Super 14 rookie Joe Pietersen scored two tries to help the Stormers to a hard-fought 28-22 win over the Cheetahs in a South African derby here on Saturday.

Getting an opportunity in the absence of injured Springbok Conrad Jantjes, Pietersen scored either side of halftime to ensure the Stormers finished a disappointing season on a high.

The four points earned mean the Stormers end their season in 10th position with 27 points, while the Cheetahs, winners on just two occasions this year, finish bottom.

The Cheetahs dominated the early exchanges and it came as no surprise when scrum-half Sarel Pretorius, thanks to hard work by centres Meyer Bosman and Corne Uys, scored a try after only five minutes.

Fly-half Naas Olivier added the conversion to give his side a deserved 7-0 lead but, impressive though the hosts were in the opening 10 minutes, they struggled to make much of an impact over the next half hour.

On the 15-minute mark, Cheetahs flanker Juan Smith and hooker Adriaan Strauss lost possession on the halfway line, allowing the Stormers to grab the ball and launch a telling counter-attack.

Outside centre Dylan Des Fountain had the simplest of runs for his team’s opening try and the extra points were added by flyhalf Willem de Waal.

The Stormers No.10 soon struck a further three points via a penalty, but just a minute before the interval the Cheetahs were level at 10-10 after a penalty by Olivier.

But it would be the visitors who went into the change-rooms in the ascendancy when fullback Pietersen, who beat the tackle attempt of Jongi Nokwe, scored a try converted by De Waal after the hooter sounded.

Two further De Waal penalties and a second try by Pietersen inside the first 20 minutes of the second stanza saw the Stormers hold a commanding 28-10 lead.

Cheetahs never gave up and enjoyed some good periods in the final quarter, with flanker Heinrich Brussow coming close to getting his side back into the contest, but his lunge to the tryline in the 68th minute was deemed to be short by the television match official.

But with five minutes left Cheetahs got their second try, scored from close range by replacement forward Nico Breedt. Olivier converted from in front of the posts and in the dying moments lock David de Villiers went over for his team’s third try to earn the home team a bonus point.

STORMERS 28 (Joe Pietersen 2, Dylan Des Fountain tries Willem de Waal 2 cons 3 pens) bt CHEETAHS 22 (Nico Breedt, David de Villiers, Sarel Pretorius tries Naas Olivier 2 cons pen) at Vodacom Park. Referee: Garratt Williamson (NZL).
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A point away from the playoffs, a win away from a home semifinal – the rewards could hardly be greater for the Chiefs when they take on the Brumbies in Hamilton tonight.

But, with just one semifinal appearance in 13 previous seasons to their name, the consequences of failure are bordering on the unthinkable.

“This is a make-or-break game for us,” coach Ian Foster said.

“We are stoked to be in the position we are in right now, what more could we ask for than to be in with a chance of making the playoffs and having a home game?”

Well, actually winning and earning that home final, a long-suffering Chiefs follower may well answer.

It should happen.

Having strung together eight wins in nine matches to turn around a season that began with three straight losses, the Chiefs are just 80 minutes away from one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Super rugby history.

Only one team, the 2005 Bulls, have started a season 0-3 and gone on to make the post-season. To at least match that effort the Chiefs require a solitary bonus point. If they don’t garner at least that from tonight’s match, it will be the first time this season. Their biggest margin of defeat came in the 22-15 third-round stumble against the Sharks – and even that was a match they should have won.

The Chiefs, then, have not been blown away this season. But that is something the Brumbies must accomplish if they are to stay alive. They need to win by more than seven and score four tries. They will have to attack, but Foster said he hadn’t factored that into his game plan.

“One of the keys is probably not to spend too much time looking at their motivation and their incentives but to simplify it down to what we want to get out of it.

“We’ve very much got to focus on ourselves.”

At full strength thanks to the return of halfback Brendon Leonard and bench back Dwayne Sweeney, the Chiefs will be hoping to get more out of star wingers Sitiveni Sivivatu and Lelia Masaga. The pair returned last week after lengthy layoffs, but both were off the pace.

With the Brumbies having dismantled the Blues’ scrum in Canberra last week, Foster is expecting a stern challenge at set-piece time.

“That was probably the focus of the Hurricanes [last week] too. They certainly tried to stop our ball supply by doing that and they got some reward. The Brumbies scrummed really well against the Blues so I’m sure they’ll try to get some dominance in that area.

