Force give Bulls the Blues
4 May 2007
The Blues hammered the Force to make the Super 14 semi-final.
The Blues won 33-6, scoring the fourth-try bonus point in injury time. It means they will have to wait until the Bulls play to see where their semi-final will be. At this stage the odds must favour a trip to Christchurch. But in a weekend with all sorts of twists, the Blues could still end 2nd, third or fourth, depending on the outcome of the Sharks and Bulls matches.
The Bulls have to beat the Reds with a bonus point to push for a top two place. To overtake the Crusaders they have to beat the Reds by 70-plus points. Victory by 40-plus will mean they finish third and the Blues slip to fourth.
All this of course can only happen if the Sharks beat the Stormers. If the Sharks lose this match they could end up fourth and have to travel to Christchurch.
True to form, this tournament’s final placings will be decided in the last match, as it was last year when the Bulls had to beat the Stormers by 30-plus points in Cape Town. They did this in winning 43-10.
The Blues were a transformed team from that which stumbled through South Africa. In Perth they physically dominated the Force pack, something they could not do in South Africa.
With this front foot ball and the return of Luke McAlister at inside centre, the result was never in doubt.
McAlister’s presence galvanised the backline, and his three penalties and two conversions ensured that the Force were always playing catch up. But the Auckland franchise will still have to make significant improvements if they are to be considered serious title contenders.
They did show glimpses of the incisive backline play that had them firmly entrenched at the top of log for majority of tournament. Their first try, a breakout from their 22m in which Isa Necwa, McAlister and Ice Toeava played a central role, saw Rudi Wulf profit after a couple of phases had depleted the defence.
But the Blues struggled to penetrate thereafter, and at one stage one could be forgiven for forgetting that this was a team in need of a bonus-point victory. They spurned opportunities in good positions through poor handling, which wasn’t aided by steady rain. To the Forces’ credit they did defend well. When they slipped first-up hits their scramble defence was impressive.
In addition to their impotence with ball in hand, the Blues simply failed to find their range off the boot. They sort to play down in the Force half early on but instead simply gave the back three the opportunity to counterattack.
The Perth franchise failed to capitalise though, their kicks routinely finding grateful Blues catchers. If it was a tactic to keep the ball alive in the hope that they could force errors off the kick return, it failed. Their chasing line never put any significant pressure on the catcher allowing them to clear easily or break the first line of defence. That however was simply one in a multitude of flaws.
The Blues defensive line speed forced their backline crossfield, while the Auckland franchise’s superb defence around the scrum, ruck and maul fringe never allowed the Force to generate any momentum there.
The Blues dominance of the tackle situation gave them the ascendancy at the breakdown. This meant that the service to Matt Giteau was slow and often scrappy, which never allowed the Force pivot to get his back division going.
When he did produce moments of brilliance, his support runners were simply on a different wavelength.
The Blues led 13-6 at the break, and extended that to 10 points when McAlister sunk a close- range penalty early in the second-half. The Force made just one meaningful foray into the red zone in the half, despite a couple of promising linebreaks from Scott Staniforth and Digby Ione.
John Afoa and Keven Mealamu struck within five minutes of each other to effectively end the contest. The latter’s try was highly contentious, with Ali Williams receiving a new ball from the ball boy, and taking a quick throw to the All Black hooker who ran in as the Force ambled to the lineout. Neither referee Jonathan Kaplan nor his touch judge picked up the incident.
Tony Woodcock then crossed after the siren to secure the all important bonus point that sent the Blues into the semi-final.
By Ryan Vrede
Force – Penalties: Matt Giteau (2)
Blues – Tries: Rudi Wulf, John Afoa, Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock. Conversions: Luke McAlister (2), Penalties: McAlister (3)
90 Comments
4 May 2007, 13:25 pm
what’s the score
4 May 2007, 13:25 pm
Go Force!!
4 May 2007, 13:28 pm
3-3
4 May 2007, 13:29 pm
Has keo been reserructed??
