Willem alberts
Pieter-Steph du Toit
Springboks Pieter-Steph du Toit and Willem Alberts are back training with the Sharks after long injury layoffs.
Lock Du Toit missed much of last season with a serious knee injury, while loose forward Alberts was laid low after a back operation last July.
The duo are back in training as the Sharks start their preparations for this year’s Super Rugby competition. Both have been training well and showed no discomfort from the injuries.
There was however less good news for lock Stephan Lewies, who will reportedly remain sidelined with injury for an extended period.
Sport24
With Director of Rugby Gary Gold still tied up with commitments in Japan, former coach Brendan Venter has taken charge of training in the interim, along with the rest of the coaching team of Brad MacLeod-Henderson, Sean Everitt and Paul Anthony.
The Sharks will start their pre-season with a training game against a team made up of various Durban clubs in two weeks, before heading overseas to face the French and European champions, Toulon on 5 February.
They start their Super Rugby campaign at home against the Cheetahs on 14 February.
Lmfao so now Faf chooses the team shirts.
Does he choose the England shirts too because they are the same.
I’ll take the rest of your post with the same pinch of salt.
😀
@ MacroBull:
@ 83
Its not only Hashim and AB who have much better first class batting averages than Faf. JP Duminy and even Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl also have better averages at first class level.
If Faf was so brilliant he must surely also be able to make runs at first class level?
hi GB… why should I see it as an attack on me…? no such thoughts…
i thought I had backed it up… 😯 but maybe need to be little clearer… if a little repetitive… (apologies to JJ and others…)
but first… hehe… since when does everyone need to quote someone else’s opinions/feelings /examples for a post, comment or opinion on RT to be valid…? heck… if everyone had to quote someone else you’d never get any new thoughts onto RT… what’s wrong with some original perspectives… whether you agree or disagree with them…?
if I quote other people’s opinions then I am just regurgitating other peoples opinions and not formulating my own… and not putting anything new on the table for debate…
okay… Faf has stated ad nauseum he wants to nail the number 3 slot for himself… that he wants to take jacques place etc etc…
i don’t need anyone to tell me their opinion on that… I have heard him say it many many times… straight from the Faf’s mouth… if you haven’t heard him say that then you can shuttle through video clips of his interviews to find them… if you don’t believe me that he has said it repeatedly… that’s fine too…
i have also heard AB, Hash, Quinton, Dean, David and others say words to the effect that they will bat or play wherever and whatever they are asked to do as long as they can play… again… if you haven’t heard them…??
no need for me to defer to anyone else’s opinion… those are digitally recorded statements by the players themselves…
so… who sounds like the team player…? and who sounds like they’re in it for themselves…?
don’t answer… rhetorical question…
Faf has also stated that he did indeed suggest the style of shirts the team now wears… “because it makes us look good”… or words to that effect… clearly someone who is concerned about image… something non-egotistical people are not fussed about…
It has also been stated in interviews with Faf that he has had this long-running rivalry with AB from their school days… it is obviously something Faf thinks about… often… but in his interviews AB simply dismisses the ‘rivalry’ and talks about other things…
in the T20 last year… amid great controversy and press chat about AB not being promoted up the order Faf tried to justify his position and why AB would be best served coming in later… clearly going against conventional wisdom on the Number 3 slot… the only game we really dominated was when Faf was suspended for a slow-over rate and AB captained the side and won the game virtually on his own… the very next game Faf captained and immediately reverted to the Faf-show… and we got whupped…
I could go on… but if you haven’t seen or heard these things… it won’t make any difference to you what I say…
what i do not agree with in your comment GB is that it is somehow personal or that I do not like the player or am very very biased… biased how…?
