Super XV roundup: Week 10

At the end of week 10 the Stormers, Crusaders and Chiefs are strengthening their stranglehold on the play offs. The Brumbies and reds were responsible for racking up the first two australian wins on foreign soil for the tournament, it may be two of the only possible wins they may get as both their leading teams have two very tough games to play away, The Brumbies will need to beat the Hurricanes, the Reds have to take on the cursaders in Canterbury and as for the other three Australian Franchises the Warathas will fond it hard to beat the Stormers at Newlands, the cheetahs should be their target. As for the force and the Rebels, no easy game awaits them when they start their tours.

The Crusaders and Hurricanes both racked up an away win for the New Zealand Franchises at the expense of the Waratahs and Cheetahs respectively and the Stormers ended their tour of the antipodes with a solid win over the Western force.

Here is a list of the travelling results so far.

Home team first.

Stormers 39 - Hurricanes 26
Lions 28 - Hurricanes 30
Western Force 19 - Hurricanes 46
Brumbies 24 - Cheetahs 23
Highlanders 18 - Waratahs 17
Bulls 23 - Blues 29
Chiefs 29 - Brumbies 22
Stormers 27 - Blues 17
Sharks 27 - Reds 22
Rebels 26 - Cheetahs 33
Waratahs 34 - Sharks 30
Crusaders 28 - Cheetahs 21
Brumbies 33 - Highlanders 26
Bulls 61 - Reds 8
Highlanders 43 - Rebels 12
Hurricanes 38 - Cheetahs 47
Chiefs 30 - Waratahs 13
Brumbies 26 - Sharks 29
Lions 13 - Crusaders 23
Highlanders 6 - Stormers 21
Western Force 12 - Chiefs 20
Hurricanes 42 - Sharks 18
Rebels 34 - Blues 23
Bulls 32 - Crusaders 30
Blues 23 - Sharks 29
Crusaders 31 - Stormers 24
Cheetahs 33 - Chiefs 39
Reds 13 - Stormers 23
Sharks 12 - Chiefs 18
Bulls 36 - Brumbies 34
Blues 11 - Reds 23
Lions 20 - Brumbies 34
Force 3 - Stormers 17
Cheetahs 33 - Highlanders 36
Waratahs 33 - Crusaders 37

Summary.
Australian teams at home: 4 wins - 7 losses
Australian teams away: 2 wins – 7 losses

South African teams at home: 6 wins – 7 losses
South African teams away: 7 wins – 5 losses

New Zealand teams at home: 7 wins – 4 losses
New Zealand teams away: 9 wins – 5 losses

The Lions, Force and Cheetahs have as yet not registered a home win against foreign opposition, in the case of the cheetahs it seems almost unbelieveable considering they had a relatively successful antipodean tour beating the rebels and Hurricanes and should have had more than just a bonus point from their match vs the Brumbies (which in this case no question was asked over the way they controversially lost) and the waratahs,Blues and Reds have not had much success at home this season.


Current log without bye points.

Chiefs.................. 35
Stormers...............33
Highlanders ...........30
Bulls.....................29
Crusaders .............29
Brumbies...............27
Sharks..................23
Waratahs..............22
Hurricanes.............21
Reds.................... 21
Cheetahs.............. 18
Force...................13
Rebels.................. 10
Blues....................8
Lions.................... 6

From a South African perspective there are a few issues I would like to raise. There seems a tenseness between SA and the two Antipodean countries, firstly the accusations from the Bulls regarding alleged eye gougings which turned very sour between the two teams and fans, then the bobby skinstad situation regarding offensive comments he made (which most likely only South Africans believe he never meant that way, then the apology to the Burmbies for "losing" unfairly in a game that was in control of the Bulls which they surely would have played differently if the Morne Steyn "knock" was called, then the whole Southern Kings debacle which is for all intent and purposes not really the problem of SANZAR, but a problem SARU created for themselves.

