Super 12 Rugby Tips and Predictions for Round 10

Predicting the outcome of matches has definitely proved in this Super 12 that it is not my strongest point. I really missed the target last week again by only predicting 50% of the winners! For what it is worth, here are my tips for this week – maybe this is my week!

Crusaders v Sharks
The Sharks have made some changes to bring Brent Russell closer to the play, which makes a lot of sense. The choice of Adrian Jacobs in a very inexperienced position at fullback may however just backfire. They are facing the very educated boot of Dan Carter and Jacobs may just find himself running around a little.

The Crusaders should have dropped their jet lag and even after a very average performance last week I cannot see them dropping this one and not getting the full house of five points. I reckon they will take this one by 15 against a hard onslaught from the Sharks.

Reds v Cats
If the Reds play the way they played against the Sharks and the Cats play the way they did against the Crusaders, the Reds may just find the going tough. Not that the Cats will give anyone sleepless nights, but let's face it, neither do the Reds.

Like last week this will be another bottom of the table clash and I once again expect this one to be full of errors. With Jaque Fourie a doubtful starter, the Cats may just lose their only strike force in the midfield and with the return of Ben Tune, the Reds may just find an unexpected gap open up. I think the Reds will hold out the Cats by not more than about 4.

Bulls v Blues
The Bulls pack against the Blues back three could be very interesting. If Morne Steyn does not kick too many down the trio’s throats, the Bulls should be strong enough to whip the Blues well into shape. I cannot see the Blues pack stand the onslaught from the Bulls and if the Bulls keep the Loftus crowd entertained for the full 80 minutes, the score may just run away from the Blues.

The Blues will counter attack all afternoon and they will hope that the try scoring machines like Howlett and Rocokoco will keep them in the picture. A win is basically non-negotiable for both teams as they both still have an eye on a semi-final spot. The Blues are currently in a better position, but one game can change it.

The question that will be answered after the eighty minutes may not just be if the Bulls could contain the Rocokoco/Howlett/Mulliaina trio, but if they contained Bryan Habanna! I think the Bulls will be too strong at home and take this one by 12.

Highlanders v Waratahs
The Highlanders have been one of the surprise packages this year and they have done their work clinically on the field week after week. The freezing Dunedin (even on a hot day!) is their playground and the Waratahs will find the going tough.

The Waratahs have had a good season and a few kind bounces in a match or two helped. Their luck is bound to run out. This is their last match away from home and they will be hoping for a victory or at least a bonus point.

I think the Highlanders are the more settled side and their win away last week against the Hurricanes would have done wonders for their confidence. I give this one to the Highlanders by 10.

Hurricanes v Brumbies
The Hurricanes are slowly starting to become undone the longer the Super 12 carries on and the Brumbies are a very unsettled side at the moment. The Canes are playing at home and that has to count for something, but the way they lost the match last week will give the Brumbies a lot of hope for this clash.

The Brumbies had a rest and may have just found their confidence in training. They have been heavily hit by injuries and this year’s tournament may be one of their toughest, but they still have a lot of pride to play for and can still sneak in with a semi-final spot. Never write them off or underestimate them as it could be to your own detriment. I think they may just sneak this one with a margin of 9.

Stormers v Chiefs
Last week the Stormers played 19 minutes of the most beautiful rugby we have seen in the Cape and then went off the field to a pub somewhere. Well, not quite, but they might as well have done it as they were no longer on the field.

The Chiefs had a good comeback against the lack-lustre second half Bulls, but they are not exactly what I would call a terrifying outfit.

The Stormers have lost Jean de Villiers as his face have not healed up enough after last week’s punch, but they do have the brilliant Schalk Burger back on the side of the scrum. That may just secure more ball and the Stormers may just kick into gear to win this one. I know it is like blowing in the wind to tip the Stormers, but they do have the potential to win and if they do not win this one, I cannot see them win any more matches this year. I do, however, like all the other weeks where I missed the mark, still go with the Stormers and may shock you by saying that I think they will take this one by 15.

Round 9 Super 12 2005 Wrap

Hurricanes 16 Highlanders 26 (My prediction = Hurricanes by 5)
The Highlanders is currently third on the log and this win may be vital for them to make it into the final four. I have to take my hat off to the team from the South Island, as I never expected them to be a serious contender. They do not have all the big names and do not scare the crap out of anybody, but they are 10o% committed to the game. That is what also gave them the win in the NZ capital against the Hurricanes. They played well and managed to keep the Canes out. The match was on a knife-edge until the drop goal from Nick Evans seems to take all the energy out of the Canes.

Crusaders 40 Cats 36 (My prediction = Crusaders by 30)
The Crusaders felt the effects of jet lag and the Cats played one of their best matches this season. That caused a very close result in a match that should have been one sided. The Cats actually had a number of chances to clinch this one, but it never realized for them.

The Crusaders played poorly, but still managed to get a full house of points from the match. That is showing the class that they have. They are not one of the most consistent sides in Super 12 rugby for nothing.

Reds 30 Sharks 25 (My prediction = Sharks by 5)
The only highlight in this match was the return of Ben Tune for a full 80 minutes. It was great to see that he managed to complete the day without any serious injury. He showed touches of his old class and hopefully he will be back into the international scene sooner rather than later.

The total match was error-ridden and if any team managed to put two moves together they scored! That is how bad it was. These two teams showed why they are in the bottom four of the log.

Really not a good window for rugby.

Bulls 29 Chiefs 26 (My prediction = Bulls by 30)
The Bulls once again showed that they are unstoppable in the first half. After an excellent performance of Victor Matfield in the Bulls mid-field he had a hand in making two great tries.

The worrying factor was the fact that the Bulls again seemed to die in the second half. The Chiefs, who themselves is not the most spectacular side around, were allowed to come back in the second half and produce a big scare to the Bulls. The fact that the Bulls could not earn the bonus point is something that may just jump up and bite them in the backside when the final rounds are completed.

There was a very interesting decision in this match when Soseni Anesi beat the Bulls to the line and dot the ball down while his foot was clearly touching the touch-in-goal line. The Bulls supporters nearly had a combined heart attack when a try was awarded to Anesi. This try brought an interesting rule into play that says you can be out of play and dot the ball down from anywhere around the in-goal area – as long as you do not handle the ball! You can thus theoretically stand outside the field of play and dot the ball down in the in-goal area. What you cannot do is to pick the ball up and then dot down. You would then be out of play and the ball would be dead. If Anesi picked up the ball and then dotted it down, it would not have been a try. The fact that he did not handle the ball and only dotted it down was fair play – even though he touched the in-goal touchline. I know Anesi knew nothing about the rules when he scored, but this would be a great example for a coaching video. Well done to the officials who got it right this time!

Stormers 24 Blues 37 (My prediction = Stormers or Blues by 10!)
The Stormers came out and played with the passion and skill we all knew they had. In the first 20 minutes they totally outplayed the Blues and Jean de Villiers showed why everyone has been screaming for him to play in the midfield. A terrible punch Rua Tipoki then ended the half for De Villiers and the Stormers seemed to run out of steam. The magic of De Villiers was gone and the magic was gone out of the team.

The Blues were allowed to come back and the teams turned with the Blues only trailing by 2. De Villiers returned in the second half, but was not a patch of the player he was in the first 20 minutes. The Blues slowly broke the Stormers down to eventually clinch the match, against the odds.

The amazing thing that happened here is that a team, like the Stormers, can score 24 points in the first 20 minutes, only not to score a single point in the next 60! There is something very seriously wrong in this camp and it sure looks like the Smal head is going to be another to roll!

General Super 12 comments
This past weekend was the one with the worst rugby of the year so far in the tournament. I don’t know if it was because we are reaching the final quarter of the tournament and the players are tired or if it is just a plain lack of skills. If I have a look across all the matches, I don’t even want to try and add up all the handling errors and bundled lineouts. It is ridiculous!

I trust the nest round will pick up the standard.

Other Rugby
There is talk that Percy Montgomery, the Springbok fullback, may be returning to SA after a couple of seasons with the Gwent Dragons. The talk is that he may be joining the Natal Sharks for the Currie cup.

The Final Word
The allocation of the five SA franchises for the Super 14 has caused chaos in SA rugby. Supporters want to kill each other and the top structures and officials are involved in some huge infighting. No, this is not WWE wrestling, this is rugby politics.

