The top two sides in the South African Conference clash in Durban on Saturday evening; the only local derby scheduled for the fourth round of Vodacom Super Rugby.

The Cell C Sharks, who are unbeaten after two matches and top the SA log on nine points, host the Lions, who won two of their first three matches and are one point behind the KwaZulu-Natalians.

In the three other matches involving South African teams, the Toyota Cheetahs, DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls all face previous champions.

The Toyota Cheetahs take on the Reds (2011 champions) in Brisbane and the DHL Stormers are away to the most successful side in the history of the competition, the seven-time champion Crusaders in Christchurch.

 

Back in Pretoria, the Vodacom Bulls host the Blues (champions in 1996, 1997 and 2003) at Loftus Versfeld, where their stalwart-wing Akona Ndungane will join his twin brother, Odwa, and 21 other South Africans on a special list when he plays in his 100^th Vodacom Super Rugby match this weekend.

 

They are the second set of brothers to achieve this feat, following in the footsteps of Odwa’s team-mates at the Cell C Sharks, Jannie and Bismarck du Plessis.

 

The full list of South African Vodacom Super Rugby centurions:

127: Victor Matfield (Cats 8, Bulls 119)

125: AJ Venter (Cats 19, Sharks 96, Stormers 10) and John Smit (Sharks)

123: Morné Steyn (Bulls)

122: Stefan Terblanche (Sharks)

118: Bryan Habana (Bulls 61, Stormers 57)

116: Danie Rossouw (Bulls), Jannie du Plessis (Cheetahs 26, Sharks 90)

114: Jacques Botes (Sharks)

113: Pedrie Wannenburg (Bulls), Adi Jacobs (Bulls 21, Cats 4, Sharks 88)

112: Fourie du Preez (Bulls)

110: Wynand Olivier (Bulls)

108: Ollie le Roux (Natal 24, Sharks 60, Cats 3, Cheetahs 21), Meyer Bosman (Cheetahs 61, Sharks 47)

107: Odwa Ndungane (Bulls 10, Sharks 97)

105: Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks)

104: Andries Bekker (Stormers), Jano Vermaak (Cats 11, Lions 62, Bulls 31)

103: Pierre Spies (Bulls)

102: Albert van den Berg (Cats 7, Sharks 95)

100: Bakkies Botha (Bulls)

 

Note: The 2014 Vodacom Super Rugby Media Guide (size: 9.5Mb) can be downloaded in PDF-format by clicking here.

 

You can also access very interesting stats, supplied by SANZAR in conjunction with Opta Sports, by clicking here.

 

For all the South African team announcements, fixtures, results, logs, live score updates, top points and try scorers as well as and match summaries, click here.

 

Reds v Toyota Cheetahs

The Toyota Cheetahs face a tough task to get their Vodacom Super Rugby campaign back on its feet after last weekend’s disappointing performance in Melbourne when they take on the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday morning.

 

What makes it so tough, is that the team from Bloemfontein will have to create history yet again – as they did in round two when they beat the Vodacom Bulls for the very first time.

This time, they are aiming for a first-ever win in Brisbane at a venue where their average defeat by the Reds is 29-8. Furthermore, the Toyota Cheetahs have never scored more than one try per match at Suncorp Stadium and have reached double figures only once – in 2007 when they lost 23-13.

 

If they are to turn around this run of defeats in Brisbane, the Toyota Cheetahs will have to improve their defence. They have missed more tackles than any other side (70) so far and their average of 23.3 misses per game is a competition high.

 

Following last Friday’s mishap in Melbourne, Naka Drotské’s team put in extra hours on the training field this week and made a couple of changes to the team – two of these, in the back three and at tighthead prop, were forced by the injuries to Raymond Rhule and Coenie Oosthuizen.

 

That is the bad news.

 

The good news is that the Toyota Cheetahs, in the last two seasons, have shrugged off their tour cobwebs by the second week. Last year and in 2012 they won their second match on tour – against the Rebels in Melbourne (2012) and the Highlanders in Dunedin (2013).

 

The teams are:

 

Reds: Aidan Toua, Rod Davies, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Mike Harris, Dom Shipperley, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Jake Schatz, Liam Gill, Ed Quirk, James Horwill (captain), Rob Simmons, Greg Holmes, James Hanson, Ben Daley. Replacements: Saia Faingaa, James Slipper, Jono Owen, Ed O’Donoghue, Beau Robinson, Nicholas Frisby, Anthony Faingaa, Ben Tapuai.

 

Toyota Cheetahs: Hennie Daniller, Rayno Benjamin, Johann Sadie, Francois Venter, Willie le Roux, Johan Goosen, Shaun Venter, Philip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagne, Boom Prinsloo, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Maks van Dyk, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Caylib Oosthuizen. Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Trevor Nyakane, Rossouw de Klerk, Ligtoring Landman, Jean Cook, Sarel Pretorius, Elgar Watts, Cornal Hendricks.

