Round 7: Championship contender AWOL, a new participant and a new record score
The city of Invercargill prepared for their first Super 15 match this year when the Highlanders left Dunedin to play the Brumbies at Rugby Park. 6,500 people showed up to see the boys in Blue beat the Canberra squad 26-20 thanks to 2 tries of Jason Rutledge. Jamie Mackintosh scored the 3rd try. For the Brumbies Andrew Smith and Patrick Phibbs scored tries next to Matt Giteau who scored a try, conversion and penalty to make it 20 points. This loss leaves the Brumbies with only 1 win after round 7 and can forget about the play-offs despite the bonus point. The Highlanders have their best start in ages with only 4 points behind Conference-leader Crusaders.
With Kurtley Beale at fly-half the Waratahs were not what we are used to from them. The Chiefs are struggling this season and in Sydney they didn't get very far with only 1 try thanks to Tim Nanai-Williams. The Waratahs got a little help from the referee with a penalty try after the Chiefs deliberately pulled down a ruck several times close to the try-line. Referee Jaco Peyper from South Africa had already sent Nathan White to the sin-bin for 10 minutes right before that. A little over 20,000 people wanted to see the Tahs win after their embarrasing defeat at home 2 weeks ago against the Cheetahs. 23-16 was the final score for the Tahs, who announced they signed Adam Ashley-Cooper from the Brumbies for next season.
53 points scored in total in the Blues-Cheetahs match is a record low between these 2 in the last 5 years. The Blues who hosted the Bloemfontein team in Toll Stadium, Whangarei this round, managed to score 4 tries and clinch the bonus point in their win over the Free State Cheetahs. Joe Rokocoko, Stephen Brett, Peter Saili and the Iceman Isaia Toeava crossed the line for the Auckland side. Luke McAllister converted 3 out of the 4 tries and also added 3 from a penalty. The Blues are, thanks to the 4 tries, 1 point closer to the Crusaders, who had the bye this week. On the Cheetahs side, scrum-half Sarel Pretorius was the big man. After scoring the decisive try against the Waratahs 2 weeks ago, he managed to cross the line twice against the Blues. Prop Coenie Oosthuizen scored the 3rd try while Naas Oliver converted 2. Robert Ebersohn had a good match at center and saw his twin brother Sias score a penalty which resulted in a bonus point. A 29-22 loss is not bad for the Cheetahs who lost Juan Smith, Heinrich Brussow, Andries Strauss and cousin Adriaan Strauss so far to injury. The only thing that was a disappoinment was the number of spectators. Toll Stadium in Whangarei can hold 30,000 people but a mere 9,000 showed up on saturday night.
McLean Park in Napier is the 3rd new stadium we have seen this round. The Hurricanes from Wellington made the trip there to host the defending champions, the Bulls from Pretoria. The match itself was not what most of us expected from it despite the serious prospects in the backline of both teams. Only Serge Lilo (Hurricanes) and Francois Hougaard (Bulls) managed to score a try while especially the Hurricanes backline promises more than that with Ma'a Nonu, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Hosea Gear and Julian Savea. Morne Steyn scored 5 penalties and managed to snatch 2 dropgoals to give the Bulls a deserved 14-26 lead and get them a positive point difference again on the log. The Hurricanes are last in the NZ conference.
