Super XV Big Match Review - Sharks 12 - 6 Stormers

I've always been of the view that you shouldn't regret making a decision, but you may regret not making one.  I've changed my mind on that now.  I wish that I'd picked another game – any game in fact, or even none at all – from the latest round of Super XV because, in an otherwise great weekend of rugby, the Sharks v Stormers stood out as a stale, tryless turd of a match that threw up more dropped catches than an Under 8s Cricket Match for the short-sighted.

Well at least I got the prediction dead right.  Sharks by 6 it was, but even the smug knowledge that I have psychic abilities in predicting rugby matches was not enough to save me – and fans of either side – from feeling downright depressed after being subjected to 80 minutes of this rubbish.  This is Super Rugby for crying out loud!  These are 2 teams who, between them, contain the vast majority of the entire Springboks' squad, with such quality players as Francois Steyn, Jean De Villiers, JP Pietersen, Bryan Habana, Gio Aplon and Pat Lambie, and yet the only ability on show on Saturday was the ability to drop the ball repeatedly in promising positions.

This was a match where we were treated to a scoreless first half – that's right, nil points.  We've established the South Africans aren't great at football so it would be nice if they could stay away from soccer-esque scorelines, but the first 40 minutes were dominated by sloppy handling and the occasional piece of impressive defensive work – in particular from flankers Marcell Coetzee and Siya Kolisi. 

All the points came from the boot of fly-half Pat Lambie and Stormers' full back Joe Pietersen (after fly half Elton Jantjies' kicking nightmare last week) within a 20 minute window in the second half.  After Lambie had put the hosts in front, Pietersen then punished the Sharks' pack for dragging down a maul with his own 3 pointer.  The intensity of the game finally began to up itself as both sides sought to drag themselves up from the quagmire of a match they found themselves in, and it was the visitors who seemed to have more about them, with the Stormers getting some joy around the fringes with Duane Vermeulan looking particularly effective.  But despite the indents they were making, they couldn't take advantage and it was the Sharks who struck the next blow, with Lambie adding two more penalty goals to his tally following infringements from Andries Bekker and Steven Kitshoff.

Pietersen and Lambie quickly exchanged penalties to give the home side a 12-6 advantage, before the game finally stuttered into life as desperation crept into the Stormers' mindset.  Firstly, centre Damian de Allende made a strong thrust deep into Sharks' territory but was covered superbly by the lightening number 8 Ryan Kankowski, before De Kock Steenkamp managed to fluff an effort engineered by De Villiers and Aplon.  But in reality, it never looked like they were really going to score.  Nobody did.  It was like the enormity of the derby match got to both the sides and, although the Sharks won't care after grabbing the win, the Stormers might end up regretting going into their shells this time.

Well after that snooze-fest, let's take a look at what games I could have picked but, in my wisdom, didn't…

Blues 34 – 15 Crusaders: Pow! Right in the kisser.  Where did that come from?!  The Blues rocked up and dismantled pre-tournament tips the Crusaders at home on Friday night.  The Blues dominated and scored 5 tries through Steven Luatua, Frank Halai (2), Luke Braid and George Moala, whilst their illustrious rivals could manage only 5 penalties from Dan Carter.  The game threw up 2 questions:  have the Blues gone from pre-tournament no-hopers to potential contenders in 2 matches?  And just how good is Blues fly half Chris Noakes?  Answers to come over the next couple of weeks…

Waratahs 31 – 26 Rebels:  The Waratahs grabbed their first win after they edged out the Rebels in a tight match in Sydney.  The Rebels went into the break 16-6 following a score from hooker Jed Robinson off a well-worked lineout move, but the Waratahs struck back through Bernard Foley, Michael Hooper and substitute Paddy Ryan, before Kurtley Beale slid through for a consolation and a losing bonus point for the visitors.

Reds 18 – 12 Hurricanes:  The Reds earned a hard-fought victory over a resilient Hurricanes side in Brisbane, scoring tries through Digby Ione and Rob Simmons.  Quade Cooper kicked the rest of the hosts' points, whilst the Canes' Beauden Barrett scored all of the visitors' tally with the boot.

Chiefs 45 – 3 Cheetahs:  The Chiefs looked awesome once again – for 20 minutes – as they dismantled a stubborn Cheetahs side in Waikato on Saturday.  The Cheetahs surprisingly dominated the first half but went in 10-3 down thanks to the wayward kicking of Johan Goosen and a Liam Messam try.  The Chiefs then snuck another try through prop Ben Afeaki just after the break before opening up in the last quarter and adding scores through Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Gareth Anscombe, Rhys Marshall and Ben Tameifuna.

Bulls 36 – 26 Force:  The Force remain winless despite an improved performance as the Bulls grabbed maximum points at home.  Morne Steyn scored all his side's points in the first half with a try and 3 penalties, with a trio of 3 pointers also being added by his opposite number Sias Ebersohn.  Sampie Mastriet then scored a try for the hosts after the break, before an Ebersohn drop goal and tries from Angus Cottrell and Toby Lynn pushed the visitors out in front.  It was the home side who finished strongest however, with tries from Jean Cook and Werner Kruger taking the game away for the Bulls.