Players Released

26/07/2010

Peter de Villiers has released Chiliboy Ralepelle, Dewald Potgieter, Flip van der Merwe, Francois Hougaard, Ruan Pienaar, Beast Mtawarira, Ryan Kankowski, Gio Aplon, Francois Louw, Juan de Jongh and CJ van der Linde to their respective provinces.

These players will probably be retained for the home leg of the Tri-Nations. The Springbok team will be announced on the 7 August 2010 and will assemble on the 15 August 2010.

Currie Cup Results - Week 3

25/07/2010

Sharks 27 - Pumas 17

Leopards 23 - Western Province 42

Griquas 26 - Lions 20

Blue Bulls 23 - Cheetahs 25

What a game by the Cheetahs, grabbing it in the 82nd minute due to a great conversion by Sias Ebersohn under immense pressure! the end. Looks like the Cheetahs are going to have a great tournament again!

WP storm ahead

25/07/2010

WP kept their undefeated record intact with a good win over the Leopards in Potchefstroom on Friday evening.

In the past, WP struggled against the "weaker" teams in the Currie Cup, struggling to get the bonus points and even sometimes losing. Just last year results like that cost WP the top spot on the log, but Friday they at last managed to get their first bonus point win of the season.

At first, it looked as if they weren't going to score the four tries, and they struggled at the start due to some great defense and courageous running by the Leopards. But after the first try, things went better, and WP secured the bonus point early in the second half.

Duane Vermeulen had a superb match, putting in some strong runs and bumping off players in the tackles. There were a lot of disappointed fans at the end of the Super 14 earlier this year when Duane wasn't chosen for the Springboks, but if he keeps on playing like he did on Saturday, he'll make the team pretty soon.

At the end, WP achieved what they wanted to, but towards the end of the match, the game became a scrappy affair and WP leaked two easy tries. Against a team like the Leopards this is still OK, but a team like the Sharks or the Bulls will definitely make you pay. Stay focused for the whole 80 minutes boys!

Strong defense...or Strong attack?

20/07/2010

Yes, defense won the game for WP on Saturday against the Lions, but let's be honest...it's the Lions.

Not to be disrespectful, but looking at the past couple of seasons, it just doesn't look as if the Lions have got the players to do the job. Their discipline were poor, and their attack not much better.

So that's where the question lies. Is it better to have a strong attack and a good defense, or a Strong defense and good attack?

During the Super 14 campaign earlier this year, everybody (me included) believed that the Bulls will not again lift the trophy, because of their poor defense and the number of tries they gave away in their matches. The thing is, the Bulls had a superb attacking game, and an average defensive game...and that won them the competition at the end.

During their final against the Stormers, they just kept on attacking. The Stormers defense held, until Francois Hougaard broke through the Stormers backline to score behind the poles. The Stormers weren't in a good position, because they had an average attack, and they were now behind on the scoreboard. If you want to come back from behind, you have got to be able to penetrate the opposition's defense, and score tries, and the Stormers just weren't as good as the Bulls on attack. Never in the whole of last season did the Stormers pull off a great comeback to win the a game.

There's an old rugby saying: "If you keep on attacking, somewhere down the line you are bound to find a gap." And that's what the Bulls did against the Stormers in the final.

So, if you fall behind in a match, which is bound to happen somewhere in the competition, you will have to have a great attacking game, and thus be able to score tries. Having only a great defense is not going to be enough to win the Currie Cup.

WP should be building a complete game plan.

Currie Cup Results - Week 2

18/07/2010

Cheetahs 33 - Griquas 26

Pumas 37 - Leopards 32

Western Province 32 - Lions 0

Sharks 34 - Blue Bulls 28

Great game between the Sharks and the Blue Bulls! That's how teams should play attacking rugby.

Again the Griquas proved that they are not a team to be messed with, by putting in a good performance against last year's finalists.

The Great Wall of WP

17/07/2010

Well, I think we are now certain of the fact that Province is building on the key element that helped them be so successful during the Super 14... defense...and man were they great!

OK let's be honest, the Lions team WP played were not so great, and later on in the second half one could see the frustration on the Lions' players faces as they gave away some of the most ridiculous penalties I have ever seen.

The closest the Lions came to scoring a try, was when they went over the scoreline, but the ref judged that the ball was held up. Pieter Louw walked pass the maul while waving his finger, and screaming: "Julle gaan nie score nie". (You are not going to score!)

At first WP got off to a slow start again, and I wondered if they were going to score any tries, (given the number of penalties they receive, who would bother scoring tries?) until Pieter Louw went over the line by shrugging off a weak tackle attempt. The second try came from Conrad Jantjes and the third from Pieter Myburgh.

At the end of the match WP had two great opportunities to score a bonus point try...but on both occasions they ran the ball over the sideline. I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt them later on in the competition. The need to capitalize when the opportunity presents itself. That was one of main differences between the Stormers and the Bulls in the Super 14. The Bulls capitalized when the opportunity arose, and thus they ended up on top of the log.

Another factor that impressed me, was the small number of penalties WP gave away when the Lions were on attack. Great Discipline!

All and all, it was a good match. Pieter Louw are starting to play better and better rugby, and I am starting to think what would have happened if Allister Coetzee played him ahead of Francois Louw in the Super 14. Not that Francois is a bad player...but it would have been interesting... Another player that just goes from strength to strength is Tim Whitehead. He broke through the Lions backline beautifully to set up Conrad Jantjes's try.

On the Lions' side...they still have a hell of a lot of work to do. If they don't beat one of the big 5 teams soon, and get some confidence within their ranks, I'm afraid it's going to be another disappointing season for them. They should also work on their discipline, and not throw in the towel when they fall behind. It doesn't look like they've got enough talent and skill to score tries. Sorry boys!

Danie Rossouw cleared

Danie Rossouw has passed a fitness test and have been cleared to play against the All Blacks on Saturday morning. Think I will be going to Dros to watch that one and grab myself a brekkie while a look on as the All Blacks lose!