, 11:39 am
@charo-91: he is obviously not a superrugby man.
23 Jul 2012, 11:39 am
The hype around the Sharks’ form today is very much the same like the week before their thrashing at the hands of the lions.
23 Jul 2012, 11:39 am
@rangerman-90:
Brok and his a.ss are old friends.
They meet every saturday.
23 Jul 2012, 11:40 am
@Robzim-67:
oscar chalupsky is a loudmouth?
are lee and hank macgregor also?
learn something new every day on keo.
23 Jul 2012, 11:41 am
@rangerman-90:
Brok vs Beast – hhmmmm Sharks
Bissy vs Tiaan – Shakrs
Beast vs Ginger – Sharks
eben vs Alberts / Bresler – Stormers
Bekker vs Sykes / bresller – Stormers
Kolisi vs Daniels – Stormers
Elstadt vs alberts – Even
Vermeulen/Fourie vs kanko – Stormers depending who plays
Duvenhage vs Mcleod – even
Grant vs Michalak – Stormers
JDV vs Whitehead turnstile – Stormers
JDJ vs Jordaan – Stormers
JPP – Gio aplon – even
Habana vs mvovo – Even
Ludik/ Lambie vs Joe – Stormers..
23 Jul 2012, 11:44 am
@rangerman-92: Ha ha, we hear about your fishing and diving so often, I’m busy cultivating a sneaky suspicion that you cannot actually swim.
23 Jul 2012, 11:45 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.-93: lol @ “spelling and grammar” – dissapline comrade!
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