What is all the fuss, you may ask? The problem started when six bids were received for the four franchises. These six bids consisted of:
1. The Blue Bulls (Currently the Bulls)
2. The Golden Lions with some smaller unions (Current half of the Cats with the Free State as the other half)
3. The Free State Cheetahs, Griquas and Griffons (new)
4. The Natal Sharks (Currently Coastal Sharks)
5. The Western Province & Boland (Currently the Stormers)
6. The Eastern Province Elephants, Border Bulldogs & South Western Districts Eagles (new)

The race seemed to be between the two new comers on the block, namely the Free State Cheetahs and the EP Elephants (as the two main unions). It soon became clear that the SA Government also supported the Eastern cape bid.

The result became know after deliberation by some wise men and they decided the first five will be allocated the franchises and that the Eastern Coast area will be split up as follows: The Bulldogs will go to the Sharks and the Eagles to the Stormers. The shock was then about to hit with the Elephants allocated to the Bulls! That means that the two teams will have to field a Super 14 team while the centers of the areas is a mere 1500 km’s apart! Makes a lot of damn sense.

The Eastern Cape delegation walked out of the announcement and threats are now thrown all over the show. This has also lead to the turmoil in the SARFU leadership. How is it going to end, hell knows!

Before I say anything about how I would have split up the country for the franchises, let me tell you something about the two “new” bids.

The Free State is currently part of the Cats and the marriage with the Lions has been doomed from day one. Totally contrasting playing styles between the two old provincial sides made them growl at each other from day one. The Lions won the war and their official home ground is Ellispark in Johannesburg. The Free State has however been the better performing team in the Currie Cup, over the last couple of seasons, although it has not really been reflected in the make-up of the Cats team.

The Eastern Province bid includes the two main seats of the old black rugby union in South Africa. The Border area – around East London – and the EP regions – around Port Elizabeth – were traditionally the breeding ground form black players in South Africa. That is why the Government threw in its support to this bid as it would have gone far to support the transformation in SA rugby. The biggest problem they have in this region is money. The top player gest bought on a daily basis and that has lead to one of the old five power houses in SA rugby, EP, turn into a second rated team. If a franchise was allocated, the sponsorships would return and the players will be retained. To show the impact of lost players out of that region, look at the following names that have played in either the Super 10 or Super 12 over the last fifteen years. They were all borrowed or bought from the Eastern & Southern Cape Regions:
Ricardo Laubscher (Sharks & Bulls), Deon Kayser (Sharks), Odwa Ndugwane (Bulls & Sharks), Akona Ndugwane (Bulls), Fabian Juries (Bulls), Cedric Mkize (Sharks), Sam Gerber (Sharks), Heinrich Fulls (Lions), Hennie le Roux (Lions), Garth Wright (Lions), Joggie Viljoen (Stormers & Hurricanes), Anton Leonard (Stormers & Bulls), Jaco Gouws (Sharks), Hendrik Gerber (Stormers), Wayne van Heerden (Sharks), Solly Tiabilika (Sharks), Rassie Erasmus (Free State, Lions & Cats), Pedrie Wannenburg (Bulls), Lodewyk Hattingh (Stormers), Kabamba Floors (Stormers), Andrew Patterson (Stormers), Gary Pagel (Western Province), Baksteen Nel (Cats), Wilie Meyer (Cats). These are a number I can quickly think about. More time and I should be able to come up with a lot more. There are also about 10 that play for other provinces in the Vodacom cup – a tournament that is played amongst all the players who did not make current Super 12 squads. Remember other old player who all left the area like Joggie Viljoen snr (Griquas) Schalk Burger snr (Western Province), George Rautenbach (Transvaal), Danie Gerber (Western Province), Pote Human (Free Sate) and of course there are four famous brothers who also grew up in this area, namely Willie du Plessis, Michael du Plessis, Carel du Plessis and Jacques du Plessis. The latter is the only one that did not play for the Springboks. Co-incidentally, three of them currently live in the area again! Two other famous brothers who also came from this region are Chris and Johan Heunis. Chris has subsequently also served the Eagles for many years as president of the union. Of the 35 names mentioned, 20 played for the Springboks, two more for SA-A and another three for the SA sevens. This region also has 43% of the registered rugby players in South Africa. It will therefore make sense for the development of SA rugby that this region should have a franchise. It makes logical sense to me, but obviously not to some of the powerhouses in SA rugby.

Lets get back to the bid; I have now nailed myself to the mast with a franchise going to the Eastern & Southern Cape bid. The second would go to Western Province for the Stormers and the third to the Sharks. It just makes geographical sense. The last two I will also build along geographical lines and I will give one to the Free State, Griquas, Northern Free Sate Griffons and North West Leopards.

The final one will then be awarded to the Bulls, Lions (two city centers are 50km apart), Falcons, and Pumas. This will break the current non-working relationship between the Lions and the Cheetahs and will let the struggling Lions may just join forces with the Bulls to make a very good Super 14 side.

Future topics:

• The best player in the world

• The man of the match award

• If you want a short-term job, become a coach in SA!

• Referees and their impact on matches

• The allocation of the new Super 14 franchise in South Africa

• Ex rugby players who play analysts

• International tours

• The English bubble

• Bonus points in competitions

• Yellow and red cards in rugby

• The format of the Rugby World Cup and spreading of the game

• Some of my favourite players through the years

There are many more, but if there is something you would like me to add to the list, please feel free to let me know!

Super 12 Rugby Tips and Predictions for Round 9

Hurricanes v Highlanders
This is going to be a very close contest and will be the match to watch this weekend. The Highlanders have been the surprise package for me as they do not have so much talent around, but I think they have shown a lot of heart and that is why they are one of the leading teams in this year’s tournament. It is starting to remind me of days gone by when Jeff Wilson and Josh Kronfeld were still around.

The Hurricanes are led by the NZ captain and when the captain leads his team on the field in the Capital, which is incidentally also his home ground, it must count for some points.

This can really be a good spectacle to watch and I think the home advantage is going to give it to the Hurricanes by 5. Tana loves scoring close to the end!

Crusaders v Cats
The Crusaders will be jetlagged and the Cats are a beaten side that has long ago given up on survival. The only thing on their minds will be to get on the plane home.

The Crusaders come off a high after thrashing the Stormers in SA and will, although the jet lag will let them tire, still be far to strong for the woeful Cats. I think the Crusaders will take this one by 30 and that is only because they will be jetlagged.

Reds v Sharks
The Reds are also going to feel the flight in their legs and the Sharks had a fair outing against Blues last week. They were in the lead after 70 minutes and just let it slip at the end.

The Reds are busy sinking and will be on a low after losing both matches in SA and I think they will struggle to save this one. The return of the experience Elton Flatley will be a massive boost to the side that has only won a single match so far. My heart says they may just pull this one off, but my head says the Sharks will take this one by 5.

Bulls v Chiefs
The Chiefs are playing their first match in SA and I feel sorry for them. They may just have a false sense of security after beating the Cats and the Sharks, but the Bulls on their loved Loftus is a much different story. The Bulls have destroyed their opposition in their last two outings and it will be a surprise if the same is not going to happen here. The pack is too powerful for the Chief and I think the Bulls will pull this one off by about 30 or maybe even 40!

Stormers v Blues
The Stormers have dropped Bok center Marius Joubert to the bench to make room for the talented Jean de Villiers in the midfield. Gert Smal recalled the speedy Zimbabwian, Tonderei Chavanga, for duty on the wing. I think it is a case of putting some pace out wide to counter the flying Doug Howlett as I think Chavanga will beat him in a foot race.

All of this does still not bring me any closer to getting a result in this match. I have no idea who will win this one, so I am going to go with the Stormers by 10 as it is their home ground. I have, however, been disappointed so many times this season by the Stormers that it may just be 10 the other way! Have your pick!

Round 8 Super 12 2005 Wrap

Chiefs 45 Cats 14 (My tip = Cats by 5)
The Chiefs once again looked like a great side, whereas it was not their good play, but rather the pathetic performance by the Cats that caused this trashing. Byron Kelleher had a great match behind the dominating Chiefs pack and took charge of the game. The Cats did nothing to counter the little general.

This is the second week where the Chiefs had an easy run and a number of player looked like stars. There are really too many to mention, but I do believe the Chiefs’ party is now finished as they take the trip to South Africa.

