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Preview - S14 Round One, Part Two

Friday 02nd February 2007

The landscape changes dramatically as we enter Day Two of the opening weekend of Super 14 action, which is marked by a couple of trans-Tasman games and two all-South African derbies.

While the South African derbies, which conclude the weekend's fixtures on Saturday, are sure to provide plenty of action and the usual batch of brutality, it is the two trans-Tasman encounters that get the pulses racing.

We start on Saturday with the Chiefs hosting the Brumbies in Hamilton - a game ostensibly between New Zealand's provincial champions (Waikato, which makes up the bulk of the Chiefs) and the inaugural Australian Provincial Championship (APC) title holder, the Brumbies.

The action then shifts across the Tasman Sea to Australia, where the Reds will hope to shake of their underdog tag when they host the 2006 Super 14 finalists the Hurricanes. It is another game that is sure to provide plenty of thrills.

Super Rugby's focus then shifts to the South African East Coats, where the Sharks host the Bulls in the first of what promises to be no-holds barred SA derby matches. The weekend's action is concluded when the Cheetahs host the Stormers in Bloemfontein, another game in which the pre-match build-up has been dominated by "war talk" in the local media.

We look at Day Two!

Saturday, 3 February:

Chiefs v Brumbies
(Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, 19.35 (06.35 GMT)

It is a game in which both teams will play without some key players, but the Brumbies will face the most testing posers about their ability to overcome setbacks.

The first question is how they will cope without the genius of Matt Giteau, who moved west to the Force?

Gene Fairbanks will wear the No.12 jersey (inside centre), which Giteau had made his own in the last few years and no doubt this is the start of a period in which Fairbanks can put up his hand not only for a permanent Brumbies slot, but also a possible Wallaby World Cup berth.

Fairbanks has played at inside centre for the Brumbies before, when injury ruled Giteau out last year, and there's no doubt he has the potential. But he was sidelined with an injury during Australia's pre-season trials and Saturday is his first opportunity of the year.

But an even bigger poser for the Brumbies is whether Julian Huxley, signed from the Reds, will be able to plug the gap left by stalwart fly-half Stephen Larkham - who remained behind in Canberra to be with his wife Jacqui, who gave birth to their second child earlier this week.

Huxley has performed with distinction for the Reds over the years, but at the Brumbies his role will be far different from that which he fulfilled in previous seasons. It is his creative skills that will be required more than the steadying influence he had in Brisbane.

The Chiefs this week also lost a key player, with lock Keith Robinson being ruled out through a calf injury. His considerable bulk will be missed in a game in which the Chiefs would have expected to dominate the set pieces.

The result is that Jono Gibbes will be at lock and not on the flank, but he has produced many admirable performances in the second row in years gone by.

The Hamilton factor will certainly also play a role, as the Chiefs hope to build on the momentum created by Waikato's success in the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup - especially with 20 Waikato players in the current Chiefs squad.

"We have to remember that we are the Chiefs and represent several areas, but we do have 20 from that Waikato side and it was good that they won last year," Chiefs coach Ian Foster said.

"We needed that. Expectations are higher in the side, and that can lift the performance levels," he added.

Prediction: This will be a thrilling encounter, the pace and guile of the Brumbies against the brute force of the Chiefs. But we feel the Chiefs will sneak it in the end. The Chiefs by less than 10 points.

Teams:

Chiefs: 15 Dwayne Sweeney, 14 Sosene Anesi, 13 Niva Ta'auso, 12 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 11 Anthony Tahana, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Jamie Nutbrown, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Marty Holah, 6 Steven Bates, 5 Kristian Ormsby, 4 Jono Gibbes (captain), 3 Nathan White, 2 Tom Willis, 1 Simms Davison
Replacements: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Ben Castle, 18 Toby Lynn, 19 Tanerau Latimer, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Tasesa Lavea, 22 Lelia Masaga

Brumbies: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Gene Fairbanks, 11 Mark Gerrard, 10 Julian Huxley, 9 George Gregan, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 George Smith, 6 Julian Salvi, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Alister Campbell, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Jeremy Paul, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19 Jone Tawake, 20 Richard Stanford, 21 Tim Wright, 22 Matt Carraro.

Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Deon van Blommestein (South Africa), Gary Wise (New Zealand)
Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Reds v Hurricanes
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, 19.40 (09.40 GMT)

The Reds are not being given much of a chance, based on their lack of resources and some pretty indifferent pre-season form. In fact most pundits feel they will do well to get a top 10 finish in the competition.

That means new coach Eddie Jones and his charges have nothing to lose.

However, the big question is how will they cope without injured Wallaby fullback Chris Latham (out for the season)?

No doubt this will place the spotlight firmly on Rugby League convert Clinton Schifcofske - who in the pre-season showed that he is a solid goal-kicker, but did not produce any of the magical counter-attacking skills that Latham has become so famous for.

The Hurricanes - minus Jerry Collins, Jason Eaton, Andrew Hore, Chris Masoe and Rodney So'oialo (on All Black conditioning duty) - will look to centre Conrad Smith (the new captain) for guidance. He leads a team that has eight players in the match-day 22 that will be making their Hurricanes debuts.

The biggest changes to the side is at loose forward, where former Chiefs star Nili Latu joins No.8 Thomas Waldrom and blindside flank Luke Andrews in the absence of Masoe, Collins and So'oialo.

The Hurricanes' strength has always been their hard-running loose forwards and this could be the key to the game - how the new back row combination performs for the visitors.

And with Australian teams notorious for their poor scrumming, the spotlight will also be firmly on the front row battle - with Hurricanes props Neemia Tialata and John Schwalger up against Wallaby props Rodney Blake and Greg Holmes.

Other key players for the visitors could be first five-eighth (No.10) Jimmy Gopperth and powerful midfielder Ma'a Nonu (at inside centre).

The other interesting feature is former All Black captain Tana Umaga, who will hope to add to his record 111 Hurricanes caps, who sits on the replacement bench.

Prediction: Even without their All Blacks the Hurricanes look to be too strong for the erratic Reds. The Hurricanes by about 15 points.

Teams:

Reds: 15 Clinton Schifcofske, 14 Henari Veratau, 13 Ben Tune, 12 Andrew Brown, 11 Peter Hynes, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Nic Berry, 8 John Roe (captain), 7 David Croft, 6 Mitch Chapman, 5 Hugh McMeniman, 4 James Horwill, 3 Rodney Blake, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Greg Holmes
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Coutts, 18 Ed O'Donoghue, 19 Tom McVerry, 20 Will Genia, 21 Charlie Fetoai, 22 Brando Va'alu

Hurricanes: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Hosea Gear, 13 Conrad Smith (c), 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 David Smith, 10 Jimmy Gopperth 9 Chris Smylie; 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Luke Andrews, 5 Bernie Upton, 4 Paul Tito, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Tone Kopelani, 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Tim Fairbrother, 18 Bradley Mika, 19 Serge Lilo, 20 Alby Mathewson, 21 Tamati Ellison, 22 Tana Umaga.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Christie du Preez (South Africa), Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Television match official: James Leckie (Australia)

Sharks v Bulls
ABSA Stadium, Durban, 17.00 (15.00 GMT)

Don't expect too much flashy stuff to come out of this game. In fact all the pre-match war talk in the two camps suggest this will be a typical South African derby - a no-holds barred, brutal affair.

But more importantly is that both teams are desperate to get off to a winning start and gain some momentum the competition.

Sharks coach Dick Muir has made it clear that victory is vital and in this regard he has learnt some valuable lessons from his first Super Rugby campaign (in 2006).

"Every point is going to be valuable, so for us, the emphasis is on making sure we are much more accurate, and we don't fall into a position that we were in last year where we lost five games by a total of 21 points," Muir said.

"We want to make sure we win - rather than lose - those close ones. The one that did get away from us last year was the Waratahs, which we lost by 15 points, but we were in it for most of the game. So we need to be accurate and we need to have a bit of luck on our side so that we don't lose those close ones."

The Bulls, even with their new backline coach Todd Louden, will certainly not be entertaining any thoughts of a an all-out attacking game.

They will stick to what has always worked for them - a beefy pack that grinds the opposition down, before they unleash their backs.

This approach has elicited some strong words from the Sharks camp, but Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer has denied that his team uses unlawful tactics to get the better of their opponents.

"It is the same old story every year, but we at least know the big difference between clinical ruthlessness and blatant foul play," Meyer said.

"We are not bullies, but will also not apologise for being physical. In fact, we can never be physical enough. We play hard, but fair.

