The Cheetahs host the Stormers in the final game of the weekend that really matters, as the Stormers can pretty much secure top spot in the South African conference, or could lose it to the Bulls with a surprising loss in Bloemfontein.
The Cheetahs have very little to play for other than pride. They have had a tough season, with close games not going their way, and an inability to play for the full eighty minutes. For some of the players in the team, it will be their second last outing in orange, as they will be heading to Europe to further their careers.
The Stormers on the other hand, have to win to possibly take the top spot in the overall conference, depending on how the results this weekend so far have gone. They were pushed by a plucky Lions outfit at Newlands last weekend, and the Cheetahs will take a lot from that game and put pressure on the them.
Cheetahs: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Nico Scheepers, 13.Robert Ebersohn, 12.Barry Geel, 11.Cameron Jacobs, 10.Riaan Smit, 9.Pieter van Zyl, 8.Justin Downey, 7.Lappies Labuschagne, 6.Heinrich Brüssow, 5.Izak van der Westhuizen, 4.Andries Ferreira/George Earle, 3.WP Nel, 2.Adriaan Strauss (c), 1.Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements: 16.Hercu Liebenberg, 17.Marcel van der Merwe, 18.George Earle/Waltie Vermeulen, 19.Ashley Johnson, 20.Tewis de Bruyn, 21.Sias Ebersohn, 22.Philip Snyman.
Stormers: 15. Joe Pietersen , 14. Gio Aplon , 13. Juan de Jongh , 12. Jean de Villiers (C) , 11. Bryan Habana , 10. Peter Grant , 9. Dewaldt Duvenage , 8. Jebb Sinclair , 7. Reynhardt Elstadt , 6. Siya Kolisi , 5. Andries Bekker , 4. De Kock Steenkamp , 3. Frans Malherbe , 2. Deon Fourie , 1. Steven Kitshoff
Reserves , 16. Tiaan Liebenberg , 17. Deon Carstens , 18. Quinn Roux , 19. Don Armand , 20. Louis Schreuder , 21. Burton Francis , 22. Gerhard van den Heever
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant Ref 1:Sindile Mayende
Assistant Ref 2:Reuben Rossouw
TMO : Gerrie Coetzee
3 all halftime..
3-6 after 47 mins. Stormers not taking points when they get penalties..
6-13 aplon try
The kakkest display of out-of-hand kicking since Morné Steyn got booooooo´d the other day against the Bleekbene.
Stormers not looking like a side that can win the tourno…
They have grunt that does disrupt and gives them a chance…but they don’t seem to make anything happen…
They have great runners with the ball in JdV, Habana, Aplon…but they don’t seem to do anything…
Their lose trio is also collectively the slowest in the tourno….and Although Grant is kicking very well…he never attempts out side 40, so can he even kick it that far?
Stormers won’t win super rugby….kak game!!!
The Stormers must be the team that plays the most boring rugby in the compo, but stil, they pick up the wins and thats what counts.
@Quintin (Comment 7) : but they cannot score 4 tries..they will struggle to stay in games against the likes of Saders etc.. I cannot see them going beyond SA conference winner title..
Woohoo!
Stormers take the conference. Goddamn you Bloem and your weather. Still, should be nice and sunny at Newlands next week.
@Leviathan (Comment 9) :
Had it been better weather the Cheetahs might actually have won…
I think the weather helped the Stormers……Cheetahs also much more capable of scoring tries…much better attacking backline players and game plan…
@Hmmm (Comment 10) : I’ve been hearing that talk from round one. “they might have won” “the ref was biased” “the Stormers were lucky” and frankly I’m more than a little sick of it every time someone has to find a problem with the Stormers despite them winning. Even with our injury list we keep pulling off the wins, so frankly I don’t care how they come or how we achieve them.
Congratulations for the Bulls win BTW, we might actually get three SA teams in the playoffs.
Whew…sorry about that…needed to vent..
@Leviathan (Comment 11) :
Couldnt agree more. This isnt Craven Week where The prettiest eam wins.
All hat counts is the scoreboard. As Bok fans we shoud appreciate that tries and attractive rugby dont alwayswins tournaments, just go ask the French.
@Leviathan (Comment 11) :
I was talking about that match and your comment on the weather…(not sure that it rained in every game since round 1 when the Stormers played….but seriously doubt it…
)
Was just saying you should thank the weather…better weather would have been in favour of the Cheetahs…
But I am happy if we have 2 SA teams in the final….so the Stormers can keep on winning no matter how…