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Digging into the South African conference

Roar Guru
1st February, 2015
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Handre Pollard, a bright prospect for the Springboks. (AAP Image/NZN/SNPA, John Cowpland)
Roar Guru
1st February, 2015
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2015 is upon us already and most of us have shaken off the Christmas and New Year’s hangovers and settled into our respective daily grinds of work, kids back to school and of course, looking forward to the new rugby season.

For some of us it’s been a hard thing to focus on with the excitement and attention drawn towards the Cricket World Cup.

With the added incentive of rugby’s own World Cup later this year occupying many thoughts, the Super Rugby season takes on its own significance as a build-up for many players along with the expected player drain and a new format to digest next season.

For now, it seemed an appropriate time to utter some thoughts about each conference, along with some thoughts on key players for each franchise, starting off with the South African conference.

Blue Bulls
The Bulls are a team often criticised for their one-dimensional style of play, however it does not change the fact they are still a very tough team to beat and the acquisition of Adrian Strauss and Trevor Nyakane adds further skill and mobility to a solid pack.

The intriguing aspect for me will be Handre Pollard competing in his first full tournament and what he can bring to this Bulls team. A class act, he can provide more dimensions to this side and furthermore his combination with Francois Hougaard will be one to keep an eye on with a view to the Springboks World Cup campaign.

Handre Pollard’s ability to break the line and skill to bring such talents as the powerful Jan Serfontein in midfield and utilising the speed of JJ Engelbrecht and Bjorn Basson can make this Bulls team a very different proposition for 2015.

The question mark appears to be whether Frans Ludeke, the Bulls coach, also holds the same view or will it be more of the same from Pretoria?

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Key player: Handre Pollard.

Player to watch: Arno Botha, a young number eight with a horrendous injury run, fingers crossed he has overcome these issues and we can see the best from this talented prospect.

Central Cheetahs
After a ground-breaking year in 2013, where the Cheetahs made their first Super finals appearance playing an attractive style of rugby, the 2014 season was a massive disappointment as the franchise stuttered and struggled their way through the regular season. Adding further insult to injury, the loss of Strauss and Nyakane to South African rivals the Bulls weakens this Cheetahs team further.

However, any team that can boast the mercurial talents of Willie le Roux and the speed of Cornal Hendricks along with one of my personal favourite players, the original Honey Badger, Heinrich Brussow, are a team to be respected. I would suggest a return to their style of play in 2013 could surprise a few people.

Key player: Lood de Jager. The big lock needs to take this forward pack by the scruff of the neck and lead from the front if the Cheetahs are to genuinely challenge for the playoffs.

Player to watch: Willie le Roux, who else?

Lions
When you consider the history behind the Lions franchise the 2014 season was an outstanding success with seven wins, probably six or seven more than most would have picked before the season had started.

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Their challenge now is to build on that foundation, which also includes many individuals involved in a finals appearance in the 2014 Currie Cup and a quality tight five. Led by an excellent captain in Warren Whiteley, this team is very enjoyable to watch, giving everything they have to the cause. With an inspirational coach in Johan Ackermann this team could very well surprise again this season.

Key player: Warren Whiteley. This team needs their captain at his best.

Player to watch: Julian Redelinghuys. A very good tighthead, a strong Super season could see him propelled into calculations for the Springboks World Cup squad in what appeals as a problem position for South Africa.

Sharks
The Sharks, certainly on paper jump out as the best team in the South African conference and the franchise most likely to challenge for the overall championship.

Chock full of Springboks, they possess a formidable forward unit and a skilful and fast backline. Like the Bulls, the combination between Cobus Reinach and Pat Lambie will be interesting to keep note of with the World Cup on the horizon.

There will be no doubt this squad will be disappointed with the way the 2014 season ended. Early season front runners, including a sensational away victory against the Crusaders, petered away into a disappointing semi-final capitulation to the same team.

With Jake White moving on after a sole season in charge, Gary Gold takes over the coaching reigns and such changes can serve to bring a refreshing change of atmosphere. It should also provide motivation to improve on last year’s performances, and the Sharks look like they will be the pace setters in South Africa this year.

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Key player: Pat Lambie. A good season from the talented first five is a must for this Sharks team.

Player to watch: Paul Jordaan. Skill and speed to burn this guy, a class act.

Stormers
The Stormers are an enigma to me. A team with such a proud record at Currie Cup level, they have consistently failed to convert this into Super Rugby success. Containing some of my favourite players such as Duane Vermuelen, Schalk Burger and Eben Eztebeth, this team should simply perform better but for whatever reason they don’t.

My current thoughts are this squad lack a first five to go deep into the tournament and with Jean de Villiers out for the season I find it hard to get excited about their prospects for the coming season. As negative as that sounds this team still possess some exciting talent in Damian de Allende and Juan de Jongh and still remain one of my favourite teams to watch.

Key player: Duane Vermuelen. ‘Thor’ will need to bring his international form to the table if the Stormers are to go deep into the tournament

Player to watch: Schalk Burger. This bloke just seems to keep carrying on, and is one of the modern greats. Sad to say but it is unlikely he will be around much longer so enjoy his play while you can.

In summary, my pick would be for the Sharks to take out the South African conference and you would imagine the Bulls or Stormers fighting it out for second. However, I don’t like is that the same coaches remain at two franchises, Frans Ludeke for the Bulls and Allister Coetzee at the Stormers, and I cannot see what they can bring to their respective teams to push them into title contention.

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With those thoughts in mind, I am going to go out on a limb and predict the Lions will take out second place, Bulls third, Stormers fourth and unfortunately the Cheetahs bringing up the rear.

Next up, I will share my thoughts on the Australian conference.

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