Work to do for SA teams

WITH just under two weeks remaining before the Super 14 openers, the consensus of those who have seen the South African sides in action in the warm-up phase is that there is a lot of sharpening still to be done before the real thing arrives.

Two preparation games were played this weekend. As expected, the Super 14 champion Bulls outfit were too strong for the Lions, engaging their higher gears in the last quarter of the match to win it 28-14 after being level at the hour mark.In Bloemfontein on Friday night the Sharks, playing their first warm-up fixture, drew 24-all with the Cheetahs courtesy of a late kick for goal by Ruan Pienaar.Although the Bulls won easily enough in a match which was played in front of a bumper crowd in Windhoek, they reportedly made too many mistakes and left far too many points on the table through poor finishing.Former Stormers and Springbok wing Pieter Rossouw arrives in Pretoria on a short-term deal as backline coach, and he will doubtless have his work cut out before the Bulls travel to Newlands for their opener against his old team on February 16.The Stormers have only played one warm-up game, that a light-hearted romp against Boland Cavaliers when half their players were missing, and could be a bit under-done against a team that had picked up momentum by the end of the clash with their neighbours.Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus opted last week to cancel a warm-up game against the Western Province Vodacom Cup team that was scheduled for this past weekend.It was a gamble, as a player like Jean de Villiers has not played in a game since he tore a bicep muscle in the World Cup opening fixture against Samoa in Paris on September 9.However, Erasmus argues that the Stormers players have taken plenty of contact in practice sessions and should be ready for the game.He was doubtless put off by the injury sustained by centre Corne Uys in the Wellington fixture, with Uys ruled out for the entire Super 14 with a medial ligament tear that required an operation.Erasmus also had experience last year of the havoc that these early fixtures can wreak in terms of injuries.It will be recalled that the Vodacom Cheetahs endured something of an injury crisis before last season started and it caught up with Erasmus’s team later in the competition.STAR OF THE SHOW By all accounts Jaco Pretorius, the Lions’ Springbok centre, was the star of the show in Windhoek.He scored two tries of his own, the second to draw the Lions level in the second half, and was a constant thorn to the Bulls defence.Gurthro Steenkamp, back from injury, was in good form in the Bulls pack, while Akona Ndungane had a couple of runs that indicated he had regained his sharpness after a fairly inactive World Cup in France.The Bulls scored tries through Bryan Habana, Steenkamp, Dewald Potgieter and Werner Kruger, with Derick Hougaard converting all four of them.Jacques-Louis Potgieter was the talk of the town after the match in Bloemfontein.There is some pressure on the Cheetahs to find a replacement for the departed Willem de Waal, and it appears Potgieter made a good fist of his first opportunity to try and nail the spot down with some great distribution, effective defensive work and good goalkicking.The 23-year-old is an acquisition from Pretoria.Another flyhalf, Conrad Barnard, was reportedly also in sound form in the curtain-raiser.The Cheetahs also have former Bulls and Boland fullback Hennie Danniller on their books for this season, and he had a good game against the Sharks.The Cheetahs scored four tries to three, but not too much should be read into the result of this game for the Sharks sent a second string team to Bloemfontein for the game.The good news was that, in comparison to Windhoek, the feeling after this fixture was that both teams looked ready for the Super 14 season.The Sharks are expected to be at full strength for their second and final warm-up match against the Lions on Wednesday.This game should see both teams make a dramatic improvement in their sharpness and tell us more about where the South African teams stand in relation to one another after what has been a low key build-up to the 2008 edition of the southern hemisphere regional competition.SuperSport ZoneAs expected, the Super 14 champion Bulls outfit were too strong for the Lions, engaging their higher gears in the last quarter of the match to win it 28-14 after being level at the hour mark.In Bloemfontein on Friday night the Sharks, playing their first warm-up fixture, drew 24-all with the Cheetahs courtesy of a late kick for goal by Ruan Pienaar.Although the Bulls won easily enough in a match which was played in front of a bumper crowd in Windhoek, they reportedly made too many mistakes and left far too many points on the table through poor finishing.Former Stormers and Springbok wing Pieter Rossouw arrives in Pretoria on a short-term deal as backline coach, and he will doubtless have his work cut out before the Bulls travel to Newlands for their opener against his old team on February 16.The Stormers have only played one warm-up game, that a light-hearted romp against Boland Cavaliers when half their players were missing, and could be a bit under-done against a team that had picked up momentum by the end of the clash with their neighbours.Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus opted last week to cancel a warm-up game against the Western Province Vodacom Cup team that was scheduled for this past weekend.It was a gamble, as a player like Jean de Villiers has not played in a game since he tore a bicep muscle in the World Cup opening fixture against Samoa in Paris on September 9.However, Erasmus argues that the Stormers players have taken plenty of contact in practice sessions and should be ready for the game.He was doubtless put off by the injury sustained by centre Corne Uys in the Wellington fixture, with Uys ruled out for the entire Super 14 with a medial ligament tear that required an operation.Erasmus also had experience last year of the havoc that these early fixtures can wreak in terms of injuries.It will be recalled that the Vodacom Cheetahs endured something of an injury crisis before last season started and it caught up with Erasmus’s team later in the competition.STAR OF THE SHOW By all accounts Jaco Pretorius, the Lions’ Springbok centre, was the star of the show in Windhoek.He scored two tries of his own, the second to draw the Lions level in the second half, and was a constant thorn to the Bulls defence.Gurthro Steenkamp, back from injury, was in good form in the Bulls pack, while Akona Ndungane had a couple of runs that indicated he had regained his sharpness after a fairly inactive World Cup in France.The Bulls scored tries through Bryan Habana, Steenkamp, Dewald Potgieter and Werner Kruger, with Derick Hougaard converting all four of them.Jacques-Louis Potgieter was the talk of the town after the match in Bloemfontein.There is some pressure on the Cheetahs to find a replacement for the departed Willem de Waal, and it appears Potgieter made a good fist of his first opportunity to try and nail the spot down with some great distribution, effective defensive work and good goalkicking.The 23-year-old is an acquisition from Pretoria.Another flyhalf, Conrad Barnard, was reportedly also in sound form in the curtain-raiser.The Cheetahs also have former Bulls and Boland fullback Hennie Danniller on their books for this season, and he had a good game against the Sharks.The Cheetahs scored four tries to three, but not too much should be read into the result of this game for the Sharks sent a second string team to Bloemfontein for the game.The good news was that, in comparison to Windhoek, the feeling after this fixture was that both teams looked ready for the Super 14 season.The Sharks are expected to be at full strength for their second and final warm-up match against the Lions on Wednesday.This game should see both teams make a dramatic improvement in their sharpness and tell us more about where the South African teams stand in relation to one another after what has been a low key build-up to the 2008 edition of the southern hemisphere regiona
l competition.SuperSport Zone