“It is clearly where teams feel they have to dominate us. The good thing is they are finding it harder and harder to do.”

After running in five second-half tries in the space of 20 minutes against the Blues to keep their season alive, the Brumbies travel to Hamilton in buoyant mood.
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SYDNEY – South Africa’s threat to defect to northern hemisphere competitions remains a bluff, says Australian Rugby Union (ARU) chief executive John O’Neill, as the Sanzar nations try to thrash out a Super rugby solution in Dublin this week.

After negotiations which O’Neill said had dragged on for almost a year, he will join New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) chief executive Steve Tew and South African officials on Friday in a bid to resolve the impasse which has left a proposed Super 15 in limbo.

Australia and New Zealand have discussed an alternative transtasman competition for 2011, while South Africa has said it intends to head north if its demands are not met.

“That’s been a long-held bluff, in my view. From all the enquiries we’ve made, we believe there isn’t an exit for them in the north,” O’Neill told Sydney radio station 2KY today.

“What has happened is Australia and New Zealand, out of pure frustration, have worked on a trans-Tasman competition which does work, with five or six teams from Australia and five or six from New Zealand.

“It’s a Super 10 or Super 12, played over two rounds, and bringing in Japan in a couple of years time. It’s a pretty elegant solution.

“The roles have changed in that we have a plan B and I’m not sure South Africa do.”

A major sticking point remained South Africa’s refusal to shift its domestic Currie Cup competition in the calendar, meaning Super rugby would start in February and cover a similar time frame to its current schedule.

Australia and New Zealand want the extended three-conference Super 15 competition to run from March to August, with the Tri-Nations tests to follow.

O’Neill also objected to South Africa pushing for a sixth team, which would play in the Australian conference.

He said the 15th team should come from Australia, with Melbourne and Gold Coast contenders, and there was potential for it to be a joint venture franchise with New Zealand.

“On a couple of occasions we thought we’d had an agreement but the South Africans have changed their minds. They’re very unpredictable,” O’Neill said.

“We don’t want South Africa to drop out of Super rugby, we want them to stay in, but the conditions they’re attaching to their participation are, in our view, unreasonable.”

The Sanzar board meeting needs to come up with a 2011 competition proposal for a new broadcasting deal to News Ltd and SuperSport by June 30.

O’Neill said Australia was in the most competitive football market in the world, including the Australian Football League, National Rugby League and A-League soccer, and a 24-week Super competition followed by Tri-Nations tests was a “compelling product”.

The Dublin meeting will also dovetail with the International Rugby Board’s rules forum to decide how many of the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) will be adopted.

O’Neill was confident most of the Super 14 ELVs would be approved, but not the most controversial one.

“We’re basically going to get up on 10 out of 13 (ELVs) but we’ve lost out on the sanctions, the short arm (free kick) versus the long arm (penalty).

“Those votes will go along party lines. England, Ireland and Wales never even trialled those ELVs so the likelihood of them voting for them was never going to happen.

“It’s time to move on, just settle on one set of laws.”

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South Africa full-back Conrad Jantjes will miss this summer’s Test series against the British and Irish Lions after breaking his leg.

Jantjes, 29, suffered the injury in a collision with Liam Messam 10 minutes into the Stormers’ Super 14 defeat to the Chiefs at Newlands on Saturday.

Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed the injury had ended Jantjes’ Lions hopes.

“It is really serious. He is going to be out for a long time,” said Erasmus.

“His leg is broken. I don’t know how serious the break is, but it seemed to me the leg was turned the wrong way round, so it is really serious.

“I just hope he can get healthy as soon as possible. It is bad for him. His Lions tour is gone. It is sad for him and a massive setback for us.”

The injury problems are building for South Africa coach Pieter de Villiers.

Schalk Burger also departed the action in the first half against the Chiefs with a calf problem while centres Jean de Villiers and Adrian Jacobs both missed the weekend’s Super 14 action because of injury.

The Springboks are already without Bath fly-half Butch James, who has damaged knee ligaments.

The Lions fly to South Africa on May 24 with the first fixture against a Highveld XV on May 30. The first Test against South Africa is in Durban on June 20.
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Should the Blues have played on?

