Sharks Rugby

The Sharks average less then one try per game. Fact. 

The Sharks have not won a single match this season. Fact.

The Sharks are a poor side with little in the way of skilled players. Fiction.

The Sharks poor start to the current Super 14 campaign has left the players and fans scratching their heads in puzzlement.

On paper, they have a team which should be winning games. Their starting line up against the Brumbies included no less than 10 international players. But despite this they have been looking ragged and at a loss of confidence.

It was not the referee that killed them this time, but the errors, such as Adi Jacobs poor pass to Kankowski, which pretty much sealed their fate for another match. And the loss of ball in crucial positions, which happened a couple of times when the Shark's were in a controlling position inside the Brumbies 22.

The main saving grace that they had was 'skulleted' (as the Aussie commentators names his distinctive hair style) fly half, Andy Goode, who kicked them into the game with some fine long distance penalties. Goode, while being pinpoint accurate with the boot, did little to inspire the Sharks back line when attacking, he also looked exposed when he was run at directly. It may be that his kicking may need to be sacrificed for attacking fair by moving Pienaar(Pee-a-naar, as the Aussies call him) into fly half and brining young gun Kockett into scrum half. Something for Plumtree to think about.

The Brumbies have prop Ben Alexander to thank for their victory. The big man scored two tries in the game, a feat as rare as finding a white taxi driver in down town Soweto. As a whole the Brumbies back line looked sharper while in position, and more likely to break the line than their counter parts from Natal through players such as Tyrone Smith.

So then, final score 24-22 to the Brumbies

However, I for one, have the feeling that the Shark's are due a 'big one' after two close, close defeats in two weeks. And with that a belated kick start to their Super 14 season.

Their victory over the Hurricanes last round cemented the Durban based side in the top four.  While it was a significant margin, it was the manner in which the Sharks adjusted in the second half that impressed. 

They were having little success in outmuscling the Hurricanes, whom, despite their mixed form, remain a formidable opponent.

So the Sharks shifted their tactics, tactically kicking the Hurricanes into mistakes, backed by an all round game plan that appears unmatched by any other Super 14 outfit.

A 16 point win has led many Sharks supporters to claim that they smashed the Wellington based outfit, though the players did not regard it as such.

But to absorb the first half pressure thrown at them and come out victorious shows the opportunism, poise and strategic aplomb that may win them this championship. 

It was also a significant reversal on their 13-34 loss to the Hurricanes last year.

The 2007 Super 14 Runners up and current Currie Cup champions are but 10 competition points from securing a guaranteed semifinal spot (history shows that 38-42 points confirms semi final participation). 

No other team has such an ideal closing run to their draw.  Their upcoming match against the cellar dwelling Cheetahs will be their last match away from home. 

They then host the Crusaders in Durban, before being the last team to have a bye, and finish with three more matches on home soil. 

It will, however, test the Sharks title mettle, with their closing opponents being the Highlanders, Waratahs, and Bulls—all teams that have calculable chances of reaching the top four. 

They will have to overcome the Kwa-Zulu Natal Sharks at fortress ABSA in Durban, where they haven’t lost in Super rugby since going down 10-21 to the Brumbies on the March 24 2007.

The Sharks are now legitimate title favourites, and rightfully so.

Their aberration to the Queensland Reds aside, they have looked in a different class so far this season. 

No apparent weaknesses are combined with an ability to adapt, but curiously, numbers don’t back this up.

Statistically (tries and points conceded aside) they are the worst defensive side in the competition, missing more tackles than any other side, and sitting mid range in all other pure rugby indicators.

But they do brandish a weapon that under the ELV’s especially, is all powerful. 

They are the best kicking team in the competition by a considerable margin, utilising kicking from hand more than any other team.  In a year where kicking in general play has generally been poor, the Sharks have been the benchmark team.

This is backed up by the second best lineout of all the sides (shaded only by the Brumbies). 

But beyond this, they are uncompromising, and have a developed winning culture. 

