Saturday’s games:

Chiefs VS Waratahs: The Waratahs kept their playoff hopes very much alive when they recorded their biggest ever win over the Chiefs on Saturday.

The Waratahs opened up their try scoring sheet within 3 minutes of the whistle, and never looked back, recording an impressive 7 try route of the Chiefs.

The first of these 7 tries came from the counter attack, when Drew Mitchell made an impressive 70 metre run, stepping through the Chiefs’ defensive line and ending in a kick and chase for the try.

The Chiefs on the other hand, just seemed to go through the paces of yet another under par performance in what has become an absolutely dismal season.

The Waratahs displayed some good running rugby, but it was the shockingly poor tackling from the Chiefs that stuck out in the match.

My two cents worth:

  • The Waratahs took the ball through 15+ phases on three occasions and as far as I know, are the only team, this season, to have taken they ball through more than 20 consecutive phases.
  • Tanerau Latimer made a monster 23 tackles on the night, with the Chiefs forced to make a total of 205 tackles, but missed 40 in the process.
  • Kurtley Beale was impressive with ball in hand, gaining 129m on the night and showing the kind of form that saw people punting him as a future Wallaby great.
  • 3 Waratahs in total gained over 100m with ball in hand.
  • Steve Walsh once again showed why he is kak, awarding nothing more than a penalty for a full on punch up between Al Baxter and Nathan White, with White basically assaulting Baxter.

Chiefs VS Waratahs 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

Scorecard:

Chiefs: 19

Tries:Tim Nanai-Williams 61m; Jackson Willison (2) 72m, 78m

Conversions: 2/3 (67%) Callum Bruce 1/2 (50%); Dwayne Sweeney 1/1 (100%)

Waratahs: 46

Tries: Drew Mitchell 3m; Ben Mowen 23m; Tatafu Polota-Nau 30m; Berrick Barnes 41m; Kurtley Beale 64m; Lachlan Turner 67m; Damien Fitzpatrick 79m

Conversions: 4/7 (57%) Berrick Barnes 2/4 (50%); Daniel Halangahu 2/3 (66%)

Penalties: 1/1 (100%) Berrick Barnes 1/1 (100%)

Brumbies VS Highlanders: The Brumbies are another of the Aussie teams to have made a strong shove toward making the playoffs when the systematically demolished the lacklustre Highlanders.

The Brumbies managed to keep the Highlanders try-less, and if it weren’t for the lone penalty before the half time whistle, the Highlanders would have remained scoreless.

The Brumbies had a point to prove and everything to play for, with veteran, George Smith playing in his Canberra swansong, and Stirling Mortlock watching his from the sidelines. The two veterans of Wallaby rugby weren’t let down, as their team mates pitched up with intent, whilst the Highlanders were never really present.

My two cents worth:

  • The Brumbies dominated the match from the get go, enjoying the right side of both the territory and possession.
  • Alando Soakai made an impressive 18 tackles on the night.
  • The Highladers defense remains a problem area, with Jimmy Cowan and Bronson Murray missing 6 tackles on the night. Jason Rutledge, however, managed to force 5 turnovers.
  • Pat McCabe was the most impressive player with ball in hand, gaining 146m on the night.

Brumbies VS Highlanders 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

Scorecard:

Brumbies: 31

Tries:Rocky Elsom 11m; Salesi Ma’afu 16m; Josh Valentine 47m; Matt Toomua 78m

Conversions: 4/4 (100%) Matt Giteau 4/4 (100%)

Penalties: 1/1 (100%) Matt Giteau 1/1 (100%)

Highlanders: 3

Penalties: 1/1 (100%) Israel Dagg 1/1 (100%)

Lions VS Blues: I’m sure the Blues thoroughly enjoyed their touch rugby game against the Lions pussy cats… and that’s all I have to say about that!

