S15 Preview: Round Six, Part Two
Another massive Super Rugby Saturday wraps up with four intriguing match-ups bringing things to a close. We take a closer look at the action.
The two matches in Australia look set to be tight affairs, with the Sharks hungry for a win in Canberra against the Brumbies and both the Force and the Reds looking to bounce back from demoralising losses last week when they clash in Perth.
In South Africa the Crusaders will be targeting some early momentum on their tour against a Lions team still licking their wounds before we end on a high.
The Stormers and the Bulls will end things with a bang in front of a packed house at Newlands as they duel for the right to call themselves the top South African outfit in the competition.
Brumbies v Sharks
(Canberra Stadium, Canberra – Kick-off: 19.40; 8.40 GMT)
The Brumbies are riding high at the top of the Australian conference and Jake White’s team will be out to grind the Sharks down on Saturday using the disciplined approach that has got them there.
The Canberra side were given little chance at the start of the season, but their ultra fit band of committed no-name players have shown already that they will be tough to beat for any side this season.
Their enthusiastic defence and careful, territory-based approach have been hallmarks of their game under White, which means that they are unlikely to be blown away too easily.
The Sharks arrive in town after a highly disappointing outcome in Sydney which saw John Plumtree’s men scale some impressive heights on attack, but plumb some fairly weak lows as they fell away badly in the second half, allowing the Waratahs to run right over them.
They will be desperate to deliver on the promise they showed at times in Sydney to get their tour rolling with a win, but the key will be whether they can maintain the intensity they showed in impressive spurts last week.
With the cool-headed Pat Lambie ruled out through injury the focus will be on Freddie Michalak who gets a chance to show what he can do as playmaker, and his battle with the returning Matt Toomua could be pivotal.
Whilst the Brumbies certainly have less stars in their team they are a well-drilled unit and the Sharks will have to maintain their focus for 80 minutes to get over the line against a team playing at home with good momentum.
Recent results:
2011: Sharks won 34-16 in Durban
2010: Brumbies won 24-22 in Canberra
2009: Sharks won 35-14 in Durban
2008: Brumbies won 27-21 in Canberra
2007: Brumbies won 21-10 in Durban
Prediction: The Brumbies will be full of confidence and it will be interesting to see whether their pressure game triumphs over the sharks who have more gamebreakers. The visitors will be desperate after their frustrating time in Sydney so we are backing the Sharks to take it by a few points.
Teams:
Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Ian Prior, 8 Ben Mowen (captain), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Peter Kimlin, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Leon Power, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ruaidhri Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Anthony Hegarty, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Scott Fardy, 19 Ita Vaea, 20 Nic White, 21 Zack Holmes, 22 Joe Tomane.
Sharks: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Jandré Marais, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Jacques Botes, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Louis Ludik.
Referee: Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: Steve Lesczcynski (Australia)
Force v Reds
(nib Stadium, Perth – Kick-off: 18.40; 10.40 GMT)
The Force take on the defending champions in Perth in the first replay of the season, and after handing the Rebels their first victory of the season last week they will be hopeful of catching out a wounded Reds team at the end of a brutal tour.
The Reds have been hit hard by injuries and have made the long journey to Perth after being blown away by the Bulls last week, so the Force really could not have a better opportunity to avenge the 35-20 defeat they suffered in Brisbane a few weeks ago.
Their talisman will be skipper David Pocock who will want to get the better of the Reds’ upstart openside flank Liam Gill to turn the key moments at the breakdown in his side’s favour.
The Reds would have been stung hard by the manner of their capitulation at Loftus Versfeld, so they will go hard at the Force as they attempt to salvage a tour which has tested their depth thoroughly.
There will be plenty of Reds players who feel they have something to prove, and with Wallaby captain James Horwill at the helm they are unlikely to be in cruise mode for the last game of their tour.
The Force will be intent on heaping the pressure on rookie flyhalf Dallan Murphy who was thrown in the deep end last week, whilst another player who could be targeted is fullback Rod Davies whose weak tackling was exposed by the Bulls.
The home side will be determined to show that they can be threatening on attack, as although they have managed to keep plenty of possession so far this season they have lacked a cutting edge, so they will will be lining this depleted Reds side up in order to make a statement.
Recent results:
2012: Reds won 35-20 in Brisbane
2011: Reds won 24-21 in Perth
2011: Reds won 21-20 in Brisbane
2010: Reds won 50-10 in Brisbane
2009: Force won 39-7 in Perth
Prediction: The Reds are up against it after their bruising trip to South Africa so the Force will consider them ripe for plucking, but the Queenslanders are not a champion side for nothing and this one is likely to go down to the wire. We are backing the Force to sneak home by less than five points.
