I caught Boots & All for the first time yesterday in, oh, three years, and after the darkness of the Stransky years, it was good to see Darren Scott back at the helm, with a reasonable panel of analysts, including Naas, who not only now makes sense from time to time, but has stopped descending into an almighty sulk every time anyone says anything mildly unkind about the Bulls. Which, this season, is happening rather a lot.

Much of last night’s discussion centred on Kiwi prima donna Bryce Lawrence, whose monumentally inept display in the Sharks game last weekend might not have cost them the match, but certainly eased the Brumbies’ path to victory. Ref bashing is hardly a noble sport, and it’s one South African rugby fans generally take to with great zeal and modest justification; the quality of Super 14 refereeing has been diabolical at times this season, however, and when even the Australian commentators are sympathising with a South African team over the referee, as was the case with the Sharks in Canberra, then the man with the whistle must be having a awfully poor day.

Just how the issue is being addressed isn’t clear — referees are afforded blanket protection from rugby authorities, and when they are woefully off their game, censure rarely strays beyond a vague acknowledgement that the performance wasn’t great, and that something will be done about it. That’s not good enough, but it’s unlikely to change before the Super 14 is done, which means gritting teeth and getting on with the task in hand: getting two South African sides into the semifinals. Which in turn makes this weekend rather crucial.

This morning’s Blues-Crusaders game would have been most people’s pick for a preview of the final after the opening rounds of the competition, but the Aucklanders have gone walkabout in recent weeks, and now need to win just to stay in with a realistic shout at the play-offs. It ups the ante, then, particularly as the Crusaders lost last weekend for the first time; and the result will have direct relevance on South Africa’s two contenders for the last four.

The resurgence of the Stormers under Rassie Erasmus has taken a few people by surprise, but Rassie won’t be one of them. He was confident pre-season, and has crafted a team of hard-working, exciting rugby players into a side that’s playing rugby both entertaining and successful. After a dismal start, they’re up to fourth, and with a great home stretch ahead of them, not making the semis will be a considerable disappointment. Five points against the Highlanders this weekend, and they’ll be another big step closer to the play-offs.

Beating the Highlanders is a considerably lesser task than that facing the Sharks, who face the Waratahs in a two versus three clash. Traditionally, the Waratahs have started furiously and then burnt out; they’ve kept going this season, however, and provide a watershed game for the Sharks. After last week’s defeat, Dick Muir’s side need to come straight back, particularly as they don’t want to head to Canterbury next week on the back of two successive defeats; the Waratahs have been playing some polished rugby, however, with a streetwise appreciation of the new laws (something you couldn’t accuse the Bulls of, sadly), and the Sharks face a stern test of their mettle this weekend.

They’ll need to ignore the referee as much as possible, and keep a handle on discipline, the crux of last weekend’s downfall; do that, and with a little magic from a team awash with rugby talent, and they could pick up points in Sydney. If the Stormers can do likewise in Cape Town, the South African flavour to the bottom of the log won’t be quite so unpalatable; and the Durban fatwa declared on Bryce Lawrence might just be revoked.

  • Tell me you’re not hooked now. I didn’t catch it live, but I did get the highlights package (is there much of a difference?) just after midnight, and it just keeps getting better. Yesterday’s Rajasthan Royals-Deccan Chargers game was the best we’ve seen in the IPL, a brutal Andrew Symonds hundred not enough, as Warnie hit the all-rounder for two successive sixes to win the game with a ball to spare. Throw in a South African cameo – Graeme Smith getting a quick 60 (can you believe Warnie didn’t give him a bowl?) – and you had another addictive episode. Suddenly day four of Bangladesh versus New Zealand from Chittagong just doesn’t feel quite the same.

  • Contact Dan at dan@metropolis.co.za

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