Talking points from the weekend’s Super Rugby action

All the speculation and ‘relief’

The suspension of the Super Rugby competition due to the Coronavirus has caused widespread speculation about what exactly happens now.

Sanzaar CEO Andy Marinos has come out, saying if the competition doesn’t resume within five weeks it will be scrapped for this 2020.

Yet the theoretical “scenarios” will remain a source of debate and perhaps even fun.

Will the Sharks be named winners being top of the standings?

For the Lions, the break couldn’t come soon enough after missing 31 of 77 tackles in their third tour defeat to the Blues.

They’ve scored just five tries in those three matches and conceded 16, generally looking hopeless and could probably use this time to review their coaching structures and plan what the road ahead exactly mean for them?

Were the Stormers on the brink of a slump too? Was the Bulls’ revival a false dawn after their Brisbane implosion?

The debates could be interesting – if you can still gather enough mates for a braai… – Rudolph Jacobs

Yes, Brisbane was a new low for the Bulls

Bulls’ Embrose Papier (top) is tackled by Reds’ Hamish Stewart during the Super Rugby match between Australia’s Queensland Reds and South Africa’s Bulls in Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on March 14, 2020. (Photo by Patrick HAMILTON / AFP) / — IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE —

The Bulls have 14 days from when they return to South Africa to self-quarantine from any Covid-19 they might have picked up on their brief travels and also to recover from the shock of their Brisbane capitulation.

To go from the sublime rugby they played in the opening quarter in rattling up a 17-0 lead to the ridiculous implosion that ultimately saw them get hammered 41-17 is bound to cause some mental scars.

But mental weakness is nothing new for a Bulls side that time and time again in recent years has found ways to lose and have been their own worst enemies much of the time.

But to be so inconsistent inside the same game is a new low for the Bulls and they need to do some serious soul-searching during their time off.

It’s all very well throwing heart and soul into their rugby, but the brain needs to be involved as well and stupid mistakes and poor decision-making due to a lack of composure have become a recurring theme. – Ken Borland 

Finishing on a high in Durban

Try time for Makazole Mapimpi of the Cell C Sharks during the Super Rugby match between Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium on March 14, 2020 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Gordon Arons/Gallo Images)

There wasn’t a whole lot of pretty going on as the Sharks beat the Stormers at Kings Park, but the top-of-the-conference South African derby was played with Test match intensity.

That is why the four points for the win and first place on the overall log will feel like the softest, most fluffy toy as the Sharks enjoy their rest.

The most notable feature of their 24-14 win was how their pack showed they have the hard edge to mix it with the best in the business. If and when Super Rugby returns, the Sharks have given themselves the platform for a strong challenge for the title. – Ken Borland

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