Super XIV Rah-rah thread

[perthstormer]

yeah force will be there abouts in 08

[Blitzkrieg]

At last, after 12 seasons, the Super Rugby final will be an all-South African match-up!

Coastal Sharks 34 (Johann Muller, Butch James, Waylon Murray tries; Percy Montgomery 2 convs, 4 pen goals; Butch James drop goal)
Auckland Blues 18 (Rudi Wulf, Isakeli Nacewa tries; Nacewa conv, 2 pen goals)
Half time: Sharks 14-6.  Crowd: 52000 at ABSA Stadium, Durban.

The Sharks put in a gutsy performance to overcome a determined, fearless Blues side & book a home grand final, much to the delight of the 52000-strong Durban crowd. Without doubt the "House Full" sign will also go up next week at ABSA Stadium for what promises to be an excellent game.

Northern Bulls 27 (Derick Hougaard 8 pen goals, drop goal)
Canterbury Crusaders 12 (Daniel Carter 4 pen goals)
Half time: Bulls 15-9.  Crowd: 53000 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria.

No 5-pointers in this one, but led ably by the accuracy of fly-half & goal kicker Derick Hougaard (who scored all of his side's 27 points), the Bulls saw off a Crusaders side, which, up until now, had never lost a Super Rugby semi-final. Daniel Carter also kicked truly for the visitors, but the home side stood firm.

...the Bulls and Sharks will continue to raise the spirits of South African rugby in scenes that have not been witnessed since Francois Pienaar's 1995 World Cup winners united the Rainbow Nation.

Indeed they will. The Springboks will definitely be a team to watch out for in this year's Rugby World Cup in France.

Saturday 19/05, 3pm local time (11pm AEST):
Coastal Sharks vs Northern Bulls
ABSA Stadium, Durban, Kwazulu-Natal Province, Republic of South Africa

Whether it's the Sharks or the Bulls who prevail, one thing's for sure...

South African rugby - indeed, South Africa itself - will be the winner!

Nkosi Sekelel' iAfrika.
God Bless Africa.

(flag courtesy of www.flags.net)

[Blitzkrieg]

Super XIV Final

Summary:
Coastal Sharks 19 (JP Pietersen, Albert van den Berg tries; Percy Montgomery 3 pen)
Northern Bulls 20 (Pierre Spies, Bryan Habana tries; Derick Hougaard 2 conv, 2 pen)
Crowd: 54000 @ ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa

It's party time in Pretoria! Congratulations to the Northern Bulls, the 2007 Rugby Super 14 Champions.

Commiserations to the Coastal Sharks, who played their hearts out, but to no avail. As a Storm fan, I certainly feel sympathy towards the Sharks & their fans for losing the way they did, but at least they had competent officials controlling their GF, unlike us... 

'Outplayed' Bulls steal title
From James Whitmore in Durban, South Africa
May 20, 2007
SOUTH AFRICA wing Bryan Habana scored a try two minutes into injury-time to lead the Northern Bulls to a thrilling, 20-19 Super 14 final win over the Coastal Sharks today (AEST).

Bulls fly-half Derick Hougaard added the conversion, spoiling the party for 54,000 home fans who turned out to witness the first all-South Africa Super final.

"I'm speechless," said Habana. "I think it was a really gutsy performance from our guys. We showed that never-say-die spirit, something we've displayed all season."

Habana received the ball in the Sharks' 22 metre area, just two minutes after the home team scored an unconverted try through replacement lock Albert van den Berg.

With the Sharks' defence in disarray, he spotted a gap, cut inside and beat a few defenders to dive over the line.

It was a gutsy performance for the men from Pretoria, who reached the semi-finals in the last two years.

"They would have been worthy winners, they outplayed us for 79 minutes," admitted Bulls skipper Victor Matfield.

Delighted Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer praised his players for their fighting spirit.

"All credit to the players, they were simply awesome. They showed a never-say-die attitude and with a minute to go I knew we could still do it," he said.

"I feel for the Sharks, they were very unlucky at the end - they were the better side on the day."

Sharks captain John Smit called the match an "epic".

He said: "This last-second defeat has killed us, but well done to the Bulls, they stuck out till the very end. That was true character."

It was a topsy-turvy affair with neither side really taking control. The Sharks dominated the first period, but the second half probably just belonged to the Bulls.

The Sharks were on the board after nine minutes with a Percy Montgomery penalty, but the Bulls went ahead four minutes later with a converted try from No.8 Pierre Spies.

The Bulls loose forward sliced between Sharks defenders AJ Venter and Waylon Murray to score under the posts, after Matfield had opted to kick into touch, to set up a lineout, instead of going for goal after winning a penalty inside his own half.

But the Sharks hit back almost immediately through winger JP Pietersen, who intercepted a Spies pass on the halfway line and ran 50m to score his 12th try of the season.

Montgomery missed the conversion, but put his side back into the lead on the half-hour with his first penalty of the afternoon.

Bulls No.10 Hougaard edged his side closer with a three-pointer a few minutes later, but the home side finished the half the stronger outfit with a further three points from Montgomery.

Leading 14-10 at the break, the Sharks battled to rediscover their rhythm in the second half and it was no surprise, when the Bulls won a penalty inside the 22 after 60 minutes, that Hougaard closed the gap to a point.

The Bulls piled on the pressure, but excellent Sharks tackling kept them out and, with two minutes to go on the clock, replacement lock van den Berg found a way through for the home side's second try.

While Francois Steyn missed the conversion, the Sharks were just a stoppage away form being crowned South Africa's first Super 14 rugby winner. It wasn't to be.

With the last move of the game Habana, after a sniping run, went over next to the uprights, and the Hougaard conversion sealed a sensational one-point win.

Agence France-Presse