Last year was year a bad year for SA franchises in Super 15 - the only SA Franchise that got through to the semi-final stage was he Sharks - but they played a seriously defective style of rugby that limit their competitiveness in the later stages of the competition.
There is with reason to my mind a great degree of uncertainty about what the SA Franchises will attain this year - so lets look at the various franchises.
The Bulls
The problem with the Bulls is that there is at times no logic in their selections. What is clear is that they have a problem with Kruger as a prop and they add the non-physical Matfield to weaken their Tight 5 combination. They also fiddle around with the gutless Spies at 8. In essence the above scenario is not a positive for their forwards.
On the positive side - they have contracted Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Njakane and Lappies Labuschagne to augment their forward combination. They have some really good youngsters coming through.
Provided they get their selections right - this would be a very competitive side in Super 15 this year.
The Cheetahs
The team struggled last year after a very good show in 2013. Drotske always have to start afresh - by the time he has built up a strongish squad - the squad got raided by all and sundry - other SA franchises and NH clubs.
They have lost key players this year and it would be a miracle if they win matches - especially since they have only a few top players they used last year (Willie le Roux, Lood de Jager, Coenie Oosthuizen). They have to start with virtually a substantial number of completely inexperienced players.
Cannot see how they can reach the top 10 positions on the log - probably 12 to 15 at the end.
The Lions
This team was the surprise package last year and played some very good rugby with totally inexperienced players. They got new sponsors and a large influx of cash into their bank account. Ackerman turned out to be a surprise packet as a coach as well and ended up with the top SA Coach of the Year award.
I have a feeling this team is going to do better than they did last year. They got in some really good players in their squad and one has to see how they shape up this year. Would not at all be surprised if they end up in the play-offs.
The Sharks
The Sharks have a new coaching set-up and the chances are that they will pay a better brand of rugby than they played last year. The problem cases in the team are Francois Steyn - the destroyer of backline attacking play and questionable defender - and Willem Alberts - the loosie who is clueless about most facets of backrow play.
On the positive side they have Du Toit back at lock and the contracted another good loosie by the name of Bothma. The negative side is the injuries to Jordaan and Lewies - who will likely both miss the games in February and March.
Difficult to assess, but may be very competitive this series.
The Stormers
A host of younger inexperienced players. However, they have some good ones as is evidenced from the CC win.
Difficult to assess, but may be very competitive this series.
