Weekend Update

Can Rassie quench the Stormers' fans thirst for a trophy in the cabinet?

Patience is a virtue...................but one can only be patience for so long.

"Rassie Erasmus believes the Stormers can still make the play-offs despite a devastating 14-10 loss to the Bulls"
Yes, Rassie, the Stormers can still make the semis, provided you quit and move as far away from CT as is humanly possible. I really do not understand the tactic he deployed this past weekend, especially by him starting with Willem de F*&^%.......honestly.

a positive from this game is that after last week Rassie said he would quit if the players stopped believing in his plan, bla bla bla. I think it was a bit of a ploy to take attention of the players, but whatever. This week he comes out with a statement that we could still make the semi’s. Much more positive stuff. BUT WE as the fans want to see RESULTS, no use playing attractive rugby when you don't score points (reminds me of my premiership team Arsenal).The tour wont be easy......

Stormers tour:

Highlanders- At the House of Pain, after beating the Saders, they've suddenly gotten a morale booster
Crusaders-really not looking all that good at the moment. But beating them in Christchurch would be a mountain climb
Brumbies- Playing well lately and hard to bat at home
Hurricanes-depending on which Cane team pitches up. But they are playing very consistent these days, so prob another loss.
Tahs- a definite contender this year, so prob. another loss.
So yah, Rassie shouldn't get carried away by last year's tour where all those teams were complacent (considering our bad start).

That Naqalavuki guy is lazy and relies solely on his bulk to break tackles which he sometimes does, but unless he gets his mind and work-rate up I wouldn’t play him.Missed 4 tackles....honestly...... Chavanga has hardly had a decent ball to run with in 320 minutes of rugby yet. With his first start in the S14, Koster was the most active wing on the park (save one unfortunate moment in the last minutes when he had a brain-fart in his own 5m) and he made a couple of runs and defended well.

As for Luke Watson, he is always more than good value for his contributions, he was by far the best loose forward on the field yesterday without any doubt, those still undermining him for reacting and egging the crowd on, good for him, the egg is on the other boo boo faces for now, he has more guts and spunk than all of the Anti-Luke throng put together.

Heneike Meyer gave a good account of the match analysis and I'm starting to understand why the multitude considered him amongst the BEST coaches in world rugby. This man has WON the S14 title (the only local coach to do so) and he KNOWS what it takes to win trophies (especially if u consider his CC record). I feel the Stormers have been lacking on playing a structured game and they totally black-out and run out of sorts under pressure.It may call for a coach who believes in STRUCTURE and not taking chances, coz that has failed them in the past season.Under Robbie Deans, the Saders where very structured in their play and the Cleaned the S14 titles, however, his departure left them out of sorts.The Bulls won the S14 under the structured guidance of MASTER Henieke Meyer.Maybe its high time the Stormers sought the help of the free-agent coach.

Big up to the Bulls for be cool-headed and the Sharks for showing what mettle is all about.

Ikeys show their mettle……………Is it déjà vu?

Coach gives an update of the Varsity Cup and Super 14

In the 2008 varsity cup competition, the Ikeys lost their first of their group matches but eventually went on to win the remaining six matches, grabbing a bonus point in every subsequent match. In one of their matches leading to the final, a last second penalty by flyhalf Matthew Rosslee secured a close win for them.
The 2009 season has started with almost a similar pattern, losing their first game against the Maties and then turning the tables to win their next three games (2 away, 1 home) and earning a FULLHOUSE in all of them. Perhaps their most recent match against Tukkies was the most nail-biting one as once again, flyhalf Matthew Rosslee (the eventual Man of the Match) landed a last second penalty to bag a 24-22 victory in Pretoria.

The Ikeys are living up to their exciting brand of expansive rugby, similar to the style that bok coach Peter De Villiers has been trying to inculcate amongst him men . The mere fact that of the total twelve tries that they have scored, eleven have been scored by their backline (back three) shows their capability to run the ball. Former Maties player, now UCT fullback Therlow Pietersen is the current joint top scorer in the tournament with four tries and with fellow new recruits Tiger Bax (fullback/centre) and Dane Johnson (wing) having two tries apiece.

