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2015 season Super Rugby squads: South Africa

TRF_stormer2010 said:
Matt Stevens, now Mouritz Botha. I wonder what other over-the-hill Sarries buddies John Smit is trying to give a last chance at the Sharks?
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Brendan Venter's influence...

Who's next??

Are there any more SA born English players left?? Apart from Brad Barritt??
 
TRF_stormer2010 said:
Matt Stevens, now Mouritz Botha. I wonder what other over-the-hill Sarries buddies John Smit is trying to give a last chance at the Sharks?
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TBH, most guys are happy with the signing. We are weak at lock right now, especially for grunt type players. Lewies, PSdT, Wentzel all more the beanpole type lineout locks. Oosthuizen is the only enforcer, and he has been shifted between 4 and 7. Astle is injured often, and not really a tough guy either. We signed a bunch of locks last year for U19, so we will see what happens.
 
Who do you think will be top of the SA conference? I think the Sharks or maybe the Bulls. The Bulls' pack looks great - loads of signings, especially from the Cheetahs (who I think will finish last of the SA teams).
 
Lions will remain bottom of the log in the sa conference until the kings joins super rugby. The cheetahs has lost a number of player and i do not trust in the coaching abilities of naka drotske. Even with this said they have been playing the best attacking rugby of all the South African sides its just their defence that let them down in recent years they have the talent to do well. I cant really choose between the bulls, stormers and sharks for Sa conference honors. Its going to be tight.

Log prediction:
1. Sharks ( a springbok in every position)
2. Stormers ( I believe they have the best coaching lineup in Sa at the moment)
3. Bulls ( most of the great up and coming players seems to flock to the herd in pretoria)
4. Cheetahs (they just cant keep their good players)
5. Lions ( Does anyone actually know why they are under performing?)
 
unrated said:
Lions will remain bottom of the log in the sa conference until the kings joins super rugby. The cheetahs has lost a number of player and i do not trust in the coaching abilities of naka drotske. Even with this said they have been playing the best attacking rugby of all the South African sides its just their defence that let them down in recent years they have the talent to do well. I cant really choose between the bulls, stormers and sharks for Sa conference honors. Its going to be tight.

Log prediction:
1. Sharks ( a springbok in every position)
2. Stormers ( I believe they have the best coaching lineup in Sa at the moment)
3. Bulls ( most of the great up and coming players seems to flock to the herd in pretoria)
4. Cheetahs (they just cant keep their good players)
5. Lions ( Does anyone actually know why they are under performing?)
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I would go and split the conference into 2 sections. With the Lions and the Cheetahs in the one section and the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers in the other section. For me it's going to be a battle between the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls for the top spot and the Lions and Cheetahs will battle it out for the bottom.

With that said, I think people shouldn't write off the Bulls.

We have new guys coming in with Trevor Nyakane and Adriaan Strauss. Making it a Springbok Front Row of 1. Nyakane 2. Strauss 3. Marcel v/d Merwe. Then at Lock we'll have Victor and the return of Flip v/d Merwe.

At the Back row we'll see a return of Arno Botha and Pierre Spies, and we'll also have the services of Lappies Labuschagne.

But the Backline is the area where we will be improved dramatically.

9. Hougaard
10. Pollard
11. Basson
12. Odendaal
13. Serfontein
14. Engelbrecht
15. Kriel
 
TRF_Draggs said:
TBH, most guys are happy with the signing. We are weak at lock right now, especially for grunt type players. Lewies, PSdT, Wentzel all more the beanpole type lineout locks. Oosthuizen is the only enforcer, and he has been shifted between 4 and 7. Astle is injured often, and not really a tough guy either. We signed a bunch of locks last year for U19, so we will see what happens.
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You'd know better than me, @TRF_Draggs but my gut feel was just one of 'couldn't they have signed someone better?". Though TBF I have no clue what sort of form the options are in but I'd have thought someone like Gerhard Mostert would be in better nick and I know Francois van der Merwe at Racing Metro is in the form of his life. I suppose avaialibility is the main issue though.

As for how I see the SA conference panning out.

1 Sharks
2 Stormers
3 Bulls
4 Lions
5 Cheetahs



Saarks; all fit they have quite a team on paper. All fit and possibly more importantly in form is quite a big assumption though..

Stormers; have finally inverted the unbalance of our approach; the last 2/3 seasons we've had an aging backline and an infant pack and managed well enough with a rock solid defense and good set piece alone. Now the likes of Ntubeni, Etzebeth, Malherbe, Kitshoff amongst others can be seen as experienced and the class but aging lot in the backline (Habana, JdV, Fourie, Aplon) have been replaced by adventurous youth and a willingness to have a go at it. We have a settled enough squad which believes in itself though it remains to be seen if the attack we've added to our monster defense translates well to SR. The only reason I have us behind the Sharks is we are still without a world class halfback combination. Groom and Kat can and have done it on the day but they'd be the underdog 9/10 combo in just about any match up in SR unfortunately.

