Jacques Botes
Fortunately for the Cell C Sharks they have a good chance of redeeming themselves when they host struggling GWK Griquas in Durban this coming weekend, but the warning lights are flickering for the Absa Currie Cup champions.
There were excuses aplenty for the Sharks coaches after their 32-22 defeat to the Steval Pumas in Nelspruit in round four, and some of them were legitimate. Injuries did during the course of the game decimate their pack.
And let’s also not take anything away from the Pumas, who have been strong at home this season and also pushed the Sharks in the first round game much more than the final scoreline would suggest.
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However, conceding four tries to one against a team they have not lost to in 10 years has to be a concern, and the reality is that it was a result that appeared to be coming for a Sharks group that is talking about transition but appears to only be getting worse from one game to the next. The Sharks were poor for much of the match, with their only period of ascendancy ironically being the period in the second half where they responded to being down to 14 men because of a yellow card.
In that time, they recovered from a deficit to actually take the lead, but then the Pumas just dug in and came back to score two tries in the last 10 minutes that secured them a bonus point win and condemned them to returning to Durban with nothing.
Sharks director of rugby Jake White has no involvement with the Currie Cup side, as he has elected to let the coaches who perform the role of assistants during the Super Rugby season grow at a level that they are still relatively new too.
More performances like last Friday night’s, however, and we will have to start asking whether what White’s decision has done has actually exposed the coaches, with the inexperience of his middle management being highlighted by some as a possible stumbling block to White’s quest for Super Rugby success with the Durban franchise.
The Sharks are still hanging in in fourth position on the log table as the halfway point nears, but it needs to be noted that the champions have enjoyed a far easier start to the competition than some of the other teams, with the Cheetahs being the only regular top side that they have played so far.
That is very different to DHL Western Province, last year’s beaten finalists, who have beaten the Vodacom Blue Bulls and the Xerox Golden Lions at home and now the Bulls away en route to a perfect start to the season. Juan de Jongh’s men host the EP Kings this coming Friday night, so the smart money should be on them completing the first half of the competition unbeaten and comfortably topping the log.
Just how comfortable that lead will be could depend on their arch-rivals from Pretoria. The Bulls were much better against WP in round four than they had been in previous matches played this year, and were pushing for what could have been a try-scoring win at the end. If they can carry that same commitment into their Loftus clash with the Lions on Saturday, there could well be an upset.
The Lions and WP have been the best teams in the competition this season by some distance, with the Lions recovering from their only defeat at Newlands by scoring an impressive win against a fired up Kings side in Port Elizabeth. They are three points adrift of WP, but will be under pressure to maintain that gap when they travel across the Jukskei River for the Gauteng derby.
WP took a while to get the better of the Bulls, but they could have put them away before halftime had they made full use of the opportunities they created. A Jaco Taute break-out from the Province 22 was wasted when Seabelo Senatla was unable to take the pass and would surely have been able to use his pace to get in for the try had he done so, and Nic Groom spilled the ball in the act of scoring just before the half-time hooter.
That opening 40 minutes did highlight an aspect their coach Allister Coetzee had spoken about during the week – while the WP counter-attacking has been outstanding, their attacking from structured play still requires a lot of work. It changed in the second half, but WP won quite a lot of ball in the first half even though they were under pressure in the scrums, and struggled to make it count.
Senatla was the outstanding player in the second half, scoring himself with a brilliant run down the left flank after Cheslin Kolbe had found him the small bit of space he needed, and his run off a good inside pass from Taute, who made an impressive fist of his opportunity at inside centre, was what set up Kobus van Wyk for his blistering run down the right touchline for the first try.
In the other match at the weekend, Griquas started to make a habit of playing home matches down to 14 men, with a red card in the first half making life difficult for them against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs just as had been the case in their opening home fixture against the Sharks. The Cheetahs were still impressive though with the way they put them away and they look as though they are improving each week.
The performance of the weekend though belonged to the Pumas, who had the Sharks under pressure in most aspects of play at the Mbombela Stadium and who look worthy at this point of the third place they hold down on the log table. Future opponents will be travelling to Nelspruit with some trepidation.
“excuses aplenty”?
that’s odd, didn’t read of one excuse in the local press.
@ Charo:
My beloved Sharks.Just read an article on Sharksworld which,reading between the lines,suggests major player drain due to JW.Hope untrue.
How are you old friend?
Looks like some people have landed “plum”jobs.
ryecatcher wrote:
Don’t you mean “some people have landed Plum’s job?”
@ nortierd:
Hi Dan.See inverted commas.Stay well friend.PS Talked with another
Stormers oke the other day.Tassies.My drink “du jour” when younger.
@ ryecatcher:
Nice, have a great evening too.
See the player ratings on Sharksworld is quite scathing as well.
Seems like the Guppies are gatvol, can we expect a palace revolt?
@ nortierd:
6 Bring on the guillotine.Let the TERROR commence.
7 @ ryecatcher:
@ nortierd:
7 And madame de Farge drops a stitch with each head that tumbles.
And Bad Brad McH continues to earn R1 million p.a for this kak.
Oh the privelege of having attended Hilton.
Bring on the Glenwood coach.
Sorry fellow Sharks.Not traitorous,merely gatvol
TO MY OLD FRIEND AND BETE NOIR, ANGOSTURA.
HI PAL.HAVE BEEN WONDERING HOW TO ADDRESS YOU.
ANGOSTURA A BIT UNWIELDY.
