2012S15 Overall Log: Road to the play offs

[Tangawizi]

Reds can take care of the Highlanders chances themselves so really it just comes down to who they can catch to claim 6th. Sharks and Brumbies look the most likely but I think Reds probably need to claim 15 points from the last 3 weeks, rather than 12 to do it.

 

[Slim 293]

Rebels could be without Beale, Mitchell and Gerrard next week for their match against the Brumbies...

That will certainly help the Brumbies' effort in bouncing back with maximum points...

 

[Tangawizi]

Actually, with a last 4 match line up of the Highlanders (H), Hurricanes (H), Chiefs (A) & Force (H) the Crusaders aren't exactly home & hosed in a finals spot yet. Drop 2 of those matches and they'll be out.

Can the Highlanders & Chiefs beat them twice in 1 season though?

 

[Blue]

Bloody irritating Guppie fish. I don't think they'll drop a game.

They have Frans Steyn back as confirmed from July 1.

All falling into place for them although they tend to fall to pieces in playoff games. They have every chance of topping the SA conference from here.

 

[Brisbok]

Bloody irritating Guppie fish. I don't think they'll drop a game.

They have Frans Steyn back as confirmed from July 1.

All falling into place for them although they tend to fall to pieces in playoff games. They have every chance of topping the SA conference from here.

Is there such a thing as timing your injuries right?! Because if there is, the Sharks have planned it perfectly! All their major injuries were early in the season and their big players have all come back now and are hitting their straps at the right time of the season! They are certainly building some nice momentum and the improved form of Bismarck, the Beast, Alberts etc. is very promising from both a Sharks and Bok perspective!

The Stormers on the otherhand....their momentum, aided by injuries, is fading fast! This weekend's game at Loftus is huge for both teams! Hopefully they don't destroy each other on the eve of the England series!

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Yeah, massive game that one. A few weeks ago I thought the Stormers were absolutely odds on, but it's a funny old competition this one. Very unpredictable.

 

[PaarlBok]

Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BPts Pts
1 Chiefs 12 10 0 2 330 247 83 35 18 5 53
2 DHL Stormers 12 10 0 2 265 196 69 21 15 2 50
3 Brumbies 12 7 0 5 314 250 64 33 22 9 45
4 Vodacom Bulls 12 8 0 4 371 274 97 38 27 8 48
5 Crusaders 12 8 0 4 346 257 89 32 25 6 46
6 Sharks 13 8 0 5 342 285 57 36 26 9 45
7 Highlanders 13 9 0 4 307 288 19 30 21 4 44
8 Reds 13 8 0 5 276 301 -25 28 30 4 40
9 Hurricanes 13 7 0 6 405 370 35 49 35 8 40
10 Toyota Cheetahs 13 5 0 8 346 371 -25 31 36 8 32
11 Waratahs 13 4 0 9 303 323 -20 29 33 10 30
12 Rebels 12 4 0 8 273 398 -125 27 47 5 29
13 Force 13 3 0 10 256 342 -86 24 37 7 23
14 Blues 13 2 0 11 263 364 -101 23 44 5 17
15 MTN Lions 12 1 0 11 205 336 -131 18 38 3 15

Road to the finals:
Chiefs:
June
02 Blues vs Chiefs North Harbour Stadium, Albany
29 Highlanders vs Chiefs Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
July
06 Chiefs vs Crusaders Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
13 Hurricanes vs Chiefs Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Stormers:
June
02 Bulls vs Stormers Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
30 Stormers vs Lions DHL Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
July
07 Cheetahs vs Stormers Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
14 Stormers vs Rebels DHL Newlands Stadium, Cape Town

Brumbies:
June
01 Rebels vs Brumbies AAMI Park, Melbourne
30 Force vs Brumbies NIB Stadium, Perth
July
07 Waratahs vs Brumbies ANZ Stadium, Sydney
14 Brumbies vs Blues Canberra Stadium, Canberra

Bulls
June
02 Bulls vs Stormers Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
30 Bulls vs Cheetahs Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
July
06 Sharks vs Bulls Mr Price Kings Park, Durban
14 Bulls vs Lions Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Crusaders
June
01 Crusaders vs Highlanders AMI Stadium, Christchurch
30 Crusaders vs Hurricanes AMI Stadium, Christchurch
July
06 Chiefs vs Crusaders Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
14 Crusaders vs Force AMI Stadium, Christchurch

Sharks:
June
02 Lions vs Sharks Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg
July
06 Sharks vs Bulls Mr Price Kings Park, Durban
14 Sharks vs Cheetahs Mr Price Kings Park, Durban

Highlanders
June
01 Crusaders vs Highlanders AMI Stadium, Christchurch
29 Highlanders vs Chiefs Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
July
06 Reds vs Highlanders Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Reds:
June
29 Rebels vs Reds AAMI Park, Melbourne
July
06 Reds vs Highlanders Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
14 Reds vs Waratahs Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Hurricanes:
June
02 Waratahs vs Hurricanes Allianz Stadium, Sydney
30 Crusaders vs Hurricanes AMI Stadium, Christchurch
July
13 Hurricanes vs Chiefs Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Its getting tight at the top now with 4 rounds to go.