What a match this turned out to be. Western Force, only in Super Rugby since 2006, hosted the new Rebels. No history here, but a lot to look forward to. When Danny Cipriani moved to Melbourne a couple of months ago, people were not sure if it was a good decision but seeing him play every week in the world's strongest club championship, proves it was a good move. His kicking from the tee is yet to be perfected but his ball-in-hand approach of play is something to cherish. He showed some brilliance when a penalty for the Rebels was kicked all across the field without any Force player noticing, for Richard Kingi to catch and ground for the match winning try. Fullback Mark Gerrard and Hugh Pyle also scored 5-pointers for Cipriani's side. The Western Force was still able to win the match in the dying seconds. After tries by Sam Wykes, Nathan Charles and Rory Sidey they were 1 point behind the Rebels with a last minute penalty to James O'Connor. The young lad who helped Australia to victory in a similar situation last october in Hong Kong, failed this time to give the Rebels back-to-back victories, final score: 25-26
You guys who read my preview noticed I said that in matches between these 2 teams, neither one of them ever managed to win at home. This match was no exception. The Lions started of very strong with Michael Killian scoring a try. With the lack of succesful kicks, Elton Jantjies was on the bench today to be replaced by veteran Andre Pretorius. The 32-year old missed several penalties and both conversions which again saw the Lions lose. Jaco Taute scored a magnificent try when he snatched up the ball from an up-and-under. For the Reds it was Luke Morahan, Quade Cooper and Digby Ioane to score tries with Mike Harris converting all 3 and adding 9 points from the tee with 3 penalties. With the final score 25-30 we can conclude that the Lions have really picked up the pace and they are able to beat teams but they need a decent kicker. Missing conversions and penalties has been the main reason for them losing 6 out of 7 so far. The Reds are on top of the Australian conference with 26 points, 4 points ahead of nr. 2 Waratahs.
The final match was a real cracker. Last october both teams played each other in the same stadium for the Currie Cup. That final was won by the Sharks (30-10) but the Western Province (the provincial feeder for the Stormers) was not as bad as the score makes them out to be. This time they showed why. A powerful backline with Habana, Aplon, Fourie and de Villiers was too much to handle. Fourie penetrated the Sharks defence and when he was brought down, captain Schalk Burger grabbed the ball to score the only try of the match. During the first half, the pitch started to get wet. This was not a good sign for the match. Both teams struggled too much with the humid conditions and a lot of knock-ons were the result. Referee Jonathan Kaplan, who was suspended after a poor decision in the Wales-Ireland match in this year's Six Nations, gave a lot of penalties to the Sharks but Jacques-Louis Potgieter missed too many. In the end this cost the Sharks who lost 6-16 without even getting a bonus point for staying within 7 points. The Stormers are the log leaders and remain the only unbeaten team in the competition. The Sharks drop to 3rd place in the conference and 8th on the overal log with 3 losses in a row.
Predictions:
It was an amazing round once again. BadGena had a magnificent 7 out of 7 winners prediction, Ezequiel was only 1 short for a second perfect score in a row. Stormer2010 was absent this round, which is a real shame since he was a serious contender for the top of the log. After round 6, where he and Shaggy scored 23 points, he was only 5 points behind log leader Olyy. This round he has to be happy with the mere 8 points for not playing.
Shaggy, another contender, had a weak round in which he predicted only 3 winners and only 2 try scores which gave him a total of only 9 points. Olyy, our log-leader scored a total of 21 points but sees Ezequiel come back with 28! Both Ezequiel and Olyy are leading the log with 122 points. New in the top 3 is darwin_23. TRF's puppy from Dunedin with 25 points and passes Shaggy and stormer2010 on the log.
Then there is Gavin, the Irish (or should we say Nothern-Irish?) fellow who gave me the predictions for the next 4 weeks all at once! He managed to score 32 points! Almost double the number of his best round so far (17 poinst last week) and he climbs from the 11th place to nr. 9. Will his next 3 predictions be as accurate as this one? I can already congratulate Gavin now. 32 points is a record-highscore!
We also welcome a new member! Bogdam came out of the blue, joined us and incredibly enough got 25 points! Where would he have been if he decided to join us from round 1? I guess we will never know but I would like to give special praise to Bogdam, our Romanian friend who seems to fit in perfectly in this game!
Green = Log Leader Red = Wooden Spoon Blue = Best achievement this round Orange = New contender
The Log:
No wooden spoon this round because of Bogdam who started only now. From next week he will have all the bye points of the previous rounds in his points total.
