Contenders Vs Pretenders

Things are going to be a little different this week.  Now I know I’m a little overdue again but this weekend I’ve got a feeling we could be in for a double episode.

Today we’re going to have a glance at the Super Rugby table and find out who are the contenders and who are the pretenders for the remainder of the 2012 season.

The best place to begin would be to have a look at the conference leaders.  So whom do we have here?  Going into round 7, representing South Africa, it’s the Stormers.  Based on the last couple of seasons the Stormers have been the most consistent side out of the Republic alongside the all-conquering Bulls of course but have just fallen short each year.  Again they are in the early running of this year they seem to have picked up where they left off.  They still have great defence, but unfortunately for them, that’s about it.  They play less running rugby than the Bulls, and that’s saying something.   So whilst they are there at the top of the table unbeaten going into playing the Highlanders this weekend I feel that they are only there by default.  They are yet to play anyone of any real quality, have been based in Cape Town for all but one game so far, and are yet to blow anyone away as a team stacked full of their quality should.

Moving over to Aussie and the situation is a shambles.  Aside from the fact that most of their teams appear to be invitation sides packed full of any decent Australian playing, and then a bunch of journeymen New Zealanders that didn’t quite have what it takes to break through back home so packed up and went where there was an offer of any kind, they are all playing diabolical inconsistent rugby which will get them nowhere in the long run.  The Brumbies, who are leading the conference still, after having just been beaten by the Reds only have a 50% win rate this year.  In the old system they would be scraping in at 6^th with a host of teams below them still with a game to play over the weekend who could pass them.  The Australian Conference is so bad that the positions there team occupy are 6^th, 8^th, 10^th, 11^th and 13^th, and again it could get a whole lot worse if the Lions win and push that 11^th to a 12^th and the 13^th to a 14^th.   Hardly what I’d call setting the world alight here boys.  Surely this is a good case for the finals system to be put back to the old system whereby it is the top 4 or 6 teams who qualify for the finals based on how many points they have accumulated, and that alone.

The Chiefs stumbled their way to victory over the Force over the weekend.

Even with the new system in place, which is designed to make the finals a convenient two teams from each conference, making the whole affair suspiciously more marketable etc etc blah blah blah.  If the Highlanders and the Crusaders both win this weekend (which is highly possible) NZ will have four teams in the top six and could rightly claim to be 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th and 5^th.  We’ll just have to forget about the fairies from the top of the North Island who are pretty much the disgrace of the competition if we are being honest.  This weekend it was the Highlanders and the Chiefs who were tied to be the top of the conference in NZ.  Both teams could claim to have title contenders written all over them.  The Chiefs have bigger names and slightly better depth, particularly in key positions, but they played horribly against the Force and managed to sneak a result, perhaps the hallmark of a title winning side me thinks.  In saying that you would write the Highlanders off at your own peril.  They play with such grit and determination and with an ever-growing confidence that one feels the added depth they have gained from last year will surely be enough to bring them a first finals appearance since 2002. 

If we have a quick glance at the other pretenders, I say ‘other’ as I mentioned earlier all of the Australian teams, which I feel, must come into this category, and we have the usual suspects in the form of the Lions, the Cheetahs, the Sharks have been so up and down and rubbish they might as well be included in this list also, even with the 16 Springboks that they boast in their ranks, and one of the surprises of the season; the ever underperforming Blues.  Now normally the Blues will just miss out on the playoffs and the season review is full of almosts and what ifs etc, this year however they are appalling.  Words can’t describe how terrible they have been.  A host of All Blacks, seasoned veterans, a couple of new imports with almost 200 Super Rugby games between them and a pile of youth to throw into the mix.  Problem is, their coach sux and has finally been caught out.  He can’t make positional decisions on his players let alone match tactics.  The Blues often seem devoid of any ideas at all.  If I was involved in the Blues management Pat Lam would be gone well before the end of the season, hell I’d even make it next week if I could.  I’ve heard interviews with people blaming injuries etc for the Blues lack of form.  What a load of Horse S%&t!!!  What team hasn’t had injuries, the Lions are missing at least 10 of their First XV, and they are right in every game suffering close loss after close loss, the Blues, except for pumping the Bulls have rarely been in any contest!

In summary there are 4 teams in with a chance of winning this thing nearing the halfway stage, the Chiefs, Highlanders, Crusaders and either the Stormers or Bulls, we’ll just have to wait until the end of the weekend to see who is going to put their hand up the highest.

Now, I’ve got the Masters to watch, some Heineken Cup, NRL and three more Super Rugby Games to watch so I’d better fly.

Till Sunday, or Monday depending on where you live in the world, Keep going Balls to the Wall.