Fairytale in Soweto!
http://sumrugga.blogspot.com here are my comments, id love to read yours!!
It was definitely how it was scripted. I cant lie i may well have been the lone voice shout for the Crusaders at Orlando Stadium last Saturday. It was funny. Even though i was surrounded by hoards of crazed Bulls fans, i somehow felt safe and free to vocally support the team i wanted to. One guy even said to me you are a brave man, to which i answered thats cos its not Loftus :)
But man what an atmosphere, the whole suburb of Soweto was abuzz. people braaing in the homes of the locals. one guy even painted the wall of his place in Bulls colours and had painted on the wall Soweto welcomes the Bulls. The game in itself wasnt what id hoped for. The officiating was random at best, but the result was unquestionable. I dont think the Bulls dominated or dismantled the Saders in any way, but what they did do however was hold their nerve when it counted and clinically executed their chances when they arose. what dissapointed me about the Saders was that if i knew that the Bulls would send send a hail storm of up and unders onto them, why didnt they? and if they did why didnt they deal with them better? So many points resulted from failed attempts to field these up and unders.
The Bulls deserve to be where they are because they got the points they needed to get. They played a pretty predictable style of rugby and to be honest if you man up they become ruddarless. They have a strong pack and a good 8,9,10. They have scored tries this year which shows their willingness and ability to play rugby. But now its crunch time. They will be playing Bulls rugby. Kop and Stamp, use their big forward to drive it up 9 10 and 15 sending up and unders to the loose trio.
Anyway it is what it is
The stormers have played a superb brand of rugby this year. Alastair Coetzee and Robbie Fleck have got the team to fire like they should have in the last few years, but then again like the Reds and the Warratahs, it was just a matter of time. There was only one styling Juan de Jongh try in the whole game, but what they did was strangle the life out of the Tahs, something they tend to do well against opposition teams. The other thing about the Tahs is they played some stupif football, especially in kicking range.
Its going to be a tough game tomorrow. If the Stormers front 5 step up they will have this game. Guthro has been a force this whole season, his work rate and stregth yikes, everyone else has just done their job like a unit. For the Stormers, Liebenberg and Bekker have stepped up plenty and the rest have given a superb account for themselves.
In the loosies, i like Potgieter and Spies is a phenom! Stegman on the other hand is a liability. For th Stormers, Louw has been my pickk of the 3, even though Schalck has been Massive and Duane Herculean. As a unit i back them as opposed to the Bulls trio. But time will tell
At 9 the Bulls have the second best scrummy in the southern hemisphere, and last week he brought his game face. Duvenhage is no slouch, i dont think he will be out of his depth at all, in my minds eye, i cant recall a crap performance this year.
At 10 i think Steyn and Grant are evenly matched, i would even go as far as saying Grant may, to me be hugely underrated and may be better than Morne!
The rest of the backline if i had to call it man for man, id say the Stormers have a better unit than the Bulls. There is no bias in this, well i hope. some might argue that Wynand is better than Juan. And i would ask for evidence please. they both dont really pass, and Juan may be smaller than Wynand, but please show me a time when he (juan) has shirked his defensive duties this year.
Jacques Fourie, best no 13 around, well him and o'driscol. 11 Bryan over whoever, mind u Hougaard has been huge this year. 14 Gio v v/d heever, u know my pick 15 Joe v Afro puffs
Interesting game tomorrow, but it will be about who brings their game!!
Cheers
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
S14: and then there were 4
hey hey hey
so here we are again. 14 weeks later. Just a quick one any debate or commentary http://sumrugga.blogspot.com
Yup i know i know, commentary this year has been lacking and i take full responsibility for that, duhh well who else could ey. :) but i doubt anyone can argue that the best 4 teams in the competition are in the final 4 the order is a bit debatable as they say it is what it is, but i will get into that later.
