Soccer: The joy of six: FA Cup finals

Our pick of the last 30 years, celebrating everything from Steven Gerrard's volleys to Alan Sunderland's perm.

Guardian Unlimited

May 17, 2007 11:00 AM
*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

1. 1987: Coventry 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Berzerker Brian Kilcline was at the heart of Coventry's defence but that didn't frighten Clive Allen, who claimed his 49th goal of a phenomenal season when he butted Spurs ahead inside two minutes. But that didn't cloud the Sky Blues' day, and they were back on terms just seven minutes later, when Dave Bennett latched on to a Keith Houchen flick and scooped the ball into the roof of the net. Both teams continued to tear at each other, Coventry's powerful direct approach contrasting with Spurs' more intricate interplay, though ultimately it was a scrappy goal that gave the lead back to Spurs, Gary Mabbutt scuffing home a Glenn Hoddle free-kick before half-time. Houchen scored his famous equaliser midway through the second half, charging 50 yards to meet Bennett's cross with a superb diving header. Coventry claimed their first major trophy when Mabbutt deflected a Lloyd McGrath cross past Ray Clemence and into his own net.

2. 2005: Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United
Proof that scoreless draws can be exciting. Thierry Henry was out injured and Arsène Wenger picked Philippe Senderos ahead of the waning Sol Campbell, while United went with Darren Fletcher instead of the (as everyone thought at the time) waning Ryan Giggs, yet the skill factor was superbly high. Arsenal couldn't live with United's cracking pace and crisp challenges, with Roy Keane lording it over Patrick Vieira, and Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo running the Gunners ragged. Yet Arsenal held on heroically and Vieira marked his last game for the club by netting the decisive penalty.

3. 2006: Liverpool 3-3 West Ham
Dreadfully low on quality - with the notable exception of Steven Gerrard's two stunning goals - but wonderfully high on drama. West Ham's opening scores may have come from a Jamie Carragher own goal and a Pepe Reina fumble but a two-goal lead for the underdogs set the scene for a thrilling tussle. Volleys from Djibril Cissé and Gerrard brought the sides level before the Hammers edged back into the lead courtesy of a spectacular fluke from Paul Konchesky. In dire need of an equaliser, Rafa Benítez made an odd substitution: hauling off Peter Crouch, who'd just had a goal harshly disallowed, for Dietmar Hamann. That enabled Gerrard to tear forward with even more regularity, though he was hampered by cramp. With seconds left, Gerrard summoned one of the great FA Cup goals, firing home from exactly 400,000 yards. A phenomenal Reina save in the dying moments of extra-time took the game to penalties, and then he was the hero in the shoot-out.

4. 1979: Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United
A fairly humdrum game until the 86th minute of normal time, when, with Arsenal leading 2-0 thanks to strikes from Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton and a majestic display from Liam Brady, gangly centre-back Gordon McQueen pulled United back into contention. Sammy McIlroy then danced past two defenders to take the game into extra-time. Or so it seemed: moments later, Brady ghosted past three United defenders before knocking the ball out wide to Graham Rix, who floated it to the back post, from where permalicious striker Alan Sunderland slid the ball into the net for a dramatic winner.

5. 1981 (replay): Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Manchester City
Subbed off in the first match, Ricky Villa ignited the replay four days later by shooting Spurs into an eighth-minute lead, but Steve Mackenzie equalised before the break with a ferocious volley. City went in front early in the second half when Kevin Reeves converted the first cup final penalty in 19 years. That was Tottenham's cue to go all-out attack and they eventually drew level in the 76th minute, Garth Crooks scrambling the ball over the line as awkwardly as he would pose banal questions for the BBC many years later. Villa then ensured his place in history by slaloming through the City defence before slotting the ball past keeper Joe Corrigan for a magnificent winner.

6. 1990: Manchester United 3-3 Crystal Palace
Palace took a surprise lead in their first-ever FA Cup final when Gary O'Reilly outjumped Gary Pallister to head home; Mark Bright almost gifted United an equalizer by heading into his own net, but Nigel Martyn saved brilliantly, though he couldn't do anything about Bryan Robson's leveller on 35 minutes, which deflected in off John Pemberton. Mark Hughes put United ahead in the second half and then, with 20 minutes to go, Steve Coppell decided it was time to throw on Ian Wright, who'd only just recovered from a broken leg. As he left the bench Wright declared, "I was born for this day," and within two minutes he proved his point, twisting past Pallister before steering in the equaliser. In extra-time Wright volleyed a second, only for Hughes to poop on Palace's party by snatching a late equaliser and forcing a replay, which was nowhere near as entertaining as the first match.

