Sharks
Sharks centre Tim Whitehead may have to wait until next year before feeling what it is like to play against his former Stormers teammates at Vodacom Super Rugby level.
Cheetahs (14) 20 / Sharks (21) 34 (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and The Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 17:05 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Sharks could be forced to play their Super Rugby clash this weekend against the Cheetahs without star flyhalf Patrick Lambie due to injury.
Sharks (20) 53 / Force (6) 11 (Final Score)
The Sharks and Western Force did battle in Super Rugby at Mr Price Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Vodacom Super Rugby has been attracting bumper TV audiences as it reached the halfway mark at the weekend. Average viewership has increased by 15% on 2011, while viewership of South African derbies averages 685,581, making it easily the most popular sporting event on DSTV’s premium bouquet – apart from Springbok Test matches.
Sharks (15) 28 / Highlanders (9) 16 (Final Score)
The Sharks and Highlanders did battle in Super Rugby at Mr Price Kings Park at 17:05 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Sharks will be boosted for the next big push in the Super Rugby Competition, with a number of players coming back into contention for selection.
DHL Western Province, the Sharks XV (South Section), GWK Griquas and the Ford Pumas (North) will host the four Vodacom Cup quarterfinals next weekend after all of them finished the league phase of the competition with victories.
Sharks (3) 12 / Chiefs (10) 18 (Final Score)
The Sharks and Chiefs did battle in Super Rugby at Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Sharks are holding out hope that bruising Springbok hooker and master poacher Bismarck du Plessis makes a speedy recovery from an assortment of injuries.
Former Springbok and Sharks lock Alistair Hargreaves has agreed to join Saracens from the start of the 2012/13 Aviva Premiership Rugby season.
The rather yo-yoing Sharks have a dual responsibility in their influential Super Rugby meeting with new overall log-leaders the Chiefs at Mr Price Kings Park on Saturday.
Not only will victory mean an awful lot in their quest to qualify for the playoffs again this year, but their halting the charge of the currently rampant Waikato franchise is also important for the respective aspirations of better-placed compatriots the Stormers and Bulls to secure top spot on the broader table and thus the likelihood of a home final.
Generally speaking it was a much improved performance by the Sharks though it against an embattled Blues team. The main difference, this week, being the greater urgency on defence and on attack. The blues are not a happy bunch with coach Pat Lam this week burtsing into tears on national television when questioned about his opinion regarding remarks that the blues problems relate to the high number of Maori and Pacific Islanders in the team. There was also Kevin Muliamu who opinionated his unhappiness with Weepu’s physical condition. So this victory need to be considered against that back drop whether the Sharks like it or not.
Blues (13) 23 / Sharks (15) 29 (Final Score)
The Blues and The Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Eden Park, Auckland at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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While the Bulls and Cheetahs were winners on Republic’s soil over the weekend, it was the Stormers who impressed with an iron-like display against the Highlanders where the battle of the Conference leaders went firmly the way of the South Africans.
The Sharks surely had their chances but a lack of intensity on attack and defence saw them slump to a humiliating defeat.
I would venture that the travel factor -after weeks on the road- played a significant role in this lacklustre performance. They started off well in terms of holding onto the ball but there was never intensity as they took the ball up. They looked flat; no speed onto the ball; sort of just going through the steps right from the start and got even flatter as the match evolved. None of that never say die attitude that the Cheetahs enthralled us with last week against the same opposition.
Sharks prop Jannie du Plessis has been issued an off-field yellow card for his open-handed slap to the face of Hurricanes loose forward Carl Lowe during yesterday’s game.
Hurricanes (25) 42 / Sharks (3) 18 (Final Score)
The Hurricanes and Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth at 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Brumbies (16) 26 / Sharks (15) 29 (Final Score)
The Brumbies and Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Canberra Stadium, Canberra at 10:40 SA Time (19:40 Canberra Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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The big north/south Vodacom Super Rugby derby between the DHL Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town has made a lot of headlines this week and it’s probably the biggest match of the weekend.
Waratahs (13) 34 / Sharks (17) 30 (Final Score)
The Waratahs and Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Alianz Stadium, Sydney at 06:35 SA Time (15:35 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.
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The Sharks received a timely boost with the news that lock Steven Sykes will join up with his teammates in Sydney later this week – ahead of their Super Rugby encounter with the Waratahs.
Former Sharks and Springbok captain John Smit will be returning to Kings Park for one final swansong when he leads a World Invitational XV against his former team, the Sharks.
Sharks (10) 27 / Reds (17) 22 (Final Score)
The Sharks and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at Mr Price Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Sharks won their first Vodacom Super Rugby match of 2012 while the Vodacom Bulls let slip a great opportunity to remain top of the log as they lost at home to the Blues.
Sharks (17) 32 / Lions (6) 20 (Final Score)
The Sharks and MTN Lions did battle in Super Rugby at Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The sharks battled for 80 minutes in an error strewn game to break down a heavily injury depleted Lions side, who never capitulated. The Sharks secured the bonus point try in the dying seconds, and in so doing deprived the Lions of a losing bonus point.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Toyota Cheetahs have hit the road and will face the Brumbies in Canberra first up on their four-week Australasian Vodacom Super Rugby tour on Saturday.
The men from Bloemfontein are the first to leave South Africa this year as they travel to the Australian capital for a match against a team now coached by former Springbok boss Jake White.
On home soil, The Sharks will be aiming for their first victory of the season when they host the MTN Lions in Durban, before the Vodacom Bulls aim to prolong the Blues’ blues on the Highveld.
The Vodacom Bulls scored the first four-try bonus point of the season on local soil in Bloemfontein on Saturday as they beat the Toyota Cheetahs 51-19 to move to the top of the table after two weeks of Vodacom Super Rugby action.
Two from two and a bye next week for the Stormers, thats 12 points in the bag, and thats what counts. The Stormers used their ‘get out of jail free’ card this weekend, and between now and the Blues in 2 weeks, there’s a lot of work to be done.
For the Sharks it is 0 from 2 with 2 meagre bonus points.
Stormers (6) 15 / Sharks (9) 12 (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and the Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at Newlands, Cape Town at 19:10 SA Time.
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Hurricanes will continue their tour as the first non-South Africa team to tour the Republic, while the South African Conference derbies continue with a marquee encounter between the Stormers and Sharks, while the Bulls travel to play the Cheetahs.
For a competition which promotes running rugby and rewards teams who score tries, the first round of Super Rugby failed to deliver the goods.
Not one team managed to bag a bonus point for scoring four tries, with a total of just 19 tries being scored in the seven matches that were played. Is this then an indication that defenses are getting better and better?
The Sharks have been given a boost with the news that flank Willem Alberts has been cleared to play after having extensive rehabilitation during the off-season.
Springbok and Sharks prop Tendai “‘Beast” Mtawarira has been admitted to a private hospital in Cape Town suffering from heart palpitations.
Every season we muse over the potential changing of the guard, and of all the giants in Super Rugby many would have predicted that the Overlords of the game in the Republic – the Bulls – would have been a team that could have been excused for a season of rebuilding.