Official Super Rugby 2014 Thread

[DJ...]

Bismark is the Sharks captain for 2014.....interesting.

Not sure I agree with this one. I've heard rumours that he's a bit of a hot-head...

Maybe this will force him to re-evaluate that...

 

[APoc184]

Not sure I agree with this one. I've heard rumours that he's a bit of a hot-head...

Maybe this will force him to re-evaluate that...

Ja I also raised an eyebrow when I saw this. Perhaps John Smit has been giving him some pointers on staying out of ***.

But to be honest, who else is there? Keegan wasn't bad but definitely didn't impress as captain.

 

[DJ...]

Smit was a bit of a hot-head in his early days too, but with Bissie it is part of his play - that aggressiveness. Let's hope it doesn't change that.

Odds on how long before the new captain gets a yellow? I give it two games...

 

[APoc184]

I'll make my call when I see the referees for the first few games.

That is my only wish for the 2014 rugby season. No Romain Poite / Bryce Lawrence / Lourens vd Merwe displays from the referees. But rather impartiality and consistency in all their calls. And for IRB and SA Rugby to stand up and say sorry when refs were wrong, not censor the coaches/players.

 

[Devill]

I'll make my call when I see the referees for the first few games.

That is my only wish for the 2014 rugby season. No Romain Poite / Bryce Lawrence / Lourens vd Merwe displays from the referees. But rather impartiality and consistency in all their calls. And for IRB and SA Rugby to stand up and say sorry when refs were wrong, not censor the coaches/players.

+10000000000

I give Bismarck 6 games.

 

[GreGorGy]

So, last year some learned scribe wrote for Sports24 that the Stormers and the Sharks would be the stand-out SA competitors while the BULLS and Cheetahs would be mediocre also-rans. He never ate humble pie and S24 airbrushed their history to hide that little gem.

But it got me thinking: what does this year look like? I'll be honest - I had no confidence in my team last year so each win was a joy. That probably made for a better time of it, mind you. This year, I have even less - our talent pool has been depleted and we're blooding the youth. That makes for a transition year so I expect that this year, we'll languish in the middle. I do feel that the Sharks are entering into a new age of excitement and development and that their confidence must be bolstered by the changes in management and leadership. They could top the local league. Stormers haven't done anything to impress but they haven't gone the other way either.

The Cheetahs could well be on the rise and I expect them match last year's performance. As always, I hope I am wrong about the BULLS (as I was previously) so that I can really enjoy the year. I have a few weeks left with the GF before she'll have to write me off for Saturdays. Can't wait (for the rugby, that is).

 

[OrbitalDawn]

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15/Fans-can-watch-Sharks-Sarries-20140120

Sharks vs. Saracens friendly is being broadcast on Supersport.

Saturday 25th January from 16h30 on SS1 & SS1HD.

 

[Werner Harding]

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15/Fans-can-watch-Sharks-Sarries-20140120

Sharks vs. Saracens friendly is being broadcast on Supersport.

Saturday 25th January from 16h30 on SS1 & SS1HD.

I see the Cell C Sharks as huge contenders this year the game against Saracens could be a glimps of what is to come but as we all know South African teams in the Super Rugby is unpredictable for example the Kings surprised me in a couple of games stil not the best team out there, so its early days to say who will dominate the south african confrence

 

[GreGorGy]

I see the Cell C Sharks as huge contenders this year the game against Saracens could be a glimps of what is to come but as we all know South African teams in the Super Rugby is unpredictable for example the Kings surprised me in a couple of games stil not the best team out there, so its early days to say who will dominate the south african confrence

So, as with last year, this year again Rob is flapping about the Sharks/Stormers being the great SA hopefuls

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15/Sharks-roster-not-so-special-20140120


He said the same or similar last year and had to eat his words. I hope the same happens this year.

 

[Werner Harding]

So, as with last year, this year again Rob is flapping about the Sharks/Stormers being the great SA hopefuls

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15/Sharks-roster-not-so-special-20140120


He said the same or similar last year and had to eat his words. I hope the same happens this year.

