Super 15 Play Off SF: Stormers - Crusaders @ Newlands, CTN (02-07-2011, 16:05 GMT)

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Newlands, Cape Town (02-07-2011, 16:05 GMT)

Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says that facing the Crusaders in a Semi-final next weekend will be a "massive challenge" after the Stormers lost to the Crusaders 14-20 in Round 12. The Crusaders qualified for the Newlands semi-final by beating the Sharks 36-8 in the first round play-off decider in New Zealand. The Stormers qualified to host the semi-final by finishing second on the overall log and had a bye this week.

The match of next weekend at Newlands will also feature the return of Schalk Brits. Brits plays for Saracens club in England who have agreed to release on loan to the Stormers with immediate effect. Brits, man of the match in last month's Premiership final, trained with the Stormers squad on Monday and looks ready to play. Sanzar rules state that all players must have played in at least four matches of Super Rugby to be eligible to play in the knock out stages but Sanzar makes exceptions for specialist positions. The Stormers have however somehow managed to convince SANZAR to allow Brits to play not as a hooker but as a loose forward. They get permission for this after injuries to Duane Vermeulen, Pieter Louw and after reserve flanker Siya Kolisi was robbed over the weekend. During this altercasion, Kolisi sustained a concussion and injuries to his shoulder and wrist.

The Crusaders travel to Cape Town for the second time within 2 months, after beating the Capetonions 14-20 in Round 12, including 2 tries to Wyatt Crockett. The Crusaders qualified for the Super Rugby Semi-finals as they beat the Sharks 36-8 at Trafalgar Park in Nelson. Crusaders and All Blacks captain Richie McCaw says that he is ready to play whatever role the Crusaders want him to play in their semi-final against the Stormers in Cape Town, after missing the encounter mentioned above. The openside flanker will play wherever Coach Todd Blackadder picks him and if he starts he will reassume the Crusaders captaincy from Kieran Read.

If the Crusaders and Blues both win their matches this weekend the Super Rugby final will be play at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. The Cruaders finished in third place in the Super Rugby standings after the regular season so if the Reds and Stormers are knocked out the Crusaders will have home advantage in the final. Crusaders chief executive Hamish Riach says that if the Reds and Stormers lost then it wold be an all New Zealand final Super Rugby final on July the 9th. The Hurricanes have not hosted a final since the competition began in 1996 and their only involvement in a final came in 2006 when Christchurch was hit by fog.

In recent history, the Stormers have only managed to beat the Crusaders once. This was last year, when the Cape Town-franchise reached the Super14 final. In Cape Town, the 2 teams met, and the Stormers thrashed the Christchurch annual favorites 42-14, thanks to 2 tries by Jaque Fourie, after he joined them from the Lions a couple of months before. The Fijian winger Sireli Naqelevuki scored the other try, while Peter Grant converted all 3 and added 21 points from the kicking tee with penalties. Colin Slade and Dan Carter scored 5-pointers for the Crusaders, being converted by the latter.

Although the Crusaders stripped the Stormers 2 years earlier in Cape Town (winning 0-22), their biggest win was in 2003, when a 6-try show gave them 5 easy points for the log. Despite is being 8 years ago, still acouple of players will remember it since they were part of it. Dan Carter played at inside-center, with Andrew Mehrtens at fly-half (or first five-eigth or whatever they call it in New Zealand haha), converted all 6 tries and scored 2 penalties. Reuben Thorne, who came out of retirement this season to warm the bench in Bloemfontein, captained the side, while Brad Thorn played 70 minutes before being replaced by Scott Robertson. Chris Jack was on the bench that day. Last, but not least, Corey Flynn played an hour in that 13-51 win.

For the Stormers, no current player was part of the match 8 years ago. The team included some players who the rugby fans might remember or know. Rassie Erasmus, Gaffie du Toit, Neil de Kock (winning the English Premiership with Saracens this season), Marius Joubert (joining the Sharks next month after a spell with Clermont) and Bolla Conradie were on the field that day, 2 May.

