This is the opinion of Brumies coach Andy Friend on how the reainder of the S14 games will go down..
Canberra – It’s the South African connection that Andy Friend thinks will win the Bulls the 2010 Super 14 title.
Regardless of the motives behind their ploy to rest 14 starting players against the Stormers, Brumbies coach Friend has backed the Bulls to collect two consecutive championships.
The Bulls lost their last regular-season game to the Stormers 38-10 on Saturday. But they still finished on top of the ladder with the Stormers taking second spot and the Waratahs and Crusaders rounding out the top four.
The Crusaders who knocked the Brumbies out of the race last Friday play the Bulls in the first versus fourth semi-final while the Stormers (second) and Waratahs (third) clash in the other semi-final in Cape Town.
And with both games in South Africa, a disappointed Friend said the extra travel would help the Bulls romp to back-to-back wins.
“I think the Crusaders will give the Bulls a good run and the Waratahs will do the same to the Stormers,” Friend said.
“But that travel is going to have an influence on who wins the competition and the results, unfortunately.
“As much as I would like to be wrong, I think it’s going to be an all South African grand final and if I was a betting man I’d say the Bulls would win that because they’ve been the form side of the competition.”
The Brumbies finished the season in sixth place after they lost 40-22 to the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Instead of boarding a plane to play the Bulls, Friend and his coaching staff will begin a post-season review, including which off-contract players will return to the capital and which players will be moved on.
During the next month they will work to finalise a roster for the 2011 Super 15 that they hope will enable them to force their way into the finals for the first time since 2004.
But for now, all the star-studded Brumbies line-up can do is sit and watch.
The Bulls made the controversial decision to rest the bulk of their stars for their match with the Stormers.
It all-but guaranteed both semi-finals would be played in South Africa despite six teams including the Brumbies still holding hopes of securing a top-two finish.
The Bulls lost just three games during the season and had recorded three wins in a row before being beaten by the Stormers.
“I think that loss will definitely take some momentum away from the Bulls,” Friend said.
“But the fact that the Crusaders, who in two weeks have travelled from South Africa to New Zealand and then back again, it’s a big, big ask.
“The Crusaders are a quality side, they’re tough.
“But any momentum the Bulls would have lost, the additional travel will cancel all the factors out and the Bulls will win.”
Courtesy of Sport24
Interesting to see the different point of views coming from Australia and New Zealand.
stormer to beat the tahs and bulld to beat the saders…. But going to be close……
Just like I said on the other thread. This one will be one match too far for Saders with all the travel. They will be far too tired and have to face Bulls at altitude.
Bulls by 5 or more. Just get the defence sorted Bulls and keep possession. That will keep Saders going and tire them.
Bullys know what to expect from saders now. They will pay more attention to their defense and the altitude will do the rest in the last 10 mins.
Im a stormer bt why do i feel the bulls will win the super14.
Wezwp
Common sense đ
Seriously, you guys stand a good chance too.
Think experience might favour us slightly, that is if our two teams meet in the final !!!
#Wezwp,
IMHO, the Stormers have already exceeded my expectation for the season by making it to a semi-final, let alone a home semi.
I’m backing them to win against the Tahs but I won’t really have a problem if the Bulls take the Cup in Soweto. I mean for any SA side to win a SANZAR trophy in Soweto; man it’ll make this old struggle puppy’s heart very happy!!!
5 – Wez, Hope your Stormers beat the Tahs this weekend and we have a all saffa final.
Maybe you getting that feeling cause it is in Orlando. HUGE support coming out of Soweto for Bulls.
Still think if it is a Stormer/Bulls final it will be a cracker. So hoping.
Where is Ash
He will tell you Stormers that you WILL win this weekend and the coming one of the finals aswell !!!
Will make you stormers feel better đ
4 – Turk, Altitude this time round will play a bigger factor than the last time. Cause they fly straight here after having to fly back to NZ just a week back to play Brumbies then back here. Think Altitude will come into it in the last 25min. Saders I feel will try and make a lead from the start. My feeling they will run everything in the first 30min try and build a lead on the Bulls so the last 25min don’t matter. Bulls must be at their very best with their defence. Keep possession that way Saders wont get the lead. Keep the discipline too. Dickinson is the ref. Bulls go into the lead at half time think that is them home and dry. Saders have 10 point lead it will be hard to catch up. So think Bulls will have it sorted out this time.