Bullies; can end up anywhere from 10th to 1st on the combined log they are just such an unknown factor ATM (at least in that warped world that is my mind) and here I want to play a joker on this prediction what with the shear amount of new signings and youth in their squad and untested combinations and new approach. undoubtedly quality throughout and always a tough nut at home but I question whether they'll perform off the bat so to speak; I see them as real contenders 2016 though if they manage to click right now they certainly have the potential and depth to go all the way (if they can get their play-offs at home).

Lions; still a team without an abundance of stars but what a TEAM! Here I am making a big presumption in assuming that CC form will at least somewhat translate to SR but I feel comfortable enough making it. Even last year they managed to win as many as they lost and this year they've managed to retain their best and even develop some on top of it to add some depth.

Cheetahs; I predict a long and tough year for the Cheetahs and their supporters. They always seem to manage to bring through another good player but this year they are simply stripped and I can't see them avoid the wooden spoon sadly. Poor resource management for a union with limited resources to start with kind of thing.. They do have some exciting players but just too many holes and not enough meat IMO. After saying that I now fully expect them to beat the Stormers home and away simply because that is how the world works..
 
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heineken said:
I think people shouldn't write off the Bulls.
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Yup i wont do that again... not after that 2007 super rugby season where they had to beat the reds by something like 74 points ( estimate) to make it to the semis. Then there was that final:(
 
Yeah, I don't disagree Stormer. Just looking for positives. GG and BV are both fans of rotation, so we need depth. Second row has been historically a weak position of our when it comes to injuries. I wish we could have gotten Paul Willemse. Grenoble, really??? Would take Mostert back in a heartbeat, he left at the wrong time. We were shedding second rows (Hargreaves, Sykes, Muller a year earlier) and he could have gotten in before Bresler and Marais (Why we let the Marais bros go, I cannot fathom! Both were very solid players). He had also just gotten a Springbok cap (albeit from Div's disastrous 2011 3N away leg).

Our second rows now:
PSdT
Lewies
Oosthuizen
Wentzel
Astle

Of those, I'd say PSdT, Lewies, Astle all are more of the lineout players, and cannot be used together. Oosthuizen is the only one with some bulk. We signed quite a few U19 SRs last year, maybe they will come through. Johan du Toit (PS's little brother) has been pictured in the November training camps. Retief Marais has been used as a wing, so we might need to focus on others at lock in U21. Astle is injury prone and questionable for SR quality. Wentzel is old and unlikely to be around too long.

Rumours that Daniel might return to Durban are abound; I would welcome him back with open arms. I always have felt he was dismissed unfairly by many. He was a good clubman, overall a solid asset.
 
The Lions have announced their contracted players squad for 2015:

Justin Ackerman
Fabian Booysen
Marnitz Boshoff (Springboks 2014)
Andries Coetzee
Robbie Coetzee (Springbok Touring Squad)
Ruan Combrink
Ross Cronje (Springbok Touring Squad)
Ashlon Davids
JJ de Kock
Stefan de Witt
Ruan Dreyer (Springbok Touring Squad)
JP du Plessis
Damian Engledoe
Lourens Erasmus
JR Esterhuizen
Selom Gavor
Lambert Groenewald
Stokkies Hanekom
Deon Helberg
Alwyn Hollenbach
Lohan Jacobs
Elton Jantjies
Jaco Kriel (Springbok Touring Squad)
Ruaan Lerm
Mb Lusaseni
Lionel Mapoe
Devon Marthinus (On Loan to Leopards)
Sampie Mastriet
Derek Minnie
Howard Mnisi
Franco Mostert
Tyson Mulamba
Martin Muller
Jacques Nel
Mark Pretorius
Julian Redelinghuys (Springboks 2014)
Mark Richards
Ricky Schroeder
Courtnall Skosan
Albertus Smith (SA Sevens)
Warwick Tecklenburg
Armand van der Merwe
Schalk van der Merwe
Schalk van Heerden
Ruan van Rensburg (On loan to Leopards)
Jacques Van Rooyen
Ruan Venter
Anthony Volminck
Harold Vorster
Willie Wepener
Warren Whiteley (Springbok 2014/Springbok Sevens Gold Medal Commonwealth)
Vainon Willis
Corne Fourie (On loan from Pumas)
Faf de Klerk (On loan from Pumas)
Rudi Matthee (On loan from Pumas)
Stefan Watermeyer (On loan from Pumas)
Obi Luther (On loan from Leopards)
Mahuza Sylvian (On loan from Leopards)
Robbertse Francois (On loan from Leopards)
 
^ At least some consistency from a relatively successful 2014 in both SR adn CC campaigns. A young squad so it remains to be seen whether they suffer from 2nd year syndrome or if one year more of experience helps them on.

