Hurricanes VS Crusaders: The Hurricanes performed one of the most noteworthy comebacks of the 2010 Super 14 so far when they made up an 18 point deficit and overtook the Crusaders in what was to become the 1st draw of the 2010 Super 14 season.    

It was the Crusaders who played most of the rugby in the first half, making it look as if the Hurricanes were in for yet another dismal game this season, but the Hurricanes came out of the half time break charging, scoring 20 unanswered points to take the lead for the 1st time in the game.    

Unfortunately for the Hurricane’s fans though, their team went into defensive mode thereafter and stayed there for the remainder of the match, allowing the Crusaders to claw their way back into the game and ultimately force the draw.    

My two cents worth:

  • The Hurricane’s and All Black centre pairing of Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith were near back to the kind of attacking form that earned them their test partnership in the 1st place. Nonu’s discipline, especially in the tackle, remains a worry though. 
  • The Hurricanes defence needs to be praised after the Crusaders spent a total of 7min31secs in the Hurricanes 22m area and only managed to score 3 tries. 
  • Jeremy Thrush made an incredible 19 tackles on the night. 
  • Ma’a Nonu was solid on attack, gaining 120m with ball in hand and breaking the Crusader’s line twice. His defense on the other hand, needs work, missing 3 tackles on the night. 

  • Congratulations to Dan Carter who became the second player this season, after Stirling Mortlock, to surpass 1000 Super Rugby points. 

Hurricanes VS Crusaders 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

     

Scorecard:

    

 

Play on, I'm not really sure what the new interpretations mean anyway...

Force VS Stormers: The Stormers slipped back into old habits when they came up against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday, underestimating the opposition and in essence, losing to themselves.  

On a night where not much went right for either of the teams on the field, the game was not helped by some poor displays by the match officials. Screwing up the most elementary of calls, such as when a player steps on the out line, he is out.  

The Force managed to control the last quarter of the game, moving the ball to the centre of the field, before slotting a drop goal, and taking victory.  

 My two cents worth:

  • I reiterate my stance that Peter Grant is not the answer at #10. His play is ordinary, and so much for the nickname “Bash”, missing 6 tackles on the night.
  • The Force don’t really have much hope of salvaging their season and need to do some serious soul searching if they are to take anything out of this year’s competition.
  • 10 of the Stormers’ players were forced to make 10 or more tackles on the night, compared to the Force’s one player making it into double figures.
  • In his absence, Joe Pietersen’s worth was clear for all to see and sorely missed on the night.
  • Sireli Naqelevuki, although gaining 114m with ball in hand, looked his old, lethargic self again.
  • Stuart Dickenson is kak.

Force VS Stormers 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

    

Scorecard:

 

Blues VS Bulls: The Blues managed to end the Bulls’ unbeaten run in the 2010 Super 14, when they downed the Pretoria based franchise 32 – 17 on Saturday.

It was a game where both teams scored off opposition mistakes, but it was the Bulls’ poor defence that was the difference in this round.   

The Bulls opened up the scoring early on, but the Blues spent more than 10% of the game in the Bulls’ 22m area, and in the end the scoreboard showed the Blues’ dominance in this regard.   

My two cents worth:

  • Francois Hougaard had an absolute ‘mare on the night, missing a total of 7 tackles.
  • The Bulls missed 41 tackles on the night, more than 4 times the amount of missed/ineffective tackles by the Blues.
  • Rudi Wulf gained a total of 155m with ball in hand.
  • Pierre Spies is still a machine, making a monstrous 18 tackles on the night.
  • Deon Stegman is a liability to his team mates, giving away 5 penalties on the night. Watch him in the next game and count how many times he enters a ruck either from an offside position, or from the side.

Blues VS Bulls 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

    

Scorecard:

 

     

Not the answer at #12

Chiefs VS Highlanders: The Chiefs managed to grind out a 27 – 21 win against the Highlanders on Saturday.    

Both teams were pretty even, stats wise, except for the Highlanders managing to spend less than 1 minute in the Chiefs’ 22m area.   

For the Highlanders, the game was there for the taking, when replacement flyhalf, Matt Berquist, made a brilliant break, running into space and drawing the defence, but a poor pass, high and behind the shoulder of Tim Boys, went amiss, costing the Highlanders an opportunity to score what could have been the winning try.   

The win kept the Chiefs in the running and for the Highlanders, it was the story of their season thus far.    

My two cents worth:

  • Mike Delany was a breathe of fresh air at #10 for the Chiefs, but what caught my attention was that Stephen Donald was again in the #12 jumper, something the All Black selectors may be looking at for the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup, and a disaster waiting to happen.
  • Luke Braid was brilliant with ball in hand, gaining a total of 82m and effecting 2 line breaks.
  • Hikawera Elliot is another player making a strong statement this season, causing 6 turnovers on the night.

Chiefs VS Highlanders 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

    

Scorecard:

 

 

Waratahs VS Cheetahs:Al Baxter made his 100th Super rugby appearance and was rewarded with his 1st ever Super rugby try when the Waratahs demolished the Cheetahs 40 – 17 on Saturday.    

The Waratahs scored 5 tries en route to their win over the Cheetahs, who scored a late consolation try to make the scoreboard look a tad more forgiving towards them than what the actual game displayed.    

The Cheetahs are going to have to do some serious soul searching if they are to score a win on the away leg of their season.    

My two cents worth:

  • Kurtley Beale gained a total of 111m with ball in hand. A stat that was probably elevated by some poor defence by the Cheetahs.
  • Hendro Scholtz was forced to make a monster 21 tackles on the night, the most by any player in round 8 of the 2010 Super 14.
  • 20 year old Rob Horne made 3 line breaks on the night. A player to watch out for in the future.

Waratahs VS Cheetahs 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

    

Scorecard:

  

     

Sharks VS Reds: The Sharks ended the Reds’ hopes of scoring a South African clean sweep when they recorded a 2 point win in their match up on Saturday.    

The Sharks weren’t on the right side of the stats and were outscored 4 tries to 3, but some better kicking by Springbok, Ruan Pienaar, kept them in the game and helped them to seal the close victory.    

The Reds’ halfback combination of  Will Genia and Quade Cooper, as the have all season, caused the opposition some headaches on defense, as Cooper broke the Sharks’ line on numerous occasions, securing go-forward ball for his team mates to run off.    

My two cents worth:

  • The win leaves the Sharks with an outside chance of staying in the competition.
  • Quade Cooper has a great step. He needs to work on a few silly things, but one has the feeling that those things will come with age, experience and ultimately, maturity.
  • He gained 92m with ball in hand on the night.
  • I thought Patrick Lambie was superb on the night, it was great to see the foot race between him and speedster, Rod Davies, both superstars in the making.

Sharks VS Reds 2010 Highlights: [WRNrugbynews]

    

Scorecard: