JOHAN asked:
PLEASE ADVISE WHICH SITE I CAN LOG ONTO TO SEE PAST HEAD TO HEAD STATS AND RESULTS OF SUPER RUGBY. MUCH APPRECIATED.
GAVIN RICH answered:
I haven't looked in a while but we used to have quite a lot of archive material available on this site. When it comes to head to head etc I usually either rely on memory or the Super Rugby media guide. Sorry I can't be of further help.
Dale Kent asked:
Hi Gavin,
After 3 rounds of Super Rugby which teams in your opinion are looking the strongest?
The EP Kings beat the Force in their first game and as we saw this last weekend that the Bulls didnt beat them as convincigly as the Kings did. Do you believe that the Kings will be able to sustain their winning ways throughout the competition because they have some difficult games coming up?
Gavin Rich answered:
Hi Dale, I am hoping that the Kings will win a few more games, but realistically I think it would be a bit optimistic to talk about winning ways. The Force raised their game against the Bulls, who sank to their level. I think it will take time for the Kings to find their feet so that they perform consistently. Having said that, and as I wrote on a few occasions last week, winning their first game was a fantastic achievement and I believe that for the good of South African rugby they should be treated fairly and thus given a guaranteed extended run in the competition so they can build. The crowd that turned up was more mixed and diverse than what we see at any other SA stadium save perhaps Newlands.
Nick HIltermann asked:
Why is Elton Jantjies persisting with that ridiculous haircut?
Gavin Rich answered:
I've hardly had the opportunity to ask him a rugby question yet this season so forgive me if I haven't asked him about his haircut.
solomon balata asked:
whats the problem with the sormers they still kicking good ball away, we are the best runners with the ball in hand.agains the sharks we gave to much ball away . we cant do that with the chiefs thay will kill us.play with the ball to them ,they all so dont like to defence. please give the rugby that we know running all the way. up stormers you can do it
Gavin Rich answered:
Stormers best runners with ball in hand - since when? We haven't seen that in several seasons, there strength has been their defence, and in my opinion a big part of that is sourced in the small players that make up their back three. In 2010 they scored a lot of tries, they had Sireli Naqelevuki at the back smashing across the gainline and drawing in several defenders at a time. Just a thought... As for the game this past weekend, the Sharks coaches would have loved it if the Stormers had run at them. In those conditions, and with the Sharks defence now as good if not better than the Stormers, it would have played into the hands of the Durbanites. The Stormers played the right tactics in the first half last week.
romano asked:
solely focusing on the the first 2 weeks of super rugby. Who would u have in ur springbok team based on the opening weeks of the competition
Gavin Rich answered:
It really is too early to start talking about Springbok teams. The South African teams tend to start slowly and conservatively, and they are all a long way short of full gallop. The players who have stood out for me so far though are an improved Morne Steyn at the Bulls, a maturing Patrick Lambie at the Sharks, and a super-motivated Beast, also at the Sharks. Jannie du Plessis looks more motivated than he has in a while this early in the season too.
Rindie asked:
What''s up with Schalk''s injury. Dont you think Stormers will be better off using de Allende on the wing and bring in Grant at 12?
Gavin Rich answered:
Schalk is running again and is apparently feeling confident, but in the times I have had opportunity to talk to him this season, he appears to be very realistic. In other words, he will do his talking once he gets onto the field and take it from there. At least this injury (calf) is different to the one that kept him out last year (knee). WHen it comes to your question about De Allende, we're on the same wave-length - as you will see from my answer to a previous question, I have a problem with lack of height and size in Stormers back three. You can have one smallish player there, not three, and ti was one of the reasons the Sharks won most of the contestable kicks this past weekend. I did ask Allister Coetzee about De Allende on the wing and he said that it is an option for the future but not against the Chiefs as he is not possessed of out and out sustained pace. When we might see him is when the Stormers come up against wings that are more bigger and more physical. Hopefully by then Juan de Jongh will be back in the mix too.
Wayne asked:
Hey Gavin, What is your take on the type of game we ( Stormers) Is playing. I think with the quality of our backs we have in the Cape, we should be able to score more tries? I think the type of game plan we trying to play is killing us. And yes it is kliing Jantjies, Aplon, Habana ect. Its sad to see your most dangerous attacker in Gio Aplon is not bought into the game plan. He hardly touched the ball.? Gav do you think Fleck is the right man for the Stormers Backline? I would rather see Carel in that position.Thanks
Gavin Rich answered:
Hi Wayne, let's hold our horses a bit on the Stormers game-plan. They have only played two matches, and in the first half against the Bulls they just never had any ball, and in the second they did try to run it with a measure of success (although I thought they were running from too deep lining positions). Against the Sharks they had a specific horses for course game-plan, as did the Sharks. We really can't be bringing out the sackcloth and ashes and start moaning about the game strategy just yet. Give it time. As I said in an above answer though, I think the running game might be suicidal when they don't have big backs available for the back three. WHen Jaco Taute is back that changes again, and ditto if De Allende is freed up from centre once De Jongh is back in the mix.
anton asked:
hi gavin, what is your thoughts on bulls blues game, morne found a little bit more confidence but blues where hot last weekend
Gavin Rich answered:
I thought it was typical of the sort of game you sometimes get when the favourites have beaten a big team the week before and the other has lost twice and is desperate. People like myself were predicting big wins for the Bulls (18 ) and I do think there is a natural complacency that sets in. Sharks coach John Plumtree has said some interesting things about this. Yes, Morne has found some confidence, and the Blues were nothing short of brilliant. Looks like Kirwan has sorted out the culture in Auckland and having the headmaster with him has probably helped as he relates to the player mix in that region.
Izak asked:
Do you think the gap between Schoolboy rugby and Super 15 rugby are still that big seeing more youngsters coming into senior squads. I think sometimes performing better than their Superiors?
Gavin Rich answered:
Every now and then you may get a really special freaky player but Super Rugby and schoolboy rugby really can't be compared.
Tumelo asked:
Hi Gavin
Do you think that Nick Mallet would be a viable option for the Cheeters next year?who would you choose as the best loose trio for the Bulls?why is Pat Cilliers playing so badly this year because he was a good scrummager for the Cubs last year?
Gavin Rich answered:
Interesting question about Mallett - I think he would be good for most teams, and is particularly adept at working with less fashionable and successful teams and making them better. He did that with Boland, he did it with Italy. But unless Nick has completely changed his ideas on life since last time I spoke to him, he is dead set against coaching in South Africa. And somehow I can't see him living in Bloemfontein. On subject of Bulls loose-trio they have so many options that I am undecided. When it comes to Pat Cilliers, there is an interesting debate to be had over how good his scrummaging really is and how good it has ever been. My information is that the Sharks got rid of him because he couldn't scrum. His strengths are his mobility, which makes him a good impact player (unless you playing a scrum out to crunch you, like the Sharks were last Saturday).
Regardt asked:
Are the current SA super rugby coaches aware that our attacking game has fallen way below par compare to NZ teams? Is the problem coaching or lack of player skills and vision?
Gavin Rich answered:
I think what we are seeing from the South African teams in Super Rugby at the moment is the coaches taking the view that you have to build your innings before you try to hit sixes. It's the case every year. The game between the Sharks and Stormers that everyone is talking so negatively about was no different from the one between th Sharks and Bulls at Kings Park at start of 2007 and both teams went on to dominate the competition. In short, it's early days - you may well be right, but let's give it time before we start criticising.
Johann asked:
Everyone seems to think the Stormers are struggling. I personally thought they did exceptionally well to contain the Sharks the way they did. All this hipe about the Stormers appears to be rather misplaced. Besides their wings and a tall lock, what are their strengths really? Sharks all the way:)
Gavin Rich answered:
Good question Johann. My view has always been that the strengths of the Stormers, certainly since 2008, has been the strength of their system. I've said before that the Stormers are more than the sum of their parts, with the structure that is so often criticised often being the reason they have managed to win through. I get the feeling they may be trying to change things this year, in other words changing their system. If they go to far with that, and again it really is too early for me to be sure whether I am right or wrong that this is their intention, I predict that they will go only one way - and it won't be up! My big concern, living in the Cape, is all the talk about "what worked in last year's Currie Cup". Well let's be real about this - firstly, the Currie Cup is not Super Rugby, secondly, where did WP really finish in the Currie Cup? The answer to that last question is they finished third in the league phase, and only won half their matches. Theirs wasn't an all-conquering Currie Cup campaign that justifies basing a Super Rugby game-plan around it. Their admittedly limited game in last year's Super Rugby saw them win 14 out of 16 matches...
reuben leon asked:
Good morning
where is the flair that WP rugby used play with? we now have the best defence in the tournament but why are we doing so poorly on attack? surely we have the players to do what Blues or a Chiefs team have to produce good backline tries. I find this very strange indeed. is it the coach or the backline coach or what Gavin?