Rugby: Preview: S14 Final - Sharks v Bulls

Friday 18th May 2007
*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Early celebrations? Victor Matfield (left) and Bakkies Botha of the Bulls

Durban plays host to the first ever all-South Africa Super Rugby Final between the Sharks and the Bulls at a sold-out ABSA Stadium on Saturday. To say there is nothing between these two sides is certainly an understatement.

It is fair to say, however, that the two better sides in the 2007 tournament will be battling it out on a hot and humid afternoon under the African sun to be crowned Super 14 champions.

Though whatever the result may be after referee Steve Walsh blows the final whistle, South African rugby is already the winner.

For the nation's rugby-mad supporters, the Sharks taking on the Bulls in the Super 14 Final pays tribute to their overwhelming support of not only the finalists, but of South Africa rugby as a whole.

The term 'close but no cigar' is the best way to describe South Africa's challenge in the Super Rugby tournaments after the game went professional in 1996.

But now there will surely be plenty of lit cigars going around come kick-off.

The Sharks, under the leadership of Springbok captain John Smit, have been the most consistent team of the tournament. While the Bulls, skippered by Bok lock Victor Matfield, have found themselves on a convenient upward curve at the moment.

Smit and his troops celebrated ten wins out of their thirteen games on the way to their 34-18 semi-final win against the Blues last weekend.

The Bulls had a shaky start, but landed up winning nine of their Super 14 matches before literally kicking the mighty Crusaders out of the tournament with their 27-12 semi-final win at Loftus Versfeld.

So both teams are in top form with not too many weaknesses it has to be said, which makes this encounter all that more mouth-watering.

But before you drown in your own saliva, let's take a look at the pros and cons we can find to separate these two teams.

The Sharks' advantage playing in front of a 54,000 sell-out crowd can put the men in black and white in good stead as far as home support is concerned.

However, the Bulls certainly won't be playing in unfamiliar territory and their past wins at the ABSA Stadium prove this. Not only that, the visiting team's thought of playing at home away from home in a Super 14 Final will probably put the Sharks' home advantage on the fence.

As far as attacking play goes, the Sharks have always been famed for their running with ball in hand and really put the width of the field to good use. It has been no secret that the Sharks' success has been paramount to this formula and should definitely stick to what they know best.

But that doesn't say they haven't got what it takes in the forwards.

Sharks assistant coach John Plumtree has worked wonders for the side since he arrived as forwards coach from the Wellington Lions side in New Zealand.

Half the Sharks' tries this year have come off the line-out and drive routine. They'll be sure to carry on with that method on Saturday, but will need to show more aggression against a Bulls side that has plenty of the stuff to go around.

With the Bulls' world-class forwards in their line-up, it simply means that the game for them will be won up front. The Bulls have an immensely powerful pack with loose forwards that will do a lot of running off their fly-half.

The backs may argue that they too have what it takes to win a match, and one must agree wholeheartedly. However, when it comes to crunch games such like this one - the Bulls don't need to be flashy. They want to win. And they going to use their best resources they have to do just that.

Defensive wise, the Bulls may take the icing on the cake in this contest.

The men in the famous blue jerseys have stood head and defiant shoulders above the rest of the teams in this year's competition.

The Bulls ability to wear their opponents down may prove to be too much for the Sharks should the home team choose to take the game to the visitors.

The Sharks on the other hand will really need to be like their name suggests and sink their teeth into the hard running prey if they have any chance of survival.

Two South African teams playing against each other in the Final means it's going to be an extremely physical affair.

Both sides possess world-class players. In fact, these are world-class sides - plain and simple.

At the end of the day it will go down to which team can go the distance.

Players to watch:

For the Sharks: Young and exciting number eight Ryan Kankowski is a sure bet to loosen up the screws in a tight encounter. He hasn't got the biggest frame in the game, but boy can he knock down a wall of defence. The priceless experience of veteran full-back Percy Montgomery will be key to the Sharks' cause on Saturday. The Springbok star will also need his trusty left boot to work wonders should his captain call for it.

For the Bulls:Fly-half Derick Hougaard will also be called on to continue his miraculous kicking display. His eight penalties in the semi-final against the Crusaders equalled the record for the most number of penalties in a semi-final game. Should the game live up to its expectation of being a tight affair, expect fireworks from the man with the golden boot. In the forwards, flank Pedrie Wannenburg will be on an assault mission to prove to South Africa coach Jake White that he made a bad mistake in not recalling him to the Bok squad.