 

Head to head (since 2006)

Reds		Toyota Cheetahs
4	Won	3
3	Lost	4
0	Drawn	0
150	Points for	100
100	Points against	150
17	Tries scored	10
10	Tries conceded	17
21	Average score	14

 

Reds v Toyota Cheetahs

Date: Friday, 7 March

SA Time: 10h40

Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Referee: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Matt O’Brien (Australia)

Television match official: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)

 

Crusaders v DHL Stormers

 

A tall order, but not impossible – that is almost the only way to describe the DHL Stormers’ first Vodacom Super Rugby tour match of the season when they take on the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday morning.

 

Looking back at South African teams’ visits to Canterbury since 1996, the picture is pretty bleak. Out of the 44 matches hosted by the Crusaders against teams from the Republic, they’ve lost twice and drawn twice.

 

That equates to a winning percentage of a staggering 91%, which is by far the best of any team against foreign opposition. The average score between the Crusaders and South African opposition over this period is 37-19, with the New Zealanders scoring four tries to two on average.

 

The Cantabrians’ last defeat against a South African team was almost 13 years ago – on 22 April 2001, when the Cats won by 32-31. Since then, the Crusaders have won 32 successive home matches against teams from South Africa.

 

And the last time they lost to a non-New Zealand side in Christchurch, was a decade ago, on 21 February 2004, against the Waratahs (43-19).

 

However, the Crusaders lost at home less than a fortnight ago and coupled with the DHL Stormers’ superb defence – they average just 10 missed tackles per game so far, fewer than any other team – anything is possible.

 

“Simply put, this is a great challenge for us against a very successful Vodacom Super Rugby franchise,” said Springbok and DHL Stormers captain Jean de Villiers.

 

“Playing against the Crusaders is really tough, as you can note by the fact that no South African team has won there in ages. But that also means it’s a great challenge for us.

 

“If we win there we would have achieved something special, something we haven’t achieved in the past and it’s a great challenge for us as a young squad.”

 

The teams are:

 

Crusaders: Colin Slade, Johnny McNicholl, Reynold Lee-Lo, Ryan Crotty, Israel Dagg, Tom Taylor, Willi Heinz, Kieran Read (captain), Matt Todd, Luke Whitelock, Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Corey Flynn, Wyatt Crockett. Replacements: Ben Funnell, Tim Perry, Nepo Laulala, Dominic Bird, Jordan Taufua, Andy Ellis, Tyler Bleyendaal, Kieron Fonotia.

 

DHL Stormers: Jaco Taute, Kobus van Wyk, Jean de Villiers (captain), Damian de Allende, Gio Aplon, Demetri Catrakilis, Nic Groom, Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Burger (vice-captain), Deon Fourie, De Kock Steenkamp, Michael Rhodes, Frans Malherbe, Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Tiaan Liebenberg, Oliver Kebble, Pat Cilliers, Ruan Botha, Nizaam Carr, Louis Schreuder, Peter Grant, Sailosi Tagicakibau.

 

Head to head (since 1998)

Crusaders		DHL Stormers
14	Won	4
4	Lost	14
0	Drawn	0
524	Points for	365
365	Points against	524
52	Tries scored	36
36	Tries conceded	52
20	Average score	20

 

Crusaders v DHL Stormers

Date: Saturday, 8 March

SA Time: 08h35

Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch

Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)

Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Ben O’Keefe (New Zealand)

Television match official: Chris Watt (New Zealand)

 

Vodacom Bulls v Blues

 

The dangerous Blues arrive at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon looking for their second successive Vodacom Super Rugby victory in Pretoria – something not a lot of overseas teams can boast.

 

On their last visit to the South African capital city, Gareth Anscombe scored all of the Blues’ points as they shocked the Vodacom Bulls by 29-23. But last year, the Pretorians won in Auckland.

 

Anscombe is no longer with the Blues, but they still have one of the most dangerous backlines around – which is underlined by the fact that, of all the teams to play more than one fixture this season, the Blues have averaged more defenders beaten (22.5) than any other side.

 

However, if the Vodacom Bulls can keep up their strong performances in the scrums and line-outs, they should put the visitors on the backfoot, negating their dangerous attackers.

 

The Vodacom Bulls have a 92% success rate at scrum time and 90% in the line-outs, which puts them in the upper echelons when it comes to these set pieces. And the Blues have not started the season well in these aspects of the game – 57% in the scrums and 78% in lineouts.

 

But the Pretorians have scored only two tries in three matches and the Blues seven in two. This is the big difference between the two teams.

 

“We know what the Blues will bring this weekend,” said Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke.

 

“They are a quality side and as we saw in the first two games, they can move the ball around, the players are good in the offload and they have good skills in contact situations. They keep the ball alive very well.

