What a storming weekend

rugby365.com editor Jan de Koning expresses his approval and admiration for the Stormers' performance in what was the one shining light on a dismal South African weekend.
 
It was not the best of weekend's for South African teams - three big hidings. But we had the men from Cape Town.
 
You do not need to be a Stormers fan to appreciate what good rugby they played. Yes, of course the Lions were awful, especially in the second half.
 
However, you still have to do something special to put 50 points past a team and the Stormers are just such a group of players ... when they get it right it is indeed Super Rugby.
 
And the key to the Stormers getting it right remains one Schalk Burger.
 
You could see the impact he had. After the break the Lions had clearly had enough - they had no interest in the game whatsoever and questions will now be raised about both the team's character and their coaching staff.
 
But back to the Stormers and their beefy Burger.
 
He looked every bit the player than won International Rugby Board Player of the Year award in 2004.
 
And his forceful performance allowed the likes of Andries Bekker to roam free on the wing.
 
I am still old school and believe that locks should do the dirty work up front, clean out the rucks, jump in the line-outs, tackle their hearts out - but Bekker is a different animal.
 
And whether you like his style or not, he had a standout performance in a team that finally gelled as a unit.
 
Jean de Villiers was still not at his best, but he is certainly moving in the right direction.
 
Let's also glance at the other two South African teams that played this weekend - and they deserve no more than a cursory glance - the Sharks and Cheetahs.
 
The Sharks truly had a bad day at the office, one of those games you want to forget as soon as possible. But they remain a class outfit. They will miss injured flyhalf Ruan Pienaar, but if somebody could get inside the head of Francois Steyn and work with the mental side of his game he could be a world class No.10.

I still bank on the Sharks to be one of the two South African sides in the play-offs. With the Bulls the other. The Stormers, I suspect, will remain erratic and have a few shockers on tour, ruling them out of the race again. Then again, they may well prove me wrong.
 
The Cheetahs, simply put, don't deserve to be in this competition and along with the Lions should be relegated to some secondary competition where they won't embarrass themselves and the rest of South African rugby.
 
As for the rest. The Brumbies showed some spunk and I expect them to be up there also. It is between them and the Waratahs to fill one of the slots 'reserved' for the Aussies. The Kiwi slot will be a battle between the Blues and Hurricanes, with the Hurricanes my fancy.
 
Till next time

* Do you agree/disagree with Jan? It's your shout.