One week in rugby!

The game against the Blues in Auckland reminded me of a similar situation in 2002 when I was still playing. It was our last game on tour and we came up against a Waratahs side that was playing some incredible rugby. We also had a string of injuries and this was compounded when Werner Greeff and Gaffie du Toit were injured in the game. We went down 21 points to nil within 15 minutes. Neil de Kock played on the wing because we had so many injuries, and we made a comeback of note. The end result was that we beat them, 41-24 if my memory serves me correctly.

Well this game against the Blues was similar. We had two young centres playing, in De Jongh and Sadie, and then Lionel Cronje was injured during the game and Dewald Duvenhage moved to fly half. This really is a makeshift back line for the Stormers, but boy did they perform. After going down 19-3, De Jongh and Sadie sparked a comeback of note with some amazing flashes of individual brilliance. Comebacks like these are always sparked by individual brilliance, but they are completed by a pack of forwards that does the hard yards. In a comeback victory like the one at the weekend it is always hard to mention individuals, but I do want to mention Schalk Burger. He was absolutely everywhere and scoring the winning try was just reward for his hard work. You only have to have seen his reaction at the final whistle to realise what this win meant to him. It is great to see a legend in the game who has achieved so much show that amount of passion for the Stormers jersey.

SA teams coming right

The South African teams look like they are starting to hit their straps at the right time. The Cheetahs are playing some incredible rugby and they still have an outside chance of making the play-offs. The boys from Bloem are really impressing me with their style of play, but also for the commitment they are showing in defence. Their battle with the Bulls this weekend is one not to be missed. The only problem, from a Stormers perspective, is that we still need to play them in our final pool game in Bloemfontein. That game might decide whether the Stormers host a home semi-final or not and, believe me, the Cheetahs will be going flat out to spoil that little party. The Bulls did the Stormers a favour this weekend by beating the Sharks in Durban. It looks like they are starting to play like the Bulls of old, and that spells danger for any team making its way to Loftus Versveld. The run in to the play-offs will be very interesting and a few bruising local derbies will determine the outcome.

On a private note, I cycled the Sani2C mountain bike race from Underberg, near the Sani Pass, down to the sea at Scottsborough. It is about 270km of spectacular single track and breathtaking views going through the Umkomaas Valley. I really can recommend it to any keen cyclist. It's now time for me to stay at home and spend some quality time with the family. Have a great week and I look forward to chatting to you next week.