For years the Sharks have lead South African rugby, if not world rugby, in the way they market their brand and team oozing success at all levels, but it seems to me that lately they are doing their level best to destroy all this.
Twenty years ago the Sharks emerged from South African rugby’s version of middle-earth in the most spectacular fashion, winning the Currie Cup in their centenary year in a spectacular final against the much fancied Blue Bulls.
Since that day, Sharks rugby went from strength to strength and basically ruled rugby on the local scene in the 1990’s, creating one of the most powerful brands in world rugby.
Not only did they control things on the pitch producing Springboks left, right and center, but their administration was the envy of rugby unions all over the world. It was the union everyone wanted to play for or become like.
Now fast forward to today.
In recent years the Sharks have fumbled and stumbled both on and off the pitch.
Sure there was successes in reaching the 2007 Super 14 final and winning the Currie Cup in 2008, but in-between and following that one cannot help think that the Sharks brand and playing ability have slowly regressed to the point where even the most ardent of supporter has to be asking himself what the hell the union is up to?
They have lost players (not always under the best of circumstances) the likes of Brad Barritt (top performer in the Guinness Premier League currently), Frans Steyn (revelation in the French Top 14) and Butch James who recently was very critical about the union and the way they deal with people.
Then there was the hired guns in Hernandez, Goode and now Pretorius it seems who if we are honest, failed and/or boggled the mind… Even the acquisition of Steve Meyer left a very sour taste after he inexplicably retired from rugby just after arriving in Durban.
To add to all this we had the very public and very ugly legal wrangling between the Sharks and the Lions regarding the services of Louis Ludik (who has yet to prove his worth in gold) and Willem Alberts. They did win both those battles, but the lessons learned from these two situation should surely have taught and prepared the Sharks for their dealings with Lionel Mapoe which has now also gone the legal dispute route with the Cheetahs president, Harold Verster, insisting that Mapoe is legally contracted to the Cheetahs and they will not give him a release certificate.
Now all of a sudden rumours are also flying around that the Sharks are set to lose their inspirational skipper and stalwart John Smit and yet another talented back in Ruan Pienaar.
It is also not really an option for the Sharks union to hide their apparent administrative shortcomings and fall back on or point to recent performances on the field since that too has frankly been rubbish of late where they were knocked out in the semi-finals of the Currie Cup last year by the Cheetahs and only managed a disappointing 9th on the Super 14 log.
And whether true or untrue, rumours about rifts in the Sharks camp has not helped their cause in any way.
Essentially, the once powerful and successful PR machine at work in the Sharks which created that enviable brand in the early 90’s and early 21st century has all but disappeared as the union seem to struggle from one legal battle to the next, squashing unsavoury rumours or trying to justify player performances.
Sitting from the outside looking in, it seems the Sharks management and administration failed to move with the times failing to re-invent themselves to stay ahead of the pack in what now has become to a neutral observer nothing more than an outdated old boys club.
The Sharks are too good and too important for SA Rugby to continue the way they are doing now, and it is about time someone does something about it.
Two words:
Rudolf Streauli
Two words;
Kamp Staaldraad!!
…
Daai sal hulle f*kken regruk!! 😆
Ok, dan is dit Four Words
Well written article Morne.
I’ve said as much on the Mapoe issue. Dont say the Sharks will be found wanting at all…
It’s just that a question mark starts hanging over their heads regarding the honourability in wich they approach these dealings…
What I find fascinating about the Sharks’ recruitment approach over the past 15 years is their 10 policy.
How many overseas pivots have they signed in the past?
I can think of the following:
Thierry Laxroix
Gregor Townsend
Nick Evans
Frederic Michalak
Juan Hernandez
Andy Goode
@ willievz:
Tony Brown…
Cant comment guys, I am no longer close to it.
It is certainly true organisations need to reinvent themselves, and after this years S14 results, there should be some hard questions asked at the Strat planning session for next year at the Sharks.