I think the officiating particularly at the break down at the start of the competition was fantastic, the refs were harsh and policed that facet of the game well so people knew what the story was, which allowed for over 500 tries to be scored in this years tournament the most ever if i am not mistaken. Still on the officiating I am not one to harp on about refs, cos reffing is a tough job, but that being said, i really do think that they should revert to using impartial refs to ref games, to be honest even though its a different kind of game id even go as far as suggesting they get some northern hemisphere refs to ref some pretty crucial games.
On the whole it has been a great tournament, a very frustrating one if you are an All Black supporter like myself, but a well pleasing one if you are a rugby supporter....like myself. There have been games for all to see the purists who love the graft of the Bulls and the Tahs and the razzle dazzles ala, the Reds, Chiefs, Lions, Cheetahs, Blues, Canes and the total rugby of the Stormers, Crusaders and Brumbies to a degree.
Without a doubt the surprise package of the tournament...i ask again...What is Quade Cooper?? i guess a talented player playing with plenty confidence. His partnership with Will Genia, was by miles, and i mean miles, like the space between Usain Bolt and his rivals in the 100m sprint, ahead of any other combination in the competition. Another 9 and 10 combo that is worth a mention is Alby Mathewson and Stevie Brett. I dont think Fourie has fired much this year. Back to the Reds. Lets look at their team. Average age roughly 23. a few Wallabies here and there, but no experienced campaigners, but a total team effort. 1-22 all did their bit. Scott Higgenbotham, Genia, Cooper, Ioane, Weeks, the flying Rod Davies, Braid, Chambers...all no names really but shoo man did they lift their game even in the face of adversity. Very impressed with them, they even got the Warratahs to play a bit of running rugby.
Other than my obvious disappointment with my perennial underachievers the Blues, the imploding Chiefs and the confused Canes, i think the biggest shock performance came from the Sharks. A team as well decorated with Springboks, as the Rio Carnival is with beautiful latino babes, they for some reason lost their bite early on in the season and left it till late to get it together but unfortunately for them it was a little too late. In my mind though their issue was their midfield.It just wasnt right well until Stefan shifted there and along came a star of the future Patrick Lambie. The Sharks have what it takes and next year will in no doubt be better. As much as i personally like Ruan at 10 he clearly seems to favour no 9 and his play showed this.
Highlanders, Cheetahs, Lions, Force tried hard. Highlanders are always rebuilding ala Lions, all their top players just seem to move on all the time, but i believe that if they can keep this pedigree for a year or 2 they will be like the Reds, youngsters with skill. Strengthen up the loose trio a little even though Setephano came into his own near the end, i think they are lacking a quality no 7. Dagg, Vainikolo, Hobbs, Thomson, Rutledge (my pick for back up no 2 in the ABs) all top. Cheetahs...injuries gave them. shame. Cos even inspite of their injuries they were still competitive, take a guy like Barend Pieterse, retired, off coaching them next thing he comes onto the field and puts out great performances in lock and the side of the scrum. They will be better, just need to build depth. Force same story, injuries killed their season before it even started, but they still managed to put together some good performances. Lions, eish i say nothing, what can u say.
Brumbies, one of my picks for the top 4 sorry for me and for them. On paper they are top 4 material, but the are a different side without Stirling. That being said Benn Alexander, a prop scoring more tries than most backs. Gits was pap. Stephen Moore, adam Ash, pat Mccabe all gave a good account of themselves as did Stephen Hoiles, i think their Steve Walsh move was pretty random to say the least.