A Springbok front row is doing the damage in the tight.  Captain Johann Muller is ruling the air in the line outs, and Ryan Kankowski is having a stellar season, showcasing the depth South Africa have with their loose forwards, especially at number eight.

Rory Kockett is in outstanding form, forming a partnership with the rapidly improving Francois Steyn that is marshaling a backline laden with Test players. 

Stefan Terblanche is catching the eyes of selectors with his assured performances from the back, shading the incumbent fullbacks.

If they secure a home semifinal, they will be nearly impossible to stop.

It will take a drop of form, and a sharp lift from the other sides to halt an impending Shark attack on the 2009 Super 14 title.

It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of Brumbies lock Shawn Mackay, who passed away this morning after being knocked over by a car last Sunday morning.

He was 26 years old. I am not going to dwell too much on the Super 14 this weekend, as I did not get to see too much of it except for the Sharks game, as we traveled to Kokstad to play club rugby.

The South African sides did not fair to well, with only the Sharks keeping the nations flag flying high. The Bulls played well, and in the bits that I saw on Friday, they were more than a match for the Crusaders, going down 16-13.

Although there were passages of play that they did well, the fact that the Crusaders scrum was so powerful did not help the Bulls cause. The Western Force, for want of a better word, thumped the Reds, 39-7.

The Force dominated, and the pace of their three quarters proved just too much for the Reds. On Saturday, the Lions seemed to be heading for the upset on the season, but then it happened. South African teams forget that a game of rugby is 80 minutes long.

The Chiefs fought back to win comfortably in the end, 36-29. Hopefully the Lions will learn from this and win next week, then again we can wish.

The Waratha’s vs. the Stormers was not a great game. In fact, I heard that many a Stormers fan fell asleep watching the game. 12-6… not an exciting score line.

The Cheetahs went down again, losing to a Brumbies team that was playing for their gravely ill brother in arms stood little chance, losing 27-40. There will certainly be a lot of passion and emotion at the Brumbies next home game.

Onto the Sharks. It was always going to be the game of the weekend, and it certainly did not leave anybody in doubt that it was. The Sharks beat the Canes, 33-17, and although many in the “know” reckon the Sharks were lucky, I disagree.

They played structured rugby, stuck to the basics, tackled like Trojans. Frans Steyn played very well at 10, and was powerful with ball in hand, but the fact that the Sharks forwards dominated, set the platform for the backs to run wild.

John Plumtree will now need to keep his charges feet firmly on the ground when they travel to Bloemfontein on Saturday. The table is still very open, and even Canes on 20 points with a game in hand is still very well set for a home Semi-Final.

Onto club rugby and a bug bear of mine! Where is the support in the National and Provincial structures for club rugby? Now, I am not saying that the Sharks Rugby Union do not look after the premier league clubs, the millions that get pumped into these teams is great. It also helps these clubs with their junior structures as the money attracts the youngsters to their clubs.

The other great thing for these clubs is the fact that the majority of the Academy players only play for the top club sides. However, if a team like Rover drills the Crusaders 91-0 in a Frank Norris u/20 A game, questions need to be asked about how players get distributed to the clubs.

Out of 350 registered Academy students, why do less than 100 play club rugby? Why are the surplus players not sent to the junior clubs, to play rugby and assist with development of the game? As I said, we were down in Kokstad this Saturday, and every year they seem to be struggling more and more with the support of their club—not in the lacking of players, but in the support of the club, spectators, sponsors, assistance with coaches.

SARU spend millions of rand every year in development of rugby, grass root levels bring young players of colour through trying to teach them what this great game is all about. They get to go to rugby schools. Some of them excel, Some get chosen for provincial and even national school representative sides. Some on merit, and Some because the government says you need to select them.

The problem here is that once they leave school, they go back home to where they grew up. In many cases, this is back to a farm, no running water, no electricity, and the prospect of finding work being so slim, playing rugby is not top of their agenda. The administrators and government need to look to the clubs and assist them by getting the corporates involved in sponsorship—money that could be used toward developing the rugby clubs.