For the Cats Conrad Jantjes had a very good game out on the wing, but Chester’s team is probably just waiting for this year’s Super 12 to finish. This was a humiliating loss against a very average team. If the team you loose against is very average, it really does not say a lot about you.

Bulls 32 Reds 7 (My tip = Bulls by 15)
At halftime the Bulls were leading 27 - 0 and it looked like this was going to be a record-breaking win. The Reds were destroyed by the Bulls pack as they played a very similar pattern as they did against the Crusaders. The pack was relentless and must raise the questions where the Bulls were when they were on tour. If their pack played this power rugby at all times they would have been on top of the log and not propping up the bottom half.

In the second half something amazing happened and instead of the Bulls tightening up the game, they let it become loose and the Reds played well to stay away from the tight phases. The powerful Bulls pack was now shifted around the field and it started taking its toll. The Bulls did nothing to take the control back and the Reds outscored the Bulls by 7 - 6 in the second half.

It was at the end however, a job well done by the Bulls getting a full 5 points for a job well done. It is really a pity that they did not play their previous matches (with the exception of the Crusaders outing) with the same passion and they could have been leading this tournament.

Blues 36 Sharks 13 (My tip = Blues by 25)
The Sharks held up for 70 minutes and were in with a definite shout. That is only because the Blues did not take advantage of all the ball they had in the first half. They just could not round off their moves and score. It must be a huge concern to them. That could have easily cost them the match. It was only in last quarter when they ran in no less than four tries to convincingly beat the Sharks.

The Sharks played much better than they did in their previous match, but were not good enough. They would also start hoping for this year to end so that they can start building for the next year.

Brumbies 6 Waratahs 10 (My tip = Waratahs by 2)
The drought in Canberra for the Waratahs has been broken. This was not pretty, but was a typical local derby where most players realized that an impressive performance in this match might just tip you for a place in the Wallaby side.

The Waratahs came what they had to do and hard hits in the midfield by Nathan Grey ensured that the Brumbies could not get any rhythm in the backline. Matt Gittau had a bit of a nightmare for most of the match and that did not help the Brumbies’ cause at all. Like I said a week or so ago, I think there are a lot more problems in the Brumbies camp than is visible. They are not the professional, well-oiled machine that we are used to. Anything to do with the fact that David Nucifora is no longer around? I am really staring to think that it just might be the case.

As said before, that match was hard and relentless and I was waiting to see whom of Finnegan or Harrison was going to throw the first punch!

There were a number of players who put up their hands for the Wallaby squad and just one or two who may just have dropped their shares a little. I am not going to discuss it in detail, as I do not want to influence the Wallaby selectors! I wish!

The Waratahs are now really on the way to a home semi-final. The Brumbies? Maybe they should start thinking about next year.

Stormers 23 Crusaders 52 (My tip = Stormers by 6)
This was the match of the weekend. The Stormers had an very good first half, but then the clinical play of the Crusaders took over. At half time the Stormers lead 6 – 3 in a very hard fought battle. The backline played well and got good ball from their forwards to keep the Crusaders away from their try line. It looked good for the Stormers, but the statistics showed that the Crusaders have a wealth of possession that they just could not use effectively.

After halftime the Crusaders pack kicked in gear and they showed the SA public why they are a champion side. They slowly destroyed the Stormers pack and that possession killed the Stormers. The pressure was just too much and the floodgates opened.

The Stormers tried hard, but the Crusaders just outplayed them. There were good performances on both sides. Individually some Stormers had a great game, but the red and black waves from the Crusaders were just too much to handle.

At the end of the day we saw, what I think, is the 2005 Super 12 champions in superb form after their lapse against the Bulls the previous week. They outplayed, outscored and just slaughtered the Stormers in the second half.

General Super 12 comments
Last week I bashed the referees and I am not going to do it this week again. I can however just make a comment or two by saying that there were again some diabolical decisions from certain referees. We some tries awarded that are not tries (about three) and even a yellow card to a player who did not even touch the person he was supposed to infringe upon! I can however, give a thumbs up to little George Ayoub for the superb way he handled the Stormers/Crusaders match.

The SA sides seem to be first half teams with all of them – except for the Cats – looking very good at half time. Second half? Well, they seemed to forget there is another to play.

The struggling Brumbies have been given another low blow with the news that George Gregan will be sidelined for at least six weeks with a broken leg. It fortunately does not sound like a very serious fracture, but it is a fracture.

The Cats have also received a heavy blow after their lock, Boela du Plooy, was suspended for 12 weeks for trampling. Unfortunate for the Cats, but a well earned suspension for Du Plooy whose use of the boots was totally uncalled for.

Other Rugby
The SA under 19 side beat the Baby Blacks to win the IRB u/19 championship. It was a very hard fought battle with both sides making a lot of mistakes towards the end that could have swung this one any direction. The final score is 20 – 15 to the Baby Boks. Well-done boys!

The Final Word
Due to some constraints I shall not write anything here this week, but will tackle the allocation of the Super 14 franchises in SA rugby next week.

Futures topics:

• The best player in the world

• The man of the match award

• If you want a short-term job, become a coach in SA!

• Referees and their impact on matches

• The allocation of the new Super 14 franchise in South Africa

• Ex rugby players who play analysts

• International tours

• The English bubble

• Bonus points in competitions

• Yellow and red cards in rugby

• The format of the Rugby World Cup and spreading of the game

• Some of my favourite players through the years

There are many more, but if there is something you would like me to add to the list, please feel free to let me know!

Tips and Predictions for round 8

Chiefs v Cats
After the big hiding the Chiefs gave the Sharks, anything is possible in this match. If the Cats continue on their form of last week against the Blues, I reckon that they are in with a chance.

This is a real bottom of the table clash with no real impact on the tournament. If the Cats can control Lauaki and the very accurate boot of Hill, they will be in with more than a shout and could take this one by 5.

Bulls v Reds
The Bulls are flying high after their destruction of the Crusaders last week. The Reds had a very average display against a very average Stormers side, but I cannot see them stand up against the Bulls. The Bulls pack should control this match from the first whistle and with the young Morne Steyn on flyhalf there in new life in the Bulls backline. The Reds will rely heavily on Chris Latham to perform some magic, but I cannot see it being enough. The Bulls are on a high and will blow over the Reds by 15.

Blues v Sharks
The fortunate thing for the Sharks is that they cannot really drop lower than they are at the Moment. Their last outing was an absolute disaster when they went down heavily against the Chief. Now the Blues in Auckland must look like a new Tsunami to them. The Blues have slowly improved, but is still not firing on all their cylinders. Their big danger is in their backline and any aimless kicking on the likes of Howlett and Rocokoco will be severely punished from the back. The Sharks are in turmoil and have shown that they are the most unreliable team in te tournament. It must however, be remembered that they are still a very talented team and if they get it all together they can definitely win this one. My final note on this is that I don’t think they will get it together and that the Blues will take this one by 25!

Brumbies v Waratahs
The clash of the two main teams in Wallaby land is something to look forward to. The answers to the following questions will more than likely control the outcome of this match: which of the Wallaby locks are going to come out on top in the lineouts? Can George control Phil and visa versa? Will this finally show that Whitaker is better Gregan or will the old veteran prove that he still has it? Has Peter Hewat’s unbelievable luck in the tournament run out and is Mat Rodgers 100% fit? Will the Larkam/Gitteau paring in the midfield cut the Waratahs to pieces?

Give me the answers to all these questions and I shall give you the winner! Personally, I think the Brumbies are taking some strain at the moment and I reckon that this will be the day that the Waratahs are going to be glorious and win this one by 2.

Stormers v Crusaders
This is a very difficult one to call. The Stormers still have not played to their potential this year and yet they have not performed all that badly. Apart from the 15-point margin against the Brumbies, their losses have all been very close affairs and they have also not lost on Newlands this year.

The Crusaders got the fright of their life last week against the Bulls and will still feel the pain after they were hit by the Bulls pack. The loss of Richie McCaw can have a very big impact, as he is one of their prime sources of good turnover ball. He is also their captain.

Goggie van Heerden has been spending time with the Stormers to try and improve their nightmare kicking, as this has been a very sore point to the Stormers supporters. We all know what the monster touch kicks of a Gaffie du Toit can do to a pack of forwards.

I think this is going to be very tight and suspect that the Stormers will defend their “last outpost” and take this one by 6.

