Super Rugby Unlocked: Round 5 [6 - 7 November 2020]

[TRF_heineken]

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Friday, 6 November 2020

Venue: Jonsson Kings Park
Time: 19:00 CAT (SA, GMT+2)
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Saturday, 7 November 2020

Venue: Tafel Lager Park
Time: 16:30 CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Venue: Emirates Airlines Park
Time: 19:00 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

 

[rugby rulz]

Sharks
Griquas
Bulls

If the Bulls win and Cheetahs lose, then I think the Bulls will win the first trophy by finishing top of the log, because the Cheetahs still need to play the Stormers in Cape Town next week and there I think the Stormers will want to play good. The Bulls only have the Lions and Pumas left, and with all due respect to the Pumas, I think they will struggle without Jeandré Rudolph and their nr 10. Unfortunately, the Bulls don't have their destiny in their own hands, as a lot depends on how the Cheetahs perform over the next 2 weeks, but if the Bulls can get 2 bonus point wins in their last 2 games (the Lions will make it very hard though) then they can still be in control of their destiny as I can't see the Cheetahs winning with a bonus point against either the Sharks or Stormers.

 

[Seeker]

Cheetahs
Stormers
Bulls

 

[unrated]

But chance the Cheetahs takes this. They are probably favourites, but i always back my team against anyone so I think we can scrape it .

I want to go Griquas but head says I am ******* ludicrous for thinking that. So I guess Stormers to win.

Bulls so on fire there's nothing standing in their way, they are going to absolutely smash this Lions. Jantjies cant play behind a pack being smashed, and Smashed they will be.

 

[rugby rulz]

But chance the Cheetahs takes this. They are probably favourites, but i always back my team against anyone so I think we can scrape it .

I want to go Griquas but head says I am ******* ludicrous for thinking that. So I guess Stormers to win.

Bulls so on fire there's nothing standing in their way, they are going to absolutely smash this Lions. Jantjies cant play behind a pack being smashed, and Smashed they will be.

I actually think your team will put in a good performance ! I very much underestimated them against the Pumas, and probably over-estimated the Pumas after their game against the Stormers.

I think being back in Durban and having found some confidence after last week as well as the fact that the Cheetahs might be rusty from their bye, the Sharks might just start playing like they did pre-lockdown ! Should be a good and entertaining match nonetheless !

 

[TRF_heineken]

If we have a look at the log table:

Bulls - Played 4 - won 3 - Points 15
Cheetahs - Played 2 - Won 2 - Points 9
Sharks - Played 3 - Won 2 - Points 9
Stormers - Played 3 - Won 2 - Points 8
Lions - Played 3 - Won 1 - Points 7
Pumas - Played 4 - Won 1 - Points 5
Griquas - Played 3 - Won 0 - Points 2

All teams play 6 games (apart from the Lions & Cheetahs)

So the Bulls can get a maximum of 10 more points, which will put them on 25 points.
The Cheetahs have 3 more games and can get 15 points max - which will put them on 24 points
Sharks have 3 more games and can get 15 points max - which will put them on 24 points
Stormers have 3 more games and can get 15 points max - which will put them on 23 points
The Lions could go to 22 points max.

So it all depends on Bonus points from this point onwards. And it also depends on what will happen with the Lions and the Cheetahs and their game being called off. And would they do the same as what happened in the World Cup with the typhoon, where the teams just didn't play that game, and weren't awarded additional points.

I think this coming weekend will give us a clearer picture of who the teams will be contesting for the title.

It will also be interesting to see if the Cheetahs can hit the ground running after their 2-week hiatus, and now that they are without Ruan Pienaar.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I think if the Lions-Cheetahs game doesn't go ahead it would be a travesty if they weren't given the two points.

Glad Stormers have the Griquas and will be playing home from now on. We really do not travel well.

My picks for the week:

Sharks
Stormers
Bulls

So run and put money on the Cheetahs, Griquas and Lions!