Bulls by 15 đ
Morne, fdp, spies, Matfield, Botha would qualify for any world 15 thats why they so bloody good. But you can be sure dewald, schalk, J.fourie, Habana, Flo, Dj and pieterson will give them a run for their money.
I left out Bekker.
Wezwp
Dewald….Dewald Potgieter đ
13 – Wez, Bekker and Burger have been in sublime form. Though against the Sharks think your loose trio was out played and also Sharks loose trio also our front row got the better of your scrum. Ruan and Rory out played Grant and De Walt too.
Bulls will be looking at that. Sharks opened the door for teams to see how to beat Stormers I think. Some say Stormers never pitched for tha game but most of us know they were outplayed to be honest. Bulls for sure and Tahs will be looking at that game against the Sharks by Stormers.
Wezwp
I think both of our teams must firstly woory about the semis though, should be tough…
woory = worry đł
15 – Not making sense up there đ
Meant – Though against the Sharks your (Stormers) loose trio was out played by the Sharks loose trio so was the Stormers front row out scrummed by the Sharks front row.
Ruan and Rory outplayed Grant and Dewalt.
Lambie out played Aplon too.
Think Bulls and Tahs will study game.
Think that makes better senses. đ
Blouste, You are right. Here we are thinking of the final between the two saffa sides. Both teams need to win their semi final first.
It could still be a Saders/Tahs final. We never know. Sounds unlikely but it could happen.
Okay back in a hour. Now really have to go out. Will just have to leave the painters to do their work. Taking far too long to wait.
Back later all.
Go well Puma
i must say i cant wait for sat….. Going to be very exciting rugby…sure the sa teams will be in the final….will be a big upset if not
Pietermaritzburg – A schoolboy rugby game at Hilton College on Saturday morning was disrupted after a parent allegedly ran on to the field, pushed and shoved pupils, and punched a schoolboy during a rumble between the teams.
The Hilton College parent later allegedly also punched a Maritzburg College parent who intervened after the man punched his 17-year-old son on the field.
Shocked Maritzburg College parent and top canoeist, Wayne Wilson, 42, told The Witness that he was watching his son play in the eighth team match when a rumble between the boys playing on the Weightman-Smith field occurred. The boys were participating in a big derby between the two schools, who are old rivals on the rugby field.
Schoolboy rugby banter
âThere had been a few incidents during the match, but it was normal schoolboy rugby banter; nothing the ref could not have sorted out. But the Hilton College parent ran on to the field, and started pushing the Maritzburg College boys away. He also punched my son.â
Wilson described the man, Robert Dent, as a âbig, tall guy, aged in his 40sâ.
Wilson said when he saw Dent punch his son, he was not going to stand by. He went up to him and said he should leave the disciplining of boys to the referee. âI tried to be diplomatic and told him he was supposed to lead by example. I told him his behaviour was unacceptable. That was when he took off and hit me. It was a total embarrassment.â
He said he did not hit back, but in trying to defend himself the two ended up grappling on the ground.
Wilson said he suggested they leave the field to sort the matter out away from the crowd that had gathered. âI pulled him away and said âletâs go for a walkâ. As I grabbed him to try and make him move away from the field where we were the focus of so much attention, he punched me twice.â
The man allegedly also hit another College parent who tried to help Wilson. âIn the second punch-up I knew he meant business.â Someone then called security.
Apologies
Wilson said he was later approached by numerous Hilton College fathers who apologised for Dentâs behaviour. âThey said that as parents they would take the matter further. I was also asked to fill out a report on the incident. The Hilton College first team coach and the coach of the eighths who was there and saw what happened, also apologised to me. Even the Hilton College boys were apologising to me.â
After the game, all the boys shook hands and left the field in a sporting way.
Wilson said when he was later walking to his car, he found it surrounded by the manâs brothers. Wilson said he was talking on his phone at the time and just walked through the men to his car. âThey were swearing at me and trying to intimidate me. They must ban him for life and teach him a lesson. I would never have expected this to happen at an affluent school like Hilton College.â
Wilsonâs neck and jaw were badly bruised after the incident and he spoke with a gravelly voice from where he had been grabbed around the neck in a strangling grip. He said his voice box had been crushed.
Wilson said he left Hilton College feeling embarrassed and disappointed. He was also mortified for his son who would have to face his schoolmates. But he said he would probably not be opening a case against Dent.
