South African teams dominate Super Rugby standings

Another weekend of strong performances from three of South Africa’s rugby teams sees all three in the top six places of the Super Rugby standings. The Bulls, Stormers and Sharks all won their 12th round games, consolidating their places at the top of the table, whilst their New Zealand and Australian counterparts begin to falter.

The rampant Bulls pulled off an amazing 27-24 win over the Waratahs making it three wins on the trot, on tour. They have managed to maintain a one-point lead over the Chiefs who lost 42-27 against the defending champions, the Reds on Sunday. 

The Stormers’ narrow 16-14 win over the Cheetahs and the Sharks’ convincing 53-11 win over the Force left the teams in fourth and sixth places respectively. The Crusaders are desperately clinging onto fifth spot despite losing 28-19 to the Rebels. This loss ended a four-match streak which included wins over both the Stormers and the Reds. 

The Highlanders suffered a defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes in round 12 which saw them fall back to seventh place and with this second straight loss it emphasised their struggle to continue with their impressive form with which they started the Super Rugby season. They remain one point outside the top six. 

With the win over the Highlanders the Hurricanes are only a further one point behind and remain in play-off contention. Most teams are feeling the pressure of the already long Super Rugby season as the injured player lists continue to grow every week. Most teams will be mindful of this as they head towards the break for the June Test matches.

The Bulls lie atop the SA Conference table, a point ahead of the Cape franchise. Their win against the Waratahs improved their record to 8 and 2 and it was their fifth win in succession. They have the possibility of becoming the first SA team to win four games away from home in their sights. The Bulls have shown no signs of diminished capacity even after losing some senior players at the end of last season. 

The Waratahs have two tough games left in South Africa against the Cheetahs and Stormers and Coach Michael Foley refuses to admit that his team’s playoff ambitions are over. Foley said that his team would chase every point that was to be had right until the last game of the Super Rugby season. He also admitted that as a team they did not do themselves any favours and have missed out on several point opportunities. He also conceded that winning in South Africa was a must if his team was to have any chance of making the playoffs and obtain a psychological advantage in the process. 

The Stormers nearly came undone against the spirited Cheetahs team who trailed 16-0 at the break. The Cheetahs were the team to do all the running in the second half but their answer came too late. The Stormers managed to hold on for the win and improve their record to 9-1. Stormers captain Jean de Villiers was not happy with his team’s performance and admitted that if they continue to play that way they were not going to go much further in the competition. 

All South African rugby supporters will be happy if all three of these teams can maintain their current positions and end up in the playoffs.