Hot: Bjorn Basson - Not hot: Rebels
It's time for Planet Rugby's weekly wrap up of who is setting the benchmarks at the moment... and who should be dropped to the bench!
They're on fire!
Morne Steyn and Aaron Cruden: Only a point separates these two fly-halves at the top of the points-scoring charts. Steyn has 225 and Cruden 224, but the Bulls pivot could have the upper hand as he will be in action against the Crusaders in the play-offs, while Cruden and the rest of the Chiefs have the weekend off.
Bjorn Basson and Andre Taylor: With 10 tries apiece, Basson and Taylor have been in red-hot try-scoring form this season. Basson will get a chance to add to his tally in the play-offs and secure sole possession of the top try-scorer's title, while Hurricane Taylor will be watching the rest of the competition on television.
Stormers defence: The semi-finalists' defensive work has been the main reason for their success this season. Coach Allister Coetzee's charges have conceded a miserly 254 points and had only 21 tries scored against them.
The top six: And then there were six in Super Rugby. After the hectic final weekend of round-robin matches, it's the Stormers, Chiefs, Reds, Crusaders, Bulls and Sharks that are left standing and progress to Super Rugby's knockout stages.
Hurricanes: They might have missed out on the play-offs, but the men in yellow certainly made a statement with their attacking style of play. The Wellington-based franchise were the team that scored the most points (489 points) and tries (58) during the regular season.
Heavyweight youngsters: This month saw the arrival of two colossal forwards in Toulouse. 19-year-old loose forward Edwin Maka stands just over 2m and weighs 130kg! And 21-year-old tighthead prop Antoine Guillamon is 1,93m and tips the scales at 145kg! No wonder Leicester have asked George Ford (80kg) to hit the gym!
Someone turn on the heater...!
Francois Hougaard: The nuggety scrum-half is proving a worthy successor to Fourie du Preez for the Bulls and has been one of the top number nines in this year's Super Rugby tournament. However, he will not be proud to know that he was the only player to receive a red card from 118 matches played this season! Hougaard's crime? A tip-tackle on Cheetahs centre Robert Ebersohn which also earned him a one-week ban.
Pat Lam: Any coach that has top-class players such as Ma'a Nonu, Tony Woodcock, Piri Weepu and Ali Williams in his squad should at least be challenging for a spot in the play-offs. Okay so the latter two did not do their reputations justice this season, but the now former Blues coach's inability to get his charges out of the basement with a team that was among the pre-season favourites makes him genuinely not hot!
Rebels: By finishing 13th, Super Rugby's newest franchise might have improved on last year's bottom-of-the-table showing but defensive drills do not appear to be big on coach Damien Hill's priority list. With 520 in the points-against column, the boys from Melbourne conceded the most points in this year's tournament. Even more than the bottom-placed Lions!
Lions: And speaking of the pride from Johannesburg... things have gone from bad to worse as the season progressed. After the euphoria of their Currie Cup final victory in 2011, John Mitchell's troops were overflowing with enthusiasm at the start of their Super Rugby campaign. However, an 11-match losing streak saw them firmly entrenched at the bottom of the table until the end of the round-robin matches!
Stormers attack: They might be defending like Trojans but the Cape Town outfit have scored the least tries in the tournament and are the only team who did not manage to register a try-scoring bonus point this year! Even the hapless Rebels and Lions have done better than that.
Brumbies: Jake White's side's loss to the Blues proved costly as it denied them of their first finals spot since 2004. What makes it even worse for the team's fans is that their defeat opened the back door for the Reds into the play-offs.
By David Skippers
Comments
new_j4a says...
@tha_mai, LOL...'Hot' would that be seeing jonesy2 tell Edwin Make he is fat?
I'd buy tickets to watch that.
Posted 14:58 19th July 2012
sandal says...
Hey, I'm serious about Cooper and his little black number in the changing room. What was that about?
Or was I just having a nightmare?
Posted 02:48 19th July 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
peewee2, bonus points can stay although they can lose the 4 points for a bye but seed the teams based on points once they have found the top 6.
Anyway it's a catch22 as I believe the (flawed) conference system will benefit SA and NZ in the long term. . this is because our players are playing a higher amount of tough matches. This will promote better players for national selection, much like the old days where our two countries were dominant on the back of our provincial championships. The conference system has gone back to a domestic focus and even in the toughest conference NZ still had 4 teams knocking on the door right to the final round, we might beat the hell out of each other but it'll make for better ABs.
Just out of interest, did the top 4 NZ teams all share their results 1 -1 ?
Posted 01:59 19th July 2012
MaxPower says...
i understand the concept of a preliminary semi in each country, hosted by the conference winners but, correct me if i am wrong, after this weekend it is all about where you ended up, so the reds win but then become the lowerst placed (6th) winners and would fly to cape town. No?