The Albany blackout on Saturday night, that saw the Blues season all but fizzle out, of course wasn’t the first time the North Shore has fell victim to a power shortage.

The Breakers endured a similar fate in their January 15th regular season match against the Townsville Crocodiles at the North Shore Event Centre.

But hey, at least they had a contingency plan: a back-up generator restored the lighting to 50% and the scoreboard was taken back to the old school – manually.

The Breakers went on to win this match and maybe, in retrospect, the Blues may have wished they played on too.

Referee Vinny Munro had in fact asked the captains if they wanted to play on. They did so for a couple of minutes before Blues skipper Justin Collins decided things could turn farcical, with his team trailing 3-0 in the fifth minute.

What was farcical was the final result and if the Blues had decided to play on, in lighting conditions that were better than most Auckland club trainings, the would have had a distinct advantage: the Blues in blue would have been like ninjas in the night!

John Mitchell’s new found faith?

Burning Questions found it hilarious when Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper said, after escaping with a fortuitous win in Perth, that the Force would make the play-offs.

But this column has decided to quickly and politely retract our laughter now that we’ve learnt that the Force have THE Gods smiling on them.

John Mitchell has had a difficult time in WA of late and so we think it’s understandable that he has asked for some assistance from above and we wish him well in his new found faith.

Are Weepu’s All Black chances slipping away?

As Piri contemplates another night on the Hurricanes bench he may take some solace knowing that Graham Henry has basically assured his All Black retention.

In an interview with Andrew Saville this week, Henry said that Weepu is highly valued member of the All Blacks and as an impact halfback – in other words bench man – there are not many, if any, that can compare.

Weepu’s desire for the starting All Black halfback spot is well documented but it seems he has fell victim, as many players have – think Isaia Toeava – to his new found versatility.

MVP round 11?

Okay the Blues may have seem disinterested but there is little doubt that the Reds’ Berrick Barnes was a class above.

This guy can play and at only 22-years of age the best is still to come.

Dingo Deans, an avid supporter of Barnes, will be rubbing his hands with glee knowing he has probably the best 10-12 combo in world rugby.

Clash of the round?

While the Blues v Hurricanes pre-match sparring has rightfully stole much of the spotlight Burning Questions must admit that we are looking forward to another clash a little bit more.

On Sunday morning the two most damaging loose-forwards in the game, Sione Lauaki and Schalk Burger, go head-to-head.

Burger has talked up Lauaki’s game ahead of the clash – probably the last thing he needs – but if the two heavyweights collide, Cape Town could experience its biggest earthquake since 1969.

Oh no, another Campese?

The nephew of the great David Campese, Terry, is reputedly being chased by the ACT Brumbies.

The Canberra Raiders star five-eighth and NSW State of Origin hopeful has been in the form of his life since making his debut for the Kangaroos at last year’s Rugby League World Cup.

The 24-year-old is contracted to the Raiders until the end of 2010 but the Brumbies and a number of other clubs, from either code, are flooding his agent with offers.

Campese though says he is intent on staying in Canberra – a great double bluff if you are one to read between the lines.

Still the butt of all jokes?

Amazing what a couple of wins does for the confidence.

The Cheetahs, fresh of an upset win over the defending champions, have decided to ridicule everyone’s favourite whipping-boys, the Waratahs.

The Cheetahs have told the Daily Telegraph that the only Tah they feel remotely threatened by is Lachie Turner.

They have the rubbished the rest of their backline and Burning Questions applauds the bottom-of-the-table Cheetahs for adding some spice into a match that would otherwise be about tempting as a bout of H1N1.

What are your burning questions? Feel free to comment below.

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STUFF South Africa. Australia and New Zealand are prepared to go it alone with a trans-Tasman rugby series that would guarantee nine Reds games a year at Suncorp Stadium.

TV broadcasters have already given a tick to the contingency plan that would create a home-and-away, trans-Tasman Super 10 series and deconstruct Super rugby as we know it.

D-Day is shaping as a May 14 meeting in Dublin where the impasse between South Africa and their trans-Tasman rugby partners in SANZAR must be resolved if Super 15 expansion plans from 2011 are to be presented to broadcasters for a new deal by June 30.

The trans-Tasman solution has only been worked up by Australian Rugby Union supremo John O’Neill and Kiwi counterpart Steve Tew as a fallback position but it is a serious one.

