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Bloemfontein is the hotbed of South African rugby ingenuity; Cape Town is the bedrock of traditionalism. At first blush, you would think the opposite.
Cape Town is the World Design Capital for 2014, a green peninsular metropolis of four million souls scattered in diverse clumps around a spine of beautiful mountains cooled by sea breezes.
It’s increasingly a top 20 destination for world travelers drawn to its beauty, openness, and rich history. International visitors tend to fall in love with the Cape and the Winelands immediately.
The first permanent European settlement in South Africa, due to its perfect situation at the tip of the continent, it’s blessed by fresh groundwater, a Mediterranean climate suitable for grape vinyards and home to a dizzying array of flora and fauna.
The 362-year old city is also the home of South African rugby and hosts a number of high performance and rugby development institutions.
Old Newlands is a venerable stadium, always full for Stormers matches, with a mixed and cosmopolitan crowd which more closely matches the actual populace than most South African sporting events.
The Stormers coach is a man of colour – Allister Coetzee, a scrumhalf who was an Emerging Springbok in his playing days, and known as a backline guru as he came up in the fraternity.
He has Robbie Fleck at his side to spearhead an attack that has had talented and dangerous backs like Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Jaque Fourie, Juan de Jongh and Gio Aplon at its disposal in recent years.
You would think that Cape Town’s faithful fans would demand and receive champagne rugby in the shadows of the mountain stadium they love.
But the Stormers score very few tries. They win by choking the opposition with a wonderfully conceived and executed defensive wall which forms and reforms tirelessly and brutally.
This year, the Stormers scarcely have a wing. Little Gio Aplon and the tiny injured Cheslin Kolbe are the only recognised flyers.
At the back, Jaco Taute makes his return. He is not known as a distributor.
In the midfield, no-one is a passer of note: the hard-running de Villiers, Howard, de Allende and the elusive de Jongh all look for breaks and run them to ground.
The halfbacks have educated boots: Louis Schreuder and one of Demetri Catrakilis, Gary van Aswegen or Kurt Coleman will look for territory.
The team that plays in the most open city in South Africa is closed to new tactics. They win with their grizzly forwards.
Hardmen: Eben Etzebeth, the perpetually enraged Rynhardt Elstadt, borderline miscreant Michael Rhodes, superstrong Frans Malherbe, the underrated De Kock Steenkamp, red-headed Steven Kitshoff, the crash-running Tiaan Liebenberg and Duane Vermeulen. New recruit from Argentina Manuel Carizza will join that list.
Dynamos: the ever-active Siya Kolisi and Deon Fourie will be joined by unstoppable Schalk Burger this year, backed up by tireless Nizaam Carr, mobile Pat Cilliers and energizer bunny Scarra Ntubeni.
They all seem to love tackling.
Bloemfontein is almost ten times less populated than Cape Town, is twice as white and five times more traditional.
Their big day was in 1890, when they became connected with Cape Town by railroad. Or in 1892, when J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, only to leave three years later (and recall only that it was “very hot”).
The Cheetahs call Bloemfontein home and their coach is the broad-chested Bok hooker from the ’90s, Naka Drotske – the very picture of a rugby traditionalist.
But his brand of rugby is entirely the opposite to Coetzee’s dour Stormers. The Cheetahs play to their name – they are loaded with fleet backs.
Willie le Roux, the breath of fresh Bok air, is the quintessential Cheetah back. He is surrounded by attack-minded innovators: Super Sarel Pretorius who tries not to tackle or be tackled, the finisher Raymond Rhule, a very hard to bring down Johann Sadie, Reyno Benjamin and Sevens flyer Cornal Hendricks.
The most gifted (but sadly till now, injury-prone) No. 10 in South Africa is Johan Goosen. He can actually beat cover defence and score in the corner like a wing, yet still tick all the kicking boxes needed to play Test flyhalf. And he is in the Cheetah squad.
You would think the Cheetahs would have the beefiest and bloodiest pack in the Republic. It’s not true.
First of all, a lot of born and bred Vrystaat forwards play for the Sharks or other franchises in South Africa or abroad. But second, even the Cheetahs pack seems to thrive with ball in hand and on the move.
Adriaan Strauss typifies this spirit, but so do very good eighthman Philip van der Walt, my favourite uncapped loose forward Lappies Labuschagne, remarkably mobile props Coenie Oosthuizen and Trevor Nyakane, and still emerging Lodewyk de Jager and Jean Cook.
The Cheetahs did well in 2013, and they may just show the way for the Stormers to finally embrace more than the best defence in Super Rugby for the last few years.
As much as I love good stout unbending defence – and I do love it – South African rugby needs more Willie and less Jaco, more Goosen and less Morne, more offloads and less yellow cards.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.