Canes, Chiefs, Blues...ehh ya, you know what I can say now for definate, is that the aura that New Zealand rugby once used to boast is now gone. Respect for the team from the pacific Island is gone. Those 4 teams mentioned there, boast great athletes, but man are they frustrating to watch. Simple thing like ok you have just scored a try, the opposition kicks off, you are low on confidence, thus making plenty stupid mistakes, KICK THE FORKIN BALL into their half, preferable out, no,boss we can run through them...lots of dumb football and goal kicking failures aplenty...But, but but...Tim Nanai- Williams, Hosea Gear, Conrad Smith,Cruden, Cory Jane, my man Joesevata, Bourke, Messam, Vito, Afoa, Ranger, Iceman, all showed signs of form so picking 30 odd AB training camp should be ok but im concerned about the silver fern, ow shucks, but i like it, no expectations ahead of 2011, lets see how that works out for us :)
That was the rest now to the best
Crusaders...you cannot not admire this team. This year lets be honest they were on the end of some very dodgy calls. The Force, last try blatant forward pass from the tackled player, ref doesnt give it. Against the Stormers, i am not sure if it would have made much of a difference, but Stu blew them off the park some dubious penalties and rulings against them, yet he still gets to ref this game against the Bulls this weekend, go figure. The most incredible of all, the game against the Bulls. Hougards first try, even a martian in space without a telescope could see that Fourie was never onside before he played that ball to Hougaard. How convenient that the controller of the hooter, decides to let the horn go almost a minute after full time, when Steyn is in the pocket to drop a goal. And that crack head touch judge and ref, call that last pass for his last try a knock back, mean no matter how u look at it even in real time it was at best a knock on by the crusaders onto Bandise Makus head and upperbody before Hougaard caught it, all this after a forward pass in the motion of passing, but alas in the face of all this here they are where they belong, cos as the saying you cant keep a good man down now can ya.
Crusaders as a team, keep on surprising me with how they just keep on keeping on. You look at the team and really there arent that many superstars. Backs, Ellis and DC have the most international experience but Ellis hardly and he has hardly played this year, Slade and Zac have like a test each, thats it. In the forwards there is a little more in Richie and Brad and Read to an extent but then thats it. Id love to say the Saders will do it in Orlando Stadium tomorrow, because they have shown much promise in the last few weeks with their team playing as a unit, but truth be told 3 long haul trips in 3 weeks and on the highveld will screw with anybody. The good thing about the team though is that their big guns are hitting their straps at the right time, Richie, DC, Read and the Frank brothers are on form but lets see what happens tomorrow.
Tahs, shoo the team lead by Phil Waugh that everyone loves to hate. But guys, lets not be foolish here ne. The Tahs are a quality outfit who know how to win. I cant lie for some reason i haaate watching them play, i just dont know if their strategy is to bore teams into submission or what it is. a few things i noticed about them and the guys on Reunion last night also highlighted it was the fact that they are quite a random scrumming team and every time there is any sort of pressure they fold, everytime. Thats the thing about them that i hate the most. They are such a cunning team they are. lets see what Mark Lawrence does this weekend, but other than that, i am quite impressed with their team. Good loosies and locks and Poloto-Nau is definately the Wallaby starting no 2 now that Moore is nursing a broken jaw. Burgess is random to say the least. He started off so well when he burst onto the scene, but other than his size he really offers not much at the moment. if you watch him his service at the base of the scrum is laboured, his passing wayward. Loving Barnes, Horne and Beale by far one of the most improved players in the Aussie set up, confident, decisive, and already with 50 super rugby caps at 21yrs old hectic. My guy though is Drew Mitchell, always liked him and his running style, but play just seems to follow you when you are on form isnt it, and man this man is on form!! Try machine, good awareness and not selfish at all. write them off at your own peril.
This team should do well its got Wallabies everywhere, backline all wallabies, i think. Phil Waugh is an angry competitive mofo, he gets his team going. i am looking for weaknesses in their side other than the scrums and to be honest i cant find any, you cant attack in Barnes channel cos as small as he is he can tackle.