4 May 2007, 13:41 pm
Oi, was that a BIG CRASH or what for this site??
Damn!!
Dull game between Blues & Farce…..
Playing almost right into the Bulls & Guppies hands, so far!!
4 May 2007, 15:08 pm
Sorry folks had some serious issues with the server, it might still wobble – please bare with us.
4 May 2007, 15:08 pm
Blues vidtory means the brumbies have no chance!
aussieboer. com
4 May 2007, 15:09 pm
BLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!!
4 May 2007, 15:13 pm
FLIP the bulls will win against the Reds but I cannot see them going for a 40 pointer and having to travel down to Christchurch. They will engineer a trip down to Durbs to meet the mighty Sharks
4 May 2007, 15:14 pm
THREE of the Blues four tries were scored by front-rowers. Has this EVER happened before in Super Rugby?
Have three tries been scored by frontrowers for any team before in super rugby???
4 May 2007, 15:16 pm
Damnit. The Blues third try should never have been allowed. Lineout taken quickly with a different ball.
That bonus point is bad news for the Sharks and Bulls. You idiot, Kaplan.
4 May 2007, 15:17 pm
Bulle must win by 45 to go above blues and 72 to go above Crusaders(bonus point obviously)
4 May 2007, 15:19 pm
Crusaders lucky to get extra bonus. tele-ref robbed chiefs from a try. THERE WAS DOWNWARD PRESSURE! that would have made a big diffirence on log.
4 May 2007, 15:19 pm
What is Kaplan’s defence on that shocking try? If he didn’t see the ball switch and the linesman said it was fine, what is his official position? Doesn’t he have to take the word of the TJ? I don’t think he’s allowed to refer it to the TMO seeing as it didn’t happen in the goal area. Can anyone explain?
4 May 2007, 15:20 pm
Failing any reasonable defence, I hope Kaplan and his TJ get cited and lose their places on the ref’s panel for the World Cup – that was nothing short of disgraceful, but as usual the ref will be untouchable
4 May 2007, 15:23 pm
Ah brilliant Kaplan once again you South African ref’s F%&k over your own S.A. teams. By allowing that third try Kaplan has almost certainly screwed over the Bulls. What kind of brain **** was that?
4 May 2007, 15:26 pm
I really think that the Bulls can beat the Crusaders in NZ. From what we saw this morning they are very beatable. The The Bulls would come back home to face the Sharks in Durban in the final.
First prize would be to hammer the Reds by 70 points and have the Crusaders travel to Tsawne.
4 May 2007, 15:27 pm
Ahhh Victor, but for that kick right in front of poles 8 weeks ago… Wouldnt you like to have that decision back!!
4 May 2007, 15:27 pm
Recraig # 16 and TheFeather # 14 & 15
I agree. A huge blunder. Bulls don’t dig Kaplan as it is. Now they will loathe him even more. A real pity. To have had the Blues on 41 points and not 42 would’ve helped the Bulls big time. Shocker of a decision.
4 May 2007, 15:29 pm
Kaplans blunder may well have done the bulls a favour guys… Maybe not south african rugby but certainly the bulls.
They would probably rather play a semi in durban then in new zealand…
4 May 2007, 15:33 pm
The match report says the AB’s in the Blues saw them go through a slump. Maybe the rest for the 22 AB’s wasn’t such a bright idea.
4 May 2007, 15:41 pm
Well
Sharkies to just beat the Stormers and the Bulls to beat the Reds by 72 points and whalla we have 2 home semi’s.
4 May 2007, 15:41 pm
Go Stormers go!
4 May 2007, 15:42 pm
So if that try was given to the Chiefs where the ball clearly was grounded and no try was given to the Blues becuese it was a difrent ball the log would have looked very good for SA
4 May 2007, 15:47 pm
I just feel that since the NZ teams are certainly not doing each other any favours in terms of log places – as the Chiefs game proved -why should the Stormers help the Sharks to qualify in any way.
