Two local derbies add spice – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 10 Preview
The two coastal sides both host South African Vodacom Super Rugby derbies on Saturday afternoon as the Vodacom Bulls crossed the Tasman Sea for their third tour match.
The Cell C Sharks will get a rare opportunity to host a 15h00 game at Growthpoint Kings Park when they take on the Toyota Cheetahs in a match between the best and worst defenders in the competition.
Thereafter the Lions will be aiming for only their second ever victory over the DHL Stormers when these two teams square off at DHL Newlands at 17h05.
Earlier on Saturday, the Vodacom Bulls face the Waratahs in Sydney, where they will be aiming to keep alive a winning streak which stretches back to 2005.
Waratahs v Vodacom Bulls
Victor Matfield is the only “survivor” in the Vodacom Bulls’ team from the last time they lost to the Waratahs – which was in the Vodacom Super Rugby semi-final of 2005.
On Saturday, when they face each other in Sydney, it will be 3,256 days since the last Waratahs win.
Yes, it’s been almost nine years since the team from New South Wales have beaten the side from Pretoria. Those eight matches include three successful visits to Sydney for the three-time champions.
Upon their last visit to Sydney, in 2012, the Vodacom Bulls won a tight encounter by 27-24. In 2009 the score was 20-6 to the South Africans and in 2007 it was 32-19.
But the Vodacom Bulls have not yet won away from home this season and they will be hard-pressed to turn this trend around at Allianz Stadium on Saturday morning (SA time). They will face Jacques Potgieter, who was on the bench at Loftus Versfeld last year when the side from Pretoria beat the Waratahs.
“We are very keen to get back on the winning trail,” said Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke earlier this week from Sydney.
“We had opportunities in Napier and Dunedin, but could not convert enough of those to secure us victory. We have played well in patches, so will be looking for a solid performance in Sydney.
“We realise we are facing one of the leading teams in the competitions in the Waratahs, who has been playing great rugby this season, but also know that we are very hard to beat if we stay in our structures, rhythm and manage to keep the ball.”
Flip van der Merwe, who will captain the Vodacom Bulls, said they owe it to themselves to deliver on Saturday.
“We are desperate for a win and the only way we will achieve that is by showing up and playing to our potential on Saturday. We have ambitions in this tournament, but we need to make a stronger statement about that than we have done up to now,” said Van der Merwe.
The teams are:
Waratahs: Israel Folau, Cam Crawford, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Rob Horne, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps, Dave Dennis (captain), Michael Hooper, Jacques Potgieter, Kane Douglas, Will Skelton, Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tola Latu, Jeremy Tilse, Paddy Ryan, Patrick McCutcheon, Wycliff Palu, Brendan McKibbin, Jonathan Lance, Matt Carraro.
Vodacom Bulls: Jurgen Visser, Bjorn Basson, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Francois Hougaard, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Piet van Zyl, Grant Hattingh, Jacques du Plessis, Jono Ross, Victor Matfield, Flip van der Merwe (captain), Werner Kruger, Callie Visagie, Dean Greyling. Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Marcel van der Merwe, Morne Mellett, Paul Willemse, Jacques Engelbrecht, Rudy Paige, Handré Pollard, William Small-Smith.
Waratahs v Vodacom Bulls
Date: Saturday, 19 April
SA Time: 11h40
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
Assistant referees: James Leckie (Australia), Ed Martin (Australia)
Television match official: Peter Marshall (Australia)
Cell C Sharks v Toyota Cheetahs
Although the Toyota Cheetahs’ last visit to Durban ended in defeat for the home team, the Cell C Sharks will probably start Saturday afternoon’s Vodacom Super Rugby derby at 15h00 between these two teams as the favourites.
They are, after all, top of the log while the Toyota Cheetahs are languishing in 14th spot. The Cell C Sharks have lost only once out of their seven matches to date, and the men from Central South Africa have only one victory out of eight starts.
Both teams’ defensive statistics paint a proper picture as to why they occupy these positions on the log.
The Cell C Sharks have conceded only eight tries in their seven matches to date – five fewer than the next best team in the competition, the Waratahs.
On the other side of the scale is the Toyota Cheetahs. Although their 21 tries scored is five more than the Cell C Sharks, the 35 they’ve conceded is 14 more than that of the Highlanders, who have leaked the second most number of tries with 21 this season.
“We have the least number of points scored against us in the competition, the team with the best defensive record and interestingly enough, they have the highest number of points for, although they have the highest number of points scored against them as well,” said Jake White, the Cell C Sharks’ Director of Rugby.
“As a coach, you know they are dangerous with ball in hand but there are opportunities to score against them because they are so attack orientated.
“What they’ve gone for is all-out attack, so when they turn the ball over, players aren’t in a defensive mindset or positions, so they can leak tries.