Oh the Stormers, my team of the tournament, both them and the Reds. Difference is the Stormers can win when it counts and their defence just seems to squeeze the life out of teams. And they have the strike force to score tries. This stormers performance has been looong overdue. There has just been something missing and i think the purchase of Jaques and Bryan has filled that gap, but imagine if jean had stayed what a midfield ey? but iff schmiff
the turning point though, is crusty the clown, Schalk, has gone from being a bonehead to using his head. Well done to Alastair and Fleckie and the players for making him the captain and embracing him, cos his game has just grown. Andries Bekker, sheeet dawg, man, Victor who?? :) what a player, what an athlete, the thing is i think this Stormers team is super fit because they can go toe to toe anywhere anytime for 80minutes and thats a sign of a happy fit team. The loosies just seem to be working well as a unit and individually cos everyone seems to know what to do and when. Pity for Francois and Duane that all the incumbents seem to be playing just as well with my man jean Deaysel also having his game face on. SA is truly blessed in that dept. Ask me who the best hooker in the country is at the moment, come on ask me, come on? what you know it too, you thats right Tiaan Liebenberg!! i say no more cos if i have to then you dont know your game and you bore me :)
Gio Aplon, too too bad that this little maestro is just that...little. Sad thing is the man has given a superb account of himself against the self same players he will face in the tri-nations, he's been weighed, he has been measured, but he has been found far from wanting, but alas our mentality, will find him in the currie cup. Along with Joe Pietersen another player deserving of higher honours, cos lets face it without Conrad, no 15 is still very vacant. Juan de Jongh, my guy, but he has to offload a little more, but he'll get there. Another unsung hero, btu if you watch him closely, you will see what a quality player he really is and thats Mr Supermodel, Peter Grant.
No guys, this team is hot
Bulls, ok guys now im getting tired of typing. But we all know about the Bulls. I am a bit worried for them that their week off last week which they were well entitled to do, may slow them down a little at least for the first 20 min (well i am hoping...please) the Bulls are the Bulls, we know what to expect from them. Hard nosed players, but also the ability to score tries. Morne Steyn has developed as a quality fly half. He has added the passing and scoring dimension to his game. kicked only when needed, but that will all be shelved tomorrow cos Naas will be back. The backs are pretty decent. I like the look of the youngster van den heever, its like Habana was never there! Good on them
Their forwards, Danie gets a lot of flack but he has played pretty well this season, but my guy from the forwards is Guthro, sho wee, boss that bra works, and fork does he tackle. Bakkies, what a fool. thats all i say
so initially i predicted that the top 4 would be Bulls, Chiefs, Saders, Brumbies, almost got 3 out of 4 but almost doesnt count does it. Tahs and Stormers are no surprise package because they have always flattered to deceive in the past and it looks as if they have finally come of age.
Ideally id love to see the Stormers v Crusaders in Cape Town as the final i really would, but i must be honest, i really sincerely believe that even though the Saders have their game faces on, the trip back and forth may be a litte too much for them. I know i am erroneously being dismissive of the Tahs because they can win here, i think the Newlands factor and the Mark Lawrence factor, who i think along with Jonathan Kaplan have been off their game this year. The bounce of the ball is set to favour the home team...afterall refs are patriotic humans before they are refs.
So my call Stormers v Bulls at Orlando Stadium... who would ever ever ever have thought that this day would come that a stadium full of Afrikaners and hopefully me, would descend upon Soweto, not to shoot brothers but to watch rugby...aye ye South Africa Aye ye, and besides what better way to get the spirits of the fans and the togetherness of the nation started, than an all South African final at Orlando Stadium, the home of South African Soccer, about 2 weeks before the world cup, tell me have you ever seen a better script oh wait 1995 South Africa v New Zealand, Ellis Park, just after first democratic votes...and look at us now....
Come on u Crusaders, but i wont be too bleak if we dont make it, because the picture is beeeger, like the circle
Happy viewing and may the best unassisted teams prevail!!
Yaw
so here we are again. 14 weeks later. Just a quick one any debate or commentary http://sumrugga.blogspot.com
Yup i know i know, commentary this year has been lacking and i take full responsibility for that, duhh well who else could ey. :) but i doubt anyone can argue that the best 4 teams in the competition are in the final 4 the order is a bit debatable as they say it is what it is, but i will get into that later.