Head to head: Johann Muller and Johann Ackermann (Sharks) versus Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha (Bulls): The aerial battle will be crucial for both teams and here we can look forward to a great tussle between these two fine pairs of locks. With Matfield being rested for the Springboks' tour of Europe last year and Botha pulling out through injury, Muller and Ackermann were called upon to fill the world-class duo's shoes. The Bulls' second row will want to prove they are still number one, the Sharks pair will want to show that they are not far off. In the backs, the skill and talent of scrum-halves Ruan Pienaar (Sharks) and Fourie du Preez (Bulls) will be make or break their team's surge towards Super rugby success.

Previous matches:

2007: Sharks won 17-3, Durban
2006: Bulls won 34-27, Pretoria
2005: Bulls won 23-17, Durban
2004: Sharks won 23-18, Pretoria
2003: Bulls won 24-16, Durban
2002: Sharks won 23-10, Pretoria
2001: Sharks won 30-17, Durban
2000: Draw, 14-14, Pretoria
1999: Sharks won 29-0, Durban
1998: Bulls won 12-8, Pretoria

Prediction: Finals are always tough to call because both teams will be up to the task than ever before - especially in this situation where we have two South African sides wanting to be the first to lift the trophy in the professional era. With nothing really separating the teams, it will go down to which side gets off to the better start and maintains the lead throughout the match. Although the Sharks have the home support, there may be enough blue flags to wave their Bulls team on. The Bulls by less than 10 points.

The teams:

Sharks: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Francois Steyn, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Butch James, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 AJ Venter, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Johan Ackermann, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Deon Carstens
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Warren Britz, 20 Bob Skinstad, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Adrian Jacobs

Bulls:15 Johan Roets, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Derick Hougaard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Wikus van Heerden, 6 Pedrie Wannenburg, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Rayno Gerber, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Engels, 17 Danie Thiart, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Derick Kuün, 20 Heinie Adams, 21 Morné Steyn, 22 Jaco van der Westhuyzen

Date: 19 May 2007
Venue: ABSA Stadium, Durban
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
Conditions: Sunny and warm. High 30°C, low 14°C
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Television match official: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Assessor: Tappe Henning (South Africa)

By Dave Morris

Football: Ferguson v Mourinho

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho have often been at loggerheads this season and they go head-to-head again in Saturday's FA Cup final.

As the pair prepare their teams for one more battle, BBC Sport looks back over the season at the off-the-pitch verbal skirmishes that have often accompanied the on-the-pitch battles.