Predicted line-ups:

Stormers: 1. Wicus Blaauw, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 3. Brok Harris, 4. Rynhardt Elstadt, 5. Andries Bekker, 6. Schalk Burger, 7. Francois Louw, 8. Nick Koster, 9. Dewald Duvenhage, 10. Peter Grant, 11. Bryan Habana, 12. Juan de Jongh, 13. Jaque Fourie, 14. Jean de Villiers, 15. Gio Aplon

16. Deon Fourie, 17. Franns Malherbe, 18. Anton van Zyl, 19. Schalk Brits, 20. Louis Schreuder, 21. Johann Sadie, 22. Conrad Jantjes

Crusaders: 1. Wyatt Crockett, 2. Corey Flynn, 3. Owen Franks, 4. Brad Thorn, 5. Sam Whitelock, 6. George Whitelock, 7. Richie McCaw, 8. Kieran Read, 9. Andy Ellis, 10. Dan Carter, 11. Zac Guildford, 12. Sonny Bill Williams, 13. Robbie Fruean, 14. Sean Maitland, 15. Tom Marshall

16. Quentin MacDonald, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Luke Romano, 19. Matt Todd, 20. Kahn Fotuali'i, 21. Matt Berquist, 22. Ryan Crotty

Referee: Craig Joubert
AR 1: Marius Jonker
AR 2: Stefan Breytenbach
TMO: Shaun Veldsman

History in the regular season:

1996 Crusaders 16-16 Stormers
1997 *Not played due to the relegation-rule SA teams had, Stormers finishing last in 1996*
1998 Crusaders 37-25 Stormers
1999 Stormers 28-19 Crusaders
2000 Crusaders 47-31 Stormers
2001 Stormers 49-28 Crusaders
2002 Crusaders 41-21 Stormers
2003 Stormers 13-51 Crusaders
3004 Crusaders 24- 9 Stormers
2005 Stormers 23-41 Crusaders
2006 Stormers 28-17 Crusaders
2007 Crusaders 36-11 Stormers
2008 Stormers 0-22 Crusaders
2009 Crusaders 11- 7 Stormers
2010 Stormers 42-14 Crusaders
2011 Stormers 14-20 Crusaders

History in the play offs:

2004 Crusaders 27-16 Stormers

Play off results for both teams:

Crusaders
12 play offs
9 finals
7 championship

Stormers
3 play offs
1 finals
0 championship


<a href="http://winbetting.at/therugbyforum?CTY=1&amp;CID=15908"><img src="http://b1.perfb.com/b1.php?ID=15908&amp;PURL=winbetting.at/therugbyforum" border="0" /></a>

*Vbookie odds supplied by BWIN*

 

[madflyhalf]

Really close to call...

But mate, planet-rugby gives Jantjes at fullback, De Villiers and Fourie at centres, De Jongh on the bench!

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7009776,00.html


Don't know which team will prevail... Stormers are solid in defence, but this year they struggled a little have in attack, they've to take risks...

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Should be good

A lot of ABs vs A lot of Sprinboks

What's the weather been doing/likely to do in Capetown?
Hopefully it's alright as we get a good game

 

[Larksea]

I think the Crusaders are the better team but the Travel factor puts the game in the stormers advantage. Not just the fact it's an away game but because the Crusaders havn't had a home game this season they have clocked up almost 100,000km in travel and that will surely count against them.

That Said I really hope the Crusaders go on to win this Super15, would be a great boost for the Region. And if they do beat the stormers they will be odds on to win. Blues or Reds won't be as much of a challenge as the stormers.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Images courtesy of ESPN

Brits in his W.P. gear :lol:

 

[Darwin]

Should be a great game, I'm not really sure which way it will go. The Stormers look to have named a strong team; it seems a bit strange that a class player like de Jongh is left on the bench, but it is hard with three international mid-field backs in the squad (and I think de Villiers is wasted on the wing). I would have seriously considered playing Fourie at fullback (as I rate him highly with room to move) and pairing de Villiers and de Jongh in the midfield, but that probably would have been too bigger risk given I don't think Fourie has played at fullback this year. It's going to be big chance for Nick Koster to show that he is up too this level; he has certainly got all the skills to be a quality loose-forward (not convinced bout him on the wing though..).

The Crusaders lineup has been confirmed - it is the same as the predicted lineup named at the start of the thread. Kieran Read hasn't trained this week due to an ankle injury, but is expected to be right by the weekend. No surprises in the Crusaders lineup; Crockett again start at loosehead prop with Ben Franks on the bench - I'm sure it must have been a very tough call between the two. I'm not surprised that George Whitelock was selected ahead of Todd in the loose-trio. While I rate Todd as the better player, I think Whitelock's style of play complements McCaw's better, as Todd and McCaw are both very similar players. George Whitelock is also another lineout option (which Todd is not); I feel they need as many genuine lineout options as possible against the Stormers lineout.

