The semi finals

The Super 14 final will be contested by the seasons top 2 sides,the Bulls and the Stormers.

As expected,the Bulls overcame a gutsy effort by the Crusaders and eventually over ran the Red and Blacks.All pointers pointed towards a Blue Bulls victory...the enormous liability of the travel factor,hometown advantage(despite it being in Soweto),the luxury of being able to rest 99% of their starting XV the week before,and the fact that they had been the form side all season.Despite all this,Kiwi fans plunged the $2.50 odds on offer from the Bookies and confidantly predicted a win.And for long periods of this match it seemed as though it could happen.Even though Pierre Spies,the South African wrecking machine at No8,scored early,the play had mostly come from the Crusaders.They kept in touch with a well worked rolling maul try,but Carter was astray with his boot.Indeed,the turning point in my opinion came with the scores at 20-10,and Dan Carter lined up a penalty that would have taken them to within 7 points.Alas,he was astray,and just 2 minutes later Morne Steyn boomed over a penalty from 59 metres.Staggering!A 6 point turn around there,and the Crusaders were gone.The legs became jaded,and Du Preez scored from a scrum,and it was all over rover.

Credit to the Crusaders,and the coaching staff,a fine effort.

I didnt see the Stormers/Waratahs match but did see highlights.Again,the better side came through in the end,although surprisingly only one try was scored in the match.Again,credit to the Waratahs they played some great footy all season.

Overall it was an excellent competition,certainly one of the best ever.The tightness of the sides made for some great games,and when the Hurricanes play a virtual 1/4 final,lose,and end up in 8th position it tells you something.The Force managed to bowl over the Stormers and Crusaders while the Reds beat BOTH finalists.The Blues beat the best and lost to the worst,which kind of summed up their season,but ended up finishing higher than the Hurricanes!Go figure!

As for the final?
Bulls by 10 points.



Straight Shooter-telling it like it is