2013 Super XV: Fixtures, Results & Table

Taylorman I predicted at the beginning of the Season that the Stormers have hit their peak and copped a fair amount of criticsim in SA for saying that.

I also predicted that the Sharks will win the SA conference and was hoping for a better showing by the Cheetahs.

Willie le Roux last weekend made a big statement at the post match presentation about being able to play his natural game at the Cheetahs.

You have seen it yourself, the teams who endeavour to play with ball in hand and vary their attack are the teams that have the ability to come from behind.

meyer would have seen that with the Kings and the Cheetahs this weekend.

If he doesn't he is just plain ignorant and not prepared to read what is between the lines.

The Stormers have solid defence, and is trying, Jean de Villiers even t
Completed an offload in the tackle today. If he realises ball in hand is more valuable than 2 on the ground then there is hops.

However, if we can see a backline of Pretorius, Lambie, Serfontein, Jordaan, JP, Rhule and Aplon I will look forward to their game play, even if it takes a while to gel.

That's a nice backline Biltong: Jordaan, though, needs a good play-maker inside him, to help put him into space so that he can do his Sevens-type thing: I think the Sharks are missing Whitehead on this front.

Lambie looks good if he has runners around him giving him options.

That back-three look dangerous every time they get their hands on the ball.
Someone who has been disappointed is F. Steyn. When he came back last year for those England tests, I thought he'd make a grand centre. But this year, he just doesn't look eager. I was at the match against the Crusaders on Friday, and he just didn't look very keen. It looked like it was 'just another day at work' for him.

Agree mrfishpaste, Frans Steyn has beenvery disappointing.

Steyn gets like that. Was the same in 2010.
Do like Pretorius. Would love to see he and Perenara lock horns in this years RC.

Table updated amigos.

When is the current TV deal done? Looking forward to seeing the Super Rugby gospel extended. Which country could you see getting a franchise? America is the holy grail, and they tend to come out in force for the Vegas Sevens.
Japan is also another option, but they have a professional league already, so there is no guarantee they will want to join in.
Argentina would be the obvious choice, but they seem hell-bent on keeping the game amateur that side.
A sixth SA franchise is also in discussion, but surely we cant justify a sixth franchise, can we?

My picks have been atrocious. Draws have not helped my cause but picking to form or reputation has not helped me. You could argue that's a positive thing but frankly I just find it humiliating and frustrating!

Well my picks are standing at 58% or somethings, so it has been poor allround.

It does show however that not everything is as predictable as it seems.

We're back.

Nice win there Laurie.

great tourney on

Table updated up to the Force-Crusaders match.

Blues were quite something tonight. Stephen Luatua put his name up as one to watch he was everywhere. Piutau's carry yards this year must be off the page, a serious challenger to Daggs monopoly on the 15 jersey.

Can't wait to see the impact of seeing an AB team influenced by Auckland players when theyre going well after all these years of having players in there from consistently losing Blues sides.

Seems Rangers new found maturity as a leader does suit him better at Centre than wing with an okay but mixed display.

Chiefs were just out thought and dazzled by the Reds. Cooper and Genia were super impressive and Force leading 16-10 after 50 minutes...the Saders handling poor at the mo. Cant help but think theyll get there but not the easy way.

I tipped them by 21... they better get going.

However, the Force have beaten them at home before... they must be slightly vulnerable after their SA leg.

Possibly LB but two sides that by rights should hardly win a match in the Force and the Kings sure have done well considering their lineups, especially when considering our bottom side the Highlanders are winless with a plethora of talent and AB's.

True mate. Feel really sorry for the Highlanders. My favourite NZ team. Mum's in Clyde about to start the 180km bike ride along the old Otago railway tomorrow. All the cuz's will be spitting chips! Except the ones who moved up to Auckland...

The Kings have shown a lot of ticker in a few games and the Force have done OK without Pocock. Great team effort tonight.

I'll update the OP after the final round matches.

Taylorman wrote:Possibly LB but two sides that by rights should hardly win a match in the Force and the Kings sure have done well considering their lineups, especially when considering our bottom side the Highlanders are winless with a plethora of talent and AB's.

Taylorman, why should they not win by rights?

It has been proven over and over if a top team has an off day that is all that is needed for a bottom team who is motivated to make things very tough for them.