I'm a great Bulls fan but unfortunately with rugby you can field the best team in the world and loose by the bounce of the ball (remember CC final 2004 Bulls vs Cheetahs) so yes have alot of hope for my team the fact that they are so young makes the more hungry for Super Rugby glory and very dangerous team to boot

 

[GreGorGy]

I'm a great Bulls fan but unfortunately with rugby you can field the best team in the world and loose by the bounce of the ball (remember CC final 2004 Bulls vs Cheetahs) so yes have alot of hope for my team the fact that they are so young makes the more hungry for Super Rugby glory and very dangerous team to boot

Stem saam. MY biggest fear is that we have a dip on our hands. And management knows that. The excitement is still hard to contain though - I can barely wait.

 

[Solitude]

So, as with last year, this year again Rob is flapping about the Sharks/Stormers being the great SA hopefuls

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Super15/Sharks-roster-not-so-special-20140120


He said the same or similar last year and had to eat his words. I hope the same happens this year.

I haven't read the article but I got to agree with him. The Stormers and the Sharks have the quality players at the moment. The Lions will upset some teams but will struggle, especially if they have injuries. The Cheetahs will be mediocre but not make the playoffs. The Bulls will do alright as long as Serfontein is there. If he is injured then I worry about their defense in the backline. Actually the Bulls backline defense is worrying overall and I see them struggling when they are away from home.

The Sharks have great players and now with Jake White there I really see them doing well. The Stormers have some problems in the wings at the moment but everywhere else they are solid and this year they don't have Jantjies there! That alone makes them semi-final contenders.

Of the South African teams I favour the Sharks to do the best.

That's my opinion in any case.

 

[Werner Harding]

I haven't read the article but I got to agree with him. The Stormers and the Sharks have the quality players at the moment. The Lions will upset some teams but will struggle, especially if they have injuries. The Cheetahs will be mediocre but not make the playoffs. The Bulls will do alright as long as Serfontein is there. If he is injured then I worry about their defense in the backline. Actually the Bulls backline defense is worrying overall and I see them struggling when they are away from home.

The Sharks have great players and now with Jake White there I really see them doing well. The Stormers have some problems in the wings at the moment but everywhere else they are solid and this year they don't have Jantjies there! That alone makes them semi-final contenders.

Of the South African teams I favour the Sharks to do the best.

That's my opinion in any case.

As I said previously you can field the best team on game day, it all adds up to who has the most luck and who gets the bounce of the ball another example RWC 2011 Quarter Finals SA vs Aus. South Africa did everything right on that day, fair enough a few bad calls came from the ref but still we lost a team on paper means nothing only the 80 min on the field would determine if they would be able to stand out above the rest

 

[Solitude]

As I said previously you can field the best team on game day, it all adds up to who has the most luck and who gets the bounce of the ball another example RWC 2011 Quarter Finals SA vs Aus. South Africa did everything right on that day, fair enough a few bad calls came from the ref but still we lost a team on paper means nothing only the 80 min on the field would determine if they would be able to stand out above the rest

Luck may cause an upset here or there but for such a long tournament the best will be in the top half of the table.

For example, last year the Kings ended last. We said they would end last and so they did. The Chiefs were tournament favourites for many and they won. Luck just doesn't play that big a part.

 

[Werner Harding]

Luck may cause an upset here or there but for such a long tournament the best will be in the top half of the table.

For example, last year the Kings ended last. We said they would end last and so they did. The Chiefs were tournament favourites for many and they won. Luck just doesn't play that big a part.

No problem please explain to me then where was the sharks and the stormers in last year super rugby competition

 

[Solitude]

No problem please explain to me then where was the sharks and the stormers in last year super rugby competition

The Sharks lost a hell of a lot of players to injury. They ended up playing with most of their second string players and it cost them.

The Stormers played with Elton Jantjies at flyhalf and he made a hell of a lot of mistakes. The Stormers also experimented with playing more with the ball out wide. Some of their games were shockingly poor. However they still finished in the top half of the log. With the Sharks just behind them.

To say that the tournament is decided on luck is silly. For instance in Superbru I do well consistently. I do not mean to brag but it's because you can see when one team is stronger than another.

Luck do turn games but not seasons. Except if you get a lot of injuries but that is where depth come into a squad. Something that the Lions and Cheetahs don't have for instance. It's something that the Australian teams struggle with.

*edit*

In fact, there's a very easy way to discredit the luck theory. I can create a Superbru pool and you can join. I will make my predictions based on the teams that are playing and where they are playing. You must pick by using a random number generator. Evens go for the home team and odds for the away team. Then use the random number generator set with a limit to pick the margin.