Lions VS Blues 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

Scorecard:

Lions: 14

Tries: Carlos Spencer (2) 32m, 41m

Conversions: 2/2 (100%) Herkie Kruger 2/2 (100%)

Penalties: 0/1 (0%) Herkie Kruger 0/1 (0%)

Drop Goals:/1 (0%) Herkie Kruger 0/1 (0%)

Blues: 56

Tries: Rene Ranger 5m; Stephen Brett 15m; Alby Mathewson 36m; Paul Williams 49m; Tom McCartney 57m; Joe Rokocoko (2) 64m, 68m

Conversions: 6/7 (86%) Stephen Brett 6/7 (86%)

Penalties: 3/3 (100%) Stephen Brett 3/3 (100%)

If you tackle me, I think I'll sh*t my pants...

Cheetahs VS Force: The Cheetahs carried on their impressive ‘nothing to play for’ form when they absolutely demolished the Force, in their round 13 encounter, in Bloem, over the weekend.

The Cheetahs opened their four try, bonus point, account in the first minute of the game when Sarel Pretorius pounced on a misguided pass, breaking the Force defence and offloading to Naas Olivier, who crossed over the for try.

Just a few minutes later it was the self same Sarel Pretorius who showed some class in pouching the Force ball behind a scrum and dove over for a try.

It was another deserved Springbok tourist though, in Bjorn Basson, who stole the show, putting in the kind of stellar performance that may one day see him getting a real call up.

My two cents worth:

  • In the last two games the Cheetahs have shown the kind of form that could actually get them somewhere someday. Wouldn’t it be nice to see that all through the season.
  • The Force showed how bad their attacking form is, when even after the Cheetahs missed 37 tackles, they still only managed to score 2 tries.
  • Phillip van der Walt was pretty impressive on the night, making 18 tackles and gaining 95m with ball in hand.

Cheetahs VS Force 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

Scorecard:

Cheetahs: 29

Tries:Naas Olivier 1m; Sarel Pretorius 12m; Bjorn Basson (2) 25m, 40m

Conversions: 3/4 (75%) Naas Olivier 3/4 (75%)

Penalties: 1/5 (20%) Naas Olivier 1/1 (100%); Meyer Bosman 0/2 (0%); Riaan Viljoen 0/2 (0%)

Force: 14

Tries:Ryan Cross 21m; David Pocock 74m

Conversions: 2/2 (100%) James O’Connor 2/2 (100%)

Penalties: 0/1 (0%) James O’Connor 0/1 (0%)

Sharks VS Stormers: The Sharks rained on the Stormers’ parade when the two Southern franchises met for an all important derby match in Durban over the weekend.

The Sharks were keen to prove some points and brought the game to the Stormers early on, with Odwa Ndungane crossing over, for the first of two Sharks tries on the night, after just the 7th minute of play.

Whilst the Sharks played some impressive rugby and had a rock solid defense, it was the Stormers who were their own worst enemies on the night, with Sireli Naqelevuki once again showing he is a douche bag, like a drunk poodle, strolling nonchalantly back to fumble a simple dot down behind his own line, allowing Ruan Pienaar to dive on his own kicked ball and score the final Sharks try of the night.

The Sharks continued to to stand up well against the Stormers, not allowing them to play the kind of classy, open running rugby they have displayed all season, and in doing so, got the better of most of the match ups, most notably the half back combinations of Kockott and Pienaa totally outclassing Duvenage and Grant respectively.

My two cents worth:

  • Surely it’s time for the players to take a stand against Naqelevuki being allowed to take the field ever again.
  • The management for the Stormers also made a vital error by replacing Tim Whitehead instead of letting Joe Pietersen come of for Naqele-douchebag.
  • Schalk Burger managed to make 19 tackles on the night, the most by any player.
  • Francois Louw continued in his impressive form that will surely see him become a Springbok this year, breaking the Sharks line 3 times.
  • For the third oldest player in the competition, and by far the oldest in the backline, Stefan Terblanche was amazing on the night, playing out of position, and gaining 120m with ball in hand.
  • It’s time for Naqelevuki to be deported.

Sharks VS Stormers 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

Scorecard:

Sharks: 20

Tries: Odwa Ndungane 7m; Ruan Pienaar 39m

Conversions: 2/2 (100%) Ruan Pienaar 2/2 (100%)

Penalties: 2/3 (67%) Ruan Pienaar 2/3 (67%)

Stormers: 14

Tries: Peter Grant 45m; Francois Louw 80m

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

Penalties: 0/2 (0%) Peter Grant 0/2 (0%)