I say go Stormers, it would only be fair if you beat the Sharks, so as to cancel out the Chiefs beating the Crusaders. Else, in a twisted way, the Sharks would merely be reaching top spot on the log thanks to the depth of NZ rugby, seeing as it was the strength of one of the lesser NZ teams that prevented the Crusaders from claiming that spot.
Go Stormers, cancel out this imbalance. And let the Bulls get a home semi…
4 May 2007, 15:47 pm
Crush, agreed
4 May 2007, 15:51 pm
Stamp die Sharks hard stormers! aussieboer. com
4 May 2007, 15:53 pm
Tacitus, you’re talking nonsense.. Crusaders didn’t get that spot because they played like ****. Bulls at the beginning of the year could also have lost to Cheetahs(who at the time had practically no injuries and were VERY good) if they hadn’t played very well. A fixture is a fixture. Never heard such **** lool!
4 May 2007, 15:54 pm
Go the Reds! Help ACT!
4 May 2007, 15:55 pm
#29, The reds are going to get HAMMERED
4 May 2007, 15:55 pm
so the bulls will have to beat the reds by more than 44 points to go past the blues and more than 71 points to go past he saders into 2nd place.
thats asuming the sahrks will beat the stormers to go to first.
cant see the stormers upset the sharks but hey!, the chiefs pulled one on the saders.
in terms of patriotism i’ll shout for the sharks tommorow.
4 May 2007, 15:57 pm
Tacitus, far removed from the normally sensible (mostly) stuff you post here, your number 25 has got to rate as one of the most lopsided and brainless things I have ever read! Imbalance? Are you serious?
It’s not as if the Stormers are planning on doing anyone any favours, well, not like they did for your boys last year!
What has fair got to do with it? Your post smacks of straw-clutching!
4 May 2007, 15:58 pm
Kaplan was watching play from where the Force player kicked the ball.
He clearly asked the Aussie linesman whether he was happy and they used the same ball as he did not see.
The linesman said he was happy and Kaplan told the Force captain he cannot overrule the TJ if he did not see anything.
It was a bad thing to miss, but Kaplan did all the right things – the TJ was elsewhere though and that to me is his responsibility.
Kaplan has to look for late tackles, players in front of kickers etc etc.
His duty is to concentrate what is happening within the four white lines, not outside.
The TMO can only rule on decisions in the in-goal area so they cannot call on him.
4 May 2007, 16:04 pm
Thanks PissAnt, that clears it up – I was thinking along the same lines too. Can someone get cited for that? It was very clearly a shocking decision in the same vein as the unfortunately hapless fellow that cost the Bulls a try last year (was it JC Fortuin?), and he got punished by missing games to get his confidence back. Surely in a game of this magnitude, with so much riding on it should carry the same weight of responsibility? Assuming that the masters of the cover up in Australia even bat an eyelid?
4 May 2007, 16:05 pm
It’s time to allow each team one appeal against a referee’s per match. This could happen during the match with the help of video replays.
Appeals are used successfully in American Football. Think about how many results in rugby would be different with this in place. It would help the referees by taking the pressureoff them, and ensure fairer results.
4 May 2007, 16:06 pm
Touch judges: Deon van Blommestein (South Africa), James Leckie (Australia)
Pissant, that leaves us with a Saffa and an Aussie, I bet you it’s Leckie who made the “mistake”.(I’m joking)
4 May 2007, 16:07 pm
#35, GREAT idea. The players generally know when something wrong has happenend!
4 May 2007, 16:08 pm
“That stretched the Blues to 23-6, and that looked like it would be that as far as their log-points haul for the night was concerned, but they were helped by some shoddy officiating from touch judge James Leaky.
This came when the Blues scored their third try, which went to Keven Mealamu after a quick throw-in from All Black teammate Ali Williams. It was an opportunistic try, but it should never have been scored as the replay showed that Williams had not retrieved the ball that was kicked out, and had thrown in another ball to Mealamu.”
HAHA, told you it had to be the incompetent and STUPID Aussie making the “error”
4 May 2007, 16:09 pm
It’s time to allow each team one appeal against a referee’s decision per match. This could happen during the match with the help of video replays.
