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S14 Preview: Round Six, Part Two

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:12

Shark bait: Highlanders scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan - Pic: Doug Fitz-Gerald

The spotlight will continue to shine more intensely on the star-studded Sharks team, who now travel south to Dunedin, where they will aim to secure their first win in the Super 14 when they take on the Highlanders at Carisbrook on Saturday.

The bookmakers are not convinced that the Sharks can finally break their duck and are offering virtually even money for the home team to add to the South African franchise's misery.

The Durban outfit has enjoyed recent success in Dunedin and has recorded victories in their last three visits to Otago's 'House of Pain' – in 2008 (19-17), 2006 (26-11) and in 2004 (36-35).

Another team looking for their first win, the Western Force, are at home to the Waratahs. Not surprising the odds on them pulling off a win is much bigger. In fact most bookmakers suggest the Waratahs' winning margin will be in the double figures.

The weekend's action is completed when the Stormers, currently in second position on the log, will welcome the much-improved Cheetahs team to their Newlands base.

The Stormers have the best defensive record in the competition - conceding just 51 points, which includes only four tries, from their five games to date.

However, the hosts will aim to better their current record against the Cheetahs - with the Cape franchise having lost two of their four Super Rugby matches against their Bloemfontein opponents, including a 25-31 defeat at Newlands in March 2006.

Jan de Koning looks at the second half of the weekend's action!

Saturday, March 20:

Highlanders v Sharks
(Carisbrook, Dunedin - Kick-off: 19.35, 06.35 GMT)

There is no doubt the Sharks will not have a better chance of turning their fortunes around against a Highlanders team will struggle with the after-effects of a a couple of bruising losses in South Africa - to the Stormers and Bulls.

Add to that the long trip back east, over the Indian Ocean, and a Sharks side determined to turn their season around.

Dunedin has not been a happy hunting ground for South African sides, but the Sharks have one of the best records there - winning on their last three visits.

Coach John Plumtree, confident that his team can break their duck, admits that to turn matters around, they need to play smarter.

"When you are one or two points up with 10 minutes to go, you don't want to be conceding penalties," he said.

"The game is all about pressure and composure. At the end of the day, we need to show enough composure to win the game.

"We're pretty happy with our defence, we were in the Brumbies game pretty much all the way. We've lost four games by less than four or five points so it's been very frustrating that we can't win these close games."

Despite the obvious travel fatigue issue that will affect the home side, Plumtree doesn't believe it will be too influential.

"It's always tough to come back from South Africa, but they are a pretty courageous team. They beat the Cheetahs which is something we struggled to do, they play tougher at home so we know how difficult it's going to be.

"We know that if we can hold onto that ball and build periods of attack and defend well, we can win. Our discipline has to be right, all the different factors that are letting us down need to be accurate on the day."

The Highlanders were just as complimentary of their visitors this week.

Robbie Robinson, who will make his starting debut for the Highlanders against the Sharks, spoke of the threat posed by a team loaded with Springboks.

"I watched a bit of the Sharks and they'll be desperate, but it's a home game for us so we'll be desperate too," he told the Otago Daily Times.

"We've got to make the most of the next few home games [against the Sharks, Lions and Force]. If we don't, it will put us in a difficult situation.

"Our kicking game hasn't been as accurate as we would like it to be and our work rate off the ball has to be better."

Super 14 results:
2009: Sharks won 23-15, Durban
2008: Sharks won 19-17, Dunedin
2007: Sharks won 23-16, Durban
2006: Sharks won 26-11, Dunedin

rugby365.com Prediction: It is not with much conviction, but there is this feeling that the Sharks will finally muster enough desperation and knock somebody over. This weekend is probably the best chance they'll get to score that confidence booster. The Highlanders will put up a big fight, but are likely to run out of steam in the final quarter. The Sharks by less than 10 points.

Teams:

Highlanders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Kenny Lynn, 12 Michael Hobbs, 11 James Paterson, 10 Robbie Robinson, 9 Jimmy Cowan (captain), 8 Adam Thomson, 7 Alando Soakai, 6 John Hardie, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Clint Newland, 2 Jason Rutledge, 1 Jamie Mackintosh.
Replacements: 16. Jason Macdonald, 17 Chris King, 18 Joe Tuineau, 19 Tim Boys, 20 Sean Romans, 21 Jayden Hayward, 22 Fetu'u Vainikolo.

The Sharks: 15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Johann Muller (captain), 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 John Smit, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Jacques Botes, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Waylon Murray.

Referee: Jonathon White (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Kane McBride (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Force v Waratahs
(ME Stadium, Perth - Kick-off: 19.10, 11.10 GMT)

Life is not going to get any easier for the Western Force.

After conceding seven tries and 50 points last Sunday, John Mitchell's men must now regroup ahead of the onslaught from a Waratahs team fresh from scoring 11 tries of their own.

The 'Tahs more than doubled their try-scoring tally for the campaign against the Lions, in a game where nearly every point-scoring record the state has, was broken. NSW heads across the Nullarbor having had more luck playing the Force in the west than it has on home soil.

The Force achieved its maiden win against the Waratahs in last year's match at the SFS, having drawn 16-16 on their first visit two years previously. NSW won the inaugural meeting between the two teams 32-7 in Perth five years ago, and edged home 17-12 on their most recent visit in 2008.

Mitchell spoke this week of the need for his team to continue evolving their game plan from a solid foundation and was eagerly looking forward to matching it against the in-form Waratahs. 

The West Australians are fully aware that their defensive effort will need to be spot on against a 'Tahs side that had found its groove in attack, running in 11 tries last weekend in a 73 point outing.