ONE RULE FOR ONE, ONE FOR ANOTHER? JOSE MOURINHO "The circumstances are difficult with the new football rules we have to face. It is forbidden to give a penalty against United and forbidden to give any penalties in favour of Chelsea." SIR ALEX FERGUSON "Mourinho seems to be on some sort of personal crusade. It's calculated. If we get a penalty against us, he wins that war. It is wrong. It is a rant all the time. I don't think it's fair to the game." "There is no pressure on United. If they play well, they win. If they don't play well, they will get a penalty and still win." "I would like to know who is changing the regulations? Is it us? The FA? Uefa? I feel Mourinho has been let off lightly with those comments." "I was not surprised Ferguson complained about our fixture against Spurs because he is intelligent and maybe he thinks other people are stupid. The truth is United are very, very lucky with the fixtures because, until now, they have always played before us. Ferguson is an intelligent man, successful, with a great career. But when you think other people are stupid it is not a good quality." "It seems the Premier League are quite happy to give Chelsea the extra time after European matches but not Tottenham. Given the power Chelsea seem to have over issues like this, I am not surprised. If the game had been played on Sunday lunchtime, Chelsea would still have had well over two full days to prepare for the Valencia game. As it is, Tottenham get 36 hours." THE REFEREE'S A CONSPIRATOR "It was a penalty to Sheffield United at Old Trafford. It is not a conspiracy, it is fact. I speak facts. If not, I need big glasses. If you tell me it was not a penalty - or a penalty for Middlesbrough, or for us against Newcastle, I must go to my optician." "He's been talking about referees and he's the last person who should talk about referees. The biggest fear for us is that by citing the fact we are not allowed to get penalties at Old Trafford, Mourinho is putting incredible pressure on referees." "I promise you if one day I have a ball that is two metres inside my goal and the referee doesn't allow it [as happened when Pedro Mendes' goal for Spurs against Man Utd was disallowed], I will not speak about referees for two years." "There is plenty of talk about Chelsea and referees and Mourinho and referees. I have a big catalogue on it. Chelsea is an incredible club, so I think Jose should button his lip now for good, for the rest of the season." TEACHER, LEAVE THAT RONALDO KID ALONE "Ronaldo needs to be mature enough to accept you cannot argue against facts. Maybe it's about a difficult childhood, no education." "If Ronaldo says it's a lie Manchester United have conceded some penalties this season which have not been awarded against them, then he's lying." "It is really below the belt to bring class into it. Just because you come from a poor, working-class background does not mean you are not educated." "What Ronaldo has are principles - that is why he has not responded. Some people are educated but have no principles." PREMIERSHIP RUN-INS "If Ferguson thinks it's over he's in trouble because it's not. We are here for the fight and I enjoy the fight. It is better to be in front but let's chase them - we can do it." "We will only be in trouble if we listen to Jose too much. It's Jose, he's panicking already." [Ferguson quips after his mobile phone rings during a media conference] "Considering the problems Chelsea have had, United should be 10, 12, 14 points clear of us. I am happy to be six points behind." "It has been a good day. We didn't expect to be six points clear tonight but I think the best thing for us to do is look at the next game." "It doesn't matter who I think is the best team, what matters is the team with more points is the champion. "Jose understands winning and losing are twins in a way. When you win you don't gloat and when you lose you don't go bananas." "I have to congratulate the champions Manchester United, their players, manager, fans, the board; all the people who helped them become champions." "Maybe the fact Chelsea have dominated the Premiership for two years and we had a big job to do to catch them makes this title special." MAKING FA CUP FINAL HISTORY "If we win the trophy, we can say we have won every competition in domestic football." "I am so pleased Manchester United are one of the first teams to play at the new Wembley." "If both teams can have an attacking and positive spirit, we can make the game a real final. I will be very sad if the final is not a good event, with a good winner and a proud loser." "When we got beat by Liverpool last season, I was hoping the stadium would not be finished because I really wanted to be one of the teams taking part in the first final there."

CHELSEA Your say - 606 Weather BBC London Chelsea audio Official club website MANCHESTER UNITED Your say - 606 Weather BBC Manchester Official club website SEE ALSO Ferguson fears Wembley shoot-out 18 May 07 | FA Cup Cup final referee wary of diving 18 May 07 | FA Cup Chelsea v Manchester United 16 May 07 | FA Cup Where are they now? 17 May 07 | FA Cup Road to Wembley photos 17 May 07 | Football FA Cup final select XI 16 May 07 | FA Cup Owen Hargreaves column 16 May 07 | Football FA Cup final Ten to Tackle 17 May 07 | Fun and Games The new Wembley Stadium 16 May 07 | Football Pat Nevin's Wembley verdict 17 May 07 | FA Cup Houchen ready for Wembley return 17 May 07 | FA Cup RELATED BBC LINKS: Football on the BBC Your say - 606 RELATED INTERNET LINKS: FA The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

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Football: The new Wembley Stadium

Originally known as the Empire Stadium, Wembley was initially built to stage the British Empire Exhibition in 1924. It opened with the 'white horse' FA Cup final of 1923, when an estimated 200,000 people tried to get into the 126,000-capacity stadium. Among its many events, Wembley hosted every FA Cup final from 1923-2000, rugby league's Challenge Cup final, the League Cup final and the 1948 Olympics. England's 1966 World Cup win provided the finest hour, but its final hour was not so enjoyable as Kevin Keegan's England lost to Germany in a World Cup qualifier. 1 2 3 4 5

Football: Behind the scenes at Wembley with Lord Foster

Last Updated: Friday, 18 May 2007, 11:01 GMT 12:01 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version

Behind the scenes at Wembley with Lord Foster

Wembley architect Lord Foster gives Match of the Day's Adrian Chiles a tour of the magnificent new stadium. Watch this feature in full during Saturday's FA Cup final coverage, from 1240 BST on BBC ONE. Architect Lord Foster's Wembley tour - see more in FA Cup final MOTD