Appeals are used successfully in American Football. Think about how many results in rugby would be different with this in place. It would help the referees by taking the pressure off them, and ensure fairer results.
4 May 2007, 16:10 pm
Thanks Piriet Bel. I hope this happens soon. It would be an excellent addition to the game, I think.
4 May 2007, 16:12 pm
It was Leckie who made the blunder.
And yes feather, they do get cited and this one will not go unpunished.
I dont think Leckie is in the WC group but he would have been in **** if he had been I am sure.
It was a seriously bad mistake and I am very pissed off about it to be honest.
Teams (coaches and captain) do write reports after every match as far as I know – what weight they carry is anyone’s guess.
I am dead against a public roasting of ref’s personally, but that being said, I would like O’Brien (IRB ref’s boss) to take serious action against seriously bad blunders.
In the context of the Super 14, this could well cost SA the trophy since I believe no team will beat the Bulls at Loftus given their current form, and if they did not get the bonus point (Blues) the Bulls simply had to win and get one and they would have ended up with a real shout of hosting a semi depending on points difference with the Saders as far as I read the log yesterday.
It would also have meant that even if the Bulls did not get a home semi the Blues would have had to spend 5 weeks on the road going into a semi which is damned difficult.
However it is done and dusted – the Bulls know what they need to do, and they must simply go out and do it now.
They have done it 2 seasons in a row.
The Sharks obviously must also get a win.
4 May 2007, 16:18 pm
all that try meant is the difference between 3rd and 4th on the log for the bulls. if they beat the reds by 71 then they will be second, but that had nothing to do with the blues try.
relax okes, these things happen, it is the sharks fans who should feel bereaved, as we would much rather play the jetlagged blues at home than the bulls, thats for sure.
4 May 2007, 16:20 pm
Kan n mens dan noooooooiit die Aussies vertrou om n job oordentlik te doen nie?
4 May 2007, 16:22 pm
die aussies gaan more die job vir die brumbies doen. aussieboer. com. hul gaan bulle verrras en hul hard stamp!
4 May 2007, 16:22 pm
25. Tacticus you don’t care about justice and honour only that the Bulls get a home semi. By all means let them. It won’t make a difference. Saders will slaughter them even with their “a” team. Sharks on the other hand can easily beat the Saders so all will not be lost.
4 May 2007, 16:26 pm
i agree with taci, no favours, if the sharks want it they must go get it. the pressure is there, if the sharks are to win this comp they must show they can handle it. i think they can.
4 May 2007, 16:31 pm
Bagel, what makes you think the Sharks can beat the Saders if the Bulls cant do it at Loftus?
4 May 2007, 16:36 pm
Bagel,
Son – your team so bad you need to pull the Bulls down to that level?
4 May 2007, 16:38 pm
if the Bulls cant pull off the 70 point win they will want to win by less than 40 and hopefully come fourth. 4th would be better than 3rd as they would end up probably playing the Sharks in Durbs, a better road match than flying to New Zealand, for a semi.
4 May 2007, 16:41 pm
# 25..Tacitus i cant believe that every time u type, **** spews outa ur head and we got to read the filthy stupid stuff u write!!…get a life mate..go to the toilet and pass that stuff out like the rest of us!! gee u full of kak ********!!
4 May 2007, 16:43 pm
Umb…
I was thinking exactly the same thing. If the Sharks win and top the log the bulls I think would rather be 4th than 3rd and so they might well produce quite a boring game against the Reds because they won’t want to win by too much. I think what might happen is they will play flat out at first and see whether it is possible to beat the Reds by 70+, when they realise they can’t they’ll slow down and make sure they don’t win by too much which will be quite boring. If I was a Bull I would much rather play a semi in Durban than in Christchurch.
4 May 2007, 16:44 pm
#25 the imbalance as you say is that the Sharks have won more games than the Saders and don’t lead. Im not sure that bonus points should carry so much weight.