The Ikeys’ next game is against NMMU on the 2nd of March in Port Elizabeth. This should be an easy full-house for the Ikeys, but should not be complacent after the heavily-packed NMMU outfit registered their first victory of their varsity cup campaign against TUT last week. However, this should be one of the matches that Dobbo should give a chance to his fringe players to gain game time. You would expect guys like Kuselo, JP Robert, Ashley Wells and the ‘Goose’ to start. But we’ll have to wait and see. By the time this publication comes out, the match would have been played and a report on it would be provided in the next edition.

On a different note, it still remains unknown, but most likely so that Luke Watson may have silenced the booing with his five-star performance against the Reds on the 21st of February. On the build up to the match, most Luke-critics had been wondering if he would be able to cement a starting place in the Stormers’ loose-trio, with most favouring the combination of Schalk Burger, Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen. However, a change of game plan by coach Rassie led to Luke surprisingly starting at no8 against the Reds ahead of Louw as he put on a blistering performance in an otherwise scrappy 27-24 win for the Stormers.

The Stormers have had a fragmentary start to their Super 14 season with a loss to the Sharks and a unconvincing 27-24 win over the resilient Reds. Their failure to accumulate a bonus point in that match may yet come back to haunt them at the later stages of the season when deciding the play-offs. On the other hand, the bulls seem to have resurrected from their forgettable 2008 season with victories over the Reds and the Blues. The match against the latter was one of their best matches in a while and Pierre Spies put on a perfect display to cap two tries in leading his to a 59-26 demolition of the Blues. The Sharks have maintained their clean start to the season with victories over the Stormers and Lions. Their fate however would be decided in the five away games down under where, with their first against the Chiefs on the 28th of February.


At the end of week two of the Super 14, the has been some local players who have really stood out, namely Duanne, Deysel, Luke, Kankowski, Pierre and Rory Kockott just to name a few. given that Bok coach De Villiers announced that there is still room for anyone in the Bok team for Lions tour, it would not be surprising to see guys like Deysel or Kockott getting a springbok call. On a gloomy side, bok heroes such as star Bryan Habana and JP Peterson have had a slow start to the season. Let’s just hope they’ll pick up soon in time for the Lions Tour matches.

Welcome back…….Monday Night Lights

Coach-Taru reviews the Ikeys build up to the 2009 Varsity Cup Campaign

2009………Is it the going to be the year of the Ikeys?

Welcome back mates. Here’s the first post of the 2009 Varsity rugby articles. Hope you do have a magnificent 2009 rugby season, with the popular Monday-night-lights and Super 14 back in the mix. As my fellow rugby-craze mate N.K would say, “Bring on those lights...All the Way… with the Ikey Stripes”.

After a successful 2008 Varsity Cup Tournament campaign that was blemished by a last-minute try in the final against the Maties, the UCT Ikey Tigers have vouched to put past that rather emotional defeat and concentrate on the 2009 campaign.
Bolstered by the availability of world class technical team that any rugby team in the world would die for (John Dobson, Robbie Fleck, Bob Skinstad, Selborne Boome, scrumming expert Paul Day and world cup winning coach, Jake White, the Ikeys look set to continue, if not better their previous campaign. Sheryl Calder, a renowned world pioneer in specialist in vision fitness who worked with the 2003 England Rugby World Cup winning side has also been involved with the Ikeys team during their preseason training. An interview with Ikeys skipper (now a Test player for the US Eagles), JJ Gargiano revealed just how well prepared the boys are this year. So as far as their preparations for the 2009 season are concerned, “We are more prepared than we were last year, thanks to our awesome technical and management team and the Sports Science Institute for making their pre-season training much easier. What is nice about such a management team is that they share their wealth of knowledge and learn from each other at the same time, even outside rugby…hence the mutual understanding of TEAM’S interests”, echoes the talented and charismatic Ikeys Captain Courageous.