RUGBY: All black for 20 years - but New Zealand red hot favourites

18 May 2007
*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Jamie Scott - Sportal

They won the first-ever World Cup in 1987, but the All Blacks have since failed to live up to their reputation as the team to beat. Now they are cast-iron favourites to end their barren run this autumn. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the inaugural Rugby World Cup, held in New Zealand in 1987. That year the hosts dominated the tournament, the All Blacks thumping France 29-9 in the final. The Kiwis were the first team to hoist the William Webb Ellis trophy in victory. Most experts in the rugby world thought this would be the beginning of a New Zealand stranglehold on the World Cup. In the intervening years, they have reached at least the semi-final of every competition, but almost unbelievably, they have failed to get their name on the trophy again. Almost every World Cup tournament has had a story of All Blacks woe attached to it. The 1991 event was pretty clear cut. They played their arch-enemies Australia in the semi-finals at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, but an Aussie team featuring legends such as Nick Farr-Jones, Michael Lynagh and David Campese proved too strong and ran out 16-6 winners. The story of the 1995 World Cup could be a book in itself. After years in the sporting wilderness due to apartheid, South Africa had been welcomed back into the game, and were World Cup hosts that year. With Nelson Mandela seemingly present at every match, the wave of local support behind the South Africans was immense. But the All Blacks turned up with one of the strongest teams in years. Sean Fitzpatrick was still captain, while Andrew Mehrtens marshalled the back line from 1st five, and his goal kicking was superb. New stars were on the scene such as Jeff Wilson and Josh Kronfeld. The hugely talented Zinzan Brooke was at No.8. But one man was stealing all the headlines -- a 20-year-old Polynesian of Tongan descent called Jonah Lomu. He was the archetypal modern winger. Standing at 6ft 5in and weighing in at over 19 stone, Lomu was capable of running the 100 metres in under 11 seconds. He was a juggernaut of a man. From the moment the first ball was kicked, the All Blacks were unstoppable. Cruising through the group stages unbeaten (scoring a world record 145 points against Japan), they then dispatched Scotland in the quarter-finals, setting up a mouth-watering semi-final showdown with an in-form England. What followed was one of the most famous matches in rugby history. Lomu almost single-handedly beat the English team, scoring four tries, and literally flattening the England defence of the Underwood brothers, Mike Catt and Will Carling in the process. Two late Carling tries made the score 45-29 -- a bit more respectable for England. In the other half of the draw, South Africa had also progressed to the semis, and won a tough fought match against France 19-15. So it was the dream final the world wanted... the hosts up against the mighty All Blacks. Rugby wise, the final wasn't the best, but for sheer sporting drama it was unbeatable. Level at 12-12 at full time, the match went to extra time, before the right boot of Joel Stransky stroked over the winning drop goal. The seemingly unbeatable All Blacks had lost. Conspiracy theories abounded. The All Blacks claimed (and some still do to this day) that their food was poisoned, and the whole team fell ill on the day of the match. When I saw Nelson Mandela handing over the trophy to South African captain Francois Pienaar, I believed it was fate. It was back to Britain for the 1999 World Cup. The All Blacks arrived as red-hot favourites. With Lomu, Wilson and Cullen making up the back three, they were the most potent attacking force in world rugby, and Mehrtens' goal-kicking was as reliable as ever. The men in black cruised through the early rounds, with the likes of Wilson and Lomu (he scored in every game) running in tries for fun. New Zealand easily dispatched the Scots in the quarter-finals, to book a semi-final berth against the French, in a rematch of the 1987 final. The thing about French rugby, with all their Gallic flair, is that they can be terrible one day and mesmerising the next. The French team that turned up that day was the latter. The French back-line was on fire, running in four tries and opening up a huge lead. It left the All Blacks too much to do, and they finally lost 31-43. The Australians went on to beat the French in the final. The semi-final loss to the French was such a shock that the whole of New Zealand went into mourning for about a month! In 2003, it was back to the southern hemisphere to Australia for the World Cup. England had risen to become the number one team in the world, under the captaincy of Martin Johnson. The All Blacks were a team in transition, with the likes of Lomu, Wilson etc gone, and a new breed of players coming through, like Daniel Carter and Joe Rokocoko. New Zealand No.10 Carlos Spencer pulled the strings, and was one of the most gifted ball players I've ever had the privilege to watch. The early rounds all went to plan, and the semi-final line-ups were England v France and New Zealand v Australia. The world wanted an England v All Blacks final -- the two best teams in the world. England duly delivered their side of the bargain in a powerful 24-7 demolition of the French. But the Kiwis simply didn't turn up. They played poorly. Credit to the Wallabies, they played well to run out 22-10 winners. England went on to win a thrilling final, with Jonny Wilkinson kicking the winning drop goal in extra time. But once again the All Blacks had failed on the biggest stage. So this brings us to 2007, with another World Cup looming closer by the day. I'm a gambling man by nature, and I know what a mugs' game it can be, but I'd be prepared to put my house on the All Blacks winning this year. Over the last couple of years, they have changed the face of rugby, and taken it to another level. Their lines of running, their off-loading in the tackle, the intensity of their all-round play is head and shoulders above the rest of the world. I truly believe the New Zealand second XV would win the World Cup. They have the two best players in the game in flanker Richie McCaw and 1st five Carter. I cannot see them losing.

