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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Loving the view from the top of the hill … that was the happy lot of the Bulls and Stormers after round five of the Vodacom Super 14.
The Stormers were especially convincing in the late Saturday game, trouncing a Hurricanes side thought to be credible “last four” prospects 37-13 and by five tries to two at a delirious, near-full Newlands.
It was a result that propelled the Stormers into second spot on the table, a point behind their South African rivals, although the Bulls have a game in hand which makes their own position that much more secure and satisfying.
The Hurricanes have now come a rather horrible cropper on successive Saturdays in South Africa and there is no immediate relief as the Bulls await them in a Friday night tussle at Loftus.
They were quite ruthlessly stubbed out by a Stormers side marvellously polished, motivated and clinical almost throughout their ranks.
It was another occasion where finding a player of the match was no easy task - a tribute to the team ethic that presently runs genuinely deep in these parts, although powerhouse Fijian wing Sireli Naqelevuki, a revitalised force of late, snaffled it and nobody could really quibble.
Led by another fire-and-brimstone personal showing from their captain Schalk Burger, the Stormers spent large chunks of the match in favourable field positions and they are starting to click nicely now in hand-to-hand play.
Their defence, of course, remains a device of near-wonder and they only conceded a second try to the thoroughly outplayed New Zealanders after the hooter had sounded.
Their hunger is reflected in the fact that, for instance, if they have a bad scrum they will quickly atone for it at the next set-piece, or if somebody misses a tackle he goes hell-for-leather to make a monster hit a minute later.
If they can keep the nucleus of their team relatively injury-free, as has largely been the case up to now, the Stormers do look destined for some overdue rugby in the knockout phase of the competition.
In Pretoria it was yet another points-fest for the Loftus faithful, with the Bulls basically putting the Highlanders to bed with consummate ease in a magical first 30 minutes, when they had already rattled up five tries.
After that things did get a little sloppy and more chaotic, especially as the Bulls understandably took the opportunity to start emptying their bench earlier than they might have initially even hoped.
They remain fast and furious on the front foot - the colossal Pierre Spies was a regular thorn in the Highlanders’ flesh – even if there is cause for continued consternation over their own leaky defence: the try count ended up as a “tennis set” of 7-5.
But it is also inappropriate to grizzle too much when the Bulls boast a full house of log points after four rounds.
The champions will have to implode fairly spectacularly to fall from the semi-finals frame – even if the Sharks did manage that dubious feat last season.
And one source of anxiety on the personnel front, with their tour now not far away, was the sight of Gurthro Steenkamp, their most experienced prop by a country mile, hobbling off before the break.
Sharks captain John Smit, meanwhile, ruefully stated the obvious in Canberra after his team went desperately close yet again, but still let any cigar slip from their fingers in a 24-22 defeat to the Brumbies: “We’re desperate for a win.”
Too right. That made it 0/5 for his men in the competition, with only pride to play for ahead.
And as much as you can sympathise with them for another “nearly” occasion - and again might argue that officialdom is somehow conspiring against them - the reality is that they lost a grim battle to a Brumbies outfit not exactly firing at optimum levels themselves.
Stark truth: in terms of their ability to construct tries, the Sharks are about as blunt these days as the generous nose cone on a Boeing 747.
Still, maybe they will finally sneak that elusive victory in Dunedin against the slightly dishevelled, returning Highlanders next Saturday – they did bag the corresponding fixture two years back and the Otago outfit certainly have various problems of their own.
Where to from here for the abject Lions? Last week it seemed they were just beginning to get some defensive structure in place, denying the Brumbies a bonus point, but then the sluice-gates opened spectacularly once more in a hideous 61-point surrender to the Waratahs.
I’ve said before how traditionally having a glaring lemon or two among the South African teams hampers our more title-ambitious sides – not only were the Lions so meek that they gave the Waratahs their fourth try well before half-time, but they also enabled them to start pulling off key players ridiculously early in the second period, only aiding the Aussie team’s collective freshness for the next round.
Virtually throughout the ranks, the Lions’ tackling was ludicrously powder-puff at times in Sydney… and this from what, especially worryingly, looked much more like their “A-team” (if one might be so generous as to use that term) on paper.
Any bets on the concession against the Crusaders in Christchurch next weekend?
Next week’s fixtures (home teams first):
Friday: Blues v Brumbies, Bulls v Hurricanes.
Saturday: Crusaders v Lions, Highlanders v Sharks, Force v Waratahs, Stormers v Cheetahs. Byes: Reds, Chiefs.