Kit is expensive. Equipment like tackle bags, cones, rugby balls, even a field to train on is a luxury at many clubs. Money is often thrown at “development,” and given to club administrators with no accountability for what is done with it.

Why not, instead of giving this money to the clubs, employ representatives to work for the clubs and making them responsible in assisting the club committees to run these clubs, and develop the rugby in each community.

Set measurable targets. If you have a major sponsor, like say, Huntsman in Amanzimtoti, and make them the custodians of Toti Rugby Club or SAPREF the custodians of Wentworth Rugby Club, you would have a win-win situation for both parties.

The Clubs would have a fixed budgeted amount of money that they would be assured of from the company, and spending would only happen on the agreement of both parties. Say new rugby balls, kit, and after game kit for the players and feeding program. Companies could start trainee apprentice programs for school leavers that are talented in rugby.

So not only do they get to learn a trade and become economically independent, they also get the opportunity to carry on playing a game that they love. Hence, these players are not lost to rugby once out of school.

The big draw card for the companies, besides free advertising for themselves in the area and media, is that they also get tax relief from government. Yes, there will always be detractors saying how a rugby club committee and a corporate sponsor will be able to work together when you use the company’s money.

Well, this is never going to be easy, but if the ground rules are laid out properly and is mutually agreed upon by both parties, and also the union and government, it should make life a lot easier.

We all know just how difficult the economic times are right now, and how hard it is to find sponsors, but something like this would help club rugby so much. Imagine if junior clubs could field six teams every weekend.

Imagine if towns like Kokstad, Richards Bay, Pietermaritzburg, Port Shepstone, Ladysmith and Newcastle had rugby teams that could compete with the Rovers, Collegians and Harlequins of this world.

We have very good school structure in KZN; we have world class tertiary institutions in this province, rugby clubs with long and proud traditions and a Sharks rugby team that is flying high. If your provincial goal is to be the best in the country, even the world, you need to develop local talent and you need to sustain the talent.

Only if you have collective buy in the whole community would you see success of this type of plan. It is nice to dream, but it is achievable, and only if everybody works together towards the same goal will this work. Make rugby the winner! Until next week! Stay fit have a safe Easter. Onetime.

A lot of mistakes cost both the Sharks and the Lions a bonus point in this week's game at the ABSA stadium. The Sharks attacking play was just not good enough and the Lions kept them down to only three tries. The Lions looked terrible and suffered at their own hand. Knock-ons, forward passes and other instances of bad execution stopped them in their tracks time and again.

Earl Rose opened the scoring with a drop-goal after a full 14 minutes. This was to be the standard for the rest of the game - sloppy play interrupted by someone getting it right and scoring points.

Deon Carstens put the hosts in front with a try after some good pressure from the Sharks. They enjoyed the biggest share of the possession and territory, but just could not capitalise on that. Ruan Pienaar did not bring his kicking boots to the ABSA stadium.

Despite the Lions missing a lot of tackles and suffering in the set-pieces they managed to end the half only 8 points to 3 behind the Sharks.

In the second half the greasy ball and humid temperature dominated the game. The Lions managed to stick their noses in front for a few minutes thanks to an excellent try by Ashwin Willemse and the conversion by Earl Rose.

The Sharks hit back with two tries by Ryan Kankowski, a classic eighth-man-out-sprinting-the-back-line-defence which was adored by the Durban crowd, and JP Pietersen rounding off a sustained period of pressure in the visitor's 22.

The final score was 25-10 to the Sharks. The Lions need to live up to their name - not the habit of lying around doing nothing, but that uncanny speed and strength the King of the Jungle unleashes on its prey in the wild.

The Sharks also have some work to do in order to justify their title as effortless killers in the deep oceans. Seeking and destroying opposition teams in the same merciless fashion as their namesake in the waters off Southern Africa.

In the end it was a real circus-like comedy of errors and a big headache for anyone who thought that the Sharks will be able to reach the Super 14 final in 2009.