4 May 2007, 16:46 pm
If I was a Bull I would also want the Sharks to win, because as I said above the, a semi against the Sharks is much easier than against either the Blues or Crusaders in New Zealand. If the Sharks lose they will be in 4th spot and the Bulls would have to finish 1st on the log in order to play them which is virtually impossible.
4 May 2007, 16:47 pm
#51 I agree, a flat out first half to check out their chances, then play accordingly in the second.
4 May 2007, 16:48 pm
disgree 16 and 19
agree with 20
for once Kaplan did the Bulls a big favour by letting the Blues get a bonus point.
As things currently stand the Bulls just need to win to get a semi
Assuming the Sharks win, they don’t want to travel to NZ for the semi, so it is better for Bulls to end 4th and play semi in Durbs
They will achieve that if they beat Reds without bonus point or with bonus point (provided they win by no more than 46 points in the latter instance).
So the Bulls can hammer the Reds tomorrow as long as they don’t beat them by more than 46 points. Then off to Durbs we go next week, playing against a Sharks team that has to go all out against the Stormers
apart from first or second on the log and getting a home semi, ending fourth is by far the better option for the Bulls
4 May 2007, 16:48 pm
Have I got this right?
Likely outcome with a Sharks and Bulls win tommorrow:
Sharks play Bulls in Natal? 1st vs 4th?
Saders play Blues in Jade? 2nd vs 3rd?
If Sharks win, then Kiwi side goes to Shark tank
If Bulls win and Saders win, Bulls go to Jade?
4 May 2007, 16:48 pm
#47 They beat the Crusaders once before.
4 May 2007, 16:53 pm
Even though it was 27-26 at home, the Crusaders let it slip. And should never have lost. The Sharks therefore should never have one, yet they did. I wouldnt say the Saders are playing any better now that they have their AB’s back. So home or away, the Sharks have a pretty good shot at it.
4 May 2007, 16:53 pm
#56
That’s why South Africa’s best chance of a side winning the competition is if the Sharks win their semi. The Bulls going to Jade, well we all know what will happen, history will repeat itself.
4 May 2007, 17:10 pm
#59- ideally, the Bulls will beat the REds by 44 and the Sharks win too. Then the bulls can go soften the Saders up for the Sharks in a final at Kings park.
Nett result if all that happened – Springbok rugby wins!
4 May 2007, 17:14 pm
And for SA rugby to win, the Stormers have to lay low tomorrow.
4 May 2007, 17:14 pm
Another good point, whoever plays the bulls in the semis is going to be softened up. Maybe it will be good for the bulls to go make right for last year. Besides the Crusaders aren’t looking that hot at the moment.
4 May 2007, 17:15 pm
#61
Agreed, but they are good at that. Remember how they laid low for the bulls last year in the final round.
4 May 2007, 17:21 pm
Why oh why did the Bulls loose against the Force in the third round? If Vic only chose to kick for the posts and win the Force match first, they could have ended top of the log!
4 May 2007, 17:29 pm
Tjorts
You’re forgetting that the Sharks are going to end top of the log and that extra point wouldn’t have been enough for the Bulls. They would have finished second though.
4 May 2007, 17:32 pm
If you wanna be a champion go over and play the Saders and beat them, they are not super humans and the Chiefs showed how-passion
4 May 2007, 17:36 pm
Hobbo, the Sharks first have to beat the Stormers, and the Stormers have kind of started to gel lately. A Sharks win tomorrow is not a given and I think the Stormers may just do to the Sharks what the Chiefs did to the Saders. The Reds may pull the upset of the tournament, but it is highly unlikely given the Bulls present form.
4 May 2007, 17:48 pm
Dont forget, the sharks have not been in a semi in super rugby for a long time. At CC level they could not go further than the semi’s for a long time. They do not have the mental strenght and crack under pressure. The Bulls are our best chance. In fact an ideal situation for the Bulls would be Bulls and Sharks semi.They can take that and give it all to win the final away.
