I have long been looking for sign that the Bulls are losing their grip as the top team in South Africa. When we beat them at Loftus earlier in the season I felt that they were starting to lose the sense of invincibility that they have had over the last couple of seasons. Even though the Stormers lost this last game I am even more convinced that the power is shifting from the north to the south. I have no doubt that we would have won this game if Peter Grant was fit and playing at his usual best.
I actually felt very sorry for Curt Coleman as he was well out of his depth. To be fair to him, he was thrown in at the deep end as he was only playing club rugby a few weeks earlier. When these things happen you have to ask why the Stormers landed up with this situation. Surely they needed to contract some depth in this key position. Well the reality is that Curt Coleman is the fourth fly-half and not many unions can afford to contract four players in each position. What I do want to know is where is Elgar Watts? He has played a couple of seasons for the Pumas and was drafted into the Stormers squad earlier this year. I believe that he would have done a better job in this pressure situation. Ultimately, the blame cannot be laid on Coleman only.
Things started to go wrong in front with Victor Matfield putting major pressure on the usually unstoppable Stormers line-out. It was an error in this set phase that gave Francois Hougaard the opportunity to dive over for the deciding try. This was always a game that was going to be decided by a piece of individual brilliance or an error. In the end it was the latter and it was the Stormers supporters who had to go home with their tails between their legs after losing another close encounter. If the Stormers can play that badly with a club fly-half and a very unfit and out of form scrum-half, and still only lose by three points, then that gives me more than enough reason to believe that the future of rugby in the Cape is very strong.
From a Springbok perspective there were a couple of worrying signs. Morne Steyn looked very suspect under pressure and missed a couple of easy kicks. Pierre Spies also showed that he doesn't perform well in the pressure games and was very quiet. My suspicion on Peter de Villiers team choices last week was confirmed this week when he announced that Sarel Potgieter and Bjorn Basson were not included in the latest training group for the World Cup. It is an absolute disgrace that Sarel Potgieter didn't even get an invitation to the latest training group. He really is a great player and I would make a place for him in the squad. Then again, my name isn't P Divvy and I don't have to pick the team for the 2011 World Cup. Till next time!
