Super XV Big Match Review - Waratahs 21 - 15 Stormers

Very occasionally, in any sport, you stumble across a gem.  You know, the sort of player who makes something out of nothing, makes you sit up and shout ‘wow’ – in the mould of Jason Robinson, Lote Tuqiri, or Henry Paul.  That last one was in there because I was running out of decent rugby league converts who have made the grade in union.  But the Waratahs can smugly say they have come up trumps with their main investment – the ex-NRL Superstar/AFL Player, Israel Folau.

Of course, saying you’ve just ‘stumbled’ across a gem is slightly different to spending shed loads on transferring the kid from the upper echelons of another sport, but the fact still remains that, in Folau, the Tahs have uncovered the tournament’s biggest metres maker and one of the best one-on-one attackers in the Southern Hemisphere.  And, as with all good players from an under-7 level onwards, all you need to do is give them the ball (although, by professional standards, you don’t expect the key player to be a prematurely-pubic kid with a full on beard, like you would find at junior level).

Not that Izzy got any ball in the opening stages, though.  Instead it was the Waratahs forwards who were calmly controlling possession in the opposition half, with Dave Dennis in particular putting himself about of the carry.  The visitors, though, provided a bit more resistance than the atrocious Kings the round before, knocking any attack back with apparent ease and in fact, through defensive pressure, earned themselves a penalty after 15 minutes following destructive work from Siya Kolisi.  The 3 pointer was knocked over by Joe Pietersen and, despite all the possession of the hosts, they found themselves behind.

Step forward Israel Folau.  Five minutes after the Pietersen penalty, the Tahs struck back with a piece of magic that has become a trademark this year.  Following concerted pressure into the Stormers 22, Bernard Foley opted for a cross-field kick with his options limited – fortunately, Foloau (AFL specialist) was there to tap the ball away from Bryan Habana into the arms of onrushing winger Cam Crawford, who dotted down for a score.  Scrum half Brendan McKibbin missed the conversion but added another penalty to make the score 8 – 3 at the half time whistle.

The break signified a change in dominance, with the visitors’ pack showing more aggression at the breakdown and pressurising the Tahs into making basic handling mistakes.  Joe Pietersen had his kicking boots on, potting three early penalties to one from McKibbin to put the Stormers in front, before a fourth 15 minutes from time seemingly sealed a tight game at 15-11.

Step forward Israel Folau.  Again.  This time, the brave call came from Dave Dennis, the captain, who opted to go for the winning try as opposed to the pressurised goal kick – and it ultimately worked.  After spurning a couple of kickable penalties in favour of attacking the line, the break came- a try to that man Folau after good lead-up work from the forwards and a nice delayed pass from Berrick Barnes. Barnes added the extras and the Tahs were up 18-15 with just minutes to play.  Barnes added a 50 metre beauty before the end to add some gloss to the scoreline, but to the watcher, this was an exceptionally tight game that was won more by perseverance than flair.

That said, if you can persevere and throw a gem like Izzy into an equation, then you’ll always end up with a useful result.

What else was happening across Super Rugby at the weekend?

Chiefs 22 – 21 Force:  A lacklustre Chiefs side scraped past a stubborn Force outfit after a stirring fightback in the second half from the visitors.  The hosts were outscored with only Lelia Masaga touching down for the Kiwi side and Pat Dellit scoring a double for the Force.

Reds 32 – 17 Sharks:  The Reds condemned the Sharks to further misery as they went on a first half blitz that saw the hosts secure a first half try bonus point.  The Queensland outfit scored tries through the Faingaa brothers and Rod Davies (2), whilst the visitors added two second half efforts through Piet Lindeque and Derick Minnie.

Cheetahs 34 – 39 Hurricanes:  The Cheetahs were surprisingly outmuscled at home against a powerful and precise Canes side.  The hosts grabbed 3 tries with Coenraad Oosthuizen (2) and Robert Ebersohn going over, but the New Zealand side were too strong – getting 5-pointers through Beauden Barrett, Julian Savea, TJ Perenara and Victor Vito.

Southern Kings 34 -27 Highlanders:  The Highlanders flattered to deceive once again as they failed to build on their first victory of the season, going down in an entertaining game in Port Elizabeth.  The South African side scored tries through captain Luke Watson (2), Cornell du Preez and Shaun Venter, with the visitors responding through Colin Slade, Brad Thorn, Shaun Treeby and Hosea Gear.  I have no idea how they keep losing.

Blues 36 – 32 Rebels:  The Rebels once again proved themselves a difficult side to put away after a rousing second half comeback, despite being blitzed in the opening 40.  The Blues scored 6 tries with Frank Halai grabbing a hatrick and Francis Salai (2) and Rene Ranger also crossing, whilst the Rebels grabbed a bonus point themselves through Mitch Inman (2), Scott Higginbotham, Lachlan Mitchell and Jason Woodward.