You add to that the perception myslef and perhaps other South Africans might have of the administration of SARU not being strong enough and manipulated into sharing the spoils of the broadcasting rights on an equal basis and then of course some questionable situations in the beginning of the 2010 Tri Nations when all and sudry wearing a Bok Jumper was yellow carded and finally the "weird" officiating of the QF in the RWC last year, I am beginning to think all is not "serene" behind the closed doors of SANZAR.

Will this season be the final nail in the coffin of Super Rugby as we see it? Will SARU finally have the guts to use their collective focus and minds to rethink this whole agreement once the current broadcasting deal comes to a close?

I for one am thinking it might be a welcome change, Jurie Roux since he was appointed as head of SARU has started with a complete restructure of the business models, there has been some positive changes with the new coaching structures and profitibility seems to be more sustainable. the only thig left now is to have a closer look at our seasonal structures and the income generated from this by way of broadcasting revenue, ticket sales etc.

It wouldn;t surprise me if Jurie roux looks north in search for more financially viable options. what they would be I don't know, but looking at a number of factors, plus the negativities coming out of the last 2 years or so, it will not surprise me one bit, if changes are on the horison.

There's no love lost between us and NZ either, be it on the rugby pitch or off it. As for the eye gouge allegation and the Skinstad comment, neither even raised an eyebrow here in Aus, probably cause they didn't directly concern us.

As for the invisible knock on, every man and his dog saw it except Marius who must have been looking at the bulls cheerleaders when it happened. If the Bulls had gone on to win by 20 I'm sure we'd have heard nothing more about it but since the Brumbs finished with a wet sail then people start thinking... if only we hadn't been robbed on that knock on. It wasn't like other wrong calls where a ball subtly ricochets of another's hand making it a hard decision, this was out in the open for all to see and the Brumbies stopped playing (their fault, I know) effectively handing the Bulls the 5 pointer. Besides, if a stink was made about this from someone in the Brumbies camp, the buck would have likely stopped with their coach, a South African.

Wasn't the 2010 trinations the one where Drew Mitchell was red carded V the AB's for... what again? Wasn't it a mysterious shoulder charge that no camera could find. As for the world cup semi, the officiating was indeed weird but it was weird for both teams.

I, like most others, have no idea as to the machinations that go on behind SANZARs closed doors but you make it sound like the ARU guy holds his SA counterpart while NZ works the mid-section. Personally, I would like to see SA stay in the southern hemisphere comp as the (generally) high standard of rugby helps us all.

Yeah I don't see a lot in it either. The issues are so unrelated I saw them as one offs and didnt see them in any way as detrimental to SA rugby as a whole.

The coconut comment was a nothing for me as I hear it all the time in NZ- Skinstead wont know its context here.

In fact the main thing I get coming out of SA lately is all the new talent coming through, new coach, the Junior world cup and English tour to come- all reasons to be on a bit more of a high than you are now Biltong.

Cheer up...better things ahead...

Taylorman, it isn't a case of being down, it is more a case of building frustration and discontent.

Ontop of that I read an article this weekend where it is said SANZAR believes the Franchise system is working and in general people feel positive about it.

From where I sit, I don't know and haven't seen many people who are very positive about it, which in my mind suggests that SANZAR is sticking their heads in the sand on this one.

The fact is one of the Franchises in SA is going to be dropped out of the Super XV to make place for the Southern Kings and most likely the Lions.

They won't sit on their laurels and if it is deemed that they won't be partaking in the Super Xv as tere is no place for them, you would expect them to start looking north, if that as an experiment works out, it could lead the way to SARU considering it more lucrative to look north.

I am starting to think they should experiment with 3 teams in the Super rugby tournament and three in the Aviva/Top 14/Rabo etc.

The reality is when the Southern Kings join the Super XV it is going to be a farce as they are struggling to even be the best in the 3rd tier Vodacom Cup.

They will be the whipping boys of the Super XV, even the Rebels will put 50 on them.

FC, Yes Drew Mitchell was a farce, but so the Boks away tour, blown out of the game in the first halves of their away matches, recieiving yellow cards galore and out of the comp, by the time they got back home.

As far as the SANZAR, closed doors it isn't the biggest secret that ARU and NZRU votes collectively in the boardroom.