Wonder what my old mate Anton van der Post thinks about this. Anton if you’re out there, lets hear from you.
@ willievz:
It seems they are searching for the ultimate general , they dream of a nr 10 that can dictate like Naas did, but lately the no 9,s are the pivots and they have a good one in Kockott and Ruan.
@ Morné: Yes Tony Brown, I got confused with Nick Evans.
@ superBul: The problem is that none of those flyhalves before the Goode transaction listed played like a general. Most of them are flyhalves that attack(ed) the gain lain or who are renowned for their distribution skills from second phase onwards.
Same applies to the few South African flyhalves that featured for them over the years such as Honiball and James.
With Andy Goode, they tried to go the other way. They tried to slow the game down and play a more territorial game, at least for the first 60 minutes. Problem is, any domestic flyhalf in the Vodacom Cup could have performed better than Goode (at least in a similar game plan).
Simple.
Act with integrity in anything you do.
@ Ashley:
HAhahahaha! Another day made by Ashley!!
pod hulle terug b afdeling toe en gee die kings hulle spot
Get rid of R. Straueli.
Also remember this is the first year for awhile that sharks have not finished well. We made the final in 2007 and the Semi the next year and won the CC. We will be back. Also if we never had some really bad ref calls this year who knows we could have been in the semi.
Sharks too pro to let it fall apart. Just get rid of Straueli.
“team oozing success at all levels.”
One CC in the last decade? Not success in my book Morne.
@ WilladieLeeu:
Uhm…
That was a reference to the Sharks team of the 90’s if you read correctly…
@ Morné:
Ruled rugby in the 90’s. Also a matter of opinion.
@ WilladieLeeu:
They won the trophy for 4 out of the 10 years in the 90’s, more than any other team.
Commercially they built the most successful brand in rugby in the 90’s.
They produced or fielded a number of Springboks of that era including the most successful captains in professional rugby only behind Joost but with Joost captaining only a third of the tests Teichman did.
It is just an opinion, but a well supported one.
@ Morné:
True, but they didn’t manage to win one other trophy. Lion Cup(was a big deal in the 90’s), Superrugby or even Vodacom Cup.
Transvaal won the CC 3 times. Super 10 once. Lion Cup twice and Vodacom Cup once.
They contributed more Springboks in the 90’s than any other franchise, including the first Bok captain to lift the World Cup.
willaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
helloooooooooooooo broetsie!! lanklaas gesien!!
@ WilladieLeeu:
Context.
Francoise Pienaar lifted the World Cup, but his record as Bok captain is pretty average.
The Super 10 was contested between SANZAR nations, and although Natal never won a final, they were 2nd on the log in their pool in 1993 (the year Transvaal won it) just behind Auckland who Transvaal beat in the final.
IN 1994 they contested the final and lost against the Reds, or Queensland Rugby as they were known then with Transvaal no-where close ending up just above EP Rugby in their pool second from the bottom.
So in the three Super 10 tournaments Natal was there and there about in two season, no-where in one, same as the Lions with the only difference the Lions winning a final at Ellis Park.
The Vodacom Cup only started in 1998, not really a competition I would associate with measuring dominance in the 90’s – hell Griquas holds the record with the Lions with amount of times they won it which sort of shows you the quality of the tournament.
And I cannot find any information online on the Lion Cup, which suggests to me it was about as big as the Sport Pienaar competition or the M-Net Night Series…
But if it makes you feel better.
The Sharks and Lions dominated the 90’s, with the Sharks winning the most coveted trophy in SA rugby history, the Currie Cup once more than the Lions during that era.
He he he
Sometimes one has do dig deep , go way back in history to remind you of how good your team once were 😆
I’ll rather not go back to about those times as a BULL supporter 🙁
Rather live in the present for me, thank you very much 😀
@ Morné:
So, I assume you don’t know much about the Lion Cup then? How old are you bro?
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