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Adam Ashley-Cooper models the new Wallabies jersey designed by Kooga - Image from Rugby.com.au
As far as appetisers go, the last ever Super 14 final was a beauty. The Bulls and Stormers went at it in a good old-fashioned battle of attrition that just happened to be one of the best games of rugby of the season.
Such was the pace of the game, that the kettle boiled pre-game in my kitchen didn’t produce the intended cup of tea until the 26-minute mark. At which point Murphy’s Law took over and I missed the first try of the game to Bulls winger Francois Hougaard.
The noise of the nomadic Pretoria-to-Soweto crowd at Orlando Stadium was unbelievable. The din of who-knows-how-many thousand plastic bugles was as constant as it was deafening, with the buglers only seeming to take a breath whenever Bulls superboot Morne Steyn was lining up a kick at goal. When Stormers flyhalf Peter Grant lined his kicks up, the volume increased to such an extent that I think I could hear it outside my lounge room.
Just as I predicted last week, Bulls scrumhalf Fourie du Preez turned on a master class in game management. From the early exchanges, du Preez was in everything, controlling where the Bulls played their game, and unleashing his backs when the time was right. Between his own pinpoint kicking from behind the ruck, and Steyn’s unwavering accuracy, du Preez controlled the game like a maestro, and you just knew it was a matter of time until he produced the big play.
And so he did from just inside the Stormers half, where du Preez drifted to his right with quick ruck ball and superbly put the flying Hougaard through a yawning gap. Stormers fullback Joe Pietersen was no match in the last line, and before he knew it, Hougaard was launching himself under the posts. The Bulls were looking ominous as they went into the break with a 16-3 lead.
To the Stormers great credit, they fought back in the second half with yet another intercept try to winger Bryan Habana. It was a calculated risk from Habana, with three unmarked Bulls outside him, and it could well have been a 14-point turnaround had the pass found its intended mark.
At 16-10, and with a little over twenty minutes left, the title was there for the taking. Despite the best efforts of Grant and Springboks outside centre Jaque Fourie though, the Stormers just couldn’t make the big play when it was required. All the while, the Bulls played the percentages as they waited for the Stormers to err within Steyn’s prodigious kicking range.
Sure enough, giant Stormers lock Andries Bekker provided the necessary brain-explosion by attempting a rather crude ruck cleanout, gifting Steyn three more points. Two more penalty goals in the last ten minutes gave Steyn 20 points for the match, and a third Super Rugby title to the Bulls. Ricky Januarie’s 78th minute consolation try for the Stormers only briefly delayed the Bulls’ celebrations.
As I snuck back to bed at a touch before 3am, I couldn’t help but wonder what this might mean for the Springboks, as the southern hemisphere season now looks toward the main course: the Internationals.
Like those curious progressive dinners, the main course is broken into two segments, with the European nations first heading this way in June, before the SANZAR partners retreat back into their national guises, returning in July to belt seven shades out of each other during the Tri-Nations.
The June tours will see South Africa head to Cardiff firstly to take on Wales, before returning to the Republic to take on France and Italy. The home Tests shouldn’t pose much problem for the Springboks, but the trip to Wales could be a real danger game for them so soon after the Super 14 Final and more so given they’re resting several of their big names from this quick trip in favour of a handful of European-based fill-ins.
New Zealand host Ireland and then two Tests against Wales, and you’d expect the All Blacks to come out and prove all the current criticisms and concerns about depth are unfounded.
Australia host England for a two-Test Cook Cup series, followed by Ireland, of which I’d like to see three wins, but recognise that playing England in Perth might bring the same dangers as playing South Africa over in the west. Before these though, the Wallabies take on Fiji, in one of the cruellest pieces of rugby scheduling I can think of.
You see, the Fiji Test represents a return to Canberra Stadium, following last year’s successful hosting of Italy in the nation’s Capital. But Canberra in June can be a bit well, fresh, to put it mildly. The corresponding match last year saw the Italians having to deal with temperatures as low as -4. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that we’ve got another Test in town, but Fiji, in Canberra, in June? It just doesn’t seem very sporting to me.
Come July, the Tri-Nations begins and The Roar has already been abuzz with South Africans, New Zealanders and especially Australians all bullish about their teams’ chances. And fair enough too, Super Rugby form and recent rugby history can create some compelling arguments.
For what it’s worth, South Africa would have to be a big chance, with the draw seeing them finish with three home games up on the Highveld where they’re rarely beaten. Should they manage a win or two away from home first though, they’ll be short-priced favourites by the time they return home.
The All Blacks are always dangerous of course, and will be especially hard to beat at home, as they always are. Only playing one game in South Africa is a big plus too, and playing in Australia has presented few challenges in recent seasons.
The Wallabies, on the other hand, will be buoyed by not having to play New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland, plus two home Bledisloe Cup Tests. If they can snare one win in South Africa, well you just never know.
However it pans out, we’re easily looking at one of the more evenly contested Tri-Nations tournaments in the last few years.
A tip? Don’t be silly, that’s how arguments start…