The Highlanders returned from the bye-week inspired by beating the Brumbies in Invercargill last week. This friday the men from Otago return to Dunedin, their home-ground, to face the Cheetahs. The team from Bloemfontein has shown what they can do on the road. They managed to beat the Waratahs and last week scored a total of 3 tries to stay within 7 points of the impressive Blues. Sarel Pretorius has shown he is a real threat to opponents and is a serious option for the Bok squad in september if he keeps this form. The first try of the Cheetahs against the Blues was true art and maybe even the best try of the season so far. Question is if the Cheetahs can get their defence up to the level of the Highlanders. This might be a low-scoring match. Last season the Otago Warriors met the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and returned with 4 points after a 24-31 win.
I always like this. New stadiums in the season. Last week we had 3 (Invercargill, Napier and Whangarei) and this week it's Timaru. The Crusaders have already played in Nelson and London this year, both resulting into victories. Can they do it again at Fraser Park? They host the Bulls from Pretoria. The Bulls don't rely on their backline to win matches. With only 1 4-try match so far this season, they don't seem to be keen on crossing the line that much. Will they pass the ball to their wingers this time? The Crusaders have to do it without Sam Whitelock, who is injured and Daniel Carter is still uncertain. Richie McCaw still hasn't passed fitness test. The Bulls have a full squad to chose from. Will this be the match of the Crusaders backline or the Bulls halfback pairing du Preez and Steyn? Last season both teams met in round 13 with ended in a 40-35 win in Pretoria. 2 weeks later both teams played eachother in the play offs, this time in Soweto. Again the Bulls won, 39-24. In 2009 they played eachother for the last time in New Zealand, which gave the Saders a 16-13 win despite scoring less tries. What will it be?
Canberra... A place which was feared for years by teams travelling to play rugby. The Brumbies were a mighty team, but not this year. Their only win so far came in week 1 when the Chiefs lacked precision and were sent home with a 28-20 beatdown. Ever since that, the Canberra-side hasn't won a single match, only getting some bonus points in the process. The news of Adam Ashley-Cooper leaving for the Waratahs next year didn't do the team a lot of good when they went to Invercargill to lose to the Highlanders thanks to 2 tries by hooker Jason Rutledge. Can they turn their luck around and beat the Hurricanes? I think they will. The Hurricanes have the same potential but like the Brumbies they also have been unlucky this season so far. Last season the Wellington side left Canberra with a win thanks to Victor Vito and Conrad Smith who both scored tries (13-23) but this season their backline is not living up to it's promise.
Can the Western Force win at home or are they destined to give wins away? Against the Rebels last week they missed out on 1 point with James O'Connor missing a penalty in the dying seconds. Their previous match in Perth ended in a 22-22 draw and in week 1 they lost to the reds 21-20. In between there were big losses against the Sharks and Stormers but it shows you how cruel Super Rugby can be. This weekend they host the Waratahs, the team who started like a bunch of Tasmanian Devils by crushing the Rebels 0-43 on their debut, did the same to the Reds by leaving them in despair with a 30-6 win but after that, things turned around. Losing to the Crusaders is nothing to be embarresed for but giving the Cheetahs a 3-23 win in Sydney is. Since then they have beaten the Brumbies and the Chiefs and the question is if they can come back to the top of the conference. The Western Force are playing to stay ahead of any team in their conference. Last year the Tahs beat the Force in Perth 10-14. Referee was Jaco Peyper, the guy who gave them a penalty try against the Chiefs on friday.Can the Force beat the Tahs this time?
