Sharks coach Jake White believes 4 wins from 4 on their Australasian tour is a realistic goal to aim for.
White’s charges will be eager to get back to winning ways when they face the Melbourne Rebels on Friday, especially after coming badly unstuck in their last game – a 34-18 home loss to the Highlanders.
Sport24
The Sharks will also face the Brumbies, Crusaders and Blues on tour and White wants to return home with four victories.
“If I don’t believe we can do that, then I’m wasting my time,” White was quoted as saying.
“I read somewhere that we have never beaten the Crusaders in Canterbury. The nice thing about that is it’s going to happen.
“So why can’t it be this year?” asked White.
“We prepare to win every game, but it’s all relative. If we have a full-strength team, and are playing well, I think we can beat anyone. Once you go into a tour thinking, ‘If we win here, and lose that one’, you end up losing everything.”
White also believes his exposure to trans-Tasman rugby during his tenure as coach of the Brumbies will aid the Sharks.
He said he has gained insight on how they prepare for games over there which will stand his team in good stead.
Despite losing to the Highlanders last week, the Sharks are still at the top of the overall Super Rugby log with 7 wins from 9 outings, leading the Brumbies by 1 Log point.
Look, the SA Conference has it’s problems in 2014, not a single win overseas yet.. whilst the lowest placed NZ side slides by the Top OF The Log Sharkies in SA!!
But… a SA side still tops the Cobined Log!
Looking at the International Windows coming up, I believe we have found some depth in certain positions.. and we are bare in a couple of positions.
Loosehead: Beast & Coenie Oosthuizen
Hookers: Bismarck du Plessis & Adriaan Strauss
Tighthead: Big Problem!!
Locks: No problems – Flip van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth, Paul Willemse, Victor Matfield
Openside: No problems – Francois Louw, Heinrich Brussow, Marcell Coetzee, Jaco Kriel, Derick Minnie
Blindside: Willem Alberts, Jean Deysel, Lappies Labuschagne, Jacques du Plessis, Willie Britz
No 8: Duane Vermeulen, Ryan Kankowski, Phillip van der Walt
Scrumhalf: Fourie du Preez, Francois Hougaard, Charl McLeod, Sarel Pretorius
Fyhalf: Morné Steyn, Marnitz Boshoff, Francois Steyn (if needs be), Elgar Watts, hell even Jacques-Louis Potgieter (Lambie injured)
Left Wing: Bryan Habana, Lwazi Mvovo, Cornal Hendricks, Bjorn Basson, S’Bura Sithole
Inside Centre: Francois Steyn, Jean de Villiers, Damian de Allende
Outside Centre: Jean de Villiers (next to Francois Steyn), Juan de Jongh, Paul Jordaan, S’Bura Sithole, Jaque Fourie
Right Wing: JP Pietersen, Willie le Roux (if needs be)
Fullback: Willie le Roux, Zane Kirchner, Lwazi Mvovo (if needs be)
Let me put it another way… we know damn well who dit not step up to the plate… Piet van Zyl, Louis Schreuder, Peter Grant, Jaco Taute, Jurgen Visser, SP Marais, Demetri Catrakilis, Siya Kolisi, Schalk Burger, Deon Fourie, any of the Sharks & WP locks, Johan Goosen, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein….
Saders are a different team to the one that just beat the Stormers at the start of the season, cant see the Shorks winning that one.
Jakes inside knowledge of the brumbies may help, but cant see them winning that either. Rebels and Blues Sharks best chance on tour, but as SA rugby is in such a freefall I doubt they’ll beat either of those teams. the very favourable draw with so many home games has inflated the Shorks position. I expect them to be third on the log soon enough.
cant wait for the 6th SA side to enter the competition. shame they didnt this year, the Shorks could have been further ahead 😀
@ nga puhi:
It was a sixth team or they’d walk ( not sure where to), a 6th SAFFA team will weaken the comp even further, there should only be 4 or 5 SAFFA teams they just don’t have the depth to sustain 5 or 6 teams
Reading through the comments on Jakes comment that he believe he can win all 4 games left me in awe. What the f#ck do you go do on tour if you don’t believe you can win any game? I mean really, do you think any NZ team come to SA to try and not lose by more than 7?
It is because of this moronic new SA thinking that our standards are so low.
Good on you Jake! Even if you don’t win all 4 at least you had the correct mind-set going into the games, and that is all we can ask as supporters.
Now to the rest of SA supporters, grow some balls and pick yourselves up out of the gutter.
@ grootblousmile:
Benjamin deserves a mention. also we need to look for an outside center to play outside center. it is an absolute waste to play guys like jdj and jdv there our backline would never have any fluency…
Just imagine conrad smith playing inside center and dewet barry playing 13… it would never work but we are going to keep on with this grrr
JJ has not been great on attack this year maybe Sadie has been good though I believe this is down to benjamin having a great season inside him.
People like to bitch about who is a no4 lock and who is a no5 lock but the should be dwarfed by who playes 12 and 13.
@ nortierd:
@14
“And I’m sure the Anzac refs can’t wait for the free lectures on scrumming and the rules of rugby by Jannie and Bissie. They will be thrilled to be schooled by such legends of the game”
Brilliant!
🙂
That prior to the match bragging by JW put him in the same category of PdV; no other 1st class SA rugby coach used such a style, show me wrong?
Remember Ireland 2006?
@ MacroBull:
Yep, he makes his tackles, something only Frans Styen can boast out of all current centres
Well, JdV can tackle too but he seldom connects, all the rest incld Sadie, Jordan, Serfontein or JJ will not tackle no matter what, doctors’ prescribes!
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