Stormers’ NZ nightmare continues

The Stormers’ opening rounds in South Africa showed the boys from Cape Town were keen to get their hands on some silverware. They coasted through their opening fixtures and even managed to stun the Chiefs, arguably one of the toughest teams in this year’s competition.

Then came their tour to New Zealand. They faced the then only other unbeaten side in the competition, and were on the receiving end of a vintage running rugby Crusaders masterclass. They travelled to Dunedin and learnt a similar lesson under the roof by the Highlanders. The Stormers showed some sort of promise in the Crusaders game but things looked to have gone from bad to worse against the Highlanders, despite scoring first.

They were thoroughly outplayed in every aspect of the game and unfortunately picked up injuries to key players such as Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit to name a few. It is quite clear that the worst has yet to come for the Stormers. They next face the Hurricanes on Friday, in a game which could very well see the home side dominate the visitors, and at this moment in time, the Stormers will just be hoping to save some pride and return home unscathed.

Kings not going down without a fight

When a team has nothing to play for, they are often the most dangerous, which is exactly what happened in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

As I mentioned last week, after the Kings performance against the Waratahs, they still have a few tricks up their sleeve, and Saturday proved me right, very right. They were elusive on attack and their defense was top notch, restricting the Rebels to a lousy three points. This team is the epitome of not giving up. While some teams are clearly rattled by the prospect of being axed from next year’s competition, the Kings look the total opposite. They scream gees and want to play for the badge on their jersey, something we have not seen out of PE for a very long time.

They are certainly on track for a few more surprises and have no doubt sent a message across the competition they they are definitely not going down without a fight.

Sharks come alive in Argentina

After probably the most disappointing game of the competition thus far against the Rebels a fortnight ago, the Sharks headed to Argentina as heavy underdogs.

A tag that seemed to work in their favour and set the tone early on, going over in the first ninety seconds of the clash. The Sharks made their intentions clear and fought till the very end to come away with a well deserved victory, one that they desperately needed. The Sharks seem to blow hot and cold and not many would have given them a chance on Saturday, and rightfully so. However, they bounced back and cemented their second place position in Africa 2, and now begin the hunt to reel in the Lions for the conference’s top honor.

With Pat Lambie looking to return in a couple weeks, amongst some others who have also been injured, this Sharks team could be one to watch heading into the final rounds of the competition.

Luatua puts his hand up

With injuries to All Blacks starters Kieran Read (thumb) and Jerome Kaino (knee) over the last fortnight, Steven Luatua is certainly putting up his hand with the British and Irish Lions tour around the corner.

While it looks as though Same Cane will start at open side, Steven Luatua is certainly giving Ardie Savea a run for his money for that blindside starting position. Luatua has missed most of this year’s Super Rugby competition due to suspension, but he has made his return with a bang. Despite the injuries to key players, the All Blacks still seem to have a plethora of options to fill the vacancy. The real race against time is for Kieran Read. Although there are plenty boys out there who can play number 8, it’s his leadership the All Blacks will be missing. It’s a race against time for the skipper and should he be ready for their test in June, we will be in for hell of a fixture at Eden Park on the 24th of June.

Quade strikes again

Quade Cooper still to this day has yet to replicate his form that saw him burst onto the Australian scene years ago, but the 29 year old has showed some signs of brilliance this year, and Saturday was no exception.

His intercept followed by a cleverly crafted grubber against the Waratahs on Saturday showed the former Aussie number 10 is not going down without a fight. While his efforts were not enough to seal a win over their Australian competitors, it’s clear that Cooper is keeping Foley on his toes.

By Tristan Renaud