When the log leader and the runner-up play each other, it's safe to say it's a match to stay up for. The Reds travel to Cape Town after beating the Lions last week to take on the mighty Stormers. After a win over the Sharks last week, they are still the only unbeaten team this season. The Reds have been impressive ever since their loss against the Waratahs. Quade Cooper is a freak who gives Reds-supporters heart-attacks with his decisions but time and time again, it seems to work out fine. The Stormers are the most disciplined team I have seen in years. Defensively they hardly give away anything and in attack they are top notch. Bryan Habana is still struggling to get back to his old form but guys like Gio Aplon, Jaque Fourie, Juan de Jongh and Jean de Villiers are players who would be a welcome addition to any team. They are lead by Andries Bekker who, despite not being the captain, is the real leader of the Western Province. In 2010 the Reds managed to beat the Stormers at home. In 2009 the teams met in Cape Town. It was a try fest with 4 to the Reds and 3 to the Stormers. Despite scoring less tries, they managed to win the match 27-24 by the boot of Peter Grant.
Sharks-Lions... A match with true history. In 1996 the Natal side beat the guys from Transvaal at Ellis Park to claim the Currie Cup, their 3rd in history back then. 3 years later it was the other way around and the Lions won at Kings Park, Durban. These teams have been struggling lately. The Lions fail to beat opponents simply because of bad goalkicking, which I explained in the week 7 review. The Sharks have lost 3 in a row after winning the first 4 matches of which the first 3 were won without conceding a try. Last season it was an amazing match in which the Sharks won 28-32 at Ellis Park. Herkie Kruger missed a conversion where Ruan Pienaar (now Ulster) converted all 3 tries. Big man that day was Patrick Lambie, the talented youngster who scored a try and has missed 2 matches due to a hand injury. The Sharks are not the same without him. Not just his kicking, but also his running is an exceptional accessory. He is expected to be back in week 10, which means the Sharks have to rely on Jacques-Louis Potgieter. The fly-half who was part of the Bulls squad that won the Super14 ***le last year, has not lived up to the expectations that the fans have ever since he arrived in Durban. This might be the match of missed conversions. Keep that in mind with your predictions!
I hope you guys enjoy reading this and please give me feedback
Here we go again! I don't have time for a complete review of the matches so I hope you guys don't mind that I jump immediately to the scores of this week by you guys.
A short note at first:
I decided not to count the points I got for match nr. 1 since I only posted it friday afternoon. I got 12 points for the Highlanders-Cheetahs game but I want to avoid any rumours that I would give myself points I don't deserve. This brings me to 20.
Well, here we go.
It was a round with only 6 matches to predict and of course nobody could have predicted the 0 points for the Bulls. There was however 1 person who predicted the outcome right of all 6 matches. Olyy managed to tell us who won in every match. Congrats on that Olyy!
When it comes to points, it was a very disappointing round. Best score this round was for our Welsh Sharks fan Draggs, who scored a total of 23 points. This means last week's record of 32 points by Gavin is still in the books. Gavin, who is on a holiday and gave me his predictions for several rounds was not as lucky this week, he only got to 10 points. Log leader Olyy only got to 12 where Ezequiel, that's me, managed to score 20 points and that means I am on top of the log alone halfway through the regular season!
Our Romanian contender Bogdam scored 16 points this week and climbs from 14th to 12th with his 16 points. It won't be long before he will be in the top 10! Meanwhile Amobokoboko, the Belgian All Blacks supporter with a name that derives from the Xhosa word for Springboks, scored only 3 points which is equal to the record low-score on weeks 2 and 3.
Intercept King JDV, Tank94, 187 and Jimz0051 didn't participate and get only 3 bye points this week.
Draggs climbs to nr. 4 while Shaggy and stormer2010, who were almost on top 2 weeks ago, have had 2 very disappointing rounds which landed them a total of 19 and 16 points respectively over those 2 rounds. This results in them dropping to 5th and 6th place. Stormer2010 is tied at 112 points with TNT88 who, after his amazing 28 points last week got 17 now. 45 points in 2 weeks... Not bad!
Well, enough talk. Now let's see those statistics!
Green = Log Leader Red = Wooden Spoon Blue = Best achievement this round
