JON CARDINELLI looks ahead to the latter five Super Rugby matches in round two of the competition.
BRUMBIES vs SHARKS
Both teams will be desperate to bounce back, following their respective losses against the Crusaders and Reds in round one. The Brumbies will take some momentum into this clash, having finished strongly against the Crusaders. The Sharks had the chance to win the game in Brisbane right at the death, but did not take it.
The Brumbies have won eight of the last nine matches against the Sharks in Canberra. They will back their defence to withstand the Sharks’ assault this Saturday.
According to Opta, Chris Alcock won four turnovers against the Crusaders last week, and the Brumbies as a unit impressed with their breakdown and gainline efforts. If the Sharks fail to gain the upper hand in these areas, they will fail to compromise the Brumbies defence.
The pressure is on both sides to obtain a win in round two. The Brumbies will want to begin their home campaign with a victory. The Sharks will be keen to claim one win from this Australian tour and strengthen their bid for the Africa 2 title.
Brumbies – 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 James Dargaville, 10 Wharenui Hawera, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Jordan Smiler, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Josh Mann-Rea, 1 Nic Mayhew.
Subs: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Lolo Fakaosilea, 21 De Wet Roos, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Isaac Thompson
Sharks – 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Tera Mtembu, 7 Jean- Luc du Preez, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Jean Droste, 20 Jacques Vermeulen, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Jeremy Ward, 23 Curwin Bosch.
SUNWOLVES vs KINGS
While the Kings went down to the Jaguares last week, they did show signs of improvement. The Sunwolves, by contrast, were rarely competitive in their 83-17 defeat to the Hurricanes in Tokyo.
The Kings beat the Sunwolves 33-28 in the fixture in Port Elizabeth last year. They should feel confident about their chances of another victory this Saturday. Indeed, the Sunwolves are yet to beat a South African side since joining the tournament in 2016, and have conceded an average of 46 points across these matches.
The Kings should back themselves to score tries against a Sunwolves defence that missed as many as 43 tackles in round one. The tourists also boast a reliable kicker in Lionel Cronjé, who goaled six from six in last week’s defeat to the Jaguares.
Sunwolves – 15 Shota Emi, 14 Takaaki Nakazuru, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Derek Carpenter, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Hayden Cripps, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Shokei Kin, 6 Ed Quirk, 5 Sam Wykes, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Heiichiro Ito, 2 Shota Horie (c), 1 Masataka Mikami.
Subs: 16 Takeshi Hino, 17 Koki Yamamoto, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Kotaro Yatabe, 20 Shuhei Matsuhashi, 21 Keisuke Uchida, 22 Will Tupou, 23 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi.
Kings – 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Waylon Murray, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Lionel Cronjé, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Mzwanele Zito, 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Michael Willemse, 1 Schalk Ferreira (c).
Subs: 16 Kurt Haupt, 17 Schalk van der Merwe, 18 Justin Forwood, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Chris Cloete, 21 Rudi van Rooyen, 22 Pieter-Steyn de Wet, 23 Luzuko Vulindlu.
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LIONS vs WARATAHS
The Lions managed to down the Cheetahs in round one in spite of a tired and inaccurate performance. A clash against the Waratahs, a team renowned for its forward power, will demand more of Johan Ackermann’s charges in round two.
Tighthead Ruan Dreyer conceded five penalties in round one and may be targeted at the set piece at Ellis Park this Saturday. The Lions will need to deliver an improved performance at the scrums and at the breakdowns if they intend to keep the dangerous Waratahs on the back foot.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg was one of the few who stood out against the Cheetahs. The Lions will look to the powerful centre to generate go forward and challenge the Waratahs defence on Saturday.
A change in scrumhalf may also prove effective. Ross Cronjé has been preferred to Faf de Klerk, who had a shocker in Bloemfontein last week.
Lions – Andries Coetzee, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Harold Vorster, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Sylvian Mahuza, 23 Jaco van der Walt.
Waratahs – 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Reece Robinson, 13 Israel Folau, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bryce Hegarty, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Tom Robertson.
Subs: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Paddy Ryan, 18 David Lolohea, 19 David McDuling, 20 Senio Toleafoa, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 David Horwitz, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro.
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STORMERS vs JAGUARES
The Stormers’ five-try victory against the Bulls enabled them to finish round one at the top of the South African group. Robbie Fleck’s side will back themselves to beat the Jaguares at Newlands on Saturday and ultimately strengthen their log position.
The big question is whether they will continue to play an expansive game against a side like the Jaguares. The Argentinians enjoy a less structured contest, and have been known to punish the attacking mistakes of their opponents.
What will encourage the Stormers is the form of their forwards. The pack dominated the set pieces and collisions in the fixture against the Bulls. Whether they run from deep or play more tactically, the Stormers should have the benefit of a solid foundation.
The Jaguares had a total of 19 minutes and 47 seconds of possession in their recent clash against the Kings, more than any other team in round one. If the Stormers do kick this Saturday, they must ensure that they find space or compete well in the air. They can’t allow the Jaguares time and space to run back at them.
Stormers – 15 SP Marais, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siya Kolisi (c), 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Subs: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Robert du Preez, 23 Seabelo Senatla.
Jaguares – 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Tomás Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Felipe Arregui, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Santiago García Botta.
Subs: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Cristian Bartoloni, 19 Marcos Kremer, 20 Benjamín Macome, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Matías Moroni.
CHEETAHS vs BULLS
The Bulls have everything to prove following their limp showing against the Stormers in Cape Town. The forwards were completely outplayed in round one, and halfbacks Rudy Paige and Handré Pollard were placed under immense pressure as a result.
The Cheetahs were competitive in their loss to the Lions. Fred Zeilinga kicked some important penalties and nearly steered the hosts to a shock result.
Can the Cheetahs beat the Bulls this Saturday? The Bulls have won 15 of their last 17 games against the Cheetahs, and have scored 30 points or more in seven of the nine derbies in Bloemfontein. Victory for the Cheetahs would be regard as an upset, as well as a significant blow to the Bulls’ conference title ambitions.
The Bulls will be without Bok lineout maestro Lood de Jager. Yet they boast two talented young locks in RG Snyman and Jason Jenkins. While the pack failed to fire as a collective last week, individuals like Hanro Liebenberg (two tries) and Jacques Potgieter (18 tackles) made an impression.
It wouldn’t surprise to see the Bulls targeting the Cheetahs’ lineout on Saturday. The hosts lost four lineouts in the match against the Lions, more than any other side in round one.
Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Uzair Cassiem, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (c), 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Danie Mienie, 19 Francois Uys, 20 Niell Jordaan, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Niel Marais, 23 Ruan van Rensburg.
Bulls – 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Handre Pollard (c), 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Nic de Jager, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Subs: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Renaldo Bothma, 20 Ruan Steenkamp, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Tian Schoeman, 23 Warrick Gelant.
Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
