Official Super Rugby Thread 2012

Devill said:

No thank you. Of all the teams I only like the sharks less

And the NZ jerseys are sold out here in Cape Town.

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Arthur said:

After years of skulking away and hiding in corners with embarrassment and having to buy endless rounds for others, this is The Year of the Lions! (Pleeeeze!! I just can't give up and switch to the Stormers, even though I moved from Joeys to the WCape.)

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Arthur said:

After years of skulking away and hiding in corners with embarrassment and having to buy endless rounds for others, this is The Year of the Lions! (Pleeeeze!! I just can't give up and switch to the Stormers, even though I moved from Joeys to the WCape.)

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DHL Stormers 28(13) – Lions 6(6)
- Friday, January 27, 2012

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Roux backs 'manager' Meyer South African rugby fans, especially those who support the one team from the big five that have not won any big trophies in the last decade, will have to grow up very fast.

It was clear from comments made by those fans on blogs and forums like this (complimented by their local scribes down behind the wine curtain), after the welcome appointment of Heyneke Meyer as Springbok coach, that the style of play and not the result is still more important to them.

Grow up people. Professional sport is about one thing and one thing only - winning!

In tournament golf, you can hit the most spectacular drives and chip shots, but if they don’t add up after two rounds, you don’t play on the weekend.

In professional sport it is the result that matters most. Which is why, in rugby, Meyer was such a popular choice to replace Peter de Villiers.

The new Bok chief learned something very important in his early years as a professional coach. It is not how you play that matters, it is the result that will determine your fate.

He adapted with spectacular results.

He looked at the laws of the game at the time, adapted a game plan that suited his players and complimented the laws and what happened?

Five consecutive Currie Cup finals (won three, drew one and lost one) and to prove the durability of his game plan, three consecutive semi-finals in Super Rugby, with the last one resulting in that final that made the Bulls the first South African side to win a Super Rugby title.

The basis of that game plan was to play only in the opponents half. Meyer had in Derick Hougaard and Morné Steyn two flyhalves who could (and did) kick the ball 60 metres.

This allowed the Bulls to stay in their opponents' half, most of the time 30, 40 metres from the opposing tryline, with their opponents often having a lineout throw following a Bulls kick.

The opponents had to throw the ball into a lineout contested by Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw and/or Pedrie Wannenburg.

The pressure never ceased and from resulting penalties or turnovers, Hougaard or Steyn would convert the pressure into points.

Simple, effective. Not pretty, but winning rugby.

When the laws changed at the end of 2007, with no passing back into your 22 metre area, Meyer and his Bulls adapted their kicking patterns and again became the top team in the Southern Hemisphere in 2009 and 2010.

In both years they started to kick up-and-unders, forcing opponents, thanks to brilliant chasing lines and pressure, to commit errors and concede penalties. Again, Steyn was there to punish.

They also ran when the numbers justified it and scored more tries than any other team.

So what was the first thing Meyer had to do when introduced to media in Cape Town upon his appointment?

Defend his success with the Bulls, and was expected to promise that the Boks will not play like the Bulls!

What bull was that?

The sole reason Meyer was appointed in the first place was because his team played a winning style for a long time. Predicable at times, yes, but executed so well that they won three Super Rugby titles in five years.

Why on earth now expect Meyer to play or approach the game differently?

He has proven that he is willing and able to adapt the way his team plays. He has proven that winning breeds a culture of excellence like nothing else.

Everyone has his or her own opinion and thanks for reading mine, but to expect Meyer to change his ways to a playing style that failed to win anything for 10 years, is arrogant.

Not to talk about short-sighted, but then, how are you expected to have vision when you have your head in the sand like an ostrich?

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Devill said:

This is springbok news / opinion but I thought I would post it here:

http://www.sport24.co.za/Columnists/JJHarmse/Grow-up-Stormers-fans-20120202

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APoc84 said:

Warm up result

STORMERS 14 vs CHEETAHS 22

VRYSTAAAATTT......!!!!

Now I have to do updates of the Scotland vs England Six nations match.

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Chris said:

Let's keep some perspective here...it was basically the Stormer's 2nd-string team

A bit bleak Sarel is not playing for the Cheetahs this year - man, that guy is a genius.

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GreGorGy said:

So it kicks off again. My insights:

(1) THE BULLS: my team, thick and thin. TBH, I think this might be a thin year. We have to rebuild in many key positions as stalwarts have moved on, retired, etc. I do hope that we use this time to develop. Already slumping towards the end of last year, THE BULLS will have to take it on the chin and redefine their game.

(2) THE CHEETAHS: shame, poor FS: forever being raped for players by the wealthier unions. Naka often finds himself rebuilding from season to season. This time around, they do not appear to have suffered as much. Things are shaping up for them. They'll compete for 3rd place and maybe even second in the ZA conference.

(3) THE LIONS: great finish to last year and let's hope for their sake and ZA rugby that the team keeps that momentum. After the first few rounds, if they look good still, they may just top the ZA conference. Watch this space.

(4) the stormers: utter tossers. Ok, that's just the hate talking. In reality, they face the same dilemma as the BULLS and I see these two teams fighting over the wooden spoon in ZA conference.

(5) the sharks: not as badly affected as the BULLS and stormers, they should shape their usual average selves. I expect a mediocre performance that will see them competing with the Cheetahs for 2nd in ZA.



Of course, these insights will change after the first few games when we can actually get a taste of what our various charges are capable of. Also, other conferences have suffered setbacks themselves with retirements etc so it may not all be doom and gloom. I certainly hope I am wrong on a few of my insights above.

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BobsLawnService said:

Can't we just relegate the Cheetahs already? What a bunch of palookas. Just toss them and give the spears a chance - they can't do any worse.

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GreGorGy said:

Yes, but does it work...
(or rather, how does it work?)

All this discussion around EP and inclusion/relegation/whatever has me thinking. One of the arguments put forward incuded mentioning that SuperSport was this power player. The crud we were fed when the S15 was reshaped was that Aus needed a domestic tournament to grow the sport and this was part of the intention. Personally, I though the conference format was a massive failure and it simply could not live up to its promise. Maybe it did in Oz, what do I know. And on that topic (my ignorance) I'd like to know if the new format actually worked for viewer numbers. Did SS show increased viewership in the new format? Obviously, with more matches, there may have been a total increase but was there a net increase? Did more people or less people watch PER WEEK? And if it was less, did this conference system work? Apoc - you seem to be on the inside here. Any insights?

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Devill said:

I should think the TV viewer numbers decreased and the attendance increased.

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Xmailer9 said:

I remember years ago when EP played Northern Transvaal at the Boet Erasmus stadium, the game was not televised at all, and was only later shown around midnight.

That must be done again to ensure better attendance at stadiums. After all, ticket prices aren't that bad.

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