So a probable matchday 23 would probably look like;

1 Schalk van der Merwe
2 Robbie Coetzee / Armand van der Merwe
3 Julian Redelinghuys / Ruan Dreyer
4 Franco Mostert
5 ?
6 Jaco Kriel
7 Derrick Minie
8 Warren Whiteley
9 Faf de Klerk / Ross Cronje / Mark Richards - all solid SR level 9s - I can't split them... probably I'd go for.. no, I can't decide
10 Marnitz Boshoff
11 Courtnall Skosan
12 Stokkies Hanekom
13 Lionel Mapoe
14 Sampie Mastriet
15 Ruan Combrinck

16 Ruan Dreyer / Julian Redelinghuys
17 Jacques van Rooyen?
18 Armand van der Merwe / Robbie Coetzee
19 ?
20 Kwagga Smith
21 Faf de Klerk / Ross Cronje / Mark Richards
22 Elton Jantjies
23 Andries Coetzee

?

No big names but a team posessing real pace even in the forwards I'd say that pack is more mobile than what Aussies packs tend to be. Should be useful on the highveld but I wonder if they'll not struggle away to NZ specifically but then they'd struggle there even if not for the conditions.

On top of that the latest reports say Ackermann isn't interested in going to Japan (just yet) AND the GL have a major new 5 year sponsor in Emirates airlines. Now all they need is a new venue! - 2 world class locks and 1 center and fullback wouldn't hurt either.. (maybe get one of Ludik or taute back?, Jaque Fourie, Gerhrad Mostert and one of their 2012 junior Bok locks back?- they should be fine anyway). Maybe being out in the wilderness in 2013 was a good thing for them? Links here:

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Major-sponsorship-coup-for-Lions-20141210
http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Lions-Ackermann-staying-put-20141211
 
I'd put in Schalk van Heerden at lock. He used to be at the Bulls, and is former Lions captain, Wicus van Heerden's younger brother, (he's also been dating Mark Fish's ex-wife).

He's a big unit and very mobile and tough as nails. Ackerman could mould him into a Bakkies-like player.
 
I saw Van Heerden as a blindside; for some reason I can't see a guy under 2m as a lock any more but that's just us Saffas being spoilt for choice for good locks really even if most of them are overseas. Between Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Jacques Potgieter, Gerhard Mostert, Juandre Kruger, Franco and Francois van der Merwe, Paul Willemse, Jandre and peet Marais and I am sure I am missing a fair number we really do have some quality locks abroad our SR teams could have used especially the lions and Cheetahs though the Sharks aren't overflowing either with PSdT especially not having been available.
 
TRF_stormer2010 said:
I saw Van Heerden as a blindside; for some reason I can't see a guy under 2m as a lock any more but that's just us Saffas being spoilt for choice for good locks really even if most of them are overseas. Between Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Jacques Potgieter, Gerhard Mostert, Juandre Kruger, Franco and Francois van der Merwe, Paul Willemse, Jandre and peet Marais and I am sure I am missing a fair number we really do have some quality locks abroad our SR teams could have used especially the lions and Cheetahs though the Sharks aren't overflowing either with PSdT especially not having been available.
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Well, I don't know all the guys in that squad, and for all we know there might be a new giant in their midst...
 
heineken said:
Well, I don't know all the guys in that squad, and for all we know there might be a new giant in their midst...
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Could be, could be. Certainly they had both Paul Willemse and Ruan Botha waiting in the wings and the Bulls and Stormers snapped them up. Not enough faith shown in the younguns there by the Lions and they lost two quality players; something WP are also guilty of usually. Now Paul is off to Europe. Etzebeth is a certainty to start at the Stormers obviously but between Ruan Botha and Jean Kleyn they'll get their chances next year. I have hopes for both. I also don't know who might potentially jog out for the Lions at lock other than Mostert but its a general thing with the SA sides that none of the teams have had close enough to the same side for 2 years running to really make a stab at the ***le since the Bulls' wins.
 
Enjoy. For both the Bulls and SA's sake I hope Arno Botha doesn't take overly long to get back to pre-injury form. Man, it feels like a life time!

It'll be interesting to see what the Bulls line-up will be though I doubt they'll put their 1st choice run on XV into the field here. Maybe just a run out 20 minutes for the returning injured and testing a few possible combinations like Odendaal at 12 with Serfontein on the outside and a go for someone like Labuschagne alongside the bigger Bully boys?
 

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