"Stories about our bullying tactics are just that. We will therefore not be put off to be as physical as we can against The Sharks. It should, however, also be said that the Bulls put a very high prize on discipline," Meyer added.

Prediction: This is probably the easiest game of the weekend to get wrong. It literally can go either way. But since we are in the business of predictions, we'll go for a narrow Bulls win. The Bulls by less than 10 points.

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Francois Steyn, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Bradley Barritt, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Butch James, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 AJ Venter, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Deon Carstens
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Kees Lensing, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Warren Britz, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Adrian Jacobs, 22 Cedric Mkhize

Bulls: 15 Johan Roets, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Derick Hougaard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Anton Leonard, 7 Wikus van Heerden, 6 Pedrie Wannenburg, 5 Victor Matfield, (c), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Danie Thiart, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Wessel Roux.
Replacements: 16 Derick K��n, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Francois van Schouwenburg, 19 Hilton Lobberts, 20 Nicholas Eyre, 21 Morn� Steyn, 22 Marius Delport

Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)

Cheetahs v Stormers
Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein, 19.10 (17.10 GMT)

It is a game of contrasts. The Cheetahs' structured approach - including coach Rassie Erasmus' highly publicised disco show from the stand's rooftop - against the Stormers' all-action counter-attacking game.

Erasmus gave the Stormers plenty of food for thought when he named Herkie Kruger, and not last season's regular Willem de Waal, at fly-half. Add to this the selection of Ronnie Cooke on the wing and former Stormers star Marius Joubert at outside centre and it is not difficult to see why some in the Stormers camp believe he is playing selection games.

The absence of Barend Pieterse, who injured his ankle in a warm-up match against the Sharks in Durban and is most likely to miss the whole tournament, is a big blow for the Cheetahs. He is often talked about as one of the most underrated locks in the country and it is not until he is absent form the Cheetahs team that his real value is illustrated.

But Erasmus is confident that Corniel van Zyl and Darron Nell are more than capable of doing the job for the team.

Regardless of which Cheetahs team runs onto the field, the Stormers will do well to concentrate on their own game - rather than any pre-match Cheetah antics.

And the Stormers are at their best when they play the all-action counter-attacking style that thrilled the crowds around the country last year.

Stormers coach Kobus van der Merwe has acknowledged the fact that his team's best option is to make use of the brilliant backs at his disposal.

"It is always nice to have so many game breakers, it allows us to counter attack and it is a large area of our game," Van der Merwe said.

"We do play to that [counter-attacking rugby] and it is important for the opposition not to make mistakes against us, because we do have guys that, from turnover ball, can create havoc."

But despite the brilliance and flair of his backs, the Stormers coach knows that the team must also do the basics right and can't expect the opposition just to hand them the ball.

"The set piece still remain very important for us. You can't win games just from turnover ball," he added.

Captain Luke Watson spoke of the confidence the team has in its own ability and how they are "building momentum" going into then tournament.

"We managed to find our rhythm in the latter half of the Boland game [the Stormers' final pre-season outing]," Watson said.

"The guys started to gel and read each other. I am very happy, and very confident going into the weekend," he added.

Prediction: This game could finish the weekend on an exciting note - with lots of action and some great tries. It is tough to call, but the Cheetahs ay just have enough in the tank this early in the season to sneak it. The Cheetahs by less than 10 points.

Teams:

Cheetahs: 15 Tiger Mangweni, 14 Philip Burger, 13 Marius Joubert, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Ronnie Cooke, 10 Herkie Kruger, 9 Falie Oelschig, 8 Kabamba Floors, 7 Juan Smith (c), 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Corniel van Zyl, 4 Darron Nell, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Ollie le Roux.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Wian du Preez, 18 Bian Vermaak, 19 Ryno van der Merwe, 20 Michael Claassens, 21 Willem de Waal, 22 Eddie Fredericks.

Stormers: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Breyton Paulse, 13 Corne Uys, 12 Jean De Villiers, 11 Conrad Jantjes, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Luke Watson (c), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Selborne Boome, 3 Eddie Andrews, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Ross Skeate, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 JP Joubert, 21 Brent Russell, 22 De Wet Barry

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Touch judges: Linston Manuels (South Africa), Deon van Blommestein (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

By Jan de Koning