SupeRugby Round 3: PreJudgement

Crusaders v Waratahs (Trafalgar Park, Nelson)

This, to me, is going to be one of the games of the weekend. The NSW outfit have come off two bonus point victories in the first two weeks of Super Rugby. The Crusaders are coming back from an extremely tough and emotional week as well as a bye and I expect will come out all guns blazing for this ‘home’ fixture. Will it be enough?

PreJudgement: ‘Tahs by 6

Lions v Blues (Coca-Cola Park, Jhb)

Tough one to call, as the Lions are looking hot and the Blues not. Will the Blues have adjusted enough to time difference and altitude? If the Lions are going to grab some points early on this season now is their chance. It is going to be a good contest never the less!

PreJudgement: Lions by 3

Chiefs v Rebels (Hamilton)

How do the Rebels travel, is flying in my head after last weeks performance? Waikato lost in round 2 away in Dunedin to the unfancied Highlanders. I just don’t see them slipping up to the Rebels at home. The Rebels are yet to travel as a team and although it is just over the Tasman I think it will be too much.

PreJudgement: Chiefs by 19

Brumbies v Reds (Canberra)

The Australian Capital hosts the Reds in a must win for both these teams. There is also the small battle between the two number 10’s for the national position. Yes, Giteau can play at 12 too but we all know where he would rather be starting. Just looking at the match ups from 9-15 the gap will be in the centre for the Reds, Adam Ashley-Cooper is going to star in this fixture

PreJudgement: Brumbies by 10

Force v Sharks (Perth)

On the topic of number 10’s, this match up will show the best of what’s to come (That’s if O’Conner starts at 10) for Australia and South Africa.

Both Lambie and O’Conner are going to feature in this fast paced game. Tough to call, being a Sharks supporter and all, but I am hoping the long travel wont affect the Banana Boys.

PreJudgement: Force by 6

Stormers v Cheetahs (Newlands)

This game is going to be my second pick for game of the week. The Stormers are going to have a tough time getting into the pace of Super Rugby and need to hold the Cheetahs off while doing so. I am hoping for SA rugby that the Cheetahs put up a good performance but I just don’t see them holding the Stormers off if they hit their straps.

PreJudgement: Stormers by 15

Bulls v Highlanders (Loftus, Pretoria)

I’m looking forward to seeing what the Highlanders have to offer as a traveling team. They have shut their critics up with 2 wins out of 2 and are heading on their travels with their tails up! The Bulls, however, have had to scrape through for both their victories against two unfancied SA teams. Loftus is however worth a few points added to the formidable boot of Steyn, 'The Enforcer' Bakkies Botha and Fourie Du Preez I think the Highlanders are going to suffer their first defeat of 2011

PreJudgement: Bulls by 18  

SupeRugby Round 2 Wrap Up:

Fri 25 Feb. Highlanders (6) 23 - 13 (13) Chiefs (Dunedin):

The Highlanders have not been the fancied team out of the NZ 5 in this competition but have been solid in their performance of late.

 The Otago outfit snatched their second win of the campaign against the Chiefs on Friday. Having mostly been behind until late in the third quarter they sealed their victory with a 73^rd minute Kade Poki try and Robert Robinson conversion. 

Fri 25 Feb. Melbourne Rebels (9) 25 - 24 (16) Brumbies (Melbourne)

The Rebels gave the rugby world the middle finger on Friday with their maiden SupeRugby victory in only their second game. After a demoralizing 0-43 defeat to the Waratahs last week they bounced back against another of the Australian championship contenders ACT Brumbies. Three ex Brumbies players had notable performances , Mark Gerrard, Julian Huxley and Sterling Mortlock.

Fri 25 Feb. Cheetahs (11) 23 - 25 (8) Bulls (Bloemfontein)

A fantastic local derby won by the Bulls as late as the 76^th minute. The Cheetahs had a wonderful performance but were lacking the full 80 minute mental strength to hold out to the 2 time and current Super 14 champions. Juan Smith suffered an Achilles tear as early as the 2^nd minute and is a doubtful selection for the World Cup later this year.     

