So it appears my prediction for the Stormers game was off by a long shot. All of the things I said would happen didn’t and quite the opposite actually, with the Lions acquisitions failing to impress and the Stormers team lacking fire, composure and the fight that has been their hallmark over the past few seasons. Elton Jantjies who I thought would have ignited the back line to break open the Bulls defence was rusty in all aspects of his game, kicking from hand and the back line seemed to be standing deeper than usual when Peter Grant usually plays. He didn’t give them that go forward that I think we all expected him to, his place kicking was shocking, missing all of his attempts and some would say cost them the game. It was however his first game of the year and kicking may have been emotional as his father who mentored him in kicking tragically passed away recently. He isn’t however the only one to blame, most of the players who we have come to know as those who can set the game alight seemed to just fizzle out. Aspects of their game that have been so strong of late like the lineout was very poor and they lost numerous of their own throws. They will need to take a step back and asses what went wrong and work hard on it before they face the Sharks this coming weekend who will be out for blood after they were beaten in the Currie Cup final by they very same team they will face in Durban. What I think the most important thing for them to work on is their team spirit that has been so strong over the past few years, one of their coaches once said ‘a team that is united off the field is united on it’ this is true and they need to find that again and become the team we all know they can be.
Take nothing away from the Bulls who were clearly hungrier for the win than the Stormers and deserve the win. All the aspects of their game which I said would be their downfall were absolutely perfect. Morne Steyn was deadly accurate with the boot both out of hand and place kicking. Francois Hougaard looked like a new player and his box kicks were superb and he fired his back line into action almost every time he passed the ball. The Bulls have clearly worked hard and I underestimated them, a mistake which I will not make again. They are a team which all teams should watch out for because they look like the team which won the competition 3 times.
Another game which I was wrong about was the Southern Kings Western Force game which I thought was going to be a white wash in favour of the Force. I was sorely mistaken as the Kings surprised a lot of people with their 22-10 victory in PE on Saturday. Although not devastating and making a few simple mistakes there were a lot of positive from which they can build. Many of their players put their hands up and it was a solid team performance, players of interest were Jacques Engelbrecht who came on for injured captain Luke Watson dominated the forward play with almost every run breaking the line and his power in the tackles was impressive. Demetri Catrakilis who is till think should be wearing a Stormers jersey was solid and well done to the Kings for scooping such a talented player who will become one of the countries best given some time. There were other player who were impressive but none more than 18 year old Sergeal Petersen who ignited the game and scoring 2 tries coming straight out of high school. His performance was sensational and I look forward to seeing more of him this season. I admit I disagreed with the Kings inclusion into Super Rugby but I have to say they made a statement with that win, I’m not saying I changed my mind about them just that I’m giving them a chance and hoping they prove me wrong.
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