I just love these upsets, I see plenty of people criticising these bottom teams and the one thing they have in common is the want to play rugby and the guts.

Yeah I like the upsets as well. In looking at the Force, who had a complete exodus of every one of their best players from last year, then the Kings who are new and many said wouldnt win a match theyve done brilliantly and theres a lot to be said about squad preparation and passion as opposed to established skilled individuals and big name contracts.

Mind you, the Sharks and the Force did seem to value the Saders scalp very highly looking at the emotions at the end of both. Saders will get better as the finals get closer and as a couple of players get back so not overly concerned about them.

What do you guys mean, liking these upsets??

I was upset all last season.....

Did you like it?

Perth seems to be a banana skin ground for the Crusaders. These losses are costly and the Crusaders in recent times tend to pick up these losses where previously they didn't. They had a few top players out and some bizarre moments at the end of the match with spectators running onto the pitch (the club should be fined for that as well as the offenders to stop it from happening agains) but they shouldn't put themselves in that position. Points went begging at key moments. That said, good on the Force for getting the win. I too think it's good these teams have their moments instead of losing every match.

This is the most open SXV in recent history, I think every team ranked in the top ten has legit designs of winning the tournament. I mean, the Stormers are tenth, and they are only three points away from a playoff!

Good point. If I had to say which was the best team at the moment, I'd have to throw a dart and hit any of the well, three possibly four NZ sides, the Reds and Brumbies and 3 of the Bok sides. Its a bit of a lottery and its about staying in touch with the top four spots- 5 and 6 as we know have marathons and need a good amount of luck to get close.

Well I ran the numbers on the SA sides, we will have one team in the play offs.

By my estimation (without log points) we will have one team over 50 points and threeother in the 40's

Biltong,
I'm sure there is a logical explanation, but it just evades me at the moment, but when you look at the table how can five teams have played eight games?

It is possible Laurie, remember the teams play different conferences across and over, if you toalt the number of games you will find it is an even number.

The teams have played 110 games, but you have to devide it by 2.

Silly me I was dividing 8 by 2...and I notice the Waratahs have had two byes.

Anyway good table, with the Blues mathematically fourth, see we're back.

Might'nt look so good after the trip to SA though.

It's a bit disconcerting with the byes, uneven number of games, the way the wildcards appear above other teams with more points - but I agonised over it after going through a few rugby sites and sort of went with the espnrugby one. I would like to see the Reds 2nd, Blues 4th, etc but that's (above table) the way the organisers have done it.

The other thing - when two teams are equal on points I prefer to put the team with the best Points Diff ahead... but they do it by 'number of games won' first... then points difference. (i.e Cheetahs / Bulls)

LB, i do a log for myself by removing the Bye points, that is the confusing one, you must always first take the wins, multiply by four then add the bonus ooints to figure out the real standings.

At this stage of the comp I also don't worry about placing the top team in wach conference at 1,2 and 3 as it isn't.a final table yet and that part of the equation is really only relevant at the end.

But yeah, I don't know who came up with the idea of Bye points, it really just confuses the issue.

I'll revert back to the other way this round.

There's a top of the table AFL clash (Swans-Cats) on next door at the SCG at the same time. They're expecting 40,000+ for that. The Tahs-Chiefs will be poorly attended by comparison.

Anyway, I've tipped the Canes (tick), Chiefs (reverse curse!), Saders, Reds, Sharks and Bulls.

Think Red v Brumbies will be a cracker. So too Sharks-Cheetahs.

And the Tahs just beat the Chiefs.

Nearly found another way to lose it. Lucky to hold on in the end.

Sometimes you need a bit of luck.

Tipped the Chiefs in SB of course.

I think I did as well

HAHA, I picked Tahs by 3

Well done.

I am still waay down on the list though.

Not as low as me mate.

However, in one pool I went up 1 place. Can never understand how that works. Not even going to try to work out why but there must be 3 others (in a pool of over 200) who picked a worse points margin.

highlanders to get their first win against the saders and reds to beat the brumbies...cheetahs to beat the sharks...all reversals of my superbru picks which have also been awful thanks to your lot LB!!

I have gone for the Crusader, Reds, Sharks and Bulls.