Round 7 Super 12 2005 Wrap

Highlanders 19 Brumbies 18 (My tip Brumbies by 8)
Well, well, well! That is the most I can say after I missed the target for the third week in a row with the Brumbies. They have now let me down and I am afraid that the problems in the Brumbies camp are bigger than I suspected. They showed momentarily – for about 10 minutes in the first half and the final 15 in the second have – flashes of the brilliance that made them such a well respected side. For some of another reason they just cannot get their rhythm going.

The final result is that the Highlanders held on to a well-deserved victory against the much-acclaimed Brumbies. In their backline Ben Blair had a solid performance on fullback and Mapasua in the midfield. Webb, who replaced the injured Paul Miller at nr 8 also had a strong match and was well rewarded with a try.

In the Brumbies side the old veteran Finnegan tried hard and Mark Gerard was pure class at the back. George Gregan is however starting to show more and more cracks in his play and is becoming a shadow of the player that he was a couple of years ago, when he was undisputedly the best scrumhalf in the world. He must be careful not to hang on too late. People intend to remember your last match much longer than your glory days.

Chiefs 40 Sharks 5 (My tip = Sharks by 10)
Maybe I should spend time tipping netball matches, as I cannot be further out than this! The Chiefs were diabolical in the match and did not deserve a game of rugby on any level. Looking at the score though, that tells you how bad the Sharks were…

The Chiefs were fairly poor as I expected, but the Sharks really hit a low after their good performance in their last outing when hey whipped the Brumbies. It did not look like the same people who were on the field!

On the side of the Chiefs I have to mention two names that really impress me. The first is the flanker Sioni Lauaki whose strength is unbelievable and he always remains a handful for any side. He is not the quickest man around, but sure makes up for it with his power play. The second one is the winger Sitiveni Sivivatu. This man is one of the great finishers in rugby and I promise you that all the opponents of the Chiefs sigh of relieve when they realize that this man plays in such a poor side. Can you imagine a superb finisher like this in the Crusaders or Brumbies backline? It will be murder.

I really don’t see any of these two teams heading for any other place but down the Super 12 ladder.

Blues 23 Cats 6 (My tip = Blues by 15)
I can write a book about the decisions Stuart Dickenson has made in the past and can just about add a chapter after this match. The number of errors made by this man, in my opinion, surpasses pathetic performances from the diabolical Tappe Henning, Shaun Veldsman and “blowing another game” Paul Honiss. I challenge anyone to go critically look at the performance in this match and give an honest opinion. See the bit at the bottom on the impact referees have on the game.

I want to highlight what I thought were two very bad decisions of Mr. Dickinson. The first was when the Blues went down the right hand touchline and Booi cut off Necewa about eight yards out. Necewa tried to pass inside to a flying Howlett, but the ball was spilled about three yards forward – the 5-meter line was there as a nice visual guide. Howlett then carried on and grabbed onto Jantjes to prevent the fullback from getting close to the ball. A scrum in the first instance and a penalty in the second from any damn rulebook! Stuart Dickenson was not further 10 yards away from the action, but could not see it. Like the ex player John Drake remarked he could see it from 80 meters away. John also made a comment when Dickenson said to the touch judge that he could not see the number when CJ vd Linde made an early tackle. It was two yards in front of him with a massive 3 on the back. There is one more that I want to mention and that is when Mialamu threw short into the lineout, received the ball back and Mika scored. Dickenson was standing in the front of the lineout when this took place. The unfortunate thing was that the ball did not travel five yards and the return to Mialamu was forward. The net effects of these two events were a penalty straight after the first instance to the Blues and a try in the second case. That gave the Blues an 11-3 lead at a very crucial stage when the match was finely balanced. Enough said about Stuart Dickenson, as this was not the first match handled with so many mistakes and it will not be last either. As a player you cane unfortunately do squat about it and you just have to accept it that a man like this controls your income – or ultimate lack of it.

Let me get back to the match. It was very evenly balanced until half time. The Cats tried hard, but the Blues managed to hold them out. The Blues tried hard to attack the line of the Cats, but their own mistakes lead to them not scoring. At the end the Blues got it right, but I think they will be a very concerned side after loosing so much possession due to their own mistakes. It was clear from the start that their best chance was going to be from broken play. When players like Mils Muliana got the ball in broken play, there was really trouble on the horizon. He started the match on center, but he was at his best when he shifted to back later in the match. The position from where he does duty for the All Blacks. Xavier Rush was also a tower of strength in the pack and really lead from the front. Not only did he defend well, but he also made it count at the breakdowns. Players like Howlett and Rokocoko will have to pick up their play if they want to play for the All Blacks this year. There are currently better Kiwi wings around than these two. They are just not making their chances count.

The Cats do not have to sit in ash after this loss. Yes, they lost, but the difference is much bigger than it could have been. The Cats had ample chances to score, but did not do it. The stupid kicking in the first half by Michael Claassens from the base did not help their cause at all. In the pack, their captain Wicus van Heerden played another good match. His team most definitely does not loose games because of him.

Stormers 15 Reds 13 (My tip = Stormers by 12)
As I have had a lot to say about referees this week, I have to commend Paul Honiss for his handling of the match between the Stormers and the Reds. The first half was a stop/start affair Honiss handled it very well.

The Stormers were is control of the match for most of it, but there was no sense of urgency to score. They nearly managed to throw it away, but fortunately as weak as they were on the attack, so good were they on defense for most of the match. Gert Smal must have a very serious look at the backline of the Stormers. They got the better and cleaner possession, but did absolutely nothing with it. It must, surely now is time to replace some of the players riding on their reputations. For the Stormers Luke Watson had an excellent match on the flank and Bolla Conradie had a great match after a long time warming the bench. At the end of the day the Stormers had all their replacements on the field and had a hooker playing flank and a scrumhalf on the wing. Their pack was the biggest weapon on the afternoon, which is totally unlike the Stormers, as they are really known for their inventive back play. If, however, what we are seeing is the invention, the inventor needs to be fired!!!

The Reds never found rhythm and battled to stretch the Stormers as their pack had a hard time in the tight phases and their backline let them down with some poor handling. Chris Latham was once again a tower of strength at the back and Nathan Sharpe played well in the tight. It was however a sole battle. Croft and Roe tried hard in the loose, but Watson and Burger were more than a handful.

At the end of the day, the Stormers won the match deservedly, but cannot feel comfortable with the final result. They should have won this one much more easily.

The Reds were lucky to get away with the result they did and a bonus point, but they need to look at a much-improved performance if their pack wants any ball against the Bulls in their next round match.

Bulls 35 Crusaders 20 (My tip = Crusaders by 14)
The Bulls were sensational! This was without any doubt their best performance of the year and they crushed the Crusaders at Loftus. Don’t let the 20 points that the Crusaders got fool you. They were totally outplayed. The Bulls pack destroyed the Crusaders in the manner that the SA public had gotten used to in the local Currie Cup. The Crusaders could not get clean first phase ball and that let them play off the back foot all match long.

Bryan Habanna showed why he is so highly regarded by the SA selectors when he was given two opportunities and converted both into tries. His acceleration off the mark is really good. The foundation was however laid by the massive Bulls pack. Player like the ex Bok flank Pedrie Wannenburg showed old form returning and Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha dominated the lineouts – on both teams’ throws. The one problem the Bulls pack still had was their predictability and the Crusaders could have done more to disrupt the unimaginative, but successful pattern. It was however the Bulls’ day this time around.

Morne Steyn had two shocking knock-on’s, but overall he may just what the Bulls want for their backline. At least some of the ball got past the flyhalf for a change!

The Crusaders were disrupted early when Richie McCaw had to be carried off the field after running into he tow-truck Richard Bands. This most definitely had an impact, as you do not loose one of the top breakaway flankers and your captain without feeling the pinch. Only the very educated boot of San Carter managed to keep them in touch with a number of long-range penalties. One from as far out as 57 meters! They are however still a top side and the Stormers must be careful not to underestimate them in the next match.

George Ayob handled the match fairly well, except for two instances that lift the eyebrows – it is my week for ref bashing! The first was when Leon McDonald was blown for carrying a ball over his won goal line where he most definitely did not do it. That lead to the Ettienne Botha try immediately from the next movement.

