Real battle ahead for local log leaders

The Bulls and the Stormers both will have to survive a Crusade and swim in Shark-infested waters if they are to secure a place in the Super 14 playoffs or semifinals. But even that may not be enough – particularly for the Stormers.

The Stormers will face the Crusaders at Newlands on Friday, and will square off against the Sharks at the Absa Stadium next weekend in two of their final three matches.

The Cape Town-based team has 34 points and is second on the log, five behind the log leaders, the Bulls, who will have to face the same challengers as the Stormers if they are to secure a place in the semifinals.

The two log leaders will meet at Newlands on 15 May, a match that could decide their Super 14 destiny. Will they host a semifinal, play the Reds away from home, or possibly watch at the home of their coach, Allister Coetzee?

In the case of the Bulls, victories against the Sharks and the Crusaders could secure a home semifinal.

The Stormers may not be that fortunate. Two Australian teams are lurking. The Reds also boast 34 points after 10 matches, while the Waratahs are agonisingly close to the Stormers with 33 points after 10 matches.

The New Zealand team, the Hurricanes, could decide the fate of the Stormers, particularly if they beat the Reds in Wellington or the Waratahs in Sydney. The Reds will have to travel to face the Brumbies in Canberra.

The Bulls and the Stormers will have to beat the resurgent Sharks, who have won five straight matches to reach 25 points after 10 matches.

The Stormers looked flat-footed in their defeat against the Reds.

Generally, Australian teams have looked more composed, more focused and tactically more aware against the South African teams than their Kiwi counterparts.

And when you kick it against the Australians, their attitude has been: Thanks for your generous donation. We will return the favour in half an hour.

Differently stated: They pressurise South African teams by recycling the ball through several phases, thanks largely through their exemplary control at the breakdowns. And when they kick it, it is generally a tactical kick aimed at turning around South African teams.

South African teams such as the Stormers and the Bulls hardly use a rotation policy, and it could back-fire badly during the final three weeks in which the Stormers and the Bulls face the heavyweights before the playoffs.

With the Waratahs expected to play against the Chiefs, the Hurricanes and the Highlanders, they have every chance of winning all three. If the Stormers lose their way against the defending champions, the Bulls, at Newlands, they may have to travel Down Under for the semifinals or lose out.

And with the heavy workload carried by the same 15 to 19 players for the last 10 weeks, it is quite an extraordinary challenge for Schalk Burger and his troops.

From an individual perspective, the form of Bismarck du Plessis at hooker, John Smit at loosehead prop and Ruan Pienaar at scrumhalf has been encouraging.

Even some of the Lions have excelled with their attacking performances, and Michael Killian has been a revelation at right wing.

The Springbok flank Wikus van Heerden has not yet performed at the high level that forced him into national contention in 2007, but that is largely because the Lions have been outgunned in the forward battle.

Bakkies Botha returns to the Bulls fold this week, and he will have to pull above his weight to push Danie Rossouw, Andries Bekker and Victor Matfield out of the national group.

This enforcer is a world-class lock, but such has been the level of performance by Bekker and Rossouw that Botha has no easy task to reclaim the number-4 jersey in the Green and Gold.

The Stormers will welcome Joe Pietersen back in their group for the Newlands showdown with the team from Christchurch – the most successful Super 12 and Super 14 team ever.

And with Dan Carter in top form, the Stormers cannot afford to stumble.

Perhaps the X-factor in the Stormers camp would not be the superb Peter Grant or the inspirational Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie.

In times of turmoil and close encounters, the coach is generally the man who could add that elusive 2% to the performance of the team and unable them simply to perform exceptionally.

The legendary Welsh visionary Carvyn James was such a coach. When he coached the British and Irish Lions and Wales, he had the ability to motivate them by pressing the right buttons. Once, when Phil Bennett debuted for Wales, he told the gifted flyhalf: “Go and show the world what all of Stradey (in Llanelli, the team for whom Bennett played before he was promoted to national duty) knows already.”

And Bennett showed them.

The Stormers will need to show the Crusaders what all of Newlands knows about them already. But ultimately, they will have to survive a Shark attack and hope that a Hurricane hits the Reds and Waratahs mid-ship and end their Super 14 campaign before they can safely dream about a home semifinal.