ANDY CAPOSTAGNO, Johannesburg | Monday 1.00pm.
THE lessons to be learned from the fourth round of the Super 12 were that South African rugby is not yet a lost cause and that the ACT Brumbies are a better side than even a 50 point drubbing of the Sharks would suggest.
After round three when a draw between the Stormers and the Bulls meant that no South African team won a match, the Cats restored some battered pride by nearly beating the Highlanders in Dunedin.
Returning to the ground he graced as a player and a coach, Cats coach Laurie Mains saw his team come within two points of beating the tournament favourites. Hennie le Roux’s move from flyhalf to centre unlocked the running talents of his midfield partner Grant Esterhuizen and the Cats finally showed a cutting edge behind the scrum despite going down 33-31.
A day later the Sharks were so much better than the Waratahs at the Sydney Football Stadium that a winning score of 26-19 hardly did them enough credit. Coach Hugh Reece-Edwards changed his half back combination and found that the hard work of the forwards was at last rewarded.
The Sharks, despite only picking up five points in four matches on tour, are in a good position with a bye this weekend followed by the Bulls in Pretoria and then six successive home games.
But the most significant result of the weekend was at Newlands where the gauntlet was thrown down to the rest of the teams in the competition by the Brumbies. Inspired by a scrumhalf master class from George Gregan, the Brumbies beat the Stormers 29-15 to win their first game ever in South Africa.
A nerveless display produced four high quality tries and a key lesson that needs to be learned by South African teams; the man who is on his feet is in the game. On the basis of the first four rounds the final should be contested by the Brumbies and the Highlanders, but there is a long way to go yet.