Some great matchup's all over the park, many of which we may see again during the Tri-nations. I feel the Crusaders may have an edge in the front-row. I rate Brok Harris very highly, and Blaauw is a solid player, but I don't think they have been destructive this year as Crockett and Owen Franks. The Crusaders are well served off the bench too, with All Black Ben Franks, while the Stormers have relatively unknown Franns Malherbe. It is no surprise to see Tiaan Liebenberg starting ahead of Dean Fourie for such a key match, as his set piece work (both at scrum and lineout) is far superior, and I'm sure Fourie will add some impact from the bench in the last 20 mins.

The locks are resonably evenly matched; I would normally give the edge to the Crusaders duo, but I don't think Sam Whitelock has been back to his best yet since injury. Rynhardt Elstadt looks to be a very talented young player, I'd expect to see him in a Springbok jumper within the next couple of years. I'm sure the Stormers will look to target the Crusaders lineout. It is interesting to see that Bekker has only stole 3 opposition lineouts this year, while Elstadt has stolen 14 (top in the whole competition); clearly the opposition has (not surprisingly) avoided throwing to whoever is marked by Bekker!

The loose-forward battle could decide the match in my opinion. I'm sure the Stormers will have taken note of how the Sharks forward dominated the breakdown in the first-half of last weeks match, by getting big numbers to the breakdown. I wouldn't be surprised if the Stormers try to do the same, but I suspect the Crusaders will be much more careful this week (as they were in the second half last week). It will be interesting to see how McCaw goes; for the AB's sake he needs to get some rugby under his belt, as he hasn't really looked like the McCaw of old during his limited time this season. I think Duane Vermeulen is a huge loss for the Stormers; I rate the trio of Louw/ Burger/ Vermeulen as good as any in the competition, as they are all hard working players who complement each other so well. In Vermeulen's absense I give the Crusaders a slight edge in the loose-forwards, though only just.

Again I think the Crusaders have a slight edge in the halves, though Ellis will want to have a better game than last week. Dan Carter has been pretty quiet over recent weeks, he may need to step it up a notch for this game. He is certainly going to have to make his kicks at goal, as Peter Grant has probably been the most accurate goal-kicker in the whole competition this season. Luckily for the Stormers, Januarie is out so they get to start their best combination of Duvenhage and Grant. I think the Stormers do have an edge in the midfield; SBW and Fruean are good players individually (though Fruean has faded as the season has progressed), but de Villiers and Fourie are a better as a combination (and are both individually world class players in their own rights). I think Fourie and the outside backs will certainly test Fruean's defense this match.

Both teams have plenty of talent out wide. Zac Guildford (probably NZ's form wing) faces Gio Aplon; I'd give Guildford the edge in a straight foot-race, but he is going to have to keep a very close eye on Aplon, who is arguably the most elusive outside back in South Africa. I think Brian Habana has started to look a lot better over the latter half of the season, though he will be tested by Sean Maitland, who looked good last week after coming back from a long injury lay-off. Should be an interesting battle between the fullbacks too: Jantjes is certainly the most experienced and composed of the two, while Marshall is exciting with the ball in hand but is prone to make the odd mistake.

Certainly a hard game to pick. If it was in NZ I'd have no hesitation in picking the Crusaders, but the travel factor will certainly count against them. I'm going to pick the Crusaders to win a close match, by about 5 points.

 

[FlukeArtist]

TAB Multi Bet
Blues 13+
Crusaders 1-12

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Images courtesy of ESPN

Brits in his W.P. gear :lol:

Reckon he should play in his Sarries socks

 

[Larksea]

George Whitelock is still very underrated I think. When the crusaders beat the stormers during the rounds he made a game high 20 tackles I think. Been a very strong season for him and he's a cornerstone of the forward pack. I'd go as far as to say that he must also be in consideration for the All Blacks as far as backing up McCaw goes, he is mainly a 7 afterall. I think while many overlook him the three wise men will have him on their list. His size is a trait, he looks a lot bigger and more physical than even McCaw and he does take good advantage of it in his defense.