Gavin Rich answered:
Not so sure you are right when you say Stormers have best defence in the tournament. I thought the Sharks were better this past week. There were a few horrible defensive errors (missed first time tackles) in both the Bulls and Sharks games. That might come down to selection though. What is interesting about the Stormers, and the atmosphere of rugby in the Cape in general at the moment, is the perception that players who played for the team that finished last in last year's Super Rugby are suddenly going to provide the Midas touch that will turn the Stormers into a champion team. Meanwhile a guy like Peter Grant, who over past few years has won far more Super Rugby matches than he has lost, gets forgotten about. Makes absolutely no sense to me. As for the question about where the flair has gone, I go again back to my earlier answer on a similar question - there just aren't the big outside backs playing for the Stormers now that could do what Naqelevuki did in 2010. But again, it's early days. Let's give them time. On the subject of backline coach, the question has been around for a while, and it has nothing to do with the identity of the backline coach. Until this season the Stormers have been following a system that highlights different strengths, and you have to give them their due - it got them into the top two in Super Rugby for three consecutive years. Where were they before that, when they played with the so-called flair? Just two semi-final appearances between 1996 and 2010. Clearly not good enough.
Mike O asked:
Hi Gavin,
Thanks for your time.
I''m struggling to find the best lock combination for my Fantasy team. Who would you suggest - can be from any team. Thanks, Mike
Gavin Rich answered:
Eben Etzebeth is not playing at the moment but he is the best lock int his country at the moment by some distance. If this is SA we are talking about, then the man to play with him has to be Juandre Kruger or Andries Bekker. If we looking at the whole of the SANZAR area, then Whitelock has to come into consideration.
Scott Duncan asked:
Hi Gavin, our Stormers/Bulls/Shark fan :-)
Predicting the season before a ball has been kicked, or passed if you''re a Kiwi, is never easy. Though it''s still early days, have the first rounds changed your opinion at all as to how the tournament will play out? Many were predicting the Highlanders to win the NZ conference but its the Chiefs who have found that there is life after SBW. The Aussie conference is probably the easiest to call. Don''t see the Brumbies being caught. And locally it''s my Sharks who have started well, for once. Do you think we can continue and win the conference, or are the Stormers going to turn it around? Or perhaps the Bulls to surprise and pip us both as top dog? Sorry for setting you up for bias abuse :-)
Thanks for your time.
Gavin Rich answered:
Hee hee, I can live with Bias abuse. And linking me to three teams is better than last year, where one week I was being criticised for being a Stormers fanatic and then the next week I was supposedly in love with the Sharks! And if I now like the Bulls, then I must be pretty balanced... Seriously though, I hate making pre-season predictions because I have been around too long now not to spot the folly of basing what happens several months from now on what we see in February or even January. The Chiefs have surprised me so far, so have the Blues, but having spent a bit of time in Durban last week hanging around with the Sharks, and having seen them win ugly when normally at this year they lose ugly, I am getting the feeling my most perceptive column of 2012 was written last August, after the Super Rugby final - 2013 will be the Sharks' year! I just have a feeling about it. Their young players are all now experienced, they have made mistakes in the past they can learn from. And ditto their coaches. The culture is right in Durban rugby at the moment. The Stormers may come back but I have to be honest and say that the day WP won the Currie Cup last October I had a sneaky feeling that the trophy would become a poisoned chalice for them and so far nothing has happened to disprove that view. They do have the system and the players for the system, but all the "what worked in the Currie Cup nonsense" should be a concern to Stormers fans. What works in Currie Cup doesn't work in Super Rugby. Ask the Lions. You can even ask the Sharks.
Alex asked:
Hi Gavin, do you think the sharks, with the current style of rugby that they are playing, will be able to beat teams like the Chiefs and win the SA conference title?
Gavin Rich answered:
Current style doesn't come into it. The Stormers game was horses for courses. They won't play the Chiefs with that strategy. But the answer is yes, they can beat the New Zealand teams. They have the pack, they have big physical loose-forwards, they have an exciting young scrumhalf and perhaps the most balanced flyhalf in the country, they have Frans Steyn back, they have size and pace on the wings and at fullback. Most importantly, they also have depth. The Man of the Match against the Stormers was a player I really rate highly but who might not play in the Sharks first choice team when Willem Alberts is back to full fitness.
Kobus asked:
Hi Gavin,
Although it''s early days the Chiefs game has to be a must win game fo the Stormers, surely the management cannot wait for another 2-3 losses before they look to change things? Although we can say the last 2 seasons was successful, the lack of creativity in the backs has been an issue for a while now and I have a feeling with the new law changes it''s finally going to catch up with us. Your thoughts please.
Gavin Rich answered:
According to Allister Coetzee, Peter Grant was quite knackered (his word was stuffed) after his time on the field this past weekend. Apparently he hasn't played much rugby in Japan recently. So he may be forced to start with Jantjies again. But I agree with you, I don't think the Stormers' season is over if they lose this week, but changes will have to be made if they don't win. On the creativity issue, I am not convinced the Stormers would have been in the top two of Super Rugby for the past three seasons had they played a different strategy to the one they did. Having said that, they obviously do have to make the tweaks necessary to get their strike-rate up. That is a given. They just mustn't, to borrow an old saying, throw the baby out with the bath water. And time will tell whether they intend doing that. Like the Sharks, the Stormers' approach at Kings Park was horses for courses. Kings Park just isn't a venue that is renowned for try scoring spectacles in February or March.
ALDRIN SOUDIEN asked:
I am a very proud Stormers and South African rugby supporter, but why is that we ( Stormers ) play so conservative rugby and don''t take chances anymore...like the New Zealand teams
Gavin Rich answered:
You can't be basing that statement on the two games so far this season. It really is too early. If the Stormers had run the ball agains the Sharks last week it would have been like watching little furry seals lining up to be clubbed...
Harry asked:
Do you think the Stormers can proceed with their defence/winning formula? I think this year,if you want to win you must get tries as well,and the Stormers don''t have the players now to do that.
Gavin Rich answered:
They do need to score more tries, and as it stands, they are now in a position where they may be forced to as they have already lost two games, which was as many as they lost the whole of last season. But they most emphatically should not be trying anything that moves them too far from the formula of the past. 14 wins in 16 games in Super Rugby last season suggests to me that what they were doing worked.
Johann asked:
Hi Gavin
No Question.
I would just like to say that I don''t like the double round of Conference games.
Thank You.
Gavin Rich answered:
Hi Johann, no answer, I would just also like to say I don't like the double round of conference games. it's crazy.
Allie asked:
hi Gavin - we are clearly behind NZ and it seems Europe as well as far as continuity is concerned - we struggle to keep phases going - no controlled offloads in the tackle and our game plan is so predictable - same all over again and again. Should WP/Stormers not employ attacking coaches - or bring in new coaching blood to consult and help us renew our game plan. O how do you think it should be approached?
Gavin Rich answered:
Phew, everyone in the Cape seems to be on the same tack here. You would think that we were still living in 2007 and the Stormers had come 10th (or was it 12th) on the log last season, instead of 1st. Good people of the Cape, let me remind you that before the current coaches arrived and the current system was employed, there was NO culture of success in Super Rugby in the Cape. There was one year, 1999, where the Stormers grabbed the imagination, and they also made the semis in 2004, but for the rest it was usually a case of them not being in the championship race once we had gone past the Easter weekend... Moreover, when WP won the Currie Cup last year, it was not an all-encompassing attacking style of play that won it. That win was built around lineout dominance and a Sharks defensive error. And yet everyone in Cape Town was celebrating the event like gold dust was falling from the moon onto earth. Bottom line - if they get across the line this year, no matter what style they employ, the end will justify the means. It's the way of professional sport. And three home semi-finals in the space of three years was better than none.