I think the officiating particularly at the break down at the start of the competition was fantastic, the refs were harsh and policed that facet of the game well so people knew what the story was, which allowed for over 500 tries to be scored in this years tournament the most ever if i am not mistaken. Still on the officiating I am not one to harp on about refs, cos reffing is a tough job, but that being said, i really do think that they should revert to using impartial refs to ref games, to be honest even though its a different kind of game id even go as far as suggesting they get some northern hemisphere refs to ref some pretty crucial games.
On the whole it has been a great tournament, a very frustrating one if you are an All Black supporter like myself, but a well pleasing one if you are a rugby supporter....like myself. There have been games for all to see the purists who love the graft of the Bulls and the Tahs and the razzle dazzles ala, the Reds, Chiefs, Lions, Cheetahs, Blues, Canes and the total rugby of the Stormers, Crusaders and Brumbies to a degree.
Without a doubt the surprise package of the tournament...i ask again...What is Quade Cooper?? i guess a talented player playing with plenty confidence. His partnership with Will Genia, was by miles, and i mean miles, like the space between Usain Bolt and his rivals in the 100m sprint, ahead of any other combination in the competition. Another 9 and 10 combo that is worth a mention is Alby Mathewson and Stevie Brett. I dont think Fourie has fired much this year. Back to the Reds. Lets look at their team. Average age roughly 23. a few Wallabies here and there, but no experienced campaigners, but a total team effort. 1-22 all did their bit. Scott Higgenbotham, Genia, Cooper, Ioane, Weeks, the flying Rod Davies, Braid, Chambers...all no names really but shoo man did they lift their game even in the face of adversity. Very impressed with them, they even got the Warratahs to play a bit of running rugby.
Other than my obvious disappointment with my perennial underachievers the Blues, the imploding Chiefs and the confused Canes, i think the biggest shock performance came from the Sharks. A team as well decorated with Springboks, as the Rio Carnival is with beautiful latino babes, they for some reason lost their bite early on in the season and left it till late to get it together but unfortunately for them it was a little too late. In my mind though their issue was their midfield.It just wasnt right well until Stefan shifted there and along came a star of the future Patrick Lambie. The Sharks have what it takes and next year will in no doubt be better. As much as i personally like Ruan at 10 he clearly seems to favour no 9 and his play showed this.
Highlanders, Cheetahs, Lions, Force tried hard. Highlanders are always rebuilding ala Lions, all their top players just seem to move on all the time, but i believe that if they can keep this pedigree for a year or 2 they will be like the Reds, youngsters with skill. Strengthen up the loose trio a little even though Setephano came into his own near the end, i think they are lacking a quality no 7. Dagg, Vainikolo, Hobbs, Thomson, Rutledge (my pick for back up no 2 in the ABs) all top. Cheetahs...injuries gave them. shame. Cos even inspite of their injuries they were still competitive, take a guy like Barend Pieterse, retired, off coaching them next thing he comes onto the field and puts out great performances in lock and the side of the scrum. They will be better, just need to build depth. Force same story, injuries killed their season before it even started, but they still managed to put together some good performances. Lions, eish i say nothing, what can u say.
Brumbies, one of my picks for the top 4 sorry for me and for them. On paper they are top 4 material, but the are a different side without Stirling. That being said Benn Alexander, a prop scoring more tries than most backs. Gits was pap. Stephen Moore, adam Ash, pat Mccabe all gave a good account of themselves as did Stephen Hoiles, i think their Steve Walsh move was pretty random to say the least.
