The best games of the season

This past weekend saw probably the best rugby of the Super Rugby -season to date, with two South African teams at both the dishing-out and receiving-ends of spectacular games, with Twickenham the scene of a blueprint for modern rugby.

The DHL Stormers gave South African Super Rugby fans something to celebrate  with a performance against the Force that, at times, defied belief.

They combined a monstrous defensive effort with silky offensive skills and, particularly, breathtaking precision and swift and deft off-loads on the attack.

The Stormers scored six tries after failing miserably in this department during their first few games.

The Sharks were beaten soundly by a phenomenal first-half backline effort from the Crusaders at Twickenham.

In an enthralling encounter which proved to be a magnificent advertisement for Super Rugby, the Crusaders romped to a 44-28 victory.

Their inside passing, and the ability to outsmart the Sharks with the incredible ability of finding attacking players out wide, gave them the edge in the first half.

If ever South African rugby has seen the blueprint for modern rugby, the Twickenham encounter was it.

Ill-directed up-and-unders

One of the reasons why the Bulls, the defending champions, failed so miserably in two encounters was that their halfback-combination of Fourie du Preez and Morné Steyn, launched a dozen up-and-unders and could not retrieve any of that possession.

In fact, all of those kicks landed in the safe hands of defenders who used them  to launch counter-attacks.

The Sharks realised very early on during the Twickenham game that if they wanted to be competitive, they had to starve the Crusaders’ backs of possession. And they moved the score to 28-37 and were threatening before a turnover and more space on the inside gave the New Zealand-based team the decisive try.

A disturbing factor during this game was the way in which the Sharks’ scrum, with John Smit, Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis in the starting line-up, was annihilated by the Crusaders.

And annihilated is not too strong a word.

The line-out throws of the Sharks was abysmal, and no wonder a SuperSport-commentator described it as Scud missiles.

John Smit and Co.

South Africa will have to sort out early on in what position Smit is to settle, as many observers expect him to lead the Springboks during the Rugby World Cup.

But he was only a shadow of his former self during the Twickenham game.

The Sharks looked like a much more settled team once Tendai (The Beast) Mtwarira and Eugene van Staden joined the fray as substitutes.

The scrumming of Van Staden and The Beast, and the superb running by Mtwarira gave the Sharks momentum.

Some of the senior Springboks will have to improve their Super Rugby performances significantly if they are to feature in the Tri-Nations line-up or at the Rugby World Cup.

Currently, Andries Bekker is arguably South Africa’s finest lock, while Peter Grant has earned kudos with his superb performances. Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield and Steyn have not convinced early-on, although it is not something to be too perturbed about in March.

Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie have been five-star, especially against the Force.

And Bjorn Basson has demonstrated why he is considered such a superb finisher. He scored 21 Currie Cup-tries in 2010, and is sure to add plenty in Super Rugby in 2011.

If only Du Preez and Steyn would refrain from the monotony of aerial assaults and give him more opportunities to stun the opposition with his dazzling runs.

Pierre Spies is currently struggling to regain the form that has made him such a threat to opposition teams since 2009.

A SuperSport-commentator has said he knocks-on so many balls that he looks at home on a volleyball court.

Spies is too good a player not to regain his confidence and his five-star attacking qualities, but on current form, Ryan Kankowski has the inside-lane to the Springbok te am.

In spite of the form lapse of some of their senior Springboks, the Bulls regained some of their confidence by beating the Lions in the Trans-Jukskei derby at the weekend.

The Lions are a work-in-progress, and although some pundits believe they have regressed since beating the Cheetahs, it could be too early to condemn them to the scrap heap.

It will take time for this exciting team to find their feet and to improve their ability to retain possession and recycle it in contact situations.

It was their several spills in direct contact situations near the Bulls line that cost the Lions some of their momentum.

They were also outgunned in the first phase, especially in the line-outs.

Expect a magnificent showpiece and advertisement for South African rugby when the undefeated Stormers and the Sharks meet on Saturday to decide the unofficial title as South Africa’s finest Super Rugby team.

The Sharks know that their sloppiness in the scrums and line-outs, as well as their unconvincing defensive qualities against the magnificent Crusaders will have to be addressed before the showdown with the Stormers.

Expect a thriller on Saturday!