The second incident was when Danie Coetzee charged down a 22-drop out by Carter. He was judged to be over the line. I do have a little news for you George, the rules in rugby say that when you are in the air you can be floating around in stadium and cannot be blown. You have to actually touch the ground on the wrong side. The rule also says that you can charge a kick down, as long as you do not cross before the kick is taken and not after the kick is finished!

Two little mistakes that fortunately had not impact on the final outcome of the match.

Hurricanes 26 Waratahs 24 (My tip = Waratahs by 3)
What a superb match to end the weekend off! These to teams really gripped everyone from start to finish and the ding-dong battle could have gone anywhere. The Hurricanes played at home and have the advantage and that was maybe the only factor that was the difference between the two teams.

The Hurricanes backline looked a lot better than before in the tournament and I was highly impressed with the pace from Tana Umaga. Remember when he switched from wing to center, he said that it was because he felt that he has become to slow for wing! The way he caught Peter Hewat from behind was very impressive.

The Waratahs have now lost two on the trot. Is the start of their famous end-of-tournament fade? Peter Hewat could not believe his luck when he intercepted no less that three times in the match, with one getting him a try. His kicking was, however a bit off target and could have meant the difference between win and lose.

The two sides are however two of the top sides this year and the way they played this match showed why they are at the moment consistently in the top three.

General Super 12 comments
The weekend’s games have lead to the odd surprise, but none more than the power display by the Bulls against the Crusaders. If they can continue at this rate the Reds, Blues and Chiefs may just find it very difficult at Loftus.

A concern to me is the number of players who were stretchered off the field this past weekend. Ruan Pienaar was the first to go, then Werner Greeff and Richie McCaw. I have not seen so many people out cold in a boxing tournament. I trust none of them has any serious injury – not that concussion is not serious, but you know what I mean.

Other Rugby
I have always been a great fan of Jona Lomu and to me it is great news that he will be in action during the NPC this year.

The Final Word
This week I want to make a few comments on that 31st man on a rugby field. The Brumbies always complained about Andre Watson, the SA sides about Stuart Dickenson, The Springboks about Paul Honiss, etc, etc. There are a number of other examples as well. The facts however show a funny picture and there must be something in the complaints. I do not have the exact statistics, but it does show that the Brumbies lost more games when Andre Watson was the referee than they win. The Springboks have lost all the tests in which Paul Honiss carried the whistle and the SA Super 12 sides have won only one or two games in the history of the tournament when Dickenson carries the whistle. Can these facts just be ignored or is there some truth in them?

I believe that the way a referee blows the whistle can directly influence the outcome of a match. For some or another reason the referees have become more prominent than ever in the past. Where did this rubbish come from where a referee tells a player “number 4, hands off” or “number 4 you are offside – behind the last line of feet” We hear it daily by the referees over the microphones. The problem is that he may warn a team one time and the other time he will just blow the player up and award the penalty. If he has to tell any player to fall back, does it not mean that the player is already transgressing the laws and must be penalized? Penalize him! That is the rule! Why must a player be told to let go of a ball when a ruck is formed? If he has not let go before it, he is transgressing the laws and should be penalized. Let me sketch a scenario where this can have a direct impact on a game.

Team A plays against team B. A is on the attack close to B’s try line and one player from team B moves offside. The referee warns him to fall back behind the last line of feet. Team A wins the ball and cannot score due to some reason and B clears their lines eventually. Now the situations turns around and team B is on the attack on team A’s try line. A player from team A moves offside. The referee blows him immediately for coming offside – nothing wrong with the decision – and team B scored 3 points and win the game. What was different? Only the interpretation and decision by the referee when to warn and when to penalize.

Lets me give you a funny example from the match between the Highlanders and Brumbies. The Highlanders were on the attack towards the end of the first half and had a ruck between the poles and the touchline. The Highlanders got the ball and went for the line. Bill Young came out of the defensive line – totally offside – and tackled the player. A penalty was awarded and three points scored by the Highlanders.

In the 2003 Tri-Nations, Marius Joubert tackled Tana Umaga close to the Springbok line high and a penalty try was awarded to the All Blacks. The argument was that Tana got prevented from scoring by an illegal means (high tackle) and that warrants a penalty try.

The question in my mind from the scenario’s above is what is the difference? If the tackle from Marius was illegal and warranted a penalty try, why did the fact that Bill Young came totally offside (he was the last line of defense) not also warrant a penalty try? Surely he used an illegal means to prevent a try!

There are many more places where players are warned and sometimes penalties awarded without warning and I argue that they impact the outcome of matches. I do not want to point a finger at any referee and say that they are cheating, but I am sure they do blow different games for different teams. You can look at things that happen that end up in red and yellow cards for some players and see that the same transgression is made other players on the same field and they only get penalties against them. Have a close look at any game and you will see how the same transgression is sometimes “warned” away and other times immediately penalized. That, has a direct impact on the outcome of a match!!!!

I made a fairly harsh attack on Stuart Dickenson earlier after his bad handling of the whistle in the Blues Cats game. I could have done the same with the fairly incompetent referee Tappe Henning as well. Remember that both these referees have been removed from the international panel in the past and have both returned again. Yet, there is no improvement in the way they handle the whistle. It is a protected club which player cannot attach, because if they say anything they loose money and the referee just continues in any case. Any person who criticizes a referee gets into trouble for bringing the game into disrespect. What about the atrocious way these people handle the matches? Does that not bring the game into disrespect because they obviously do not blow according to the same rulebook?

How do you resolve it? Easy! Firstly, just let referees stop this crap of warning people and apply the rules and blow the transgressions immediately – without going into a conversation or debate with the player. Just apply the rules as you are supposed to Mister Ref!
Secondly, have the players have a much bigger in the performance report of a referee after the match. I saw a referee have a very bad day and get 97/100 on his performance by his peer measuring him. Sounds very much like and old boys club to me..!

What do you think?

Futures topics:

• The best player in the world

• The man of the match award

• If you want a short-term job, become a coach in SA!

• Referees and their impact on matches

• Ex rugby players who play analysts

• International tours

• The English bubble

• Bonus points in competitions

• Yellow and red cards in rugby

• The format of the Rugby World Cup and spreading of the game

• Some of my favourite players through the years

There are many more, but if there is something you would like me to add to the list, please feel free to let me know!

Round 7 Super 12 2005 Wrap

Highlanders 19 Brumbies 18 (My tip Brumbies by 8)
Well, well, well! That is the most I can say after I missed the target for the third week in a row with the Brumbies. They have now let me down and I am afraid that the problems in the Brumbies camp are bigger than I suspected. They showed momentarily – for about 10 minutes in the first half and the final 15 in the second have – flashes of the brilliance that made them such a well respected side. For some of another reason they just cannot get their rhythm going.

The final result is that the Highlanders held on to a well-deserved victory against the much-acclaimed Brumbies. In their backline Ben Blair had a solid performance on fullback and Mapasua in the midfield. Webb, who replaced the injured Paul Miller at nr 8 also had a strong match and was well rewarded with a try.

In the Brumbies side the old veteran Finnegan tried hard and Mark Gerard was pure class at the back. George Gregan is however starting to show more and more cracks in his play and is becoming a shadow of the player that he was a couple of years ago, when he was undisputedly the best scrumhalf in the world. He must be careful not to hang on too late. People intend to remember your last match much longer than your glory days.

Chiefs 40 Sharks 5 (My tip = Sharks by 10)
Maybe I should spend time tipping netball matches, as I cannot be further out than this! The Chiefs were diabolical in the match and did not deserve a game of rugby on any level. Looking at the score though, that tells you how bad the Sharks were…

The Chiefs were fairly poor as I expected, but the Sharks really hit a low after their good performance in their last outing when hey whipped the Brumbies. It did not look like the same people who were on the field!

On the side of the Chiefs I have to mention two names that really impress me. The first is the flanker Sioni Lauaki whose strength is unbelievable and he always remains a handful for any side. He is not the quickest man around, but sure makes up for it with his power play. The second one is the winger Sitiveni Sivivatu. This man is one of the great finishers in rugby and I promise you that all the opponents of the Chiefs sigh of relieve when they realize that this man plays in such a poor side. Can you imagine a superb finisher like this in the Crusaders or Brumbies backline? It will be murder.

I really don’t see any of these two teams heading for any other place but down the Super 12 ladder.

