The conservative nature of the opening round of fixtures in the Super 14 suggests that we are in for a fascinating tournament. Not one bonus point for four tries was recorded in the seven games, but there were two for defeated sides finishing within a converted try of the winners. Indeed, it would not be outrageous to suggest that all seven games might have finished that way instead of just two.
The Stormers lost 26-9 to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, but the Cape side’s coach, Kobus van der Merwe, was eager to point out that it was just 12-9 with 15 minutes to go. The Lions, Crusaders and Hurricanes all lost by nine points and the Bulls were denied a bonus point by a late try from JP Pietersen that gave the Sharks a rather flattering 17-3 win in Durban.
If you can’t win pretty, win ugly goes the rather ungrammatical adage, and that was the case with both local derbies. The handling by both sides in Durban was way too poor to be explained away by humidity. Sharks coach Dick Muir admitted that his team had been training in just those conditions and his captain, John Smit, admitted that his lean and hungry pre-season appearance was due in no small part to that fact.
There is never an excuse for a winger to drop a pass. Yet the incumbent Springbok wings, Bryan Habana and Akona Ndungane, did exactly that.
Ndungane’s error happened in the first minute with the try line beneath his diving body. It presaged a period of Bulls pressure that failed to register on the scoreboard. During the first half the visitors routinely ignored penalty kicks at the posts in order to set up attacking line-outs. Those squandered opportunities meant that not enough pressure was built and consequently, the schizophrenic Sharks began to believe in themselves.
Habana’s error came in the last five minutes and hinted at a rather more serious malaise. With his side trailing by 14 and a bonus point at stake, Habana received a chest-high pass on his own 10-metre line with one defender to beat. The Habana of two years ago would have tucked the ball under his arm, screamed past the defender and scored under the posts.
The 2007 version let the ball squeeze under his armpit and into touch. As he put the brakes on Habana allowed himself a rueful smile. It is invidious to read too much into body language, but this was not the reaction of a man committed to the cause. Nor was it the only example of the day. Emerging from the tunnel an hour before the match, Habana headed left instead of right, head down, listening to his Walkman, alone with his inner thoughts.
For the best part of two years Habana was the greatest finisher in the South African game. He seemed to have the ability to turn every half chance into points. The predator’s instinct appears to have deserted him.
By contrast, the Sharks’ left wing, JP Pietersen ran himself into position to receive the two scoring passes that mattered, one from Ryan Kankowski, the other from Percy Montgomery.
Pietersen took both passes with aplomb and throughout the game made the difficult things look easy. Sadly, he also made the easy things look difficult. One on one with the game to be won he chose to kick, while on another occasion Montgomery elected to kick for touch from the narrowest of angles inside his own 22, with Pietersen unmarked on his inside.
Implicit in Montgomery’s decision was the knowledge that Pietersen’s kicking game has not moved on from the days when he was still a lock forward in youth rugby. This must change or he will remain an unfulfilled talent. The melancholy thing is that, unfulfilled or not, he clearly derives far more pleasure from the game than his Springbok colleague, Habana.
It’s easy to smile when you’re winning, but the grim demeanour of the Bulls and Stormers highlighted the enjoyment felt by the Sharks and Cheetahs.
Partly this is due to squads filled with youngsters and players originally from small unions happy to be in the big show. But it is also the case that rugby is far too important to the people of Pretoria and Cape Town.