Loaded dice

The Stormers going up against the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday provides proof of the contention that the dice are loaded against South African teams in the Super 12.

This game, between two teams coming off successive defeats, perfectly highlights the travel bogey that many believe militates against a South African team winning the tournament for it demonstrates the problem.

The Brumbies, after defeats against the Sharks and Cats, will be back at home while the Stormers, after losses to the Highlanders and the Hurricanes, will still be on tour.

In fact the men from the Cape will be at the end of the third soul-destroying week away from home in one of the most boring of all tour stops and trying to stop the gaps left by the loss of Pieter and Chris Rossouw and Breyton Paulse.

And their tour will not yet be over because after Canberra the beleaguered Stormers have to return to Sydney to take on the Waratahs. Four weeks away – nearly five if you count the traveling days – can kill one’s spirit; especially when most of you have been through it before.

Psychologically, therefore, the Stormers, suffering from what Ian McIntosh has termed “hotel fatigue,” will be at a pretty low ebb while the Brumbies will be able to draw on the good vibes of being back in familiar surroundings.

But reverse the situation. Imagine if the Brumbies, after one of their worst excursions to South Africa, were due to stay another two weeks in South Africa to play the Stormers in Cape Town followed by the Bulls in Pretoria.

You can bet the Brumbies, having already lost twice, would lose at least one, if not both, these matches so that by the time they return to Australia their campaign would be in ruins.

It happens to South African teams every year and I have little doubt the Australian and Kiwi teams would also find these long absences an insurmountable hurdle if they were to be confronted by it.

The great distance to the antipodes coupled to the close proximity of Australia and New Zealand make it almost impossible to eliminate four-match tours for our teams – unless we go back to a Super 10! – but that does not alter the fact that South African teams carry a severe handicap that may well be insuperable.