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The Stormers and Sharks will face each other in a battle for a place in the final. We've arrived at a stage where only 4 teams are left and Both the South African and the New Zealand conference have delivered 2 semi-finalists. With the teams facing their domestic opponent, we are guaranteed a SA-NZ final. Who will represent the Rainbow Nation in the final? Can the Stormers make it to their second final in 3 years? Or will the Sharks appear in their 4th final? What does history tell us? And will it even be an indicator of what is to come? Lets find out!
For the Stormers it's the fifth time they are in the play-offs in which they made the final once. The question is not if the Stormers will win the Super Rugby trophy, but when. Being the most consistent team over the last 3 years in South Africa, they have shown great form and after ending 2nd twice, they topped the log for the first time in history this season. The Stormers are the only team in Super Rugby who managed to beat all 5 teams from New Zealand in a single season back in 2010 and while it looks nice on paper, it doesn't fill the trophy cabinet in Cape Town. After winning the South African conference twice since the introduction of the new format, the Stormers fans want the big one. Can they do it? They have to get past a fearless Sharks team first.
The first ever match of either team in this competition was a match where they played each other. Back in 1996, the Western Province, as they were called before transforming to the Stormers, travelled to Durban and a match with 3 tries each was won by the home-side. It would only be week 7 before the Cape Town team would win a match. The season was not succesful and WP was replaced as the lowest ranked SA team, by the Free State Cheetahs. All in all the 2 teams played each other 18 times, of which 8 times in Cape Town.
In Cape Town the Stormers have won 5 out of 8 against the Sharks. In Durban the Sharks have won 6 out of 10 against the Stormers. This means that home-advantage is not that important when these 2 teams play. An interesting stat to take into consideration in the build-up towards this encounter. During the 2012 season the Stormers have only lost 2 matches, ironically against the Crusaders and the Sharks, while they missed out on the Chiefs. For the Sharks it's almost the same. They lost to the Stormers and Chiefs, while missing out on the Crusaders. One of the big men for the Cape Town team is Gio Aplon, who has scored 7 tries so far this season, including 1 in Durban against Saturday's opponent. He is the team's top try-scorer and the main reason the team has won 14 matches. Despite missing out on 4-try bonuspoints in every win this season, the Stormers look deadly once they go on attack.
The Stormers lack attacking skills and depth and that shows in the fact that they are the team with the lowest number of tries scored. The Stormers only got to 28 tries, an average of less than 2 per match, while even the Force and Lions managed more (both got to 30). On defense however, the Stormers are by far the best team in the competition. The main reason for that is the tight structure the team is using and the leadership of the only remaining veteran, Jean de Villiers, has proven to be very valuable. Schalk Burger and Andries Bekker have missed a fair amount of matches this season and while youngsters managed to fill in the empty spots, the lack of experience was visible and the current Bok captain has helped the youngsters to cope with the high expectations.
When looking at the Sharks, it's a whole different story. The biggest impact on the Sharks-side this season, comes from a player who is widely considered as the best hooker in the world. Bismarck du Plessis had to compete with John Smit for years and despite being the better hooker, the experience and captaincy of John Smit gave him a free pass to the starting role as hooker for too long, as far as Sharks-fans are considered. 2012 is the year of Bismarck. In a front-row with brother Jannie du Plessis and Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira he has looked in fine form and he is without a doubt the most dangerous hooker on attack, has a fantastic feel for turn-overs and was instrumental in one of the most convincing wins of the season, at home against the Bulls. When Bismarck starts to run with the ball in hand, he knows how to find his teammates and he is a major threat to the Stormers.
The Sharks' biggest depth has been the back-row in recent years. With guys like Kankowski, Daniel, Alberts and Deysel there were 4 Springboks in the squad for 3 positions. This season however, a fifth warrior has joined the group. The young, versatile, quick, strong and all-round Marcell Coetzee made his Super Rugby debut last season but it was this season when the world was there to watch him in full glory. He scored his first try of the season in the final round of the season against the Cheetahs, but that try showed his skills perfectly. While playing at blind-side, he used the vision of a no.8 and the speed of an opee-side flanker to break the line and score the 5 points. His effort is relentless and he just doesn't hold back at all. Only 21 years old at the moment, but he is one to watch, not just for the future, but for this Saturday as well. The Sharks might have the edge when Coetzee is on a roll.
So who will win? It is a really tough call. The last time the Sharks won at Newlands was in 2009 but last week I told you guys it was also a while ago since the Sharks won in Brisbane. They beat the Reds after that. The Sharks are the form-team at the moment, while the Stormers had a well-waited bye-week in the build up to this cracking encounter. The people in New Zealand might be cheering for the Sharks, since that will mean the final is played in New Zealand. Who will win? We will find out on Saturday.
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