The State of Play after Round 1

[barbarian]

This comp looks so even. No team really set the world on fire, but every game was relatively close and no team looked that bad. The traditional cellar dwellers (Lions, Cheetahs, Highlanders, Reds) all looked very good in patches I thought, scoring some fine tries. The Crusaders were far from dominant, and were probably lucky to emege with a win.

The performances of the round came from the Blues and Waratahs, closely followed by the Brumbies and Sharks. Close games, close table, no real standouts, no real dissappointments. Can we make any solid competition predictions after round 1?

Mine is that the Cheetahs, Lions and Highlanders are all going to be far more competitive than they have been in previous years. And the Crusaders are not the side they once were, and will strugle to make the 4.

 

[PaarlBok]

Barbs dont agree on the Blues one. The Tahs performance impressed me the most. Will see where our lot is at the moment. The local derbies are always tough specially due to the Lion visit.

 

[disco]

The tahs 1st half was pretty polished can't say the same about the 2nd half but the Tahs just love to tackle .
The Brumbies looked sharp for about 30 minutes until thet got in front & switched off which is pretty standard for any aussie side.

 

[barbarian]

Barbs dont agree on the Blues one.

I thought considering they were without the services of Rocokoko and Williams their performance was very good. Stifled a strong Force attack with a great defensive effort. Not the prettiest win, but like the Waratahs a good effort away from home.

 

[Blue]

Barbs dont agree on the Blues one.

I thought considering they were without the services of Rocokoko and Williams their performance was very good. Stifled a strong Force attack with a great defensive effort. Not the prettiest win, but like the Waratahs a good effort away from home.

This is a game that the Blues would have lost in the past. That was pretty workmanlike, which is not something you associate with the Blues. Look at the list of players they will bring back and they look very useful.

I hope we see things play out a bit different this year with a lot of upsets, and more teams really in contention deep into the tournament. We might see that.

 

[PaarlBok]

Those bottom dwellers of the past will struggle towards the second half of the comp when debt have to kick in.

Watch out for the Lions tho. That scrum of them is pretty impressive and the likes of Ashwin, Mentz , Mossie & genl Petoors will make them totally different to 2008.

 

[en_force_er]

Watch out for the Lions tho. That scrum of them is pretty impressive and the likes of Ashwin, Mentz , Mossie & genl Petoors will make them totally different to 2008.

dont forget the return of pretorious and fourie in the backs. also clevers looks like he could potenially become a real rocky elsom type player.

 

[PaarlBok]

Watch out for the Lions tho. That scrum of them is pretty impressive and the likes of Ashwin, Mentz , Mossie & genl Petoors will make them totally different to 2008.

dont forget the return of pretorious and fourie in the backs. also clevers looks like he could potenially become a real rocky elsom type player.

Forgot to mention Clever and sorry we call Jac Fourie Mossie in SA.

 

[fatprop]

Watch out for the Lions tho. That scrum of them is pretty impressive and the likes of Ashwin, Mentz , Mossie & genl Petoors will make them totally different to 2008.

dont forget the return of pretorious and fourie in the backs. also clevers looks like he could potenially become a real rocky elsom type player.

Forgot to mention Clever and sorry we call Jac Fourie Mossie in SA.

And Earl Rose, the Boks have now found two 10s (he and Pienaar) who are prepared to play their rugby on the gain line.

 

[Novocastrian]

And Earl Rose, the Boks have now found two 10s (he and Pienaar) who are prepared to play their rugby on the gain line.

But he's also got Beale-itis when it comes to tackling, doubt he'll get much time in a Bok jersey unless he can fix that.

 

[PaarlBok]

Earle Rose sure give you the X factor. He always was a exciting player from schooldays. If he can sort his defense out he'll be great. Now with Andre Pretorius back, watch Bosman for the Cheetahs and still think Grant wont let us down on international level. Importatnt the Sharks keep Pienaar in 10.

 

[PhucNgo]

I reckon the Sharks are going to be hard to go past. With Lions tour possies up for grabs, these guys look like they could clean up.

 

[PaarlBok]

The Sharks always had the names on paper but after winning our local CC that look to me have push them to the next level. Add John Smit, specially in the mental side they are a total different team to 2008. They have everything and should be the team to beat this year.

I am dead sure not many teams should have survived the Stormers on Newlands on saturday but the Sharks just played the percentages and waited for the kill.

 

[Mainlander]

Earle Rose sure give you the X factor. He always was a exciting player from schooldays. If he can sort his defense out he'll be great.

He's a strange one, never seen him do anything wrong and actually been impressed by him on more than a few occasions but FFsak he looks like he'd get blown over by a reasonable gust of wind. First time I ever noticed him I thought I'd be soon witnessing a very short carrier as some half descent tackler would soon break him into little pieces. But he's still around, still in one piece and I believe hasn't even had an injury. Must be tougher than he looks.

 

[PaarlBok]

Earl and his little brother Jody (he is the 10 specialist) rooted from Strand area about 40 kms from Paarl. They are tough customers, his dad use to play for WeePee League in the old days. We have this Beach Touchie competition during Summer Holidays in the South Cape Beaches and they play for a local side called Jamaicas. Well the three of them ending one tournament in disarray fighting with the locals. :lmao:

Both Earl and Jody learned their rugby at Paul Roos at Stellenbosch. Well myself saw Paarl Gimmie beating the shite out of Paul Roos during their tenure and not even their Rosies could save them.

 

[Rugby Rat]

Too hard to call. We should know the fate of most by round four.