Peter asked:
Gavin,the Stormers in two games have conceded 6 kickable penalties and averaged 1 try per game.Few teams will win many games with those stats. The pack is once again struggling and the backline have forgotten(coached out of them?)how to play attacking rugby.Your comments please.
Gavin Rich answered:
You have to look at who they were playing against. If they had been playing the Western Force and the Cheetahs it would be a concern. But they weren't, they were playing against two of the best defensive teams. In fact, let's look at it this way - in those two matches the Stormers scored two tries, and the opposition scored only one, which the SANZAR refereeing chief later admitted shouldn't have been awarded... Again, like I said in earlier answers, give it time - they started with two incredibly tough derby matches and neither of their opponents exactly set the world alight with running rugby in those games either.
Akhona Stofile asked:
Should teams like the Bulls have to change the way they play,which at times is seen as boring, just to "satisfy" the audience outside Loftus? And what would be the best way to deal with the Elton Jantjies issue? Clearly he is still suffering from the death of his father, and thus his game has been effected OR is the Stormers game plan just not suited for him?
Gavin Rich answered:
The Bulls should only change the way they play if it doesn't bring them success and if the people stop pitching at Loftus to see them play. At the moment they are still rebuilding so while I have a feeling they might do well, the expectation for them to do as well as some of their previous teams did would be patently unfair. On subject of Elton, I would always choose Peter Grant for the Stormers pattern anyway (his defence is good, he takes the ball at the gainline, he is the direct style of flyhalf that I like) but I do think that a newspaper columnist in Cape Town had it right this morning - Allister Coetzee needs to take Elton aside and give him a bit of TLC. Moving to the Cape at the same time as his father died so suddenly and tragically must have been an exceedingly difficult thing for him to do.
clint asked:
why did peter grant not play. elton had to many bad games.
Gavin Rich answered:
Peter apparently isn't quite ready yet to play more than one half of Super Rugby. That's what Coetzee said, and if that is the case,then it is a fair point. It's not like Jantjies has no ability and can't come right and do a job for you.
deon du toit asked:
do you think Jantjies will fit into the Stormers mode of play and be a regular, now that Peter grant is back and available. Will the new boy cut the grade?
Gavin Rich answered:
My hunch is that sooner or later, but probably sooner, the Stormers are going to be in a situation where they decide they need to go back to what worked for them in the past. And when I say that, I am not referring to last year's Currie Cup, but what worked for them in Super Rugby between 2010 and 2012. That means Peter Grant will probably be the No10.
CHRIS EVERSON asked:
Hi Gavin - My believe is that South African rugby gets worse every year .... boring, boring, boring. Compared to the riveting play of the New Zealand sides, and some of the Australian sides, our South African teams (with the noted exemption of the Cheetahs), are leaden-footed dinosaurs, tedious to watch and uninspiring ..... We must have the least imaginative coaches on earth because, God knows, we''ve got talent to burn. I''d be interested to hear your opinion on my feelings. Many thanks
Gavin Rich answered:
It's just way too early to say that. Give it time. My money says we will have a South African winner this year.
Tim asked:
Hi Gavin
I see the stormers being very average this season, they have blew their chances of winning this competition over the past three or four seasons with last year being their best chance. I don''t see them making it to the knockout rounds, infact I know its still early days but I only see one SA team in the knock outs and that is the sharks! NZ and Aus teams look very good. This season may well end up being a very dissapointing one for SA teams but that does not mean the sharks can''t go all the way.....Agree?
Gavin Rich answered:
I think you may well be right but I wouldn't say it with too much certainty just yet. It depends on what the Stormers do to confront the problems that I believe may be tripping them up. If they take the Currie Cup and throw it into the sea at the same time as going to a mind doctor who can hypnotise them into forgetting all about what happened in a once-off situation last October, they may still make a fist of 2013... As for the Bulls, they have enough talent and depth to be challenging for the play-offs. Okay, shoot, sorry, just realised SARU won't like it if WP threw the old trophy into the sea. So maybe they should just give it to someone else.
West asked:
Why do the stormers struggle in pressure games?