Cape Town – Loving the view from the top of the hill … that was the happy lot of the Bulls and Stormers after round five of the Vodacom Super 14.
The Stormers were especially convincing in the late Saturday game, trouncing a Hurricanes side thought to be credible “last four” prospects 37-13 and by five tries to two at a delirious, near-full Newlands.
It was a result that propelled the Stormers into second spot on the table, a point behind their South African rivals, although the Bulls have a game in hand which makes their own position that much more secure and satisfying.
The Hurricanes have now come a rather horrible cropper on successive Saturdays in South Africa and there is no immediate relief as the Bulls await them in a Friday night tussle at Loftus.
They were quite ruthlessly stubbed out by a Stormers side marvellously polished, motivated and clinical almost throughout their ranks.
It was another occasion where finding a player of the match was no easy task - a tribute to the team ethic that presently runs genuinely deep in these parts, although powerhouse Fijian wing Sireli Naqelevuki, a revitalised force of late, snaffled it and nobody could really quibble.
Led by another fire-and-brimstone personal showing from their captain Schalk Burger, the Stormers spent large chunks of the match in favourable field positions and they are starting to click nicely now in hand-to-hand play.
Their defence, of course, remains a device of near-wonder and they only conceded a second try to the thoroughly outplayed New Zealanders after the hooter had sounded.
Their hunger is reflected in the fact that, for instance, if they have a bad scrum they will quickly atone for it at the next set-piece, or if somebody misses a tackle he goes hell-for-leather to make a monster hit a minute later.
If they can keep the nucleus of their team relatively injury-free, as has largely been the case up to now, the Stormers do look destined for some overdue rugby in the knockout phase of the competition.
In Pretoria it was yet another points-fest for the Loftus faithful, with the Bulls basically putting the Highlanders to bed with consummate ease in a magical first 30 minutes, when they had already rattled up five tries.
After that things did get a little sloppy and more chaotic, especially as the Bulls understandably took the opportunity to start emptying their bench earlier than they might have initially even hoped.
They remain fast and furious on the front foot - the colossal Pierre Spies was a regular thorn in the Highlanders’ flesh – even if there is cause for continued consternation over their own leaky defence: the try count ended up as a “tennis set” of 7-5.
But it is also inappropriate to grizzle too much when the Bulls boast a full house of log points after four rounds.
The champions will have to implode fairly spectacularly to fall from the semi-finals frame – even if the Sharks did manage that dubious feat last season.
And one source of anxiety on the personnel front, with their tour now not far away, was the sight of Gurthro Steenkamp, their most experienced prop by a country mile, hobbling off before the break.
Sharks captain John Smit, meanwhile, ruefully stated the obvious in Canberra after his team went desperately close yet again, but still let any cigar slip from their fingers in a 24-22 defeat to the Brumbies: “We’re desperate for a win.”
Too right. That made it 0/5 for his men in the competition, with only pride to play for ahead.
And as much as you can sympathise with them for another “nearly” occasion - and again might argue that officialdom is somehow conspiring against them - the reality is that they lost a grim battle to a Brumbies outfit not exactly firing at optimum levels themselves.
Stark truth: in terms of their ability to construct tries, the Sharks are about as blunt these days as the generous nose cone on a Boeing 747.
Still, maybe they will finally sneak that elusive victory in Dunedin against the slightly dishevelled, returning Highlanders next Saturday – they did bag the corresponding fixture two years back and the Otago outfit certainly have various problems of their own.
Where to from here for the abject Lions? Last week it seemed they were just beginning to get some defensive structure in place, denying the Brumbies a bonus point, but then the sluice-gates opened spectacularly once more in a hideous 61-point surrender to the Waratahs.
I’ve said before how traditionally having a glaring lemon or two among the South African teams hampers our more title-ambitious sides – not only were the Lions so meek that they gave the Waratahs their fourth try well before half-time, but they also enabled them to start pulling off key players ridiculously early in the second period, only aiding the Aussie team’s collective freshness for the next round.
Virtually throughout the ranks, the Lions’ tackling was ludicrously powder-puff at times in Sydney… and this from what, especially worryingly, looked much more like their “A-team” (if one might be so generous as to use that term) on paper.
Any bets on the concession against the Crusaders in Christchurch next weekend?
Next week’s fixtures (home teams first):
Friday: Blues v Brumbies, Bulls v Hurricanes.
Saturday: Crusaders v Lions, Highlanders v Sharks, Force v Waratahs, Stormers v Cheetahs. Byes: Reds, Chiefs.
