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Comment: Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – With players like Willem Alberts and Ryan Kankowski doing their Springbok claims no harm at all in the Sharks’ runaway start to the Super Rugby season, some of the loose forwards involved in Saturday’s big North v South clash at Loftus could do with barnstorming outings.
Preview: Vodacom Super Rugby Week 5
Despite it being an area where the champions played a particularly unpleasant second fiddle in the shock home defeat to the Highlanders, the Bulls have retained faith in the starting combo of Deon Stegmann, Dewald Potgieter and Pierre Spies for the visit of arch-rivals the Stormers.
All three will doubtless have redemption firmly on their minds after fired-up Adam Thomson and company handed them a bit of a humbling - particularly at breakdown time - a fortnight ago.
Fetcher Stegmann only added to the Bulls’ discomfort when he was yellow-carded for repeated infringements in this area by Stuart Dickinson; he has to be very careful not to become firmly branded a serial offender in terms of visits to the sin bin, even if his is a position where players always tend to flirt with this danger.
Indeed, it has not been an especially rewarding few months for the open-sider because he was reasonably anonymous in the Bok No 6 jersey after earning pretty generous maiden international exposure on the end-of-year tour to the northern hemisphere.
Just as pressured to restore better service for the Bulls on Saturday, though, is No 8 Pierre Spies, around whom old doubts about his defensive technique and relish swirled once more against the Highlanders.
Spies is a frustrating customer because he can be so peerlessly explosive and dynamic when on the front foot in open play, but a No 8 also has to get through lots of honest donkeywork and here he is sometimes rightly criticised for going absent without leave.
I have not always been his greatest fan but on the Boks’ 2010 British and Irish tour he impressed me greatly for his apparent determination to silence his detractors.
I thought the cherry on top was that moment against England at Twickenham -- the Boks were at their best in winning 21-11 – when he not only stopped a rampaging England attacker in a one-on-one situation near the Bok tryline, but also drove him back a few metres in one of those seminal moments that ripples so positively throughout a team’s ranks.
Just for the record, Spies also came across well in “ambassadorial” terms, articulate and engaging in his dealings with the demanding UK media. (These are qualities also installed in Bulls blindside flank colleague Potgieter, although the blond bomber could also do with a blood-and-thunder showing against the Stormers if he is to stay in the Bok picture this season himself.)
But Spies was downright poor again “going backwards” against the Highlanders two weeks ago, and will probably know it.
From a Stormers point of view, a big plus in their own, SA pride-restoring victory over the same New Zealand opponents last week was the welcome return to fullest mojo of flanker Francois Louw, who was immense in ball-stealing terms and was specifically praised by Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph afterwards.
This 2010-capped Springbok, who lost his way a little as last season ran its gruelling course and he was overplayed at times, has a vital role for the visitors at Loftus in the absence of injured captain Schalk Burger’s known “mongrel” and rare levels of industry (he is replaced at present by the no-frills, what-you-see-is-what-you-get Pieter Louw).
And if the Bulls will wish for improved form from the man in the No 8 shirt, their rivals on Saturday night may also seek to squeeze out a bit more in certain aspects of play from their own big specimen there, Duane Vermeulen.
The ex-Cheetahs man never shies away from physicality and unrelenting hard graft and, indeed, last season was top of many critics’ minds as a possibly better option than Spies for the national team.
But a No 8 also has a role to play in attacking creativity and linkage with the backline, and it is here where he is arguably under a bit of pressure to more actively aid the Stormers’ quest to find their running “spark”.
Remember that a couple of years back Vermeulen was an effective blindsider while Luke Watson, who did always have a fine eye for enterprise and counter-attack, wore the No 8 jersey: he may need to work especially determinedly now to convince the Bok brains trust that he is right up there with the likes of Spies and Kankowski as a real-deal eighthman ...
Teams:
Bulls:
15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield (captain), 4. Bakkies Botha, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Gurthro Steenkamp
Substitutes: 16. Gary Botha, 17. Rossouw de Klerk, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Danie Rossouw, 20. Francois Brummer, 21. Francois Hougaard, 22. Derick Kuun
Stormers:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Danie Poolman, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Dewaldt Duvenhage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Francois Louw, 6. Pieter Louw, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. Rynardt Elstadt, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. Brok Harris
Substitutes: 16. Ethienne Reyneke, 17. CJ Van de Linde, 18. De Kock Steenkamp, 19. Nick Koster, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Gary van Aswegen, 22. Juan de Jongh
Cape Town – With players like Willem Alberts and Ryan Kankowski doing their Springbok claims no harm at all in the Sharks’ runaway start to the Super Rugby season, some of the loose forwards involved in Saturday’s big North v South clash at Loftus could do with barnstorming outings.