4 May 2007, 17:50 pm
Also don’t forget, the bulls have never won a semi, the sharks have done that twice.
4 May 2007, 17:51 pm
FLIP the bulls will win against the Reds but I cannot see them going for a 40 pointer and having to travel down to Christchurch. They will engineer a trip down to Durbs to meet the mighty Sharks
Comment by side_show_bob : May 4, 2007 @ 3:13 pm
Spot on dude, or beat the Reds by 71. We know they can do it. The sharks are the easy beats though.
4 May 2007, 18:06 pm
“The sharks are the easy beats though”
What are you smoking buddy. If anyone is an easy beat at the moment I would say its the Jaded Blues.
4 May 2007, 18:45 pm
the bull can score more tries they have players with more meat.
4 May 2007, 19:14 pm
Man oh man, Kaplan has a gift to spoil any game he officiates.
I hope this is the last time we see him in this year’s tournament.
4 May 2007, 21:27 pm
#6 — “Bare with us”? Put your clothes back on, fellas. You’re frightening the computers.
(The things one has to bear these days, hey?)
4 May 2007, 21:29 pm
#72 — Pity that Bull meat is mostly located between their ears, hey?
4 May 2007, 21:34 pm
Hows the Crusade going this morning tackles?
4 May 2007, 23:19 pm
71: Hobo: The blues earned a fine win in Perth, be careful about you assess these guys at the moment, nothing more embarrassing for an SA to talk his team up and then come crashing down.
This is the business end of a tournament, and as such, winning, be it ugly or not, is the key point.
The sharks should not have left their fate to others either, they should have wrapped this up against the Chiefs a couple of weeks ago, that game showed how dynamic they are not, and how a team who has pure pace out wide can cut them to ribbons.
Additionally, the Bulls may have played their best game last week – how often have you seen teams perform at the same level consistently – very few is the answer.
Be confident sure, but be be careful and humble.
5 May 2007, 02:09 am
Now lets summmerise:
Chiefs over Saders——Perfect.
Blues over Force…….Perfect.
Now go the Stormers, All NZ wish you well. Luke the Halfling to score 3 tries today.
5 May 2007, 03:40 am
Tackles – spell-check on cane please!
5 May 2007, 03:45 am
45 Sharks to easily beat the Crusaders – didn’t the Chiefs do that to the Sharks? The Sharks only beat the Crusaders in the last minutes in Durban so I doubt that they would get away with twice – especially now the Crusaders have lost 2 in a row.
Whether Reds can show any pride remains to be seen – they have been **** nearly all season and as for The Stormers can they do a Chiefs remains to be seen.
5 May 2007, 05:32 am
what happened to this site yesterday?
5 May 2007, 06:45 am
It went Zim Dollar.
5 May 2007, 07:14 am
morning people, an exciting day! up early for a surf, then 3 games in a row from 3pm, concluding a great super 14 round robin. what more could u ask for?
5 May 2007, 07:28 am
morning Kners – eishh that surfthingie sounds great!
5 May 2007, 07:36 am
#78 cane…u missed out one more there
reds to do one over bulls….super super perfect!
5 May 2007, 07:52 am
if the Crusaders end up going to Durban, I’d back them by 12 points. If the Blues go there, 8.
Bulls would beat the Blues again if they had to play but would lose against the Crusaders
just my zim dollars worth
5 May 2007, 08:25 am
This has all been messed up by the Blues getting a bonus point. Two Australian teams conspiring!!!
5 May 2007, 10:06 am
damn waratahs are upsetting tanas farewell too, …
so the brumbies got the bonus, need the reds to strike a light for them, can’t see it
love to see the Stormers canter home though, can’t see it mind you.
5 May 2007, 10:09 am
can’t see much can I
more beer please
5 May 2007, 13:49 pm
Great win to the Blues I hope you guys can go one step more make the final then your in with a chance I believe all the teams are so close and any team on their day can beat who ever and Home advantage is a bonus which I guess the Blues wont have, but you made the playoffs which is a very good season.GO THE BLUES
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