Review and Preview of Super 14 Final

Final Review - So the Super 14 final has come and gone and although I would have liked the Stormers to have won the competition, I must admit the team that beat them, The Bulls, are in a class of their own. They really dominated up front, kept possession superbly and in Fourie Du Preez they had the best scrumhalf in world rugby dominating the whole game.

Yes the final result showed the Stormers losing by not so many but ultimately the game was won and lost in the first half. Francois Hougaard scored a rather easy looking but brilliant try and once that ball was dotted down, there was only going to be one winner.

Hopefully the Stormers will learn from the experience of a first super rugby final, and with the additions of Jean De Villiers and CJ Van Der Linde who knows next year might be the Stormers year. If not I can only see the Bulls continuing their remarkable run of being the best team in the southern hemisphere.

Final Preview - What a day to be at Newlands. The atmosphere was simply electric as the Stormers hosted the Waratahs in their first home semi final in 11 years. The game started off slowly as is expected with matches of this significance but it took a moment of magic to swing the game ultimately in his teams direction. Juan De Jongh beat up to four defenders with firstly a beautiful step before secondly showing great speed and ability to finish off a move that left Newlands rocking! From there on it was virtually one way traffic and we all now look forward to the final this week against the Bulls at the Orlando stadium.

As for the Bulls, they were impressive against the Crusaders in their semi final. The likes of Fourie Du Preez and Pierre Spies looked in good form and the Crusaders were just no match for them on the day.

As for the final, Its a difficult one to call. The Bulls are the current champions and have shown to be the best team in this competition for the past few seasons. They boast players with experience of having won the Super 14 before and also Currie Cups, Tri Nations and a World Cup for good measure. They will be at home too, although the 36500 capacity of the Orlando stadium is not exactly as daunting as going to 50000 screaming fans at Loftus, their usual home. That is where the Stormers will feel they have a chance. Their defence this year as been by far the best in the competition and they will need to live up to that billing to swing things in their favour. The Stormers might not boast the type of experience with which the Bulls can call on, but they to have a young team on an upward curve. Many of this team will go on to represent the Springboks, as is evidence with the call ups of Gio Aplon, Francois Louw, Andries Bekker and De Jongh. Add to that the experience of Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie and it really does set things up for a fantastic final hopefully. Habana of course only recently joined the Stormers from the Bulls so that adds another factor to build up of this game. Whatever happens, expect Schalk Burger and Victor Matfield to lead by example though.

Where will the battle be won or lost? Personally I feel its going to come down to Bekker vs Matfield, Devenage vs Du Preez, Pietersen vs Kirschner and Spies vs Vermeulen. I feel the Bulls will edge it slightly, but I'll be over the moon if I was proved wrong!