“We didn’t start this with it as a preferred option but when we’ve looked at it, and discussed with our broadcast advisers across Australia and NZ, they find it quite attractive,” O’Neill said yesterday.

“There are currently five NZ teams and four Australian teams playing in Super rugby. You can add one more or add three more and have a Super 10 or Super 12. Down the track you could have two teams based in Japan. It is time-zone friendly and played over two rounds, there is an abundance of local derbies.

“You could see a 3.30pm-5.30-7.30-9.30 smorgasbord of rugby on a Saturday.”

O’Neill yesterday very publicly showed the South Africans a Plan B but he was also at pains to say “our ambition absolutely and firmly is to keep South Africa in”.

O’Neill and Tew have already offered to trim three weeks from the Super 15 season model to ease South African angst over encroachment on their Currie Cup with its rich TV deal.

O’Neill and Tew said the South African push for their sides to start Super 15 derbys in February, two weeks ahead of the rest of the competition, so they can break in June for Tests was “unacceptable”.

The trans-Tasman view is of split-rounds and midweek Tests through June.

“I don’t think South Africa want to leave the joint venture, they just want it to be on their terms,” O’Neill said.

The other sticking point is South Africa’s insistence on a sixth team, the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth, rather than a fifth Australian side.

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Andries Bekker has been ruled out for the Stormers ahead of Saturday’s Super 14 clash against the Chiefs at Newlands.

The South Africa lock, who was a key figure in the Cape Town side’s 18-11 victory over the Highlanders in Dunedin last week, has a shoulder injury and coach Rassie Erasmus has opted not to risk him against the New Zealanders.

The absence of Bekker, replaced by Hilton Lobberts, is one of two changes to the starting XV, with the other seeing Tonderai Chavhanga come in for the injured Gcobani Bobo (ankle).

Erasmus revealed that he was considering delaying his decision on Bekker until Friday, but eventually changed his mind.

“We might have waited until Friday, and Andries’ injury is not nearly as bad as we feared,” he said.

“But the problem with rib injuries is that they take a long time for the bruising and pain to go away so we thought it better to give him another week to recover.”

Reflecting on last week’s win at the Highlanders, Erasmus added: “Considering where we were and what we had been through together on tour it was amazing to see the way the guys stood up, the commitment and the guts that they showed.

“It might not have been a great all-round rugby performance, but the game told us a lot about the heart of the players and their willingness to play for one another.”

The Stormers are currently 11th on the Super 14 table, but still have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the semi-final if they win all three of their remaining games.

Team: Conrad Jantjes; Tonderai Chavhanga, Dylan des Fountain, Peter Grant, Sireli Naqelevuki; Willem de Waal, Dewaldt Duvenage; Luke Watson, Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Burger, AJ Venter, Hilton Lobberts, Brok Harris, Tiaan Liebenberg, JD Moller.

Replacements: Schalk Brits, Wicus Blaauw, Martin Muller, Pieter Louw, Ricky Januarie, Morgan Newman, Tiger Bax.
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Springbok star Ruan Pienaar looks set to return to action this weekend.
The 25-year-old has been sidelined for six weeks after damaging knee ligaments in the Sharks’ Super 14 loss to the Reds in mid-March.
The former scrum-half cum wing was converted to outside-half by Springbok head coach Peter de Villiers last autumn and is expected to wear the No10 shirt against the Lions this summer.

Pienaar has been running on his own for the last fortnight but his possible return in Saturday’s clash with the Highlanders will depend on how he fares in team training and contact sessions during the remainder of the week.

The news comes as a huge boost to de Villiers who saw his country’s 2007 World Cup winning fly-half Butch James ruled out of this summer’s Lions tour with a serious knee injury.

Without James as an option for the Boks’ fly-half role, de Villiers would likely turn to Pienaar’s maverick Sharks team-mate Francois Steyn or the more consistent but less exciting Willem de Waal, Peter Grant or Morne Steyn if his star man fails to recapture his form on his return to competitive action.

Bok fans, and indeed Sharks supporters who have seen their team slip to fourth in the Super 14 standings without their favoured No10, will be hoping Pienaar simply fits back into proceedings effortlessly as the season starts to reach boiling point.
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THE South African Rugby Union (Saru) has named 38 players as part of its National Women’s High Performance Squad.