Posted 23:48 18th July 2012
Carpelone says...
This conference system reminds me of those spoilt boys who bring the ball and who walk away when the result is not what they want. The boys are the ARU. They prefer a sort of quota system rather than to work to improve those crap franchises.
Posted 22:23 18th July 2012
Houston_11 says...
Lack of consistency in rugby yet again.
A red card tip tackle offence is a one week ban. A yellow/white card for a high tackle from Cooper also warrants a one week ban.
Sort it out IRB...
Posted 18:57 18th July 2012
philipjfry says...
@BDAUSSIE: The Sharks have one more point on the log. Even simpler.
Posted 18:35 18th July 2012
peewee2 says...
For all those whinging about the Reds home game in the finals - rules are rules and they haven't changed since the start of the season.
If you don't agree with the rules then the first one to change should be the bonus point system.
Based on wins the Reds finished in front of the Sharks.
What is the problem?
Posted 14:42 18th July 2012
Herbman says...
Hurricanes scored the most tries but are out of the comp. Between the Stormers and the Canes, it's obvious who's supporters must be happiest right about now. Tries aren't everything!
Posted 11:43 18th July 2012
saffastormer says...
Morne Steyn ?! Oh Phuleeeze!!
Why no mention of Peter Grant ? or did they overlook his accuracy percentage ?!
Posted 10:20 18th July 2012
markpat says...
Rebels being in the not hot is a touch unfair, in my opinion. They missed their 2 big name signings for most of the year, yet had an improved season. Out of the 5 aussie teams, they're the only team that don't bore the hell out of me. Reds, Brumbies, Waratahs and Western Force play like they're afraid of the try line.
Posted 09:12 18th July 2012
hayj05 says...
Stormers have copped a lot for their lack of tries but as the saying goes, a win is a win & they've won the most matches in the competition. I certainly don't think they deserved to be in the not section just because they're not scoring tries & I'm a Kiwi.
@PhilipJfry - The real scary thing about the Reds is that they could end up hosting the final. I knows it's bad that they're hosting the Sharks but imagine if the team placed 6th on points gets to host the final.
If they win this week they'll definately be playing the Chiefs in the semis, if they win that & if the Stormers lose to the Bulls or the Crusaders they would be hosting the final & you've got to say that this scenario isn't too far-fetched.
Posted 06:27 18th July 2012
sandal says...
Speaking of the Reds, did anyone else notice Quade Cooper in a bra and panties in the Reds' changing room at halftime? He wasn't the only one either.
Does that rate as hot?
Posted 06:08 18th July 2012
TheRealH says...
Give me a break! A flyhalf with a 72% accuracy is HOT????? But then Cruden is almost as bad at 78%
Posted 06:05 18th July 2012
tha_mai says...
Morne Steyn and Aaron Cruden - two very good players, similar on points but very different styles to suit the rugby played by their teams - a few more stats highlight this:
Kicks made 1st Steyn 147, 9th Cruden 92
Kick metres 1st Steyn 6180, 8th Cruden 3281
Cruden is 'more involved' again reflecting the different (and successful so far) styles played by their two teams and the roles their 10 has to play - Cruden leads the 'try assist' category, 3rd 'linebreak assists', 2nd (behind SBW) for 'most offloads'
'Hot' would that be seeing jonesy2 tell Edwin Make he is fat?
At 2.02m he is far too tall for a prop j2.
Posted 01:31 18th July 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
Totally agree about the play-offs. Definitely not hot and a flawed system. A team could potentially qualify 7th and as conference winners they'd still get a home semi.
I wouldn't call Edwin Maka fat, he's not even pro yet and there are a lot of players his size about. Is it because he's a Maka that he's got press? That other boy though, damn.. now he's big.
Posted 01:16 18th July 2012
crunchfit says...
@jonesy2
Not particularly built either. Could do with some time in the gym. Plenty of time to develop even if he is a bit overweight. He seemed to know that his fitness was a problem though.
Posted 00:44 18th July 2012
BDAUSSIE says...
@ philipjfry. the reds won more games than the Sharks. pretty simple
Posted 00:06 18th July 2012
rakavi187 says...
what's definitely NOT HOT is the video refs. All the time in the world and countless replays and they still managed to make the wrong decisions...
Posted 22:20 17th July 2012
Zandberg says...
The farcical conference system, which favours Australia and allows 6th placed (by points) Reds to be in 3rd place and enjoy undeserved home play-off, and makes Sharks and Bulls travel across the world instead of playing off against each other in South Africa, is the top not-hot thing this week and for the whole season!
Posted 21:50 17th July 2012