Canes, Chiefs, Blues...ehh ya, you know what I can say now for definate, is that the aura that New Zealand rugby once used to boast is now gone. Respect for the team from the pacific Island is gone. Those 4 teams mentioned there, boast great athletes, but man are they frustrating to watch. Simple thing like ok you have just scored a try, the opposition kicks off, you are low on confidence, thus making plenty stupid mistakes, KICK THE FORKIN BALL into their half, preferable out, no,boss we can run through them...lots of dumb football and goal kicking failures aplenty...But, but but...Tim Nanai- Williams, Hosea Gear, Conrad Smith,Cruden, Cory Jane, my man Joesevata, Bourke, Messam, Vito, Afoa, Ranger, Iceman, all showed signs of form so picking 30 odd AB training camp should be ok but im concerned about the silver fern, ow shucks, but i like it, no expectations ahead of 2011, lets see how that works out for us :)
That was the rest now to the best
Crusaders...you cannot not admire this team. This year lets be honest they were on the end of some very dodgy calls. The Force, last try blatant forward pass from the tackled player, ref doesnt give it. Against the Stormers, i am not sure if it would have made much of a difference, but Stu blew them off the park some dubious penalties and rulings against them, yet he still gets to ref this game against the Bulls this weekend, go figure. The most incredible of all, the game against the Bulls. Hougards first try, even a martian in space without a telescope could see that Fourie was never onside before he played that ball to Hougaard. How convenient that the controller of the hooter, decides to let the horn go almost a minute after full time, when Steyn is in the pocket to drop a goal. And that crack head touch judge and ref, call that last pass for his last try a knock back, mean no matter how u look at it even in real time it was at best a knock on by the crusaders onto Bandise Makus head and upperbody before Hougaard caught it, all this after a forward pass in the motion of passing, but alas in the face of all this here they are where they belong, cos as the saying you cant keep a good man down now can ya.
Crusaders as a team, keep on surprising me with how they just keep on keeping on. You look at the team and really there arent that many superstars. Backs, Ellis and DC have the most international experience but Ellis hardly and he has hardly played this year, Slade and Zac have like a test each, thats it. In the forwards there is a little more in Richie and Brad and Read to an extent but then thats it. Id love to say the Saders will do it in Orlando Stadium tomorrow, because they have shown much promise in the last few weeks with their team playing as a unit, but truth be told 3 long haul trips in 3 weeks and on the highveld will screw with anybody. The good thing about the team though is that their big guns are hitting their straps at the right time, Richie, DC, Read and the Frank brothers are on form but lets see what happens tomorrow.
Tahs, shoo the team lead by Phil Waugh that everyone loves to hate. But guys, lets not be foolish here ne. The Tahs are a quality outfit who know how to win. I cant lie for some reason i haaate watching them play, i just dont know if their strategy is to bore teams into submission or what it is. a few things i noticed about them and the guys on Reunion last night also highlighted it was the fact that they are quite a random scrumming team and every time there is any sort of pressure they fold, everytime. Thats the thing about them that i hate the most. They are such a cunning team they are. lets see what Mark Lawrence does this weekend, but other than that, i am quite impressed with their team. Good loosies and locks and Poloto-Nau is definately the Wallaby starting no 2 now that Moore is nursing a broken jaw. Burgess is random to say the least. He started off so well when he burst onto the scene, but other than his size he really offers not much at the moment. if you watch him his service at the base of the scrum is laboured, his passing wayward. Loving Barnes, Horne and Beale by far one of the most improved players in the Aussie set up, confident, decisive, and already with 50 super rugby caps at 21yrs old hectic. My guy though is Drew Mitchell, always liked him and his running style, but play just seems to follow you when you are on form isnt it, and man this man is on form!! Try machine, good awareness and not selfish at all. write them off at your own peril.
This team should do well its got Wallabies everywhere, backline all wallabies, i think. Phil Waugh is an angry competitive mofo, he gets his team going. i am looking for weaknesses in their side other than the scrums and to be honest i cant find any, you cant attack in Barnes channel cos as small as he is he can tackle.
