Publications
Partners
JJ Harmse
We had the best of times and we had the worst of times. And hopefully, the very best is yet to come in the opening season of Super Rugby, or as most coaches and players call it, Super 15.
Poor Greg Peters. The former Wellington executive certainly had hoped for a smooth ride in his first year in charge of the new competition, but it was not to be.
As we speak, Peters is hoping that the ash clouds from a volcano in Chile (I kid you not) is not so disruptive that teams like the Reds and Western Force can return home after their respective weekend’s clashes against the Chiefs and Melbourne Rebels.
And then of course, if things go according to book, that the Bulls and maybe the Sharks will be able to fly out to New Zealand next week for the quarter-final playoffs!
Ash clouds in Northern Europe yes, but Down Under? Hard to imagine, but then, Peters could surely not have expected the devastating earthquakes in the Christchurch regions and having one of his fixtures being played at Twickenham in London.
Luckily for SANZAR, it turned out to be a massive freebie in which the calibre and skills of the Super Rugby competition could be showcased to the Northern Hemisphere, who was often way too critical of the way the game is played in the Southern half of the world.
Despite those setbacks, all games still started on time and the competition will run its course on the weekend.
Again, Peters would have hoped, but not expected the final week to be as tense as this one is going to be.
We have seen some close finishes in the past, but this time around, there are so many possible outcomes that it is almost impossible to book any plane tickets for next week before the final whistle of the final game.
The new play-off format is far from ideal, as is the fact that not all the teams are playing each other, but for now, just managing the tournament must have been a massive challenge to Peters and his staff. Well done to them.
We can only hope they will twinge the format in the not too distant future, as there is something amiss when you don’t have to play everyone else in the competition or when you only need to win your conference to finish in the top three.
Those decisions though, will be made in a boardroom and not on spot, as Peters was forced to do often in this very unpredictable year.
The regular outcries of foul play, poor officiating and reviews of the TMO system was again evident, but that is something that will always be part and parcel of any competition.
I would love Peters to act on the citing issue, as we have had too many citings not been successfully prosecuted, which shows that the citing officers were not in touch with the letter of the law at times.
A citing should almost every time result in some penalty to the offender, but the conviction rate was too low this time around.
For this, I blame the citing officers, who at times made some very debatable calls and those were often dismissed within minutes by the judicial officers.
Too often it was a waste of time and money and too often it impeded on the preparations of sides.
Maybe Peters should have a rule of three strikes and then out. If an officer’s citing is rejected three times in a row, he must be replaced, or something like that.
Back to the field of play. We will see Ian Foster bowing out at the Chiefs, Andy Friend being sacked very early and Jamie Joseph proving to be a first season jewel at the Highlanders.
2011 will of course also be remembered for the Sonny Bill Williams show and the introduction of this talented player to the Super audiences certainly had a massive impact. One only need to think of his reception in Cape Town ahead of the Stormers game to realise what impact he had on the minds of spectators.
SBW was probably shaded by the exploits of a certain mister Quade Cooper, but overall, they created massive positive coverage on the competition.
For the tournament to have a Cinderella ending, the Crusaders will probably have to win it, with SBW scoring the winning try.
But as Peters will tell you, nothing in Super Rugby in 2011 is the way it is suppose to be!
Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
We had the best of times and we had the worst of times. And hopefully, the very best is yet to come in the opening season of Super Rugby, or as most coaches and players call it, Super 15.
Poor Greg Peters. The former Wellington executive certainly had hoped for a smooth ride in his first year in charge of the new competition, but it was not to be.
As we speak, Peters is hoping that the ash clouds from a volcano in Chile (I kid you not) is not so disruptive that teams like the Reds and Western Force can return home after their respective weekend’s clashes against the Chiefs and Melbourne Rebels.
And then of course, if things go according to book, that the Bulls and maybe the Sharks will be able to fly out to New Zealand next week for the quarter-final playoffs!
Ash clouds in Northern Europe yes, but Down Under? Hard to imagine, but then, Peters could surely not have expected the devastating earthquakes in the Christchurch regions and having one of his fixtures being played at Twickenham in London.
Luckily for SANZAR, it turned out to be a massive freebie in which the calibre and skills of the Super Rugby competition could be showcased to the Northern Hemisphere, who was often way too critical of the way the game is played in the Southern half of the world.
Despite those setbacks, all games still started on time and the competition will run its course on the weekend.
Again, Peters would have hoped, but not expected the final week to be as tense as this one is going to be.
We have seen some close finishes in the past, but this time around, there are so many possible outcomes that it is almost impossible to book any plane tickets for next week before the final whistle of the final game.
The new play-off format is far from ideal, as is the fact that not all the teams are playing each other, but for now, just managing the tournament must have been a massive challenge to Peters and his staff. Well done to them.
We can only hope they will twinge the format in the not too distant future, as there is something amiss when you don’t have to play everyone else in the competition or when you only need to win your conference to finish in the top three.
Those decisions though, will be made in a boardroom and not on spot, as Peters was forced to do often in this very unpredictable year.
The regular outcries of foul play, poor officiating and reviews of the TMO system was again evident, but that is something that will always be part and parcel of any competition.
I would love Peters to act on the citing issue, as we have had too many citings not been successfully prosecuted, which shows that the citing officers were not in touch with the letter of the law at times.
A citing should almost every time result in some penalty to the offender, but the conviction rate was too low this time around.
For this, I blame the citing officers, who at times made some very debatable calls and those were often dismissed within minutes by the judicial officers.
Too often it was a waste of time and money and too often it impeded on the preparations of sides.
Maybe Peters should have a rule of three strikes and then out. If an officer’s citing is rejected three times in a row, he must be replaced, or something like that.
Back to the field of play. We will see Ian Foster bowing out at the Chiefs, Andy Friend being sacked very early and Jamie Joseph proving to be a first season jewel at the Highlanders.
2011 will of course also be remembered for the Sonny Bill Williams show and the introduction of this talented player to the Super audiences certainly had a massive impact. One only need to think of his reception in Cape Town ahead of the Stormers game to realise what impact he had on the minds of spectators.
SBW was probably shaded by the exploits of a certain mister Quade Cooper, but overall, they created massive positive coverage on the competition.
For the tournament to have a Cinderella ending, the Crusaders will probably have to win it, with SBW scoring the winning try.
But as Peters will tell you, nothing in Super Rugby in 2011 is the way it is suppose to be!
Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
