OK, GBS is busy, so it gives me a chance to entertain you with MY version of what I believe will happen this weekend. My team isn’t playing, so I do not stand a chance of seeming over-confident or arrogant, so let’s look at what’s on in Super 14 Round 7.
The Sharks have made very few changes to the side which beat the Highlanders at the House of Pain last weekend, they show 2 forced changes due to injuries to Lock Johann Muller and Flanker Keegan Daniel. Flanker Botes comes into the starting lineup in place of Daniel whilst lock Hargreaves comes in for Muller. Continue reading
We all love our game of rugby with varying degrees of passion, from the Taliban like fundamentalism of the painted Bulls bone heads, to the plasma screen couch fans popping salted peanuts in their mouth at home or at bars around the world. Continue reading
For the last 18 months South Africans had to listen to boredom about the ‘boring rugby’ they play, but Super rugby statistics at the half-way stage of the competition suggests it is in fact the Antipodean teams that does most of the playing, WITHOUT the ball. Continue reading
Yesterday, me and Morne had a little discussion regarding Wynand Olivier and his alleged position as the No. 1 inside centre in South Africa.
The Highlanders may be a team that the Lions have targeted for a Super 14 victory, but the reality is that the New Zealanders will be looking at Friday’s match in Dunedin as an opportunity to pick up five log points.
Bulls star scrumhalf, Fourie du Preez gave the coaching staff and players of the Bulls quite a scare on the eve of their Australasian Tour, twisting an ankle in practise on Tuesday.
The Vodacom Cheetahs will take on the Reds this Friday, 26 of March at Vodacom Park, kick-off 19:10.
This will also be the last for the Vodacom Cheetahs before they leave on Saturday, 27 March for the tough part of the Vodacom Super 14 competition in Australasia. The next home game will be against the Blues on the 1st of May.
Bloemfontein was the next stop where almost everyone ceased their daily activities and went to watch the arrival of the AB’s. Gabriel David sums it up in the following paragraph:
Allister Coetzee, head coach of the Vodacom Stormers, today announced his touring squad of 26 players. The Vodacom Stormers depart for Australia on 29 March and play the Force in Perth on 2 April, the Blues in Auckland on 10 April, the Chiefs in Hamilton on 16 April and finally the Reds in Brisbane on 23 April. Continue reading
Courtesy of Onerb:
As supporters we must often be reminded that our teams have weaknesses, some we recognise and others we will not readily accept although they are crystal clear.
Today I am not going to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Bulls. I’m merely correlating the view that the Cheetahs have the Sharks number on any other day with the FACT that the Bulls struggle against the Force.
Friends, muppits, moepels & mopkoppe,
Greetings from Rugby-Talk Central, I have 2 things on my mind…
It continues to amaze me how we frown upon versatility and how we want to make every single rugby player a specialist. Continue reading
We could not reach consensus on certain positions.
Lets debate it further and pick again in the blank positions.
The Western Force remain winless after six rounds but skipper Nathan Sharpe believes the Super 14 team has turned the corner and will give the unbeaten Bulls a run for their money on Saturday night.
| Semi-finals, Monday, March 22 | ||||
| UCT v Shimlas | Groote Schuur Rugby Fields | 27 – 21 | ||
| Maties v Pukke | Danie Craven Stadium | 47 – 11 | ||
All you want to know about the venue the Bulls will use if they make it to the top 2 positions in this years Super 14 competition. Information Only.
Orlando Stadium
STORMERS coach Allister Coetzee says that his team are “just starting on Polly Shortts” on their marathon journey to the Super 14 title, and that the Bulls are still the leaders of the race.
The Sharks will probably have to do without the services of Johann Muller for their final tour match against the wellington Hurricanes.Although it has not been confirmed if he would be fit to play or not, One cannot seem him playing with what seems to be a broken finger.