 

[PaarlBok]

Is there such a thing as timing your injuries right?! Because if there is, the Sharks have planned it perfectly! All their major injuries were early in the season and their big players have all come back now and are hitting their straps at the right time of the season! They are certainly building some nice momentum and the improved form of Bismarck, the Beast, Alberts etc. is very promising from both a Sharks and Bok perspective!

The Stormers on the otherhand....their momentum, aided by injuries, is fading fast! This weekend's game at Loftus is huge for both teams! Hopefully they don't destroy each other on the eve of the England series!

The Internationals can throw it around even more. I am not that worried at the moment regarding the Stormers. They'll have their leaders back comes the last few rounds and not many players in the Bok squad. They can afford a loss this weekend.

 

[Slim 293]

Looking at the draw I'd be pretty ecstatic if the Brumbies could climb to 2nd place...

But realistically, I'll be happy if we just make the finals...

 

[PaarlBok]

Looking at the draw I'd be pretty ecstatic if the Brumbies could climb to 2nd place...

But realistically, I'll be happy if we just make the finals...

The Stormers will probably drop the game vs the Brutes, but thats it. Brutes probably the Sharks match, Sharks may win their remaining matches meaning your conferense top will place you in third.

 

[Slim 293]

On second reading I realised that if the Stormers dropped down than the Bulls would probably just replace them...

Anyhoo...

 

[Bardon]

IF the Hurricanes lose to the Tahs they're probably out of the running but they would still have an effect on the chances of the Crusaders.

 

[PaarlBok]

On second reading I realised that if the Stormers dropped down than the Bulls would probably just replace them...

Anyhoo...

The Chiefs aint safe at all. They have some tough derbies , only the home one against the Saders and can easily drop down aswell. Crusaders have a very nice run in and maybe very easily end at the top of the log.

 

[ACR]

Highlanders got the short straw this season, missed out on playing the Lions and Western Force. Considering we're sitting 7th having won the third most amount of games, those potential bonus points will hurt us. To think we could be playing the Lions and Force instead of the Crusaders and Chiefs again... add the Reds and it's a tough ask.

 

[Bardon]

The way S15 is currently structured I don't believe playing the Lions and Force instead of the Crusaders and Chiefs was every an options. Highlanders were always going to have to face Crusaders and Chiefs as they're in the same conference. It would however have been possible to draw the Lions and Force instead on 1 other SA and AUS team respectively.

 

[ACR]

The way S15 is currently structured I don't believe playing the Lions and Force instead of the Crusaders and Chiefs was every an options. Highlanders were always going to have to face Crusaders and Chiefs as they're in the same conference. It would however have been possible to draw the Lions and Force instead on 1 other SA and AUS team respectively.

That's what I mean when we drew the short straw this year, we skipped the Reds and Sharks last year. This year however we skipped the weakest teams from the other conferences. As for the Crusaders and Chiefs I was just dreaming of playing without the conference set up.

 

[Penguin]

Highlanders got the short straw this season, missed out on playing the Lions and Western Force. Considering we're sitting 7th having won the third most amount of games, those potential bonus points will hurt us. To think we could be playing the Lions and Force instead of the Crusaders and Chiefs again... add the Reds and it's a tough ask.

Well it swings in round a bouts.... Reds don't play the Cheetahs & Hurricanes, both middle of the road teams this year. But it's not a perfect comp when all teams don't play each other & I'm going to be a bit sad when the Reds cruel the Highlanders hopes this year as they're my favourite NZ team.

 

[PaarlBok]

The Stormers missed out against the Chiefs and Brumbies. Last year they struggled but this year they both are playing some excellent rugby. The flaw in the competition and at least every team should play against all the others to make it a fair one. Anyhow thats been one of the biggest problems I had with this current format long before they change it.

 

[Garry Owen]

Is it too late for coach Jamie Joseph to open his fat trap (like last year) and jinx their season.

If even a slow poke like he can learn from his mistakes, why can't Deans?

 

[The Red Baron]

Watching the Highlanders vs Crusaders at the moment. From the perspective of a Reds fan, it is good to see the Highlanders getting pummeled. However, god help any team that has to play the Crusaders in the finals if they keep up this type of form.

With a month break from Super rugby coming up though, teams that are really starting to fire (Shorks, Reds and Crusaders spring to mind) risk losing their momentum when super rugby resumes. Gee I love this comp! You really never know what you are going to get.