Referee blamed
Approached for comment, Dent, a road construction and quarrying contractor, said he reacted after the third or fourth incident of fighting between the boys. âI couldnât tolerate it. So I went on to the field and started splitting the kids up. Thatâs when the College parent approached me and said I should not get involved. He said it was a normality. I donât accept that. We had an argument, which turned into a physical fight.â
Asked if he punched kids on the field, Dent said to separate fighting kids, one canât be âgentle-handedâ. He said he blamed the referee who should have stopped the fighting by red-carding players earlier in the match.
Dent added that he would be writing to the school to raise these problems with them. He denied that his brothers were summoned to assist him in the matter with Wilson. The Maritzburg College side later won the match 26-5.
Hilton College spokesperson Paul Guthrie said the school does not condone what happened and that in any sporting fixture the referee is there to adjudicate the match. âThe ref is in charge.â
Reports
He said the school will comment further once they receive reports on the incident. Maritzburg Collegeâs spokesperson Graham Bennetts said they are also awaiting reports before they comment.
A schools rugby expert who asked not to be named, said it is uncommon to get parents fighting at matches, but it does happen at times, especially when the parents are sitting right on the touch line. âItâs horrific. At a match between two schools a few years ago, a parent punched a ref, and at another match between two others, old boys who had been drinking, got involved in the match.â
This is just plain stupid !!!
Can you imagine watching your son playing the game and another parent walks up and smack him.
Don’t know if I will be able to contain myself đŻ
any news on bakkies?
DB
His hearing started at 13:00
No news yet …
gbs
Will you get a mail on Bakkies ?
27@ Blouste – Don’t know if I will… but I’m going out now for an hour anyway…
Ok, I’ll check the net from time to time.
Behave !!!
Copied this from another site where this was posted – Interesting facts regarding travel and the effects. Enjoy
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Hi all
Ross Tucker here. Not the former NFL player, not a yank, but a South African who grew up in Gauteng, now lives in Cape Town. Turns out that while Ross Tucker may not be a common name, at least two people have it, so it was a case of mistaken identity. I am a sports scientist and consultant to SA Rugby, and recently did some work on travel fatigue and sport. Iâm afraid Iâve never had the pleasure of meeting Suzie, but if you have a gold watch, I will gladly wear it.
I have to clarify what I was saying in the article I wrote on travel:
Firstly, travel negatively affects performance. There is no doubt about this, and the bigger the time change, the bigger the negative impact. It is for this reason that teams must arrive in their new destination as early as possible before matches, not a day or two. The rule of thumb is that it takes one day per time zone. Which means that it will take 10 to 12 days to fully adapt to the new zone in Aus/NZ for an SA team, and vice-versa.
Note that this does not mean that they canât play as well as normal sooner, because a game kicking off at 5pm SA time corresponds to 3am Aus time, which means that it will take only 5 or 6 days before the times are âreasonableâ again, in terms of adapting. The physiology of this is not worth going into, believe me.
Now, the next point is that what studies have shown is that there is no accumulated travel fatigue. In other words, you donât play worse after the five or six week overseas trip than before. That does not mean that travel doesnât affect you, because during the time that youâre away, it does.
Turns out that home ground advantage in the Super 14 is worth about 7 points. By this, I mean that home teams win, on average, by 7 points. Itâs been this way since 2005. Interestingly, the Bullsâ average home advantage at Loftus was 10 points.
So what we can see is that playing at home gives you an advantage. This is obvious, and PART of it is due to travel. The Crusaders have now had to adjust to SA time once, then back to NZ time, and now again to SA time and that is a massive physiological challenge. It must affect their performance. Doesnât mean they canât win â if the result was all down to stats, then why play? So of course they have a chance, but itâs a massive challenge theyâll have to overcome, and they start the game far worse off than if they were travelling over for the first time (like the Tahs to CT).
Finally, SA teams do have a disadvantage in the Super14, for the simple reason that we have to travel for 5 to 6 weeks at a time. There is loads of evidence that teams lose more in the last 3 weeks of a trip than the first 3. So, the time spent away from SA is the problem, and the accumulated time zone change is a factor. But it doesnât carry over into later in the season, which is why it doesnât affect performance.
But for a once off, massive effect.
Did you know, for example, that you have to go back to 1999 to find the last time that a team won a semi-final outside its own country? Thereâve been a few away wins (Brumbies beat the Tahs in Sydney, for example). But it was in 1999 that the last team won outside its own country. That was the Highlanders beating the Stormers at Newlands.
I canât see it happening this weekend.
Sorry for the long post.
Ciao!
Ross Tucker
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