Blues 23 Cats 6 (My tip = Blues by 15)
I can write a book about the decisions Stuart Dickenson has made in the past and can just about add a chapter after this match. The number of errors made by this man, in my opinion, surpasses pathetic performances from the diabolical Tappe Henning, Shaun Veldsman and “blowing another game” Paul Honiss. I challenge anyone to go critically look at the performance in this match and give an honest opinion. See the bit at the bottom on the impact referees have on the game.

I want to highlight two very bad decisions of Mr. Dickinson. The first was when the Blues went down the right hand touchline and Booi cut off Necewa about eight yards out. Necewa tried to pass inside to a flying Howlett, but the ball was spilled about three yards forward – the 5-meter line was there as a nice visual guide. Howlett then carried on and grabbed onto Jantjes to prevent the fullback from getting close to the ball. A scrum in the first instance and a penalty in the second from any damn rulebook! Stuart Dickenson was not further 10 yards away from the action, but could not see it. Like the ex player John Drake remarked he could see it from 80 meters away. John also made a comment when Dickenson said to the touch judge that he could not see the number when CJ vd Linde made an early tackle. It was two yards in front of him with a massive 3 on the back. There is one more that I want to mention and that is when Mialamu threw short into the lineout, received the ball back and Mika scored. Dickenson was standing in the front of the lineout when this took place. The unfortunate thing was that the ball did not travel five yards and the return to Mialamu was forward. The net effects of these two events were a penalty straight after the first instance to the Blues and a try in the second case. That gave the Blues an 11-3 lead at a very crucial stage when the match was finely balanced. Enough said about Stuart Dickenson, as this was not the first match handled with so many mistakes and it will not be last either. As a player you cane unfortunately do squat about it and you just have to accept it that a man like this controls your income – or ultimate lack of it.

Let me get back to the match. It was very evenly balanced until half time. The Cats tried hard, but the Blues managed to hold them out. The Blues tried hard to attack the line of the Cats, but their own mistakes lead to them not scoring. At the end the Blues got it right, but I think they will be a very concerned side after loosing so much possession due to their own mistakes. It was clear from the start that their best chance was going to be from broken play. When players like Mils Muliana got the ball in broken play, there was really trouble on the horizon. He started the match on center, but he was at his best when he shifted to back later in the match. The position from where he does duty for the All Blacks. Xavier Rush was also a tower of strength in the pack and really lead from the front. Not only did he defend well, but he also made it count at the breakdowns. Players like Howlett and Rokocoko will have to pick up their play if they want to play for the All Blacks this year. There are currently better Kiwi wings around than these two. They are just not making their chances count.

The Cats do not have to sit in ash after this loss. Yes, they lost, but the difference is much bigger than it could have been. The Cats had ample chances to score, but did not do it. The stupid kicking in the first half by Michael Claassens from the base did not help their cause at all. In the pack, their captain Wicus van Heerden played another good match. His team most definitely does not loose games because of him.

Stormers 15 Reds 13 (My tip = Stormers by 12)
As I have had a lot to say about referees this week, I have to commend Paul Honiss for his handling of the match between the Stormers and the Reds. The first half was a stop/start affair Honiss handled it very well.

The Stormers were is control of the match for most of it, but there was no sense of urgency to score. They nearly managed to throw it away, but fortunately as weak as they were on the attack, so good were they on defense for most of the match. Gert Smal must have a very serious look at the backline of the Stormers. They got the better and cleaner possession, but did absolutely nothing with it. It must, surely now is time to replace some of the players riding on their reputations. For the Stormers Luke Watson had an excellent match on the flank and Bolla Conradie had a great match after a long time warming the bench. At the end of the day the Stormers had all their replacements on the field and had a hooker playing flank and a scrumhalf on the wing. Their pack was the biggest weapon on the afternoon, which is totally unlike the Stormers, as they are really known for their inventive back play. If, however, what we are seeing is the invention, the inventor needs to be fired!!!

The Reds never found rhythm and battled to stretch the Stormers as their pack had a hard time in the tight phases and their backline let them down with some poor handling. Chris Latham was once again a tower of strength at the back and Nathan Sharpe played well in the tight. It was however a sole battle. Croft and Roe tried hard in the loose, but Watson and Burger were more than a handful.

At the end of the day, the Stormers won the match deservedly, but cannot feel comfortable with the final result. They should have won this one much more easily.

The Reds were lucky to get away with the result they did and a bonus point, but they need to look at a much-improved performance if their pack wants any ball against the Bulls in their next round match.

Bulls 35 Crusaders 20 (My tip = Crusaders by 14)
The Bulls were sensational! This was without any doubt their best performance of the year and they crushed the Crusaders at Loftus. Don’t let the 20 points that the Crusaders got fool you. They were totally outplayed. The Bulls pack destroyed the Crusaders in the manner that the SA public had gotten used to in the local Currie Cup. The Crusaders could not get clean first phase ball and that let them play off the back foot all match long.

Bryan Habanna showed why he is so highly regarded by the SA selectors when he was given two opportunities and converted both into tries. His acceleration off the mark is really good. The foundation was however laid by the massive Bulls pack. Player like the ex Bok flank Pedrie Wannenburg showed old form returning and Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha dominated the lineouts – on both teams’ throws. The one problem the Bulls pack still had was their predictability and the Crusaders could have done more to disrupt the unimaginative, but successful pattern. It was however the Bulls’ day this time around.

Morne Steyn had two shocking knock-on’s, but overall he may just what the Bulls want for their backline. At least some of the ball got past the flyhalf for a change!

The Crusaders were disrupted early when Richie McCaw had to be carried off the field after running into he tow-truck Richard Bands. This most definitely had an impact, as you do not loose one of the top breakaway flankers and your captain without feeling the pinch. Only the very educated boot of San Carter managed to keep them in touch with a number of long-range penalties. One from as far out as 57 meters! They are however still a top side and the Stormers must be careful not to underestimate them in the next match.

George Ayob handled the match fairly well, except for two instances that lift the eyebrows – it is my week for ref bashing! The first was when Leon McDonald was blown for carrying a ball over his won goal line where he most definitely did not do it. That lead to the Ettienne Botha try immediately from the next movement.

The second incident was when Danie Coetzee charged down a 22-drop out by Carter. He was judged to be over the line. I do have a little news for you George, the rules in rugby say that when you are in the air you can be floating around in stadium and cannot be blown. You have to actually touch the ground on the wrong side. The rule also says that you can charge a kick down, as long as you do not cross before the kick is taken and not after the kick is finished!

Two little mistakes that fortunately had not impact on the final outcome of the match.

Hurricanes 26 Waratahs 24 (My tip = Waratahs by 3)
What a superb match to end the weekend off! These to teams really gripped everyone from start to finish and the ding-dong battle could have gone anywhere. The Hurricanes played at home and have the advantage and that was maybe the only factor that was the difference between the two teams.

The Hurricanes backline looked a lot better than before in the tournament and I was highly impressed with the pace from Tana Umaga. Remember when he switched from wing to center, he said that it was because he felt that he has become to slow for wing! The way he caught Peter Hewat from behind was very impressive.

The Waratahs have now lost two on the trot. Is the start of their famous end-of-tournament fade? Peter Hewat could not believe his luck when he intercepted no less that three times in the match, with one getting him a try. His kicking was, however a bit off target and could have meant the difference between win and lose.

The two sides are however two of the top sides this year and the way they played this match showed why they are at the moment consistently in the top three.

General Super 12 comments
The weekend’s games have lead to the odd surprise, but none more than the power display by the Bulls against the Crusaders. If they can continue at this rate the Reds, Blues and Chiefs may just find it very difficult at Loftus.

A concern to me is the number of players who were stretchered off the field this past weekend. Ruan Pienaar was the first to go, then Werner Greeff and Richie McCaw. I have not seen so many people out cold in a boxing tournament. I trust none of them has any serious injury – not that concussion is not serious, but you know what I mean.

Other Rugby
I have always been a great fan of Jona Lomu and to me it is great news that he will be in action during the NPC this year.

The Final Word
This week I want to make a few comments on that 31st man on a rugby field. The Brumbies always complained about Andre Watson, the SA sides about Stuart Dickenson, The Springboks about Paul Honiss, etc, etc. There are a number of other examples as well. The facts however show a funny picture and there must be something in the complaints. I do not have the exact statistics, but it does show that the Brumbies lost more games when Andre Watson was the referee than they win. The Springboks have lost all the tests in which Paul Honiss carried the whistle and the SA Super 12 sides have won only one or two games in the history of the tournament when Dickenson carries the whistle. Can these facts just be ignored or is there some truth in them?