The departure and loss of most senior players from last year’s team of the year has not affected the team’s spirit and they have no ill feelings about it. For instance, when asked about the loss of former Ikeys hooker, JP Koster to Maties, the skipper is quick to respond, “Rugby has become a professional sport and a business, so players are bound to move to greener pastures and so we are still cool about it”. Well, it seems the Ikeys were not so cool about it as witnessed in their opener against the Maties on the 2nd of February (Ikeys narrowly lost 10-12), with JP Koster being at the receiving end of some mean tackles.

Losing their first game of the 2009 tournament has not affected the Ikeys camp at all, considering also that they lost their first match last season and went on to win the remaining matches in the group stages. Coach Dobbo, who said he was "pleased" with the team's performance against Maties, admitted though that the final result remains a sore point. "I felt we had done enough to win, and deserved to, but it is a new team and we needed to know where we were in terms of the level of rugby that is required in the Varsity Cup," Dobson told www.varsitycup.co.za.
The Ikeys have a relatively new look side, with only a few senior players in the team, notably skipper JJ Gargiano, Enoch Panya, Dylan Rogers (D-guy), Mat Rosslee just to mention a few, otherwise the rest of the crop is from the 2008 U20 side. The most promising players to watch out for this season include JP Roberts (scrum-half), hard-hitting flank Kuselo Moyake, Donovan Armand (lock) and the funniest bloke in the side according to JJ, Dayne Jans (hooker). New recruits, wing Dane Johnson, fullback Therlow Pietersen and the evergreen former Maties fullback/centre (also part of the 2009 Vodacom Stormers extended squad), Tiger Bax have also augmented the Ikeys, known for their awe-inspiring running brand of rugby. Pietersen and Bax inspired the Ikeys in their recent 39-21 win over TUT with some scintillating tries. Tiger Bax was well deservedly rewarded with a Man of the Match R1000 cheque for his outstanding performance at outside centre were he tore the resilient TUT defence on several occasions.

With transformation being one of the main focuses of this tournament, the Ikeys Tigers seem not to be struggling at all according to Ikeys skipper, JJ Gargianno, “I think don’t have a problems with transformation at UCT, we have more players of colour than other leading varsity cup sides”…”I can’t call it transformation because these players of colour are not there to add numbers, but because they are standouts in their knowledge of the game”, says JJ. At the moment the side has about 7-8 players of colour in the 27man squad…and there is always at least 3 players of colour in every running on team and at any point on the field. It is good to see guys like Sinako “Snakes” and Sam being included in the extended squad as they had a good 2008 rugby season in the junior teams.

On a different note, the Ikeys flag seems to be flying higher in other rugby circles internationally, with three players in the history making Bok 7s team, Kyle Brown, Paul Delport and the recently appointed Bok 7s Captain, Mpho “Impi ‘ Mbiyozo (congrats Impi). Other former varsity cup players plying their trade elsewhere include Mat Turner (Bristol and England 7s sides) and mercurial scrumhalf, Danie van der Merwe (contracted to Boland). Too bad the services of last year’s forward of the tournament, the burly but artistic front ranker, Herbie Mayosi will be missed. Him and centre David Edgar are not eligible to participate in the tournament due to age restrictions.

Sharks, Bulls dominate Baby Boks

The Blue Bulls and Sharks comprise the bulk of the SA U20 training squad as Eric Sauls prepares for the 2009 Junior World Championship in Japan.

The Baby Boks will meet for a training camp in Pretoria from 18-25 January. The greater squad includes 12 Bulls players and 10 players from the Sharks. Sauls will be joined by Deon Davids (Boland) and Nico Serfontein (Bulls) on his coaching staff.

The tournament kicks off on 5 June and will be played across four Japanese cities in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.

SA U20 training squad:
Blue Bulls: Gideon Helberg, Gerhard van den Heever, Yondela Stampu, Omphile Seabela, Francois Brummer, Tendayi Chikukwa, Wilhelmus Nel, Marnus Schoeman, Cornell Hess, Andries Ferreira, Mlungise Bali, Pieter Rossouw de Klerk

Boland: Sampie Mastriet

Free State: Josias Ebersohn, Lionel Cronje, Christoffel Phillip van der Walt, Trevor Nyankane

Golden Lions: Jakob Taute, Riaan Arends, Elton Jantjies, Rudy Paige, Jacobus Albertus Kriel, David Bulbring, Caylib Oosthuizen

