Super Rugby: South African conference

Hope he doesnt have plans to play the next world cup,damn! we going to have another John Smit problem,captain who just refuses to accept he's not the same player he was . . . .

Well nobody likes to fire a guy, they are all hoping he will do the honourable thing and retire. But he is clinging on for dear life. Kinda reminds me of 2011. ;)

Why is it that no coach wants to drop jean de villiers,stormers or springboks, paul jordaan is better but no . . . .?

Hi syeve, true it is early days. I still expect the Sharks to win the SA conference. But hell, I wish we could just vary our attack in our franchises, it surely is not that difficult to understand predictability is not good for us?

Biltong mate, to the Sharks defence their warm up games were against the Leopards and Puma's so they are very far from hitting their straps. This was the same approach they had last year and it was the reason that there was enough energy in the tank to make the dramatic push for the final last year. The difference between this and last years side was that we lost our first two games and this year we won our first two games. Give it time. I really don't understand the antipodeans belief that everyone should conform to one style of Rugby. For the so called "boring" rugby the South African teams play, the viewing numbers in South Africa continue to grow. Whereas I'm not sure the same can be said for this side of the ocean.

And yet they are the No. 2 ranked team! Maybe their forards are hulking brutes, boring as hell, but that still works. The boks have always played to their forward strength with a long range flyhalf (remember Naas Botha) and who can blame them that. Until the personel change why change the game plan if it works. A little variation at times perhaps and a little less fear but that does not mean some great structural change. A little like the ridiculed Oz conference I fear playing SA sides that on paper look easy. It often turns out not to be.

top post. Very accurate.

I'm less interested in entertaining rugby and more interested in innovative rugby. High scoring games in my mind speak to leaky defences which turns me off rather than piques my interest. That said though, the Stormers vs Sharks game, and SA rugby in general, seemed bereft of fresh ideas. I believe Nick Mallet harped on about this point in the post-match analysis. When was the last time you saw a SA backline spread the ball to the wings , let alone run a planned move? with the hours of footage available, surely it should be possible for attack coaches to engineer plays, tailor made to crack open a particular team's defence? otherwise, what are they being paid for? From the Sharks vs Stormers game: - Frans Steyn needs to develop and offload. Usually, it takes 2-3 defenders to bring him down and he almost manages to stay on his feet in the tackle. With runners like Paul Jordaan, JP Pietersen, Lwazi Mvovo and Louis Ludeke outside him, a short ball around a tackler should lead to a try. Also, Frans Steyn used to have an excellent passing game. Why isn't he used to pass the aforementioned runners into gaps? Just taking the ball to the line (with his size) should create doubt in defensive lines, allowing a pass to outside players in space. - Jean de Villiers is on the wrong side of 30 and played at 13. His opposite number was Paul Jordaan, a 7s exponent with exceptionally quick feet. I would think the Sharks would be keen to match the two up as often as possible to gauge the passage of Father Time on the Stormers captain. Don't think it happened once. - why did Gio Aplon, possibly the most elusive runner in SA rugby, only have two opportunities in the game? One from a cross-kick, the other from fielding a kick. That's like leaving the AK-47 at home and only taking the Bear Grylls survival knife to a gunfight. - Both teams: after the forwards trucking it up channel one resulted in zero line breaks in the first 40 minutes, why was there no call to shift the forward pods out a channel or two to create a size mismatch of forwards running at backs? What is being said at the halftime break? The main problem with SA rugby is that innovation and enterprise are coached out of the players. Nick Mallet alluded to this in the post match analysis. Players with lower error rates are rewarded with game time, the net result being players without a willingness to chance their arm.

Definitely a weekend to forget from an SA perspective. A “YAWN FEST” to be more precise. All 4 teams not dong any justice to the competition. Cheetahs and Stormers are two big disappointments for me. The Cheetahs need to take a long hard look at themselves because their defense is atrocious. Defense is all about attitude and trusting your fellow team mates but their players think it is that thing around the playing grounds that supports the advertisements. Form a concerned spectators point of view the Cheetahs need to catch a wake up! You are all in the big league now and giving 110% in every game is not only required but demanded by the paying public. The team with the most talent in SA and it is completely wasted by bumbling performances week in week out. A big reminder for you is that the team finishing last gets to play-off against the Lions at the end of the year so best to pull up your socks now! 6/10 for the first half and 0/10 for second half = 3/10 for the game. As for the Stormers, well what can one say other than get your coach to a doctor as soon as humanly possible! The man has obviously blown a gasket and is leaking cerebral spinal fluid somewhere! Coetzee took Elton Jantjies off on 52 minutes and it was then that I said a big thank you for handing the game to the Sharks. Up till this moment Jantjies was the only player that actually looked like he was trying to open up the Sharks defenses and almost did with a brilliant cross kick over the Sharks backline which Gio Aplon then knocked on. Aplon was away and it was only the due on the ball that saved the Sharks from an early 7 point deficit. AC is overplaying the players he should rest and then replacing players who need game time. Dose the Stormers coach really need supporters of other teams to point this out to him? 1/10 performance on the day. The Sharks on the other hand were sloppy all evening and allowed the Stormers to turn them over too often on attack. Just not acceptable at this level guys! But some credit must be given that they did come out and show a lot more composure in the second half in a game that was dominated by defense and the curse of the Durban Humidity in February. 3/10 score card and that is generous. The Bulls on the other hand gave us the best news ever news today when it was made known that Morne Steyn will be leaving them at the end of the S15. He is off to play fetch in France for Stade Francais , only question from my side is if they know he has no idea on how to actually play rugby? Are you guys sure you going to get a return on your investment? Damn, I completely forgot how the Bulls played on Saturday, but then again so has everybody else. -10/10 because you bore us all to death.