The aim behind this initiative is to ensure that the selected squad receives the necessary assistance ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup next year in England.

Saru also confirmed the group will attend the first high performance training camp from May 8 to 10 in Cape Town, where players will undergo extensive medical and fitness assessments.

The squad is: Yolanda Meiring, Onnica Moaga, Cindy Can’t, Ilse van Staden, Nicolene Lubbe (Blue Bulls); Natasha Hofmeester, Cherne Roberts (Boland) Portia Jonga, Ziyande Tywaleni, Mandisa Williams, Fundiswa Plaatjie (Border) Cebisa Kula, Lamla Momoti, Saloma Booysen, Zandile Nojoko, Marie-Lee Erasmus, Lorinda Brown, Phumeza Gadu, Zenay Jordaan, Charmaine Kayser, Ramona Brown, Namhla Siyolo, Nomathamsanqa Faleni (Eastern Province) Matshidiso Bojozi (Falcons) Michelle Kona, Belinda Etie, Marilize Jordaan (Free State) Nombulelo Mayongo (Griffons) Nelisiwe Cele, Dolly Mavumengwana, Wendy Khumalo, Zinhle Ndawonde, Claudia Thompson, Lusanda Mtiya (KwaZulu- Natal) Aimee Barrett, Joelene Wehr, Nadine Barnard, Nosipho Poswa (Western Province).
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The British and Irish Lions aim to make sure they at least match the power threat of world champions South Africa after selecting a group of forwards branded “beasts” by scrum coach Graham Rowntree.

It was noticeable how several members of the backroom staff, from head coach Ian McGeechan down, appeared to define Tuesday’s squad announcement in terms of trying to nullify the assets of the Springboks, rather than talking up the qualities of the players chosen just in themselves.

South Africa, historically one of rugby union’s most successful nations, have long been renowned for their imposing forwards.

Indeed it was a desire not to be physically dominated that saw the Lions, under the captaincy of legendary Ireland lock Willie John McBride, develop the inafmous “99″ call in South Africa in 1974 – the first time they won a series against the Springboks.

Whenever the call of “99″ was raised all Lions players were expected to attack their nearest opponent on the grounds the referee would not be able to send off the entire team.

McGeechan, a centre on that unbeaten tour, made sure he had a similarly commanding figure as a captain in Martin Johnson when, in 1997, he coached the Lions to a 2-1 Test series victory over the Springboks.

In opting for Ireland lock Paul O’Connell as his captain this time around, McGeechan is obviously hoping the tactic holds good for a third tour.

“We have picked beasts for this tour,” said Rowntree of a squad featuring O’Connell, England veteran Simon Shaw and Ireland No 8 Jamie Heaslip.

“South Africa have the biggest pack on the planet and our selection reflects that,” said Rowntree.

On both the 1974 and 1997 tours, the Lions had the backs to take advantage of their forward power with Wales half-backs Gareth Edwards and Phil Bennett calling the shots on the former and the likes of England duo Matt Dawson and Jeremy Guscott a major influence on the latter.

Doubts remain about just how much guile the Lions have behind the scrum but they certainly have pace.

Wales’s Leigh Halfpenny and England’s Ugo Monye, two players who only made their Test debuts in November, could find themselves as the Lions’ first-choice wings if Shane Williams is unable to recapture the form that made him the reigning world player of the year.

Halfpenny and Monye are both quick while the 20-year-old Welshman also has the advantage of being an accomplished long-distance goalkicker.

And Halfpenny, the youngest member of a squad that will be managed by his compatriot Gerald Davies, one of the best wings rugby union has known, cannot wait for another crack at the Springboks.

“I leapt in the air when I saw my name on the television, I nearly hit my head on the light,” said Halfpenny.

“Then I burst into tears with my friends and family, it was just a massive occasion.

“We’re going there to win a Test series and I can’t wait to get started.

“On my first cap for Wales in November I lost to South Africa, hopefully I’ll get a chance for revenge.”

Meanwhile, the religious Monye, who has so far played all of his Test rugby at Twickenham, just round the corner from club side Harlequins’s home ground, greeted his selection by telling the London Evening Standard: “How ironic that a Christian will be playing for the Lions rather than being eaten by one!”

The Lions’ 10-match tour starts on May 30 in Rustenburg with the first of their three Tests against South Africa in Durban on June 20.
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