How's that for a challenge?

 

[Werner Harding]

The Sharks lost a hell of a lot of players to injury. They ended up playing with most of their second string players and it cost them.

The Stormers played with Elton Jantjies at flyhalf and he made a hell of a lot of mistakes. The Stormers also experimented with playing more with the ball out wide. Some of their games were shockingly poor. However they still finished in the top half of the log. With the Sharks just behind them.

To say that the tournament is decided on luck is silly. For instance in Superbru I do well consistently. I do not mean to brag but it's because you can see when one team is stronger than another.

Luck do turn games but not seasons. Except if you get a lot of injuries but that is where depth come into a squad. Something that the Lions and Cheetahs don't have for instance. It's something that the Australian teams struggle with.

Fair enough but if i remember correctly it was the bulls (who also lost alot of their players in the beginning of the season if it was players leaving to other clubs or injury spies, hougaard) that ended 2nd on the log I might be wrong but it was also said with the team that the bulls fielded that they should be careful or they might play the Lions end of the season for a spot for 2014 and for the Cheetahs they ended nr 6 on the log being one of the teams that, how did you put it? oh yes a team that does not have depth in the 2013 season they were not the best team by far in the competition let alone the SA confrence what happend that a team like the bulls who was written off and Cheetahs classified as a little fish in a big ocean dominated the south african confrence?

 

[Solitude]

Fair enough but if i remember correctly it was the bulls (who also lost alot of their players in the beginning of the season if it was players leaving to other clubs or injury spies, hougaard) that ended 2nd on the log I might be wrong but it was also said with the team that the bulls fielded that they should be careful or they might play the Lions end of the season for a spot for 2014 and for the Cheetahs they ended nr 6 on the log being one of the teams that, how did you put it? oh yes a team that does not have depth in the 2013 season they were not the best team by far in the competition let alone the SA confrence what happend that a team like the bulls who was written off and Cheetahs classified as a little fish in a big ocean dominated the south african confrence?

Whew, please try to use correct grammar. It's very difficult to decipher what you are trying to say. That last sentence was especially difficult to figure out.

To answer your question though, it's very easy to explain why the Cheetahs and the Bulls did well during Super Rugby. It's because they played well. A guy like Lappies, who we didn't even know made the most amount of tackles during the competition. A guy like Willie turned out to be amazing. The Bulls I feel played really well during Super Rugby last year. They had players like Steyn who found form last year and players like Serfontein and Engelbrecht who did exceptionally well. Kirchner provided cover in the back for JJ's lackluster defense.

At this stage it's very much speculation as to which teams will really do well because there are so many players and player combinations that we do not know. For all I know the Lions have found some awesome combinations and some exceptional players. It's possible but it's also unlikely at least in my opinion.

With every week one can see which players are good and which teams are playing well.

For now though we can probably speculate that the Chiefs will do well and that the Australian teams probably won't. I feel fairly confident that the Stormers do well and I really feel that the Sharks have got the talent to do well this year. It will very much depend who they pick though.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

The Sharks have got Jake White - enough said.

Achievements:

Tri-Nations Champion
World Cup Champion
Took the basement battle Brumbies to 2nd place last year etc. etc.

Don't ever underestimate him - he is Jake the Snake

 

[Devill]

I can't wait for the Super rugby to start.

The bulls are lacking depth in the front row as well as the second row. Barring that we also have a young team. I am hopeful that they make the most of the season but I have no illusions as to how big a challenge they face.

The lions will do as they have always done , cause an upset, run some teams close but end up in the last 25% of the log, imo.

The cheetahs lost a couple of players to the overseas clubs but in general they still have a good pool of players, but they do not have any form of a second string for back up, so as long as the firs choices stay injury free they should continue on last year's improvement..

The Stormers should again be int he top 50% and perhaps top the SA conference, they have just never impressed me with BMT, thus I can not see them taking the cup. Also they still do not have a a lot of cover at flyhalf and scrumhalf.

The Sharks have the most to be hopeful about, but can they gel this year and are all the management demons gone for good? I hope so. The sharks are a great blend of youth and experience, they have massively talented players to really open up a game.
I also hope Lambie either proves that he can be a commanding flyhalf or he gets a lot of time at fullback (I still prefer him there).

All of that being said, good luck to all the SA sides, I am sure we will again see some great upsets and some heart breaking losses.