Rusty the Cheetahs handling skills were impressive in the first 40, but only once did they change their angle of attack, that was when Nyakane took the ball at the back of the line out and did the pass inside to Rhule, they almost scored and was it not a stray hand from a Chiefs player that misdirected the ball, they would have scored. Sadly no other variations the whole game.

KPM I don't think we aren't running enough, I did some stats in 2011. The balance of attack between SA teams and OZ and NZ teams on average meant we would have a 55-45 bias towards forward play, whereas the bias was 55-45 towards forward play for the ther teams. So it isn't that we don't run, we just don't utilise options and variations.

Taetjo, this is where the problem comes in. Boring it is not, the collisions, defensive organisation etc is all top drawer. Hence it calls for variation on attack. The side to side running is not going to beat organised defences, it might against weaker teams or technically deficient individual tacklers. So to cast the boring stone is in fact misplaced, redictable yes, but not boring.

I think winning rugby is what the blues & chiefs are doing because,other teams must pray for the rain when they meet those 2,I dont see them bieng outscored,stormers have the best players to win the S15 but a clueless coaching staff when it comes to attac

I am being a drama queen, but still, I see zero innovation in attack. Just a little variation would be nice. The Stormers and Sharks will be there at the business end of the season. And the Bulls to me look slightly better than last year, with Matfield coaching. Can't see any of them winning the title. 40% of all tries are scored as a result of great defence, according to Wayne Smith. So, as a Stormers fan, I can only hope they will improve. They have so far only had one try scored against then, and Paddy O'Brian said that wasn't actually a try. The ref got it wrong. No one is arguing the Stormers great defence, just wish they learned how to attack as well. But you correct Biltong, Sharks looked the most balanced side.

Bit early for that. As I said on another page, The Stormers and Sharks played a bit boring, but They've got very good sides and will challenge when it counts. The Sharks in particular are too good not to spark and its only a matter of time before they click. They only think that matters when they're not clicking is that they're winning. Not to sure about the Bulls though. They will win more than they loose but I dont see them as a Champion team.

Boring boring boring rugby is what SA rugby is all about. I don't even look forwrad to watching their teams play. It is soo time wasting to watch guys showing each other who is stronger. They keep bulking up players in the hope for who knows what... All I know is that SA teams play wrestling rugby which has been outdated years back - as the writer states. They need to change their style of play very very soon otherwise it will be a decade or so before any SA team wins Super rugby.

I am surprised the cheetahs are being lauded for anything. In sport you'll always find a team that is more talented or skillful on the day, that is just something you have to accept. What you should never have to accept is meeting a team that is so much fitter. In the second half the cheetahs forwards were walking around half dead and letting the chief make way too easy yards all the way to try line.

I was pretty impressed by the Cheetahs first 40mins, great ball retention and recycling, some nice interplay and passing. That said, they werent operating at a level good enough to crack the Chiefs robust defence. We will see better days from the Cheetahs As for the rest...well as a Stormers fan... not too much I can say at the moment thats permissible on these forums

Biltong my sense is that South Africa fundamentally believe that the forwards based, kicking game is best, and even if some more running is necessary it should be the forwards doing it. There would need to be a revolution in the culture of SA rugby, perhaps starting at the top, to change to the kind of running rugby that was been favoured by the law interpretations when they were changed in 2009. But firstly a recognition that the old style of play was outdated by those changes.

Biltong, I hear you. I have given up hope on all the Saffa teams. I have over the years, supported the teams thru up and downs. I have in the past, enjoyed the Cheetahs having a crack. This year is torture. Goosen looks like he is suffering from second season syndrome. Against the Chiefs, the Cheetahs were just shuffling the ball from one side to the other, they never looked like scoring. For the Saffa teams, I can see no desire to improve, no ambition to embrace the same backline plays of Australia or New Zealand. I seems the Saffa teams can't change even if they wanted too.