One major thing going against him is his penalty count, but that does seem to be a trait of the Crusaders forwards. I'm not sure why but looking at the statistics they (Crusaders forwards) do seem to have given away a lot of penalties

 

[Darwin]

George Whitelock is still very underrated I think. When the crusaders beat the stormers during the rounds he made a game high 20 tackles I think. Been a very strong season for him and he's a cornerstone of the forward pack. I'd go as far as to say that he must also be in consideration for the All Blacks as far as backing up McCaw goes, he is mainly a 7 afterall. I think while many overlook him the three wise men will have him on their list. His size is a trait, he looks a lot bigger and more physical than even McCaw and he does take good advantage of it in his defense.

One major thing going against him is his penalty count, but that does seem to be a trait of the Crusaders forwards. I'm not sure why but looking at the statistics they (Crusaders forwards) do seem to have given away a lot of penalties

While I do agree that George Whitelock is under-rated by many, I don't think he will be anywhere near the AB's. He's been effective this year playing at blindside; I believe his style of play is far more suited to blindside than openside flanker - he has plenty of size but he lacks pace around the park, and is not as effective at the breakdown as many genuine openside flankers (though as you pointed out, he does like to get himself penalised). He got 20 mins off the bench for the AB's (and scored a try), but I can't see him ever playing for the AB's again.

 

[nickdnz]

Agree with darwin, I can't see him near the All Black selection. There are at least half a dozen loose-forwards in front of him. Braid, Thompson, Vito, Messam and Todd are more likely in my opinion.

 

[William18]

I'm shocked that so many people in Cape town don't support the Stormers. I mean, I know race has been a big issue over there in the past but you do have to move on. Apparently, the Muslims there are supporting the Crusaders because of SBW. I don't get that.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Eeeem, I have a bad feeling about this one (and because of that I am quietly confident if you know what I mean LOL). I'm sure the players will be feeling the same and won't get caught off guard as in the first match-up between these two teams earlier in the year.

Both teams are just about there WRT personel with the only real injured incumbents being Dagg and Vermeulen. Pity because both those players bring so much to a game of rugby. Koster and Marshal both are exciting players though who will be looking to put there hands up.

Very evenly matched though I'd give the Crusaders a slight edge. I don't think the fact the Crusaders are playing away will be much of a factor. Maybe in terms of travel fatigue in that last 20 minutes but not at all in terms of crowd support, hell, they'll probably have double the support in CT that they did last week in Nelson numbers-wise (and very loud support at that).

For me the biggest factor for the Stormers is that they have Grant back at 10 which they didn't for the first match-up. Crusaders will be looking to target the scrum again and probably get SBW into the game again while getting numbers to the breakdown. That and not picking up as many injuries as last time out. The intensity is going to be HUGE though. I just hope the Stormers play their rugby in the opposition half and we get a fair game by the ref.

 

[Amobokoboko]

I think the Crusaders have a slight advantage. so Crusaders for the win

 

[Wally]

Who has ever heard of (0.70) (1.05) odds? Am I reading that right?

 

[nickdnz]

I don't know how the Crusaders are the favourites for this. They're a quality team, but they've been through hell and back all competition so this match may be a bridge too far. I'd love for the Crusaders to win, they've certainly earned it more than any other team but going up against a team with no obvious weakness, I certainly don't think they are the favourites to win.

 

[Amobokoboko]

Richie returns so he hopefully he will be able to lead his troups to the final

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I don't know how the Crusaders are the favourites for this. They're a quality team, but they've been through hell and back all competition so this match may be a bridge too far. I'd love for the Crusaders to win, they've certainly earned it more than any other team but going up against a team with no obvious weakness, I certainly don't think they are the favourites to win.

This

http://www.rugbyxv.co.za/coaches-corner/news/374-why-stormers-midfield-ineffective

as well as the fact that it's probably going to be pretty wet; kicking accurately in general play becomes more inportant and Carter is going to keep us boxed in our half and we are going to either lose territory as he just kicks better or give away 3 points from the continued pressure we are likely to recieve in our half. Only if we can manage 5o% of play in the Crusaders' half can I see us in with a shout. Wet weather also makes scrums more important and this is where the Crusaders have the edge on us as the most I feel. Also the travel factor, while a factor, has had little effect on how effective the Crusaders have been going IMO.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Who has ever heard of (0.70) (1.05) odds? Am I reading that right?

You can send your complaints to Bwin

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Rumors are Dewald Duvenhage won't be playing T_T

UCT rookie Nic Groom to take his place with Januarie also out injured.