Griffons: Eugene Cunha

Leopards: Andre Esterhuizen, Evan Richter

KwaZulu-Natal: Faizel de Bruin, Wynand Pienaar, Xolane Mnisi, Ross Cronje, Meyer Swanepoel, Lambert Groenwald, Kenechukwu Okafor, Julian Redelinghuys, Kyle Cooper, Dale Chadwick

Western Province: Nicolaas Hanekom, Johann Sadie, Johannes Engelbrecht, Yaasir Hartzenberg, Sidney Tobias, Ruan-Henry Smith

"i have highlighted the players that you should watch out for"

Sent in by JC[www.supersport.co.za]

Sharks, Bulls dominate Baby Boks

The Blue Bulls and Sharks comprise the bulk of the SA U20 training squad as Eric Sauls prepares for the 2009 Junior World Championship in Japan.

The Baby Boks will meet for a training camp in Pretoria from 18-25 January. The greater squad includes 12 Bulls players and 10 players from the Sharks. Sauls will be joined by Deon Davids (Boland) and Nico Serfontein (Bulls) on his coaching staff.

The tournament kicks off on 5 June and will be played across four Japanese cities in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.

SA U20 training squad:
Blue Bulls: Gideon Helberg, Gerhard van den Heever, Yondela Stampu, Omphile Seabela, Francois Brummer, Tendayi Chikukwa, Wilhelmus Nel, Marnus Schoeman, Cornell Hess, Andries Ferreira, Mlungise Bali, Pieter Rossouw de Klerk

Boland: Sampie Mastriet

Free State: Josias Ebersohn, Lionel Cronje, Christoffel Phillip van der Walt, Trevor Nyankane

Golden Lions: Jakob Taute, Riaan Arends, Elton Jantjies, Rudy Paige, Jacobus Albertus Kriel, David Bulbring, Caylib Oosthuizen

Griffons: Eugene Cunha

Leopards: Andre Esterhuizen, Evan Richter

KwaZulu-Natal: Faizel de Bruin, Wynand Pienaar, Xolane Mnisi, Ross Cronje, Meyer Swanepoel, Lambert Groenwald, Kenechukwu Okafor, Julian Redelinghuys, Kyle Cooper, Dale Chadwick

Western Province: Nicolaas Hanekom, Johann Sadie, Johannes Engelbrecht, Yaasir Hartzenberg, Sidney Tobias, Ruan-Henry Smith

Posted in News by JC[www.supersport.co.za]

Reflections....

Has the year 2008 been a success in terms of South Africa rugby? As i type this article, already I’m being envisioned about the dark and bright clouds that have fallen on our rugby playing nation. Any mixed feelings with regards to the diagnosis and upshot of this much admirable game?

Barely a year after South Africa won the IRB world cup tournament in France, there has been an out of the blue hullabaloo state of the affairs in our rugby fratenity, both on and off the field. I’m sure the first thought that comes into your mind is non other that the 'so called' controversy surrounding the Puke (sorry i meant to write Luke) Watson saga. 'So called' because in my own opinion, Fluke (damn this keyboard...) Watson has just been a victim of the not so called middling media. I'm of the belief that leaders are not made, but BORN. And such is the headship that Luke Watson exuberates on and off the field. I for one feel that he was caught out of context and the 'rugby superiority’ decided to divert the focus to dim-witted issues instead of concentrating on burning issues surround SA rugby currently, TRANSFORMATION...CHANGE. Yes....like OBAMA would like IT done...CHANGE. To cut a long story short, after a brief chat with Luke with regards to the saga, he summed it all up by saying, "I don’t regret saying what i said at the UBUMBO function at UCT, at least now people know the concealed secrets within the Bok set and white mentality with regards to Rugby".

Moving on to another contentious matter. Our very own coach, Snor was allegedly CITED and implicated in a sexual delinquency. I shall not comment on this allegation seeing I don’t have any inside information with regards tot his subject. However, if I had to be asked to share my judgment on this, I’d quickly jump into DiV’s defense and say, “Those are the perks of being a bok coach”. When asked for comment, DiV quickly jumped to his defense, “I did not have any sexual relations with that woman”. After all, he’s human.