I believe that the way a referee blows the whistle can directly influence the outcome of a match. For some or another reason the referees have become more prominent than ever in the past. Where did this rubbish come from where a referee tells a player “number 4, hands off” or “number 4 you are offside – behind the last line of feet” We hear it daily by the referees over the microphones. The problem is that he may warn a team one time and the other time he will just blow the player up and award the penalty. If he has to tell any player to fall back, does it not mean that the player is already transgressing the laws and must be penalized? Penalize him! That is the rule! Why must a player be told to let go of a ball when a ruck is formed? If he has not let go before it, he is transgressing the laws and should be penalized. Let me sketch a scenario where this can have a direct impact on a game.

Team A plays against team B. A is on the attack close to B’s try line and one player from team B moves offside. The referee warns him to fall back behind the last line of feet. Team A wins the ball and cannot score due to some reason and B clears their lines eventually. Now the situations turns around and team B is on the attack on team A’s try line. A player from team A moves offside. The referee blows him immediately for coming offside – nothing wrong with the decision – and team B scored 3 points and win the game. What was different? Only the interpretation and decision by the referee when to warn and when to penalize.

Lets me give you a funny example from the match between the Highlanders and Brumbies. The Highlanders were on the attack towards the end of the first half and had a ruck between the poles and the touchline. The Highlanders got the ball and went for the line. Bill Young came out of the defensive line – totally offside – and tackled the player. A penalty was awarded and three points scored by the Highlanders.

In the 2003 Tri-Nations, Marius Joubert tackled Tana Umaga close to the Springbok line high and a penalty try was awarded to the All Blacks. The argument was that Tana got prevented from scoring by an illegal means (high tackle) and that warrants a penalty try.

The question in my mind from the scenario’s above is what is the difference? If the tackle from Marius was illegal and warranted a penalty try, why did the fact that Bill Young came totally offside (he was the last line of defense) not also warrant a penalty try? Surely he used an illegal means to prevent a try!

There are many more places where players are warned and sometimes penalties awarded without warning and I argue that they impact the outcome of matches. I do not want to point a finger at any referee and say that they are cheating, but I am sure they do blow different games for different teams. You can look at things that happen that end up in red and yellow cards for some players and see that the same transgression is made other players on the same field and they only get penalties against them. Have a close look at any game and you will see how the same transgression is sometimes “warned” away and other times immediately penalized. That, has a direct impact on the outcome of a match!!!!

I made a fairly harsh attack on Stuart Dickenson earlier after his bad handling of the whistle in the Blues Cats game. I could have done the same with the fairly incompetent referee Tappe Henning as well. Remember that both these referees have been removed from the international panel in the past and have both returned again. Yet, there is no improvement in the way they handle the whistle. It is a protected club which player cannot attach, because if they say anything they loose money and the referee just continues in any case. Any person who criticizes a referee gets into trouble for bringing the game into disrespect. What about the atrocious way these people handle the matches? Does that not bring the game into disrespect because they obviously do not blow according to the same rulebook?

How do you resolve it? Easy! Firstly, just let referees stop this crap of warning people and apply the rules and blow the transgressions immediately – without going into a conversation or debate with the player. Just apply the rules as you are supposed to Mister Ref!
Secondly, have the players have a much bigger in the performance report of a referee after the match. I saw a referee have a very bad day and get 97/100 on his performance by his peer measuring him. Sounds very much like and old boys club to me..!

What do you think?

Futures topics:

• The best player in the world

• The man of the match award

• If you want a short-term job, become a coach in SA!

• Referees and their impact on matches

• Ex rugby players who play analysts

• International tours

• The English bubble

• Bonus points in competitions

• Yellow and red cards in rugby

• The format of the Rugby World Cup and spreading of the game

• Some of my favourite players through the years

There are many more, but if there is something you would like me to add to the list, please feel free to let me know!

Tips and Predictions for round 7 Super 12 2005

Highlanders v Brumbies
The Highlanders have come to end of their party and I expect them to start fading in the tournament. They had three games at home and apart from beating the dismal Bulls, they lost against the Blues and were very lucky to get away with a draw against the Stormers. The Brumbies is becoming a bit of a headache to predict as they suddenly seemed to lose their good form in the last two matches. As one of the teams with the most talent, I am sure they will be able to bounce back and the match against the average Highlanders may just be the one to do it in. I predict that the Brumbies will indeed bounce back and win this one by 8.

Chiefs v Sharks
Apart from the surprise victory against a very bad Blues team, there has been nothing in the Chiefs lineup. They have been destroyed away from home and got whipped by the Reds at home. The Sharks have been really bad all season and apart from their last match, would definitely like to forget this Super 12 season. They have also fired their coach. Dick Muir was appointed and in his first match as coach he whipped the Brumbies. A huge factor in the Sharks squad is the re-appearance of Ian McIntosh as adviser/mentor to the team. It is however also speculated that Rod McQueen is going to take over that role as Mac cannot join the Sharks on their tour to Australasia. With all that rugby brainpower in their stable, the Sharks may just be one of the more difficult teams to beat in future. I think they are on a high and will be able to beat the Chiefs at home by 10.

Blues v Cats
The Cats are playing the first match away from home after a 1-4 record at home. They have been “unlucky” in at least three of their losses as they should and could have won. They were their own worst enemies. The Blues are on a roll after the dismissal of Carlos Spencer from the starting line-up and showed this past weekend what we can expect from them. Before the past weekend they were the big disappointment in the 2005 Super 12, but be careful not to underestimate them now. The SA sides have in the past strung some good performances together in Auckland, but I don’t think this weekend will be one of them. I will give this one to the Blues by 15.

Stormers v Reds
The Stormers have also been one of the disappointments of the Super 12 with their highly rated back line firing nothing more than blanks in the first couple of matches. They have lost their three matches this season by 3, 5 and 3 points and do show that they are definitely a serious player in the Super 12. Even though their back line have been one of the worse, they still managed fairly good results. The Reds pulled off one good victory against the Chiefs and apart from that they have been losing by 10-point margins. I think the Stormers at home should be too strong for the Reds and beat them by 12.

Bulls v Crusaders
A couple of years ago Andrew Mehrtens dropped a goal in injury time to pull off a victory against the Bulls at Loftus. He then gave the now infamous middle finger salute to the crowd that really aggravated them. I can promise you that they still have not forgiven the Crusaders or Mehrtens for that matter and would really love to see their team pull of a victory. They have not been playing well and some senior players in the Bulls side are discussed daily in the press because of their non-performance. It must, however, not be forgotten that they beat the Hurricanes well on their last outing. The Crusaders are, on the other hand, a very well balanced outfit that has been cruising through the Super 12. I predict the Crusaders will continue their winning ways and take this one by 14.

Hurricanes v Waratahs
The Hurricanes have only lost a single match so far this year and Tana Umaga will lead them with confidence onto the field in Wellington against the visiting Brumbies. The Waratahs have also only lost against the Crusaders and have been looking good this year. They have not showed their famous fade yet and hopefully for them they will see it through this year. They also have a well-balanced side and although they were well dominated by the Crusaders, they managed to pull off a fairly good result in that match. They are without any doubt one of the better sides this year and should be able to beat the Hurricanes at home. I think their pack will be too strong for the Canes’ pack and that will be their platform to attack from. I shall give this one to the Tahs by 3.

Round 6 Super 12 2005 Wrap

Hurricanes 28 Chiefs 16 (My tip was Hurricanes by 10)
This match was always going to be the Hurricanes. I must say that the Chiefs tried hard, but the Canes just had to much and too many experienced campaigners to blow the Chiefs out of the water in the end. The final intercept try by Tana Umaga put a cherry on the top for the Hurricanes and summarized the match for the Chiefs. Whatever they tried, they had something going wrong or a Hurricanes hand was in the way.

The Hurricanes are looking good on the log, but they still have to face he Brumbies, Crusaders and Blues and must be careful that there current fortune is not turned into the final swan song. The Crusaders and Brumbies has the ability to destroy their confidence.

The Chiefs, well they are slowly starting to prove that their good showing last year may just have been a flash in the pan.