RUGBY: Watson: Stats reveal it all

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog
Thursday 17th May 2007

Watson: It's elementary - isn't it?

Statistically, Stormers loose forward Luke Watson is currently the form player of the southern hemisphere.

That's according to the measure of the fantasyrugby.com, a website that offers rugby fans an opportunity to select a Super 14 team and then compete with that selection against other fans, by measuring the various fans' fantasy sides based on the statistical performance of the players.

Players are given points for tries scored, goals kicked, tackles made, defenders beaten, turnovers won, clean lineouts as well as providing assistance in another's scoring of a try.

Points are deducted for a missed goal kick, ball turned over to opposition and penalties conceded.

With the assistance of avid reader Tim Colmer, Rugby365 accessed the statistics for this year's fantasy league.

Watson is the player who amassed the most points in this year's Super 14.

Watson has been rated the top loose forward before in the competition, and this year saw him become the most valuable player to select in your own personal fantasy team.

For the statistically-minded Springbok coach Jake White this perhaps confirms that there are more than rugby issues steering the current controversy around the national camp in Bloemfontein.

A look at the points table reveals that New Zealand players came off worse, probably because their star players were only playing half of the competition.

But this does not change the fact that out of five full-strength South African sides, Watson broke and made more tackles, scored more tries and won more turnovers than any other.

The only player that could challenge his statistical throne is Cheetahs loose forward Juan Smith, who, whilst falling behind Watson first and Matfield second on the total points table, because of injury-enforced match absences, did have a higher points average per game.

Perhaps the obvious weakness of these rankings is the fact that creative and personal value to the team is immeasurable in statistics, but the boom in credence given to player statistics, championed by Sir Clive Woodward of England, is something which has always driven player performance.

Other players shown to be top performers were Vicotr Matfield, who, along with Corniel van Zyl and Gary Botha was top tight forward performer, as well as Stormers fly-half Peter Grant, whose intense game involvement was rewarded by being placed as the top performer amongst the backs, ahead of Matt Giteau and Stephen Donald.

Much, of course, is dependent on the player remaining injury-free, but in age which player injury costs unions money, such a quality is not to be under-estimated.

Mose Tuali'i, who himself is knocking on the door of All Black inclusion, and has already been capped unlike Watson, was the top New Zealand performer, along with Daniel Braid, Troy Flavell, Stephen Donald and Ross Filipo.

Oregan Hoskins, the President of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) who vetoed Jake White's initial selection and added the name of Luke Watson to the Springboks' first training squad of the year, has, despite demonstrating some inadequacies with handling the media, continuously justified his decsion by saying that the Presidency's concern has always been that Watson is being excluded because of a personal vendetta and not for rugby issues. Hoskins believed that finally his hand was forced.

Such a statistic as this, may just be the kind of ammunition Hoskins requires as the embattled President fights off his detractors for his interference in squad selection.

RUGBY: SABC To Televise Super 14 party

Friday 18 May 2007

The Super 14 final between the Sharks and Bulls will be televised live on SABC at 3pm.

While SuperSport has the exclusive rights to all Super 14 rugby in South Africa, the government has declared the King’s Park showdown a match of “national interest” and insisted it be televised on the national broadcaster too.

The SABC has shown delayed broadcasts of home Bok Tests in recent years, but this will be the channel’s first Super Rugby match ever.

While SuperSport’s bosses will be fuming at the loss of their exclusivity, the SA Rugby Union should be commended for taking the game to a wider audience.

Kyle Nel, Saru’s commercial manager, described the news as extremely positive.

“SA Rugby is very pleased that Supersport and SABC could come to an agreement,” he said. “By showing the match live, SABC would contribute to a much larger broadcasting footprint, which is fitting for such an important occasion.

“The Super 14 final is an historic first for South Africa and we are pleased that more South Africans would be able to enjoy what promises to be a fantastic final.”