Israel Folau of the Waratahs dodges the Lions' Courtnall Skosan and Lionel Mapoe.
Super Rugby is a marathon, not a sprint, but even so there are a few teams who have to look to their laurels as we approach week three of the competition. The Highlanders, champions in 2015 and semifinalists last year, are winless after two games, as are the Bulls and the Brumbies.
The latter looked like grabbing two points for a draw against the Sharks in Canberra last week, but succumbed to an inspired passage of play by a few of the gifted youngsters in the visitors’ line-up after the hooter had sounded.
At the other end of the scale there are five unbeaten sides, although only the Hurricanes, the defending champions, and the Chiefs have a full house of 10 points. The Lions grabbed a bonus point with a sparkling display against the Waratahs last week, but the Stormers and the Crusaders are two points off the pace despite starting with two wins apiece.
It is vital for the Stormers to notch up bonus points wherever they can, because they have to face the New Zealand sides in log play this year. That is what makes the competition so patently unfair, of course. The winless Bulls and the Cheetahs are in the same boat, but the Lions and the Sharks could each, in theory, win the title this year without meeting a Kiwi side at all. Go figure.
It is more vital than ever that teams with title ambitions pick up the full five log points against weak opposition. The Hurricanes have done exactly that, scoring 83 points against the Sunwolves and 71 against the Rebels. As a statement of intent, it is fairly comprehensive.
This week the Stormers play the Kings in Port Elizabeth and they need to take a leaf out of the Hurricanes’ book. The Kings beat the Sunwolves in Singapore last week, but it is quite possible that they will be the only team they beat this year. Accordingly, there is no room for sentiment.
And despite the fact that they don’t get to play in the weaker Australian pool, the draw has been kind to the Stormers in other ways. They have a bye next week and don’t fly to New Zealand until the third week in April. By then they could have half a dozen wins under their belt – “could” being the operative word.
The Stormers have a reputation as underachievers in Super Rugby, despite the fact that they have finished top of the combined log on more than one occasion. In their good years they have had a habit of building momentum, which rarely survives the knockout stages.
Right now, it is the Lions who look the likeliest South African contenders. Last year’s beaten finalists survived a scare against the Cheetahs, before producing the kind of rampaging performance against the Waratahs last week that made them everyone’s darlings in 2016.
And it is germane to think of last year this week, as the Lions have hopped over to Argentina to visit their Waterloo. Against the Jaguares in the final fixture of log play last year, Lions coach Johan Ackermann selected his B side. They lost, failed to secure a bonus point and finished second instead of first on the combined log.
History is repeating itself to an extent. Ackermann has left several key players behind and, with the Jaguares looking a better unit this year than last, it would be no surprise to see the Lions’ unbeaten run come to an end. At this early stage of the tournament, however, there is ample time to recover.
Perhaps the key game this week, from a South African perspective, takes place in Durban. The Sharks return with five points from two games in Australia, with a few months of only local travel ahead of them, together with eight home games. In a few weeks’ time it will therefore be possible to gauge exactly how serious a contender the team is.
Undoubtedly, they will think they might have done better in Australia. The two-point defeat against the Reds could just as easily have been a win. On the other hand, the last-minute win against the Brumbies could have been a draw or possibly a loss, so no one ought to be crying over spilt milk.
Instead, they should be focusing on emulating the Lions in exploiting a porous Waratahs defence at Kings Park. This is not a vintage Sharks squad – there are too few settled units in key areas for that – but it is well led by the calm and dignified Pat Lambie and has a number of youngsters who may fill the gaps left by a litany of departed greats.
Principal among those youngsters is Curwin Bosch, the fullback/flyhalf from the Eastern Cape. Bosch had his pick of provinces at the conclusion of his school career, but chose the Sharks because he judged his chance might come sooner there than elsewhere. He was right and both parties have reason to smile.