Oh the Stormers, my team of the tournament, both them and the Reds. Difference is the Stormers can win when it counts and their defence just seems to squeeze the life out of teams. And they have the strike force to score tries. This stormers performance has been looong overdue. There has just been something missing and i think the purchase of Jaques and Bryan has filled that gap, but imagine if jean had stayed what a midfield ey? but iff schmiff
the turning point though, is crusty the clown, Schalk, has gone from being a bonehead to using his head. Well done to Alastair and Fleckie and the players for making him the captain and embracing him, cos his game has just grown. Andries Bekker, sheeet dawg, man, Victor who?? :) what a player, what an athlete, the thing is i think this Stormers team is super fit because they can go toe to toe anywhere anytime for 80minutes and thats a sign of a happy fit team. The loosies just seem to be working well as a unit and individually cos everyone seems to know what to do and when. Pity for Francois and Duane that all the incumbents seem to be playing just as well with my man jean Deaysel also having his game face on. SA is truly blessed in that dept. Ask me who the best hooker in the country is at the moment, come on ask me, come on? what you know it too, you thats right Tiaan Liebenberg!! i say no more cos if i have to then you dont know your game and you bore me :)
Gio Aplon, too too bad that this little maestro is just that...little. Sad thing is the man has given a superb account of himself against the self same players he will face in the tri-nations, he's been weighed, he has been measured, but he has been found far from wanting, but alas our mentality, will find him in the currie cup. Along with Joe Pietersen another player deserving of higher honours, cos lets face it without Conrad, no 15 is still very vacant. Juan de Jongh, my guy, but he has to offload a little more, but he'll get there. Another unsung hero, btu if you watch him closely, you will see what a quality player he really is and thats Mr Supermodel, Peter Grant.
No guys, this team is hot
Bulls, ok guys now im getting tired of typing. But we all know about the Bulls. I am a bit worried for them that their week off last week which they were well entitled to do, may slow them down a little at least for the first 20 min (well i am hoping...please) the Bulls are the Bulls, we know what to expect from them. Hard nosed players, but also the ability to score tries. Morne Steyn has developed as a quality fly half. He has added the passing and scoring dimension to his game. kicked only when needed, but that will all be shelved tomorrow cos Naas will be back. The backs are pretty decent. I like the look of the youngster van den heever, its like Habana was never there! Good on them
Their forwards, Danie gets a lot of flack but he has played pretty well this season, but my guy from the forwards is Guthro, sho wee, boss that bra works, and fork does he tackle. Bakkies, what a fool. thats all i say
so initially i predicted that the top 4 would be Bulls, Chiefs, Saders, Brumbies, almost got 3 out of 4 but almost doesnt count does it. Tahs and Stormers are no surprise package because they have always flattered to deceive in the past and it looks as if they have finally come of age.
Ideally id love to see the Stormers v Crusaders in Cape Town as the final i really would, but i must be honest, i really sincerely believe that even though the Saders have their game faces on, the trip back and forth may be a litte too much for them. I know i am erroneously being dismissive of the Tahs because they can win here, i think the Newlands factor and the Mark Lawrence factor, who i think along with Jonathan Kaplan have been off their game this year. The bounce of the ball is set to favour the home team...afterall refs are patriotic humans before they are refs.
So my call Stormers v Bulls at Orlando Stadium... who would ever ever ever have thought that this day would come that a stadium full of Afrikaners and hopefully me, would descend upon Soweto, not to shoot brothers but to watch rugby...aye ye South Africa Aye ye, and besides what better way to get the spirits of the fans and the togetherness of the nation started, than an all South African final at Orlando Stadium, the home of South African Soccer, about 2 weeks before the world cup, tell me have you ever seen a better script oh wait 1995 South Africa v New Zealand, Ellis Park, just after first democratic votes...and look at us now....
Come on u Crusaders, but i wont be too bleak if we dont make it, because the picture is beeeger, like the circle
Happy viewing and may the best unassisted teams prevail!!
Yaw
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