Preview: Vodacom Super Rugby Week 5
Despite it being an area where the champions played a particularly unpleasant second fiddle in the shock home defeat to the Highlanders, the Bulls have retained faith in the starting combo of Deon Stegmann, Dewald Potgieter and Pierre Spies for the visit of arch-rivals the Stormers.
All three will doubtless have redemption firmly on their minds after fired-up Adam Thomson and company handed them a bit of a humbling - particularly at breakdown time - a fortnight ago.
Fetcher Stegmann only added to the Bulls’ discomfort when he was yellow-carded for repeated infringements in this area by Stuart Dickinson; he has to be very careful not to become firmly branded a serial offender in terms of visits to the sin bin, even if his is a position where players always tend to flirt with this danger.
Indeed, it has not been an especially rewarding few months for the open-sider because he was reasonably anonymous in the Bok No 6 jersey after earning pretty generous maiden international exposure on the end-of-year tour to the northern hemisphere.
Just as pressured to restore better service for the Bulls on Saturday, though, is No 8 Pierre Spies, around whom old doubts about his defensive technique and relish swirled once more against the Highlanders.
Spies is a frustrating customer because he can be so peerlessly explosive and dynamic when on the front foot in open play, but a No 8 also has to get through lots of honest donkeywork and here he is sometimes rightly criticised for going absent without leave.
I have not always been his greatest fan but on the Boks’ 2010 British and Irish tour he impressed me greatly for his apparent determination to silence his detractors.
I thought the cherry on top was that moment against England at Twickenham -- the Boks were at their best in winning 21-11 – when he not only stopped a rampaging England attacker in a one-on-one situation near the Bok tryline, but also drove him back a few metres in one of those seminal moments that ripples so positively throughout a team’s ranks.
Just for the record, Spies also came across well in “ambassadorial” terms, articulate and engaging in his dealings with the demanding UK media. (These are qualities also installed in Bulls blindside flank colleague Potgieter, although the blond bomber could also do with a blood-and-thunder showing against the Stormers if he is to stay in the Bok picture this season himself.)
But Spies was downright poor again “going backwards” against the Highlanders two weeks ago, and will probably know it.
From a Stormers point of view, a big plus in their own, SA pride-restoring victory over the same New Zealand opponents last week was the welcome return to fullest mojo of flanker Francois Louw, who was immense in ball-stealing terms and was specifically praised by Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph afterwards.
This 2010-capped Springbok, who lost his way a little as last season ran its gruelling course and he was overplayed at times, has a vital role for the visitors at Loftus in the absence of injured captain Schalk Burger’s known “mongrel” and rare levels of industry (he is replaced at present by the no-frills, what-you-see-is-what-you-get Pieter Louw).
And if the Bulls will wish for improved form from the man in the No 8 shirt, their rivals on Saturday night may also seek to squeeze out a bit more in certain aspects of play from their own big specimen there, Duane Vermeulen.
The ex-Cheetahs man never shies away from physicality and unrelenting hard graft and, indeed, last season was top of many critics’ minds as a possibly better option than Spies for the national team.
But a No 8 also has a role to play in attacking creativity and linkage with the backline, and it is here where he is arguably under a bit of pressure to more actively aid the Stormers’ quest to find their running “spark”.
Remember that a couple of years back Vermeulen was an effective blindsider while Luke Watson, who did always have a fine eye for enterprise and counter-attack, wore the No 8 jersey: he may need to work especially determinedly now to convince the Bok brains trust that he is right up there with the likes of Spies and Kankowski as a real-deal eighthman ...
Teams:
Bulls:
15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Morne Steyn, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield (captain), 4. Bakkies Botha, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Gurthro Steenkamp
Substitutes: 16. Gary Botha, 17. Rossouw de Klerk, 18. Flip van der Merwe, 19. Danie Rossouw, 20. Francois Brummer, 21. Francois Hougaard, 22. Derick Kuun
Stormers:
15. Gio Aplon, 14. Danie Poolman, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Dewaldt Duvenhage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Francois Louw, 6. Pieter Louw, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. Rynardt Elstadt, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. Brok Harris
Substitutes: 16. Ethienne Reyneke, 17. CJ Van de Linde, 18. De Kock Steenkamp, 19. Nick Koster, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Gary van Aswegen, 22. Juan de Jongh
