Mallett: SA conference weak

Cape Town - Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett has said that South Africa's Super Rugby conference is significantly weaker than their Australasian rivals.

In his role of guest speaker on SuperSport, Mallett said he had been disappointed by South Africa's poor performance in the tournament thus far, particularly their lack of ability to create opportunities on attack and score tries.

"Our conference is definitely the weakest and our teams aren't performing," Mallett said.

With the exception of the log-leading Sharks, it has been a terrible season for South African teams with the Lions, Stormers and Cheetahs occupying the three last places on the log, and the second-best SA team, the Bulls, in 9th place overall.

Mallett used the following Super Rugby stats to illustrate his point:

South African teams:

Played: 43
Won: 17
Bonus points: 13
Tries: 72
Points: 85

Australian teams:

Played: 40
Won: 22
Bonus points: 16
Tries: 91
Points: 104

New Zealand teams:

Played: 39
Won: 20
Bonus points: 19
Tries: 98
Points: 103

Leaders:

Wins: AUS
Bonus Points: NZ
Tries: NZ
Points: AUS