Here is a picture of Johann Muller’s hand sporting a broken finger for his troubles and having had to spend the night in Hospital, less than ideal!Just boarded flight to Wellington,last week! http://yfrog.com/iyjzsj 2:24 PM Mar 20th via Tweetie ( thanks to John Smits snippets on Twitter). His place in the starting line up will probably be taken by Alsitair Hargreaves with Wilhelm Steenkamp comming onto the bench.
Will keep you informed on any further news that may arise.
An interesting weekend of super rugby, even though it probably caused premature cardiac arrest in a number of Northern households. Even though the Bulls did little to inspire any of their supporters on the night, it got me thinking, what went wrong? Where is this supposed Total Rugby, that the Bulls are allegedly the only disciples of?
Bloemfontein – The Cheetahs’ Super 14 defeat against the Stormers just got worse – with star players Lionel Mapoe and Frans Viljoen both crocked at Newlands.
Continue reading
Former All Blacks No 8 Murray Mexted has questioned the Hurricanes’ tactical nous and says they must get back to some old-fashioned basics to get their Super 14 season back on track.
I said it numerous times this season. Either someone is reading my posts or see it the way I see it. The Bulls are aiming to emulate the 7 times champions, the Crusaders. Mark Hinton from the Sunday Star Times in New Zealand wrote the following article.
Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets
Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings, 23 Mar 16:30 (Tuesday)
Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals, 24 Mar 16:30(Wednesday)
Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings, 25 Mar 16:30 (Thursday)
Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers, 26 Mar 16:30 (Friday)
Having had a bit of leisure time and having studied the Recording of the Bulls vs Hurricanes match here are my impressions of the match.
The Bulls won a very close encounter, by 19 / 18, scoring one try and conceding 2 tries.
The winners were Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab
| 20 Mar | Wales | v | Italy | 33-10 | ||
| 20 Mar | Ireland | v | Scotland | 20-23 | ||
| 20 Mar | France | v | England | 12-10 |
The Vodacom Bulls will create history if they qualify for the Vodacom Super 14 semifinals and finals this year by playing the crucial matches in Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
Stormers (13) 21 / Cheetahs (5) 8 (final score)
The Stormers hosted the Cheetahs at Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The game was broadcast on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Stormers won this difficult encounter 21 / 8, but it comes at a cost, there are injuries both sides.
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Force (10) 10 / Waratahs (8) 14 (final score)
The Force hosted the Waratahs at the ME Stadium, Perth at 13:10 SaA Time today. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Waratahs won by 14 / 10.
I asked our fellow blogger, Onerb, to do a piece for us, here it is.
(PS! Onerb, jy mag maar skrywe, welgedaan!)
Highlanders (6) 16 / Sharks (10) 30 (final score)
The Highlanders hosted the Sharks at Carisbrook, Dunedin at 08:35 SA Time on Saturday 20 March 2010. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast op SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Sharks won a hard and somewhat scrappy game by 30 / 16, scoring 3 tries and conceding 1 try.
The Sharks finally have their 1st elusive win after 6 games!
Crusaders (22) 46 / Lions (16) 19 (final score)
The Crusaders hosted the Lions at AMI Stadium, Christchurch at 06:30 SA Time on Saturday 20 March 2010. This is the match thread for discussion of the game. The Game was broadcast on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Crusaders won 46 / 19 but had to work hard with their 2nd stringers to achieve the win.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) has issued a Ruling in Law relating to time at the end of a match. Continue reading
Bulls (10) 19 / Hurricanes (15) 18 (final score)
The Bulls hosted the Hurricanes at Loftus, Pretoria at 19:10 on Friday night, SA Time. This is the match Thread for discussion of the game. The match was broadcast on SuperSport 1 on DSTV in SA. The Bulls slowly ground out an ugly win by 1 point, 19 / 18 and stay top of the Log, now with 24 Log Points!
Option taking by the Bulls were slow and ponderous but they know how to be patient and it showed!