Nathan Sharpe: Stormers set to win Super 14 title

The West Australian May 5, 2010, 6:46 am


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In all my years of playing rugby I don't think I have seen such a fight for the finals. With only two rounds remaining, five teams are battling it out for third and fourth.
While the battle is on to secure a play-off berth, the top two spots appear to be a mere formality the way the Stormers and Bulls are playing.
I believe the Stormers will win the competition. Last weekend against the Crusaders they showed how to absorb pressure, turn it around and force it back on their opposition. That was against a Canterbury side which has been masters at it.
In the race for the two play-off places, the Tahs were outmuscled by the Highlanders and the Brumbies found their best to halt the Reds.
Queensland's progress this season cannot be faulted but they could not break the hoodoo which has haunted them since the inception of Super Rugby - beating the Brumbies in the nation's capital.
For the first time this year the Brumbies looked as though they were playing with their foot flat to the floor. The Reds rolled over meekly in their worst performance of the year.
Add that to the amazing try from the Hurricanes in the final seconds to secure them a bonus point and it is wide open.
We achieved our aim in the clash with the Lions at Ellis Park. Assistant coach Richard Graham described it as a banana skin game - very easy to slip up because everybody expects nothing less than a victory against a side which has not won this season.
But that record does not show how competitive the Lions have been at home.
As a team we took great strides forward in sticking to the task at hand. After a good first 20 minutes, followed by a terrible second 20, we were much more disciplined and direct in the second half. This is a good sign for us. Games like that are important in building a culture of success.
We play the Cheetahs on Saturday. Underestimate them at your peril, as the Blues learnt last week. With the return of talismanic skipper Juan Smith, for whom I have the utmost respect, the Cheetahs are a different proposition.
He is a star of South African rugby and one of the best back-rowers in the world, around the ground but particularly in line-out defence, where his contributions have been outstanding for club and country.
Matt Dunning is one of those blokes you just love to have on your team, gaining the Players' Player last weekend against the Lions.
His tackle-shredding runs and a clever grubber kick added to his staple diet of scrummaging. This weekend he'll notch his 100th Super Rugby game, a remarkable milestone in such a demanding position.
Speaking of landmark occasions, securing David Pocock at the Force for at least a further two seasons is, I believe, one of the most important results for our club in many years. �Force flyer Scott Staniforth will leave the tour of South Africa and return to Perth after injuring his neck in training.

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