The final of the 2010 Super 14 has come and gone, and the Bulls are once again crowned champions of the Southern Hemisphere competition.

It was a momentous occasion for both teams, with the game being played at Orlando Stadium, in Soweto. The Bulls went into the game with the experience of having been in that situation before. For the Stormers, it was their first final, and at times it seamed as if the moment got to them.

From the kickoff, the Bulls showed their experience of playing in finals, and took charge of the game. They decided the tempo the game would be played in, and played majority of the rugby in the Stormers half.

Francois Hougaard was in the best form of his outstanding season so far, and broke through the Stormers line, stepping inside, outside, in, and wrong-footing Joe Pietersen, who is no slouch on defence, to cross over for the first try of the match, in the 25th minute.

The Bulls managed to break the Stormers line a few other times throughout the game, but that was the last time they would cross the chalk.

The Stormers looked more settled when they came back from the half time break, but battled at scrum time, with their tight five, and in particular, the front row, being dominated by the Bulls’ tight five.

They weren’t giving up though, and as he has done so many times before, but this time in dark blue, Bryan Habana made a vital intercept, and sprinted half the length of the field, for the Stormers first of two tries. With that try, awoke the Stormers hopes that they were still in the game, and over the next 26 minutes they fought hard, with victory in their grasp, despite a number of one sided calls by, usually good, referee, Craig Joubert.

It was not to be though, the opening half, where the Stormers seemed like ‘deers in the headlights’, and their tight five was dominated, was too much to claw back from. The Bulls were simply the better team on the night. They had the previous experience, and the end score showed why.

My two cents worth:

  • For those of you who doubted the value of Jaque Fourie during the game, he gained 132m with ball in hand on the night.
  • Schalk Burger was also his usual, machine self, making the most tackles of anyone in the game, with 15 on the night.
  • I’ve said this all season, and if recent reports are true, that Peter Grant will leave if he isn’t selected for the Springboks this year, then he must go, because he is kak. He missed 6 tackles on the night, keeping up with his usual average of about 5 per game.
  • Francois Hougaard is going to be the best #9 in the world one day, and for now he is a very decent wing. His strength in unparalleled to anyone of his size, and he can fight well above his weight category.
  • Morne Steyn may have a great boot on him, but I think he has been quite average most of the season. There are glimpses of great running in him, but not frequent enough.
  • Wicus Blaauw was terrible in the front row. His performance was the Stormers biggest undoing.
  • Craig Joubert may have been rated the best referee this season, but he had an absolute ‘mare on the night. What I’d like to know from him, is how many high tackles constitute a card? He cost the Stormers 9 points through dodgy calls. You do the math… (Although Ricky’s try may leave some questions too)
  • Fourie du Preez is quite simply the best rugby player in the world.

2010 Super 14 final Highlights- Bulls VS Stormers [WRNrugbynews]:

 

Scorecard:

Bulls: 25

Tries:Francois Hougaard 25m

Conversions: 1/1 (100%) Morne Steyn 1/1 (100%)

Penalties: 6/7 (86%) Morne Steyn 6/7 (85%)

Drop goals: 0/1 (0%) Morne Steyn 0/1 (0%)

Stormers: 17

Tries:Bryan Habana 54m; Enrico Januarie 78m

Conversions: 2/2 (100%) Peter Grant 2/2 (100%)

Penalties: 1/2 (50%) Peter Grant 1/2 (50%)