Biltong wrote:I have gone for the Crusader, Reds, Sharks and Bulls.

even the bulls could drop one tonight biltong...perhaps not. highlanders do tend to do well vs saders from memory and they have had so many close ones. Winless so far yet I wouldnt say theyre the worst team. Yet they are...weird...

I wouldn't mind if the Kings beat the Bulls, I wouldn't even mind if the Cheetahs beat the Sharks.

The only certainty today is the Crusaders to beat the Highlanders, just can't see them beat them.

yeah and so it was. Reds sure are doing the unorthodox vs the brumbies. Only the ozzies would take the line from a close in penalty when 6-0 down. Then they score with the 10 man maul. looks a bit illegal doesnt it?
7 to 8 players or more ahead of the ball. Similar to a scrum but still looks wrong.5 players walk through and over the line looking back while the tryscorer is yet to get there. Just looks weird and too easy.

The likely oz backline for the Lions tests putting on a good show tonight in the brumbies vx reds match. Hectic pace from both sides. Flashy as well as error ridden but thats to be expected.

Good win by the Cheetahs over the sharks. This years superxv has a distinct flavour to it. The overall quality of rugby is being shared across all 15 sides, except possibly the Highlanders who have been terrible considering the names they have but despite that probably unlucky to not have at least one win.

Aus rugby has improved across the board with all five franchises having very good wins at some point. They have also had better luck with injury and the combination of the two means theres more depth coming through. New players are arriving and older heads are around to support them. Deans will be happy with the oz position so far.

Same in SA where the evening up of sides has brought all 5 sides closer together the Cheetahs and Kings more than holding their own.

In NZ we have the swapping of the Highlanders and the emerging Blues. A strong Blues showing next two years will directly influence the '15 world cup as rugby returns to the main sport of choice for our Auckland youth.

On the face of it we look to any one of 8 or 9 sides that can win the sxv, a good showing by Oz vs the Lions and a much closer Rugby Championship than last year.

I agree Tman. It's looking a lot more even across the board this year and let's hope injuries don't play a significant part. I want to see us tested against the best. Even if that means losing, although obviously I would still like us to learn important lessons by winning the close ones!

In a way though I think it's harder to integrate your players into a test squad when all teams are doing quite well. Which combinations do you go with? It's definitely good thing for example that the Bulls and Stormers are not streaks ahead of the other franchises as that gives Meyer a clear indicator of what gameplan to utilise for the Boks. But what gameplan does he go for and who are the players to execute that at the moment? Similarly, are the gameplans of the Brumbies and Reds compatible and how do you get the best out of those players and incorporating players from other franchises?

'Meyer' and 'clear indicators' don't necessarily sit in the same playpen though Kia...

The other thing thats coming out of Oz is they believe the 8-0 type results against our sides are down to punishing our fast and open (and presumably reckless) style. This will cause a rethink our end as well as we know we've been punished at test level many a time for this same thing.

The problem with all out attack is it has to come off. Its based on winning because your side has actually done something on attack. Doing 'nothing' will lose matches because of the misuse of the ball in high risk situations - turnovers, intercepts. The Blues are a pefect example. If they don't score tries they'll not just miss opportunities, they'll lose. Theres a difference between that and a gameplan that says we'll hold out and take our chances at the right time, which the Oz sides are obviously doing- picking the right times to punish.

You'll find most of our losses are when the attacking game has completely gone missing, south etc- Chiefs, Blues, saders first matches etc.

Hansen needs to work on this though at the test level we have other advantages that other sides can't compete with so we are lucky there.

So youre right- this year gameplan, combinations, getting the mix right will be more key than ever. I'm just hoping that as usual key individuals within our side make the diff in the end, as we tend to rely on that ultimately- key moments of individual skill.

Reds vs Blues tonight...time to balance up the equation!!

Bring it on I say... give us all you got Quade, Genia, Digby... uh oh!

Pretty fast paced game but I dont know what it has to take to get Ali Williams outta there. Always moaning, falls on the ball, throws laboured nothing passes and just looks lethargic and looking for the next maul to lean against. Cooper and Genia again proving a handful. They look like they will steal this evemtually.

Good win to the Stormers in Palmy North. Canes couldnt stifle a very good defence.