Moving onto the next saga….I need to take a breather on this one. The springbok emblem. Should it go, or should it not? I was initially one of those against the banishing of the emblem, but having read the reactions from the media and some arrogant supremacists. I have since realized that there’s more to SA rugby than just the badge. Then comes the Loftus saga. A black woman who was manhandled by racist white bok fans because, “how can a black woman support the boks”……Honestly, what rubbish is this. F%$^& the EMBLEM. Let it go.

Now on on-field issues, I think the overall Bok performance of 2008 was satisfactory. Big up to DiV for silencing his critics at the EOYT. Viva positive Jealous Viva!!!

So near, yet so fat......

Tribute to out fallen heroes! Heroes??? A hero - a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength. For instance, "RAF pilots were the heroes of the Battle of Britain".With this definition in mind, i'm forced to change my sentiments and statements to try and highlight some of the most distinguished and seasoned South AFrican Rugby legends who have failed to lure the eyes of the Bok selectors. Looking at their performances and characters in the past season, one is forced to think that they have been unlucky not to have donned the Bok jersey. One thing for sure is that they MAY not don the springbok jersey at all, throughout all their rugby playing careers.

It is every schoolboy's dream to wear the GREEN and GOLD at some point in time. This jersey has inspired many youngster to abandon their studies, leave their families and girlfriends, in search of the gateway to the BOK jersey. As a soccer mad growing youngster, my sudden profound interest and twist to rugby transpired in 1995, during the RWC in South Africa. Suddenly I HAD A DREAM. My dream to become a great rugby player , having been inspired by guys like Pienaar, Chester and the great Os to thrive and strive to wear that green and gold. But so many obstacles and challenges in life have intefaced and thus resulted in my dreams not living to reality. But at least i have not regrets in following and being acquainted to the SPORT that i love so much.

Needless to say, there have many deserving and much more talented guys that have unfortunate to wear the bok jersey. Guys that have perenially graced the rugby scene in the country and abroad, by they are still being overlooked by the selectors. The following names come into mind: Cobus 'baywatch' Grobler, Keegan Daniels, Jaque Botes, John Mametsa, Ryno Gerber, Ross Skeate,Rito Hlungwani, Braddley Barrit, Tiger Mangweni, Jaco Engels, the list is endless. These guys should forget about playing for the boks. Its late for them. They are now too old (their avg age is 24). Considering that nowadayds in rugby, if you dont make it as a 20 year old, then you better start looking for overseas contracts.

Then comes a bunch of the famous, "one cap wonder".These guys have played less than 4 tests for the BOKS and it doesnt look like they are gonna make it in FUTURE AT ALL: Waylon Murray, Morne Steyn, Hilton Lobberts, Meyer Bosmann, Heinkie Van de Merwe, Adriaan Strauss, Wynard Ollivier and so forth. I see no more caps coming out of this bunch.

Also another tag of "former Springboks' seems to be falling on the following players: Chavanga, Muller, Castens, Pedre Wannenberg,Bolla Conradie, Derrick Houggard (only at 25), Wickus Wan Heerden, Albert Van der Berg , the list is also endless. Hardy okes, you better join the BOK CROCKS team.

WARNING!!!!!The following youngsters should watch out otherwise they will end up just attaining the "Currie Cup legend" tag, famously personalised by guys like Anton Leonard and AJ Venter. These are Deon Stagmmann,Stephan Dippenaar, Marius Delport, RORY KOCKOTT, STEVEN SYKES, ALISTAIR HARGREAVES,JEAN DEYSEL, PATRIC CILLIERS and NIKOLAI BLIGNAUT.In my opinion, none of these guys are ever gonna make the springboks again, unless something terrible happens to the incumbent crop.

The moral of the story is, some get the opprtunity, and some dont. And for those that do get one, they beeter make sure that take it with BOTH hands, otherwise its the end of it. We have too many talented players in South African rugby, but we can only have 22 man squad at every test game. As they say, a fringe player from any of the 5 unions in South Africa would start in any team abroad.