The Force also looking to make more of their attacking prowess and will be hoping the ability to select the same run-on side for the first time this season will help in that goal.

"The critical thing for us is that we haven't got through much content in attack, and haven't got a lot of reward," said Mitchell.

"By sticking to the same player group and getting settled in terms of understanding and familiarisation, it might give us a better opportunity of getting through content.  It is a good situation for the players."

Mitchell said a second Australian derby in as many weeks provided a great opportunity to respond and make good from the hard work being done on the training track.

"You can't worry about the past, you can't control that," he said.

"We are very positive about how we want to approach things.  The guys are working hard and have great intent; you don't go and throw a whole lot out the door or react emotionally.

"One example of our confidence is sticking with the same squad," said Mitchell.

Super 14 results:
2009: Force won 15-14, Sydney
2008: Waratahs won 17-12, Perth
2007: Force and Waratahs drew 16-16
2006: Waratahs won 32-7, Perth

rugby365.com Prediction: There are two teams in this competition who you feel sorry for - the Western Force and the Lions. They try hard, play with energy and at times excite. But generally they are way out of their dept and the margins of their defeats reflect that. This could be another blow-out. The Waratahs by at least 20 points.

Teams:

Western Force: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Scott Staniforth, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 James O'Connor, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 David Hill, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Richard Stanford, 7 Matt Hodgson, 6 Ben McCalman, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Ryan Tyrrell, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Ben Whittaker, 17 Kieran Longbottom, 18 Tom Hockings, 19 Luke Jones, 20 Chris O'Young, 21 Sam Harris, 22 Mitch Inman.

Waratahs: 15 Sosene Anesi, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Tom Carter, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (captain), 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Will Caldwell,  19 Ben Mowen, 20 Josh Holmes, 21 Kurtley Beale, 22 Rob Horne.

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
TMO: Julian Pritchard (Australia)

Stormers v Cheetahs
(Newlands, Cape Town - Kick-off: 17.05, 15.05 GMT)

What a cracker to finish the weekend with! There have been some encouraging signs this year at the foot of Table Mountain for long-suffering Stormers fans, but this weekend represents a danger game.

Not only are the Cheetahs heading to the coast refreshed after the bye and confident, after putting the boot into the Hurricanes at their last start, but the men from Bloemfontein have a history of having troubled the Stormers in the past.

The Cheetahs have twice beaten the Stormers from four attempts since they returned to Super Rugby in 2006. The first of those, which occurred at Cape Town during their first season back, represented the second leg of back-to-back victories by the Cheetahs.

Big kicking Meyer Bosman was the hero of the 2006 win at Newlands, landing eight penalty goals in the 31-25 win, to cancel out a three-try-to-one deficit. He shapes as a key figure again after goaling four critical long range penalty goals during the 28-12 upset of the Hurricanes two weeks ago.

However, the Cheetahs will be without Springbok flank Heinrich Brüssow, who was ruled out of action for the rest of the year after damaging ligaments in his knee during their win over the Hurricanes.

No doubt they will ask some serious questions of a Stormers team under scrutiny after their surge to second place on the standings.

The Stormers have the best defensive record in the competition and despite their four-try bonus-point haul last week, they may well be forced to rely on their tackling prowess again this week.

A few weeks ago, one would have said the scrum is the Cheetahs' strength, but the Hurricanes exposed them to some extent in this facet a fortnight ago. And ultimately it will be these imponderables that will decide the outcome.

Stormers captain Schalk Burger warned his teammates they cannot bask in the glory of the Super 14 victory over the Hurricanes for too long, because the Cheetahs will test their mettle at Newlands on Saturday.

"The Cheetahs is a big one, because a derby is never easy, but we're playing well at Newlands and it may have carried over from the Currie Cup. It's always nice to play in front of 44000 people in Cape Town."

Coach Allister Coetzee lauded Burger - who took over the captaincy from Jean de Villiers this season - for his leadership and said the team's hard work is busy paying off.

"I think it's important that analysis is done by all teams. We put a hell of a lot of work in, with the law variations all teams have to play heads-up rugby and be a bit smarter.

"The players do a lot of individual analysis of the opposition and also Schalk's leadership, it plays a massive role in terms of the right calls at the right place, knowing where the pressure comes from, knowing what they're like at the set piece, knowing what they're like when we drive them, so it's a combination of a lot of things."

Coetzee said the focus now is on the Cheetahs. This will be their last home game before a bye. They then embark on the overseas leg of their campaign.

"The focus is definitely the Cheetahs. We're not looking ahead at all. They're playing good rugby, they're a confident side and they're coming to Newlands with one mission. They've selected their team already and they've studied us.

"The Cheetahs will really test our defence. They play with width and they've got excellent passers in their side, and their physicality, like they showed against the Hurricanes, is something that we should take cognisance of. The players know each other well, so it's not going to be easy for us."

Super 14 results:
2009: Stormers won 28-22, Bloemfontein
2008: Stormers won 34-22, Cape Town
2007: Cheetahs won 27-9, Bloemfontein
2006: Cheetahs won 31-25, Cape Town

rugby365.com Prediction: This will be 'edge-of-your-seat' stuff. And it is not is clear-cut as bookmakers are making it - with some giving the Cheetahs a 10-point start. If there is one team that can run the Stormers close, it is the Cheetahs and this is an all-South African derby. The Stormers should win, but it won't be by much. The Stormers by about five points.

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (captain), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Willem de Waal, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.

Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Frans Viljoen, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Waltie Vermeulen, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Barend Pieterse, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Corné Uys, 22 Danwel Demas.

Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Reuben Rossouw (South Africa)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)

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