And then there were only six

In one of the most gruelling dog-fights of this year’s Super Rugby season the Sharks prevailed against the reigning Super Rugby champions, the Bulls to set themselves  up for a ‘quarter-final’ duel against the seven-times champions the Crusaders. It will be another massive challenge since they have to travel to Nelson in New Zealand for the match this coming weekend.

The Bulls were eliminated from the play-offs and finished seventh. The top-six teams who qualified for the play-offs are the Reds (66 points), Stormers (63 points), Crusaders (61 points), Blues (60), Waratahs (57) and Sharks (57).

The DHL Stormers achieved their first objective by convincingly beating the Cheetahs. They have qualified for a home semi-final by finishing second to the Reds overall.

Their 44-34 win was masterminded by the tactical general Peter Grant and some enterprising backline-play in which the beleaguered winger Bryan Habana and the fullback, Gio Aplon, played pivotal roles.

Habana was immense on attack and in defence in arguably his finest match of the season.

It was not a case of the Stormers totally dominating proceedings, and therefore the match was everything but dull. The Cheetahs managed four tries of their own, and Rayno Benjamin’s hat-trick would be remembered for a long time.

The Stormers have conceded 18 tries in 16 Super Rugby games, an indication that it will not be easy to breach their line at fortress Newlands in two weeks’ time.

In the semi-finals, the Reds will host the lowest-ranked qualifier in Brisbane on Saturday, July 2 at 11h40 while the Stormers will host  the highest ranked qualifier at Newlands, also on Saturday, July 2 at 17h05.

The win by the Stormers was partially due to the half-hearted approach to defence offered by the Cheetahs. They slipped too many tackles, and they were handed off all too easily.

In fact, halfway through the second half, statistics pointed to the fact that the Stormers had missed two tackles and made 21, while the Cheetahs achieved 54 body hits, but allowed their opponents to continue their merry runs on 24 occasions.

The Sharks were able to outgun and outperform the very classy Bulls thanks partially to their commitment at the breakdowns and in the physical exchanges with the hosts at Loftus Versfeld. For the record: the Sharks won 26-23.

The Bulls had won six straight games before Saturday’s crunch game and approached this encounter in the same way as in their previous match in Durban, where they dominated and bullied the Sharks in the tight exchanges.

As a pack, they were simply too strong and too aggressive for the Sharks in Durban.

On Saturday, the Sharks, with Bismarck du Plessis, Gerhard Mostert, Jannie du Plessis and Jean Deyse at the helm, outmuscled the Bulls, whose unusually high error count pointed to the pressure exerted by the Sharks at the breakdowns.

JP Pietersen, arguably one of the South African players of the Super Rugby-season, cut through the Bulls-defence and then unleashed Stefan Terblanche on his left for a great first-half try.

In the final 10 minutes of the game Lwazi Mvovo rounded off some slick handling to give the Sharks an almost unassailable lead.

Yet, the Bulls must be complimented for the way they hit back after tries scored by the Sharks.

The Sharks impressed with their high octane-play and the way in which they unlocked the tight defensive wall of the Bulls.

Nobody was better in this regard than Patrick Lambie. In spite of the fact that he missed at least three kickable penalties, he played with the sort of calmness that would have impressed the national coach, Peter de Villiers.

John Plumtree experimented with Lambie at fullback, and used Frederic Michalak as playmaker in the flyhalf position.

Michalak showed his class with his superb drop-kick, and with the way in which he kept the opposition guessing,

The match at Loftus Versfeld could be the swansong of Bakkies Botha, Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield and Danie Rossouw.

But one can rest assured that the quartet will feature prominently for the rest of 2011 in the Tri-Nations and in the Rugby World Cup starting on 9 September.

If the Sharks want to outgun the classy Crusaders, they will have to use the same high-tempo game, and they will have to use a substitute bench full of experience and enterprise.

Travelling to New Zealand, as well as the time difference of close to 11 hours might unsettle them after the break on Saturday.

They will probably have to vacate their bench shortly after half-time, and play with enormous enterprise to beat the magnificent Crusaders.

The Reds were immense on Saturday in keeping the Chiefs at bay. The way in which they sustained and absorbed wave after wave of attacks and prevented the Chiefs from scoring, epitomises their season.

They are a team with two generals in Quade Cooper and Will Genia, and they possess many players with the X-factor – the ability to unlock defences.

The Crusaders assured their position at the top of the New Zealand conference with a 16-9 win against the Hurricanes.

It has been a season in which the Christchurch-team had to deal with many setbacks as a massive earthquake hit Christchurch and they had to play their home games away from the beleaguered city.

Yet, they have prevailed against all the odds, and they will no doubt play against the Sharks with an unwavering commitment to bless their long-suffering fans with a win, as well as an eighth Super Rugby-title.

It might be possible for them, and if they beat the Sharks, they will travel to Newlands for a semi-final clash against the Stormers. They have beaten the Stormers earlier this season, and they have enjoyed massive support in Cape Town the past few years.

The Waratahs and the Blues will clash at 09h35 on Friday in the first round qualifiers at Eden Park in Auckland, while the Crusaders and the Sharks will do duty in the other first-round qualifier at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on Saturday at 09h35.

The match between the Waratahs and the Blues will be very tough to call. The Blues  hit their groove very early on during the competition, but lost their way in the past month.

The Waratahs beat the Brumbies convincingly at the weekend, winning an unattractive contest by 41-7 and they have qualified for the play-offs for the fifth time during the past seven seasons.

The offensive play by the Blues is world-class, but their defensive efforts can be woeful at times, and they tend to lose their focus far too easily.

The Sharks’ poor defensive efforts in the midfield were brutally exposed by the Crusaders at Twickenham in a magnificent match earlier during the Super Rugby season.

The Sharks were chasing the game for the whole of the second half and therefore they will have to improve their first-time tackling against the dangerous Dan Carter and Sony Bill Williams.

The convincing display by Meyer Bosman and Stefan Terblanche against the Bulls will be an encouraging sign to John Plumtree and the coaching staff of the Sharks.

The weekend’s South African derbies have showed that the Springboks do possess the team to win the Webb Ellis Trophy for the third time in five attempts.

Leadership Bulletin’s 30-man squad for the tournament in September in New Zealand is: Backline: Francois Steyn, Gio Aplon, Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen, Lwazi Mvovo, Patrick Lambie, Juan de Jongh, Jaque Fourie, Jean de Villiers, Butch James, Morné Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Fourie du Preez, Ruan Pienaar; Forwards: Tendai Mtwarira, Guthro Steenkamp, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Bismark du Plessis, John Smit (c), Jannie du Plessis, Werner Kruger, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Andries Bekker, Danie Rossouw, Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brüssow, Juan Smith, Willem Alberts, Pierre Spies.