 

[Seeker]

 

[Seeker]

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Cheetahs
Stormers
Bulls

 

[TRF_heineken]

So it's now official. The Lions and Cheetahs game has been called a draw, and both teams will get 2 points for the draw.

https://supersport.com/rugby/super-rugby-unlocked/news/201104_Lions_and_Toyota_Cheetahs_share_points

 

[Seeker]

So it's now official. The Lions and Cheetahs game has been called a draw, and both teams will get 2 points for the draw.

https://supersport.com/rugby/super-rugby-unlocked/news/201104_Lions_and_Toyota_Cheetahs_share_points

I feel confident that the Cheetahs would have beaten the Lions. Oh well, 2 points are better than nothing.

 

[Seeker]

 

[Seeker]

 

[Seeker]

I feel confident that the Cheetahs would have beaten the Lions. Oh well, 2 points are better than nothing.

My prediction was wrong. But I'm glad they played after all.

 

[TRF_heineken]

How poor was that Sharks vs. Cheetahs match??? That first half was agony to watch! So many errors.

I feel a bit caught between happy and sad after this weekend's matches. I feel sad for the Cheetahs, you could see how this off-time of 3 weeks impacted their rythm and flow in playing, and inevitably played a role in them losing the match. They squandered about 5 opportunities to score tries, and then the last pass is knocked on with an open tryline in front of them.

I feel happy for the Bulls, who seems like they are on their way to claiming the title, which would mean they will remain the only South African team to have won a Super Rugby title in the professional era...

The Lions were good though, and you could actually see how the rejected former-Bulls players stepped up to show they are actually good players for the Lions. Burger Odendaal, Jaco Visagie, even Marvin Orie all had good games for the Lions.

My favourite moment in the Lions vs. Bulls match was that try by Stedman Gans.

 

[rugby rulz]

How poor was that Sharks vs. Cheetahs match??? That first half was agony to watch! So many errors.

I feel a bit caught between happy and sad after this weekend's matches. I feel sad for the Cheetahs, you could see how this off-time of 3 weeks impacted their rythm and flow in playing, and inevitably played a role in them losing the match. They squandered about 5 opportunities to score tries, and then the last pass is knocked on with an open tryline in front of them.

I feel happy for the Bulls, who seems like they are on their way to claiming the title, which would mean they will remain the only South African team to have won a Super Rugby title in the professional era...

The Lions were good though, and you could actually see how the rejected former-Bulls players stepped up to show they are actually good players for the Lions. Burger Odendaal, Jaco Visagie, even Marvin Orie all had good games for the Lions.

My favourite moment in the Lions vs. Bulls match was that try by Stedman Gans.

The Sharks-Cheetahs game was a nightmare ! Some of the worst refereeing and rugby I've seen in a while. The Cheetahs were basically harshly blown off the park in the 1st half by the ref. The Sharks were than almost robbed by a clear forward pass try to the Cheetahs. Really just a poor game.

The Stormers and Griquas game was unexpected for me as I thought Griquas will want to put in a big shift in Kimberley, but they were also very poor. Credit to the Stormers for bouncing back though and Gelant had a cracker of a game.

The Lions and Bulls game also felt like it couldn't really get going, and I think that might actually be the tactics of teams playing against the Bulls. The games where the Bulls struggled and had to grind were games where the game didn't seem to have any rhythm. And the Lions really brought their A-game and defended well and slowed our ball down. Except for his try, Odendaal had a very quiet game, but then again, so did Hendricks. The little things that went right for the Bulls against the Sharks and Stormers just seemed off against the Lions. Luckily they still got the result and now it's just one more game to win and then we get the trophy.

I wonder how Jake is going to pick the team for the pumas ! Maybe rest of some of the players for the start of currie cup ? But you can't underestimate the Pumas.

 

[TRF_heineken]

I don't want to even start to talk about the refereeing. The Sharks game and the Lions game had some rather poor refereeing. The Sharks game especially where the referee was repeatedly asked by his AR's or the TMO to check on something. And 3 times he awarded tries, that ended up being overturned.

Rasta, is just one of those refs who are at times too quick to blow the whistle, and is at times very technical. I personally don't like the way he's officiating, as he tends to make games a stop-start affair.