“But the most important thing for us is that it is an opportunity for us to play against another team with a different style. The Reds have a unique style, the Bulls have a unique style, the Waratahs have a unique style and this Cheetahs side obviously have a style that suits them and works for them. But they probably haven’t had the reward they want.”
Toyota Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske admitted their defence is a concern this year: “As a whole we don’t play the same rugby as last year. There are too many soft moments and we need to start at the basics again.
“Maybe sometimes we want to play too expansive and we need to hang onto the ball. But yes, there were too many soft moments and too many turnovers. Defence is a concern and you can’t disagree with the facts and the stats.”
The teams are:
Cell C Sharks: Lwazi Mvovo, Tonderai Chavhanga, S’bura Sithole, Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen, Tim Swiel, Charl McLeod, Keegan Daniel, Jean Deysel, Marcell Coetzee, Stephan Lewies, Willem Alberts, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis (captain), Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Kyle Cooper, Dale Chadwick, Lourens Adriaanse, Ettienne Oosthuizen, Ryan Kankowski, Stefan Ungerer, Heimar Williams, SP Marais.
Toyota Cheetahs: Hennie Daniller, Cornal Hendricks, Johann Sadie, Ryno Benjamin, Willie le Roux, Elgar Watts, Sarel Pretorius, Boom Prinsloo, Jean Cook, Heinrich Brussow, Francois Uys, Lodewyk de Jager, Maks van Dyk, Adriaan Strauss, Caylib Oosthuizen. Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Trevor Nyakane, Rossouw de Klerk, Andries Ferreira, Teboho Mohoje, Shaun Venter, Riaan Smit, Raymond Rhule.
Cell C Sharks v Toyota Cheetahs
Date: Saturday, 19 April
SA Time: 15h00
Venue: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Television match official: Deon van Blommenstein (South Africa)
DHL Stormers v Lions
It took the Lions 10 matches and more than eight years to finally beat the DHL Stormers when they won by 34-10 earlier this year.
On Saturday afternoon at 17h05 these two sides square off in the second South African derby of round 10 of Vodacom Super Rugby, at DHL Newlands in Cape Town.
Unfortunately for these two sides, they’ve not been at the top of their game when it comes to try-scoring. The Lions have only scored 11 tries in their eight games to date, which is one more than the DHL Stormers’ 10 in seven matches.
Looking back at the history between these two sides, there are never too many tries in it. The last and only time one of these teams bagged a try-scoring bonus-point against each other, was in 2009 when the DHL Stormers won comfortably by 56-18, crossing for eight tries in the process.
Although the Lions won the last encounter between these sides by 34-10, back in February, both teams managed only one try each.
Allister Coetzee, coach of the DHL Stormers, said: “We know that the Lions are a quality side, as they showed against us in Johannesburg earlier this season.
“We were poor at managing the Lions’ contestable kicking game at Ellis Park and our line-out also didn’t function well enough. It’s a different venue, here at sea level, but we really have to ensure that our set-piece fires.”
Lions coach Johan Ackermann warned of the threat posed by the DHL Stormers at home.
“Newlands is a challenging ground and winning there would be a huge confidence boost, especially ahead of our tour,” said Ackermann.
“As long as I see effort, we’re moving in the right direction. Little things are costing us, which is down to experience. It will be good for us to pick up a win. At the end of the day, it’s where you end up on the combined log, not SA log.”
The teams are:
DHL Stormers: Peter Grant, Damian de Allende, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (captain), Sailosi Tagicakibau, Demetri Catrakilis, Nic Groom, Duane Vermeulen, Siya Kolisi, Nizaam Carr, Michael Rhodes, Ruan Botha, Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Stephan Coetzee, Pat Cilliers, Brock Harris, Jurie van Vuuren, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Louis Schreuder, Devon Williams, Jaco Taute.
Lions: Chrysander Botha, Courtnall Skosan, Lionel Mapoe, Stefan Watermeyer, Anthony Volmink, Marnitz Boshoff, Ross Cronje, Warren Whiteley (captain), Derick Minnie, Jaco Kriel, Franco Mostert, Martin Muller, Julian Redelinghuys, Robbie Coetzee, Schalk van der Merwe. Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Corné Fourie, Ruan Dreyer, MB Lusaseni, Willie Britz, Faf de Klerk, Elton Jantjies, JW Jonker.
DHL Stormers v Lions
Date: Saturday, 19 April
SA Time: 17h05
Venue: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa) Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Other fixtures (South African kick-off times):
Friday, 18 April:
09h35: Hurricanes v Blues – Wellington
11h40: Rebels v Force – Melbourne
Saturday, 19 April:
09h35: Chiefs v Crusaders – Hamilton
Byes: Highlanders, Reds, Brumbies
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