ANGIE AN ENDEARMENT WHICH I RESERVE FOR MY WIFE.
PINK GIN??OUT OF THE QUESTION.
SO WITH YOUR KIND PERMISSION “ANGO” IT SHALL BE.
AM OBVIOUSLY IN A LONG OVERDUE MISCHIEVOUS MOOD.
AND IT IS NOT ALCOHOL INDUCED.
STILL REEL IN AMAZEMENT AT YOUR PENCHANT FOR EATING CHOCOLATES
WHILE DRINKING COGNAC.
@ ryecatcher: evening Rye. Sad but true. Your team look to be struggling. But wait. When they line up against my boys they usually cause many of us some ‘upset’.
Hi pal,How are you doing?Hello also JJ and TR.Good okes all.
And now to bed.Good night.
@ ryecatcher:
The Current player drain is nothing compared to post world cup 2015
@ ryecatcher:
Tassies.Sleep and be well
@ ryecatcher: you enjoying this site Rye? The old Keo home was becoming a tad tacky IMHO and not for the feint-hearted.
@ Tassies:
15 Swearing is verbal bankruptcy.The recurring theme on Keo.
A clever insult is OK.And now YAWN
@ ryecatcher:
Good evening, Mkhulu – tis good to see you in a mischievous mood. I trust you’re keeping well.
Of course, you may call me Ango, but preferably not ‘Angie’. You know where the nick, Angostura, comes from? From one person’s collective insult directed at us KZN men, and the associated windmills of my mind:
For many years I used to lurk over at keo in between surfing financial pages. Then in October 2012, just after the CC final, there were major verbal handbags between certain of the Stormers & Sharks bloggers, & that pretty blonde (her nick escapes me) that used to work for keo suggested that some of the Sharks bloggers polluted the site. As far as keo-insults go that was imo of the most insipid, gentlest kind, but Sharkslover, Puma, Sharksgirl & one or two others nonetheless ruffled their Shark fins and swam off in huff (akin to what happened here, this year). They only returned many, many months later. Anyway, I decided to replenish the Sharks representation at keo (as I recently also did over here at R-T), but could not decide on a handle. During one of these S vs E skirmishes Dawn referred to us Last Outpost men as turning pink in the hot sun. I immediately had visions of Englishmen sipping pink gin in the Midday Sun, & from there it did not take much mental exertion to progress to Mad Dogs, &, of course, Angostura bitters. And so it came to pass that I registered at keo under the nick, Angostura.
Cognac & chocolate?
Well, cognac & cigars is the usual after dinner- & coffee pairing, but at age 20, SA Embassy cigars had me hooked on smoking, but I stopped smoking 5 years’ ago, so now it’s chocolate & cognac, a fine pairing, as is espresso & grappa, another of my vices. 🙂
G’nite, rye
@ Angostura:
Nikita
17 @ Angostura:
What’s wrong with some (not all) Sharks supporters, that they become runners as soon as they perceive things not going exactly to their satisfaction?
Bunch of extremely soft cocks, if you ask me!
Damn, if we all had to do a runner when our team is taken to the cleaners, then surely there would be no bloggers left, no webmaster, no site… fokoli!
19 @ grootblousmile:
Seems like they emulate their heroes.
Have you seen how upset Bissie and Boetie get when things don’t go their way? 😉
It too will pass …
(btw Puma ALWAYS spoke very highly of R-T over at keos whilst he was then blogging at both sites).
Dit is dus beter om tegemoetkomend as ongenaakbaar te wees – Puma is ‘n goeie man – maar ongelukkig net so opgeskeep & oorhoops oor die Sharks as wat ander is oor die Bulle & die Bergbokkies. 🙂 – ‘n Resep vir onderlinge struweling onder die beswaardes … he said, she said, just returning serve & al daai k@k.
21 @ Angostura:
Now is the perfect time for the Sharkies to come back, their team is so bad and play such poor rugby, they will just get sympathy from the rest
Calm before the storm…
Huge Bok support base in Perth.
Was there for the 14 -14 draw at the Subiaco Oval in 2001.
23 @ nortierd:
Hehehe
Nee, ons gaan hulle eers moer omdat hulle so oorsensitief is en weggehardloop het…
@ Angostura:
i am no fan of cognac but a retired hotelier friend of mine in ghana got me to appreciate the nuances of good chocolate and single malt whisky.
the secret is that the chocolate must be the natural version as made in ghana with no added sugar or dairy products. a surprisingly good combination if taken in moderation of course.
Interesting, thx
BTW, excellent chocolate is made in Madagascar:
http://www.thecultureist.com/2012/03/27/made-in-madagascar-the-worlds-finest-chocolate-is-finally-being-produced-at-home/
http://www.chocolatmadagascar.com/
**
http://www.madecasse.com/
Madecasse Sea Salt & Nibs was my favourite
@ Charo:
26 Good morning pal.Hope that you are well.As you would have seen
from my posts yesterday,I am pissed off with our team,but tried to keep
my comments light hearted.
Reading between the lines of the Otto guy on Sharks World,it seems that
there is a fair amount of discontent with………….No names,no pack drill.
Have a wonderful week.
Rye.
@ ryecatcher:
sorry i missed your post – have been in and out of meetings today.
i don’t follow sharks world at all although it seems that quite a few anti-sharks bloggers on here do…..
for some perverse reason.
🙄
@ Angostura:
have never tried madagascar chocolate but would imagine it is pretty good.
the ghana version is probably not as sophisticated but good quality as the they produce the best beans in the world.
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