We look back on five of the biggest talking points from Super Rugby round 15.
Jaguares make it six in a row
The Jaguares comfortably beat the minus 6.5 handicap as we predicted, going on to beat the Sharks 29 – 13 in Argentina. The host’s scooped their sixth win on the trot as Ramiro Moyano scored a hat-trick that saw the hosts win both halves 17-7 and 12-6 respectively. Poor handling and unforced errors saw the Sharks punished by the Jaguares, while Ruan Botha scored the only try for the visitors but his performance was marred when he was given a straight red card for a dangerous clean out at the ruck. Botha is banned for four weeks but won’t miss any important matches due to the June Tests.
Chiefs fend off Waratahs
The Chiefs earned a hard-fought 39 – 27 victory over a determined Waratahs side that took a 14 – 0. However, the Chiefs would go on to score three before the half-time break to lead 19 – 14 as the sides went into the sheds. The Waratahs handicap was quoted at 10.5, and plus punters would have been happy until the 81st minute when Damian McKenzie scored to give the hosts a 12-point win.
Bulls continue to struggle
The Bulls were heavy favourites at Loftus on Saturday afternoon where they played host to the Brumbies. Pollard opened the scoring inside the first five minutes but a handling error at the restart in the Bulls 22 saw Kyle Godwin score and levelled matters. In a match that saw momentum swing with regularity, the Brumbies received their second red card in as many matches when Faingaa headbutted Matthys Basson in the 63rd minute.
With 10 minutes to go, an incredible 70 m solo run from Tom Banks saw him dot down and five minutes later the Brumbies scored their last try to seal the Tshwane franchise’s fate as they slipped to their eighth defeat.
Poor Discipline costs Stormers
The Lions failed to beat the minus six cap set by the bookmakers as they rallied from a 17–7 halftime deficit to win 26–23. The Stormers’ discipline let them down as JJ Engelbrecht was sin-binned for a tip tackle and Raymond Rhule was red carded for obstructing Ruan Combrink. Coetzee was also yellow carded in the 60th – and that was enough for the Lions to score through Madosh Tambwe to clinch the game.
Interim Trio Replaces Mallet, Botha, and Willemse.
Former Springboks Breyton Paulse and Victor Matfield along with show anchor Xola Ntshinga were on hand for Saturday’s Super Rugby broadcast and Springbok Squad announcement. This after the trio of Nick Mallet, Naas Botha, and Ashwin Willemse had yet to reach a resolution after the events that took place on-set during Super Rugby round 14.
SuperSport has appointed an independent mediator to further investigate the incident and Adv. Vincent Maleka SC is the man appointed to make findings and recommendations by Monday the 11th of June.
SuperSport released the following statement:
“Despite good progress initially, the matter has unfortunately not been resolved. We have therefore decided to instruct an independent Senior Counsel, Advocate Vincent Maleka SC, to chair a review of the incident which occurred and to make recommendations to our management.
“Pending the outcome of the review, the three presenters involved will not appear on-air. None of the presenters have been suspended and they will continue to be remunerated in terms of their contracts.
“We are committed to getting to the bottom of this serious issue. Advocate Maleka SC has been asked to make findings and recommendations by Monday, June 11, 2018.”