 

“We would like to improve on last week’s performance. The focus is again on the way we controlled the game and converted opportunities into points.”

 

The teams are:

 

Vodacom Bulls: Jurgen Visser, Akona Ndungane, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Bjorn Basson, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Francois Hougaard, Jono Ross, Jacques du Plessis, Deon Stegmann, Victor Matfield, Flip van der Merwe (captain), Werner Kruger, Callie Visagie, Dean Greyling. Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Morné Mellet, Marcel van der Merwe, Paul Willemse, Dewald Potgieter, Piet van Zyl, Handré Pollard, Ulrich Beyers.

 

Blues: Charles Piutau, Frank Halai, George Moala, Jackson Willison, Tevita Li, Simon Hickey, Piri Weepu, Peter Saili, Luke Braid (captain), Steven Luatua, Tom Donnelly, Liaki Moli, Charlie Faumuina, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock. Replacements: James Parsons, Sam Prattley, Angus Ta’avao, Patrick Tuipulotu, Brendon O’Connor, Bryn Hall, Chris Noakes, Pita Ahki.

 

Head to head (since 1998)

Vodacom Bulls		Blues
6	Won	9
9	Lost	6
0	Drawn	0
398	Points for	513
513	Points against	398
46	Tries scored	60
60	Tries conceded	46
27	Average score	34

 

Vodacom Bulls v Blues

Date: Saturday, 8 March

SA Time: 17h05

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Referee: Andrew Lees (Australia)

Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), Sieg van Staden (South Africa)

Television match official: Johan Greeff (South Africa)

 

Cell C Sharks v Lions

 

The Cell C Sharks will be cautious when they host the Lions at Growthpoint Kings Park in the final Vodacom Super Rugby round four encounter on Saturday evening.

 

With Lions sharp-shooter Marnitz Boshoff making the trip to Durban, albeit at fullback, and the KwaZulu-Natalians amongst the most-penalised sides in the competition thus far, the scoreboard could just see a lot of action on Saturday evening.

 

In fact, with a success rate of 94%, the Lions have the best collective goal-kicking success rate so far this season. All of these kicks – 16 out of 17 – came from the boot of Boshoff, who also tops the charts in terms of drop-goals with four in his first three outings.

 

Looking at penalties conceded, the Cell C Sharks averaged 13.5 per match in their first two outings, which is more than every other team in the competition bar the Waratahs (14.5) and the Reds (15).

 

Jake White, coach of the Cell C Sharks, knows his team will have to be extra careful when they face the Lions on Saturday.

 

“What the Lions have shown us is that you can’t take them lightly and you can’t go into the game thinking it’s just going to happen,” said White.

 

“For us it’s about what we do this week in the build-up to the game to give ourselves a fair chance. It’s early days in the competition still and there will always be things you have to work on in your game.

 

“What I can take out of our two performances so far that is really positive, is that we played two very different teams. One was a forward dominated team in week one when we played really well and scored four tries. And then played a backs’ dominated game in week two against the Hurricanes who offer threats that are so vastly different to the Bulls, and we managed to keep them tryless.”

 

The teams are:

 

Cell C Sharks: SP Marais, Odwa Ndungane, Paul Jordaan, Frans Steyn, Lwazi Mvovo, Patrick Lambie, Cobus Reinach, Ryan Kankowski, Willem Alberts, Marcell Coetzee, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Anton Bresler, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis (captain), Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Kyle Cooper, Dale Chadwick, Lourens Adriaanse, Stephan Lewies, Jean Deysel, Charl McLeod, Heimar Williams, S’bura Sithole.

 

Lions: Marnitz Boshoff, Ruan Combrinck, Deon van Rensburg, Stefan Watermeyer, Chrysander Botha, Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Warren Whiteley (captain), Warwick Tecklenburg, Jaco Kriel, Franco van der Merwe, Franco Mostert, Julian Redelinghuys, Willie Wepener, Schalk van der Merwe. Replacements: Robbie Coetzee, Corne Fourie, Ruan Dreyer, MB Lusaseni, Willie Britz, Ross Cronje, JW Jonker, Coenie van Wyk.

 

Head to head (since 2006)

Cell C Sharks		Lions
7	Won	1
1	Lost	7
1	Drawn	1
259	Points for	148
148	Points against	259
30	Tries scored	15
15	Tries conceded	30
29	Average score	16

 

Cell C Sharks v Lions

Date: Saturday, 8 March

SA Time: 19h10

Venue: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Stuart Berry (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)

Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

 

Other fixtures (South African kick-off times):

 

Friday, 7 March:

08h35: Hurricanes v Brumbies – Wellington

 

Saturday, 8 March:

10h40: Force v Rebels – Perth

 

Byes: Highlanders, Chiefs, Waratahs