Teams:
Western Force: 15 David Harvey, 14 Samu Wara, 13 Nick Cummins, 12 Winston Stanley, 11 Alfie Mafi, 10 James Stannard, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Matt Hodgson, 7 David Pocock, 6 Richard Brown, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Kieran Longbottom, 18 Phoenix Battye, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Ben Seymour, 21 Rory Sidey, 22 Kyle Godwin.
Reds: 15 Rod Davies, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Joel Rapana, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Luke Morahan, 10 Dallan Murphy, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Van Humphries, 3 James Slipper, 2 James Hanson, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Albert Anae, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Eddie Quirk, 20 Beau Robinson, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Nathan Eyres-Brown.
Referee: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Steve Walsh (Australia), Andrew Lees (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
Lions v Crusaders
(Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off: 17.05; 15.05 GMT)
The Crusaders will be keen to get their tour off to a solid start by picking off a injury-ravaged Lions team who are having their depth seriously tested at the moment.
The Lions fought back bravely against the Stormers last week, and it is that spirit that they will want to tap into in order to put the seven-time champions under pressure.
On paper the visitors are a much stronger side, with international quality throughout their team, but they have looked slightly off the pace this season, as if they are yet to click.
Their fairly unconvincing win over the Cheetahs in Christchurch last week followed losses to the Highlanders and Chiefs, so they will see this as a prime opportunity to gather momentum with an away win.
The Lions will be enthusiastic and are likely to play with plenty of width, but their chances will be defined by whether they can stand up to the Crusaders up front.
The Canterbury pack will want to stamp their authority on the Lions forwards by winning the set-piece battle, to give their stars in the backline enough space to unlock the home side’s defence.
Dan Carter starts his first game since the World Cup last year, and his battle with the physical Butch James will be a highlight, although it may be the men outside him who do more damage.
Recent results:
2010: Crusaders won 46-19 in Christchurch
2009: Crusaders won 32-20 in Johannesburg
2008: Crusaders won 31-6 in Christchurch
2007: Lions won 9-3 in Johannesburg
2006: Crusaders won 43-15 in Christchurch
Prediction: The Lions will play with a lot of conviction and will be determined to make the Crusaders tackle as much as possible, but the visitors have too many aces so we are backing the Crusaders to win by 10 points.
Teams:
Lions: 15 James Kamana, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Andries Coetzee, 10 Butch James, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Joshua Strauss (captain), 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Marius Coetzer, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Caylib Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 Stephan Greeff, 19 Cobus Grobbelaar, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Lionel Mapoe.
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Tom Taylor, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Luke Whitelock, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Ryan Crotty, 22 Tom Marshall.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Reuben Rossouw (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Stormers v Bulls
(Newlands, Cape Town – Kick-off: 19.10; 17.10 GMT)
There is never any shortage of hype around the big north-south derby, but the fact that the two teams currently have more log points than any of the other teams in the competition lends this clash something of an edge.
It will be a battle for top spot in the South African conference, but ultimately the two teams will be fighting for more than just the four log points on offer which should only increase the pressure.
The Bulls are in devastating form, having torn the Reds apart at Loftus last week and they will be hopeful of carrying that momentum into the Newlands face-off against the only unbeaten team in the competition.
The Stormers have stepped up their physicality in recent years and the strength of their tight five this season will give them plenty of confidence that they can meet the challenge that the Bulls will pose up front.
Both teams thrive on putting the opposition under pressure by winning the gainline battle, so expect some bone-crunching hits with the focus on going forward before going wide, amd as neither side has a genuine openside flank it really will be the battle of the ball-carriers.
All of this will create a very tense atmosphere, and with a range of intriguing individual clashes on show it will be revealing to see how the players react to the pressure.
The Stormers have made no secret of their admiration of the winning culture at the Bulls, and taking this one will be a major statement about their prospects of challenging for the title this year.
Last year both teams won away from home, and Stormers captain Jean de Villiers confirmed that both sides will want to take the psychological advantage of a win over the old enemy.
He said: “The hunger will be there from both sides. I think it is going to be a massive game and a great spectacle and great for the supporters. It should be a typical South African derby and one not to be missed.”
Recent results:
2011: Bulls won 19-16 in Cape Town
2011: Stormers won 23-13 in Pretoria
2010: Bulls won 25-17 in Soweto
2010: Stormers won 38-10 in Cape Town
2009: Bulls won 14-10 in Pretoria
Prediction: Newlands will be a pressure-cooker on Saturday as two of the most physical teams in the competition tear into each other. This one is likely to be swung by a few pivotal moments so we are going with the Stormers in front of their home crowd to edge a narrow victory.
Teams:
Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Nic Koster, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Gerhard van den Heever.
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Stuart Berry (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
By Michael de Vries
