Bulls v Brumbies Super Rugby Semi-final Preview

im not a big fan of white, in fact i think hes quite over rated, but just cos ive got a black belt in arm chair critic ju jitsu dosent mean im right and the numbers which are clearly on whites side, plus the recruits both players and staff (brian smith) have been simply genius.
looking at both teams, if i was the bulls, i wouldnt be feeling too comnfortable, cos this time round theres an honest ref even if hes not neutral, im sure he wont repeat the worst reffing performance in super rugby hsitory during the last brumbies v bulls match when marius jonker single handedly gave the bulls the win.

looking at the match ups though
front row
d greyling, c ralepelle, w kruger
vs
s sio, s moore, b alexander
i dont share the sentiments about sio scrummagin illegally last week, there were only two scrum penalties that IMO the cheetahs could feel hard done by, but they were also lucky wiuth some of the calss, so it was very even, but i thought that sio was awesome in that game and given the way the wallabies were destroyed by the lions, maybe deano should have injected him in there, he wouldnt have been any worse IMO.
the front rows are both soild, but brumbies look the stronger of the two.
advantage brumbies

locks
f van der mewe g hattingh
vs
p kimillin, s carter
very even, but SA locks are always dangerous, even though its not SA best playing this week, they should still out play the brumbies 2nd row.
flips going to have to watch the penalties though, christain aint too shabby a kicker.
advantage bulls

loose forwards
d stegmann, j potgieter, d potgieter
vs
s fardy, g smith, b mowen
brumbies should win this battle and then some, even though they were pretty quiet almost average againstt he cheetahs loose forward trio, their performances as a whole in 2013 has been one of the best in the comp.
with higgs injury, mowne IMO is easily aussies best forward and IMO a future wallaby captain and hes going to have to call on that leadership to guide his team and inspire them to play smart and not give many penaties away, cos morne will be lurking the loftus waters with the jaws theme song for ever playing.
bulls loosies know how to get the job done, but their stardom had failed to go beyond the boundries of super rugby and will make it tough for the brumbies as they fight in their own backyard.
advantage brumbies.

halves
f hougaard, m steyn
vs
n white, m toomua
what an exciting halves battle this is going to be. super boot morne vs new kid on the block toomua and hougaard and white who have both struggled to become their countrys incumbent halfbacks
morne wont lose the kicking uel, his all round kicking is of the highest order of the moment and its great to see especially after the hard times he went through last year.
while morne has the advantage, keep an eye out on mick whites kicks, cos hes got a super accurate boot too, his touch finders are amongst the best in the comp, easily in the top three along with morne and carter.
but a red hot morne at loftus has claimed many many scalps and that will be the decideing factor IMO.
afavantage bulls

centers
j serfontein, jj englebrecht
vs
c leilafano, t kuridrani
another exciting battle here, christain leilafano has IMO been the best 12 in the comp, but sefontein has got that something special, that thing magical thing which walt disney films are made of and the two cancal each other out.
kuridrani and jj are another very equal battle, both in physique, skill and base, but jj has had the better season and kuridrani has a habbit of sometimes going missing.
advantage bulls

outside backs
a ndungane, b basson. z krichner
vs
j mogg, h speight, c rathbone
IMO tomane is better then rathbone, but even with that blunder from white, the brumbeis outside backs look stronger fo the two.
speight was outstanding with ball in hand the last time he was in loftus and 2013 has been another good year for the future wallaby.
mogg will need to assert himself a lot more this week and make use of the balls which are sure to be kicked his way, his counter attacking will be key for the brumbeis in this match and using speight as often  as possible.
white needs tobring on tomane with at least 30mins left, he needs time to adjust and do his thing which is use that 100kg plus frame on nos to get trys.
advantage brumbies

bench
Callie Visagie, Frik Kirsten, Morne Mellett, Paul Willemse, Jono Ross , Jano Vermaak, Jurgen Visser.
vs
Siliva Siliva , Ruan Smith , Fotu Auelua , Colby Faingaa , Ian Prior , Andrew Smith , Joe Tomane
i rate visagie and vermaak, but the brumbies bench will give them way more impact then the bulls bench will give thiers.
advantage brumbies

the loftus factor is the bigegst factor here and while the brumbies look better on paper, loftus is one of spXVs true fortresses with the bulls being one of two teams to not loase at home three guesses who the other ones are,
interesting fact though, the bulls have not won against the crusaders or brumbies, 2 of the 4 semi finalists and they scored a bye against the chiefs, so it might be better if both the crusaders and brumbies lose this match, as the final would be the first time thoise team clash in 2013.
home advantage plus travel though should see the bulls squeak past the line, but only just.

 saSUE when I weigh your opinion about Jake against the high praise expressed for White by Mallert, Mitchell and Ashwin Willemse I find yours to be lightweight and can only ponder again how mortified StormingEd must ahve been by suggestions you were StormingEd.