Reds 16 Highlanders 23 (My tip was Highlanders by 5)
I expected the Highlanders to have the beating of the Reds as the Reds have proved to be a hot-and-cold side over the past years. They have some great talent – the try scored by Chris Latham was really exceptional – but the team always seems to struggle to keep good form. They were in fact fairly poor in this match – not that the Highlanders were so much better!

The end result is that the Reds only have one victory in four outings. They do, however, still have to play all four the SA sides and looking at current form of the SA sides, they definitely must have a chance in all four those matches.

The Highlanders are looking good on the log. To me it is a bit of a shock as they have really been lucky to win a few this year. The reality is that they are right up there with a good chance and is riding their luck at the moment. They have a very tough schedule ahead and I will be surprised if they actually managed to grab a place in the top four at the end of the tournament. They just are not good enough!

Blues 17 Brumbies 0 (My tip was Brumbies by 15)
I unfortunately did not see the match due to some traveling, but if I was Britney Spears I would be singing, “Oops, I did it again!” There was absolutely no way in hell that the Brumbies could have lost the last two matches – and yet they managed to do it! This past weekend was the first one they managed to put a full strength side in the field and they lose three players within the first quarter! By the time of writing this, I do not have an update on the status of the injuries, but the ones to Rathbone and Larkham sounds serious.

David Nucifora must be laughing after he was dumped by the Brumbies last year as soon as he won the Super 12. This was one match Nucifore definitely did not want to loose and they Blues did not let him down.

The Brumbies must have a concern or two in their camp after not only losing players to injury, but also the poor form showed in the last two games. Like I said before, I did not see the match, but saw the tries and read the match reports and none were complimentary to the Brumbies. They are, however the defending champions and must not be written off.

I said before that the Blues have enough talent to beat any side on he day. I also said before that the Blues will improve once they dump the “wonderful” King Carlos. They did the latter and their backline seems to have found a life. Watch out for the new Nucifora team. They may just be surprise package in the final!

Waratahs 27 Crusaders 33 (My tip was Crusaders by 5)
I made the call and got it right – or just about. The Crusaders is the team to beat this year and if you want this title, you will have to get past the red and black team. I unfortunately did not see this match either, but have also seen the tries and read the match reports. To go to Sydney and play the Waratahs after and unbeaten run in this year’s Super 12 and go home with a full house of points, takes some doing. The Crusaders did it and did well. They are a very matured side that can teach many teams a lesson or two on how the game should be played.

I have to back the Crusaders for the title as they look like the total package. They have a very proud Super 12 record and this year is no exception. At the moment it looks like a question of whom they will be playing in he final?

The Waratahs have done well so far this year, but this is normally the time they start their famous fade in the Super 12. For many years they have really looked the part, but faded away during the second half. Maybe this will be their year!

General Super 12 comments
This past week my tips ended up somewhere where I could not find them on the web, but I had a fairly good week, except for the Brumbies who not only let a lot of supporters, but themselves down as well.

The one positive thing, from a South African point of view, is that for the first time in a very long time there was not a single SA who lost a Super 12 match the past weekend! That was really awesome and something we are not accustomed too!

Other Rugby
Nothing worth writing about. Only a couple of Heineken Cup matches.

The Final Word
If there is one job you do not want in South Africa – that is if you have any long-term objectives – it is a coach in one of the major sides. That is from the Springboks to Super 12 to Currie-cup level. I have been asked many times what could be the cause of this high staff turnover. We just saw it happening again with Kevin Putt been axed as coach of the Sharks. I do not want to go into the merit of the axing, but rather just the principle.

I personally think this problem started during he isolation era in SA. That, for the younger readers, was the time pre-1992 that SA was kicked out of world rugby due to political reasons. During those times we seemed to have a very solid coaching base in South Africa with legends like Buurman van Zyl, Cecil Moss, Nelie Smith, Danie Craven (every now and again) and Pa Pelser – to name a few – controlling the provincial game in SA. They were legends and were around for many years, coaching their respective unions for decades. Like most of our Southern Hemisphere countries, we thought we were the best in the world. Maybe it was rightly so cause we really has a great lineup during the eighties with Naas Botha, Danie Gerber, Rob Louw, etc that could take on the world. Unfortunately they were never consistently tested over that period of time on the international scene. Looking at his provincial records, someone like Naas Bothat would have been a joy to watch in the points chase with Grant Fox and Michael Linagh.

What the isolation thus caused was a great anticipation to see our greats take on the world – with the expectation that they can beat the best. In 1992 our return was masterminded with a whirlwind tour by the Wallabies and the All Blacks and we were brought down to earth with a bang! Our masters, like the Naas Botha’s and Danie Gerbers were at the end of their careers and no longer the great players of yesteryear. The isolation period had taken it’s toll and it was time to move on. On the coaching scene we had a number of the then “younger of the older coaches” like John Williams and Nelie Smit left and they were set in their ways, but the game moved on. The way rugby was played changed internationally from the early eighties to the nineties and the isolation era left SA a little behind. There was a new generation of coaches required.

If you can remember, we started seeing the things happening when we nearly saw coaches falling as the Boks lost. In SA the public and administrators were convinced that SA was still the greatest team and they were very harsh on failure. As soon as you hinted at non-performance, your head rolled. Kitch Christie steadied the ship a little with the win of the 1995 World cup, but lets be honest, if that cup was played anywhere else, SA would not have made the final. They defended themselves like maniacs into the history books. With a cloud over his head Kitch was asked to resign after winning 14 matches in a row without any loss. Why? Really could not say!

From here on we saw the new generation come in. People with limited experience who knocked heads with Louis Luyt (the then president of Sarvu) and/or his then son-in-law, Riaan Oberholster (CEO of Sarvv).

We then saw Markgraaff leave with a cloud, Gysie Pienaar get fired before the first match and Carel du Plessis get fired for loosing the series against the Brittish and Irish Lions. That after walloping the Wallabies.

We then had Nick Mallett come in and turn the Springboks around into the most exiting outfit since isolation. They now scored tries and won the Tri-Nations for the first time. He also coached them to equaling the 17 on a trot wins of the late sixties All Black team. It looked like Mallett was there to stay. Then the controversy around Skinstad and the a heavily injured Bok sided started to slip a lile. Mallett made a statement against ticket prizes and was fired. Just like about all the coaches post isolation – the exception only being those who were pushed into resigning! We saw the totally professional onslaught by Harry Viljoen fail dismally and then the record losses under Rudolf Straueli. They were both – you guessed it – pushed to resign.

Currently Jake White is the man in the saddle and we all hope he will last at least one more year…..

What all of this illustrates is that the turnover in coaches is so high that only some of them could settle down slightly. A number of then has very limited coaching experienced when they were thrown into the deep end and when they could not swim discarded. How many of these guys that coached the Springboks are still coaching in SA today? Surely if you were regarded as good enough for the Springboks as some stage, you should have been good enough for a provincial side?

What you read here is only the Springbok history. That is unfortunately the situation with most of our teams in SA. Look at the experience of our Super 12 coaches. Two teams, the Cats and the Sharks are coached by people who are in their second year of actual coaching. Second year and you are coaching a Super 12 side! Either you are a genius or someone looking for a short-term job while investigating other opportunities! I don’t want to say that they cannot be successful, but the odds and history is stacked against them.

Potentially they could both be fired at the end of this season’s Super 12 if their respective teams do not win another game. In South Africa the demand is for immediate results. Nothing else seems to be acceptable. Someone like Sir Clive Woodward would have never made it if you came up with the results he did when he took over the coaching of England. SA officials and public would not have stood for it.

Until that attitude change takes place and we could have left people like Ian McIntosh, Carel du Plessis and Nick Mallett in tact, we will struggle to let coaches built up a the pedigree and work themselves to the top. We need to let coaches walk the mile and gain the experience before SA will become a major force in world rugby again.

PS: On a personal note; Kevin Putt should have been fired last year already!

What do you think?

Futures topics:

• The best player in the world

• The man of the match award

• If you want a short-term job, become a coach in SA!

• Referees and their impact on matches

• Ex rugby players who play analysts

• International tours

• The English bubble

• Bonus points in competitions

• Yellow and red cards in rugby

• The format of the Rugby World Cup and spreading of the game

There are many more, but if there is something you would like me to add to the list, please feel free to let me know!