Gavin Rich answered:
I'm not sure they do. They saw the Currie Cup final last year as a pressure game and they won it with an under-strength team away from home. Having said that, I think the media in the Cape and the sheer fanaticism of the support base does contribute to greater pressure on the Stormers than is experienced by any other team in the competition.
louis asked:
Hi Gavin
How do you rate the Bulls?,
Gavin Rich answered:
I think they have too much going for them to be written off like some are doing. I also don't agree that their style of play is boring. Even when they play rubbish like this last week they still score four tries. They have a system that worked for them in the past and should work for them again provided the right players come through to fill the key roles. Morne Steyn has found is kicking consistency again and that is good to see but he is leaving for France at the end of the season and Hanre Pollard is the flyhalf for the future.
julian asked:
Hi Gavin,dont you think they,Elton and Johan have too much presure on them to perform and to compete for the Bok no 10 jersey,that they are just not playing their natural game,and a guy like Morne is enjoying his game again,because he is being "written off ",thats why he is performing?
Gavin Rich answered:
Johan I think you may well have a point, though I do think there are other factors at play, such as the death of Elton's father and a move to a new environment, and the Goose doesn't look like he is completely over his injury just yet.
Claude Petersen asked:
There is often talk about winning ugly - However the top teams like the Chiefs( S15 champs) are playing attractive rugby having scored 10 tries to date.Do you think a SA will team will ever be able to play like that - or don''t we have the players for this kind of game?
Gavin Rich answered:
The Sharks played like that in the second half of last season. They will do so again once they get their momentum up. South African teams are just notoriously slow starters when it comes to hitting the straps. And don't bet your house against the Stormers refining their game into something more attractive to watch either. I just don't believe they must overdo it.
Rifaad asked:
Hi Gavin, the S.A teams looks very average compare to the other teams,especially the ball handling. Why is this the case? Too many passes going astray and too many knocks.
Gavin Rich answered:
I was at Kings Park this last weekend. One of the reasons is that South African teams, when they play each other, just hit each other so hard in the tackle that it would be super-human not to be a bit jittery when the ball comes towards you. It's always been like that. I remember a game in 2000 when the Stormers and Cats played one another where it was so bruising and ugly on the field that the ugliness nearly spilled over into the post-match cocktail party. The New Zealand teams go at each other hard in derbies but they do so with a little less venom. When the SA teams start to play overseas teams we might have a better view.
anathi asked:
hi, Gavin who is the best flyhalf in Elton, Goosen and Pat.And do you think Steyn will play for the boks while he is playing in france
Gavin Rich answered:
It would be between Pat and Goosen... And as such Morne might well not be needed when he is in France.
S''bu asked:
Hi, thanks for the opportunity
What effect does having kicking duties taken away from him have on Jantjies? Couldn''t he have been given another chance against the Sharks? He is generally pretty accurate at it.
One can understand Coetzee''s concerns but kicking at goal is part of Janjties'' package and he''s clearly not the same without that. I acknowledge Peterson''s accuracy but he''s unlikely to be first choice if Taute is fit.
Gavin Rich answered:
I would agree with you if the Stormers didn't have an alternative kicker with an 80% success rate. Once Jaco Taute was injured and Joe Pietersen was selected to play, it would have been silly to not let the fullback take the goalkicking duties. But generally I do agree with what you are saying - the guy is an excellent goalkicker and only had an off-day, which is what most goalkickers do from time to time. Even Naas had them, and Jonny Wilkinson.
williepepler@hotmail.com asked:
why does this former lions boy get so much media attention and why why why does everybody but the springbok coach rate him so high ...??
Gavin Rich answered:
Willie I can't answer a question which I still occasionally find myself asking. I mean he is a better than average field kicker and place-kicker but I don't see him as the genius some people do. I agree with you, he is a bit over-hyped. Not sure how highly Heyneke rates him btw. He played as a reserve and then he didn't play again.
Kagiso Taukobong asked:
Judging the 3 conferences, it seems that the NZ conference is the strongest with all 5 of their teams having a good enough squad to make the playoffs, while in SA it is the usual top 3 who have a chance and in Aus it seems it be another Brumbies/Reds battle. In your opinion, do you think that the conference system should continue once the new deal is done?
Gavin Rich answered:
I think they should do away with the double round of derbies so the answer is no.