Sat. 26 Feb. Hurricanes v Crusaders (Wellington)

Game Canceled due to the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, NZ.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by this disaster.  Please follow the link below to donate to Red Cross to help the people of New Zealand.

www.redcross.org.nz/donate

Sat. 26 Feb. Waratahs (16) 30 - 6 (6) Reds (Sydney- ANZ)

Superior performance and bonus point win for the Waratahs as they leave the hapless Reds in their wake. The Queensland Reds will have to go back to the drawing board with Coach Ewen McKenzie this week as they were nowhere to be seen at the ANZ stadium in Sydney. The Waratahs recorded their second bonus point win of the year and the only team to score 4 or more tries in a game this campaign.

Sat. 26 Feb. Sharks (16) 26 - 12 (9) Blues (Durban)

The Sharks stormed into a 10-0 lead in Durban on Saturday courtesy of Pat Lambie scoring a try, conversion and penalty 8 minutes into the game. The Blues were contesting but never seemed to get into the swing of things. One theory is their late Tuesday arrival from NZ. Jet Lag or not, they took no points out of the game and will be looking to make amends this coming week against the Lions.

Sat. 26 Feb. Stormers (9) 19 - 16 (8) Lions (Cape Town)

A nail biter at Newlands on Saturday as the Stormers sneaked a win in the 75^th minute courtesy of a Pieter Louw try and Peter Grant conversion. The Lions suffered the same lack of mental strength as the Cheetahs did against the Bulls on Friday night. The Stormers will walk away happy with a win after their first game and ironically set their sights on the Cheetahs at Newlands next week.

Team of the Week- Melbourne Rebels

Player of the week- Ashley Johnson (Cheetahs)

WTF of the Week- Kaplan’s penalty decision against the Brumbies

Cheetah's v Bulls Super Rugby Round 2 2011

What an inspiring but disappointing game from the Cheetah's. 

As Cheetah's Captain Juan Smith limped off after 3 minutes you feared the worst for the home team. This set back proved to spur them on rather than hinder them, with a monstrous performance from replacement 8th man Ashley Johnson.

In the first half the Cheetah's only seemed to struggle at scrum time and slowly took control in other aspects of the game. The Bulls looked as if they lacked confidence in their game plan or blatantly ignored it. It was as if they were expecting to dominate the game and assumed a win would fall into their laps.

The Cheetah's went into half time with an 11-8 lead courtesy of 2 penalties from fly half Naas Olivier and a superb try from Andries Strauss who straightened the line magnificently in loose play off Ashley Johnson’s pop pass. Morne Steyn added a penalty to an early Bakkies Botha try.

The first 20 minutes in the second half saw the Cheetah's maintain their dominance with two early tries from Robert Ebersohn and Ashley Johnson but you sensed it was going to start slipping away as Wilhelm Steenkamp was sent to the bin after referee Craig Joubert lost his patience with continuous ruck time infringements.  

The turning point in the game was clearly the Bulls timely substitutes and depth they showed with the likes of Danie Rossouw, Derick Kuun. The entire team showed great maturity and belief in themselves to claw back from a poor first half performance to a deserved win. 

There is no doubt in my mind that the calmness a team gets with the likes of du Preez, Matfield, Botha, Steyn and Rossouw in it is what pushes a team like the Bulls to victory in a contest as tight as this.

The last 20 minutes provided the Bulls with 2 tries from Danie Rossouw and Fourie du Preez as well as 1 penalties and 2 conversions from Morne Steyn.

The Bulls ran out 25-23 victors in Bloemfontein with a disappointed Cheetah's team left wondering if they can take the first half performance and more to Newlands against the Stormers next week.

	BULLS			CHEETAH'S
Penalties:	Morne Steyn (2)			Naas Olivier (2)
Tries:	Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw,			A Strauss, R.Ebersohn,
	Fourie du Preez			A Johnson
Conversions:	Morne Steyn (2)			Naas Olivier (1)