it is disappointing that you take the route of looking for an ulterior motive… if we all start looking for deeper motives behind each others comments things will degenerate into bun-fights more often than you would like them too…
although I love WP… i am one of the least ‘provincial’ commenters on sports… i will always support a WP player playing for my team… but often pick or promote players from other provinces above WP player for the Boks… because then it is about the country not the province… I have never dissed a player because of the province he plays for… and i rate many players from other provinces… I’m also not biased against players from other countries and readily acknowledge them…
but I won’t take your assertion personally because I know that is not what I am about… and I’d be surprised if you can point out any example of me ever being like that…
but I am obliged to respond to it… lest people think it is true… 😉
suffice to say it is simply not true… I don’t get personal about players and always try to limit my comments to what I would say to the player’s face… and I would be quite happy to discuss these very points with Faf… to his face…
actually if you go back on RT… and even Keo… if you care to… the only player you will find me saying I do not like is Kieran Read… but even then I acknowledge he is a great player… but I just don’t like him…
also strange GB… that when I wrote a very favourable article about Michael Clarke… based purely on my own observations and feelings… that you never asked me to back it up with quotes from other ‘authorities’… so i can write favourable BS if I like… but not unfavourable BS…? 😆
the beauty of RT… and Keo before it… is that it allowed me to learn about the opinions and thoughts of other rugby and sports lovers… and it (nearly) always gives me food for thought… and reason to interrogate my own opinion… it would be a great pity if you challenge every opinion that differs with yours as biased because then the only comments you’ll get are those that agree with yours… and then RT will become a bit… shall we say… uniform…?
i really don’t mind if… and expect… people to challenge my comments… that’s what debate is about… you can’t have much of a debate if there’s only one team in it…
PS I’m talking about cricketers in general & not singling out any team in paeticular.
88 @ MacroBull:
cheers macro…
I haven’t heard AB say that… but have heard others say that about him…
i believe that AB should bat at 3… he is perhaps our most competent performer… and he will either be there at the end… or have set it up for the rest to take the game home…
about the tight shirts… and for @ gunther:
Faf acknowledged it in an interview… but don’t believe me… ask Faf about it… he’s very proud of his ‘fashion’ nous…!
now pass the pepper please…! 😆
90 @ ryecatcher:
howdy pal…
as I said… i’d let him fight it out with the other batters… based on current stats and form…
it would most probably do him a world of good…
@ 95 competent = consistent…
gotta dash good people…
till next time…
laters…!
@BB
Old School sure but ODIs are still a fair contest between bat & ball but I cannot deal with this T20 cr*p, the poor bowlers are on a hiding to nothing IMO,
@ ufo:
Cheers boet.
93 @ ufo:
Jeeez, now you see, that’s exactly where you got me wrong…
I accept you have an opinion and am ALL FOR you voicing it.
THAT is the reason I was careful in how I worded my comment, to make it known to you that I am open for convincing on the matter.
Now that we have THAT clear…
What I was saying in essence in my comment is that his stats disproves a lot of what you say…. and by that I mean his run averages and figures.
The rest of what you say, I gather, is bits and pieces you have picked up to make a mental picture about his personality.. and I think you backed your arguments up by repeated reference to INFERENCES you have drawn, rather than concrete proof.
If I had to cross-examine something like THAT in a Court, I would make several objections due to the speculative nature of the content of what you say and put the person to the proof thereof… simple really. Not that this is any-farking-where close to a Court (I mention it purely by example)… but the inference of SPECULATION remains.
The OTHER PEOPLE and external proof I refer to, are not fellow bloggers, but Cricket Scribes, Journo’s, Adninistrators of the game or Players… sort of “From the horse’s mouth”, for want of a better term. I refer to CONCRETE FACTS and PROOF.
I thought you had maybe met Faf, the man, and found him arrogant or egotistical or someone trustworthy that you know and won’t bullshit, had and said so… or maybe a number of people.
If you had personally met the man, and you tell me he’s a DOOS, I would believe it, as I’d trust your judgment. For instance, if I tell you I had met Bok van Blerk at a party after one of the Afrikaans is Groot concerts in Pretoria, and that he was rude and obnoxcious, egotistical and I found him to be a bit of a poephol… I think you would also think, “Hey this oke met the dude and it was his personal experience, so the chances of it being accurate is bloody good”, not true?
Michael Clarke… fark, I cannot even remember the comment or article… that’s how much he means to me in the bigger scheme of things.
So, I say convince me with facts… speculating about it is less than convincing…
@ ufo:
93
Amen and Halleluijah.Freedom of speech and all that.”Je suis Rye”
Rye
102 @ ryecatcher:
You are getting childish now, old fella.
G’nite all.
@ grootblousmile:
Apologies.Geriatric senile dementia perhaps.
Not being in the same cricket fundy league as goonts, my opinion is probably worthless.
Nevertheless I can echo much of what UFO says.
To me, Far is a determined and dedicated cricketer who plays above his natural ability. That famous knock in Oz bears testimony.
But his childhood competition against AB appears to be dominating his attitude. He is and never will be another AB – sorry to say.
I would go as far as saying that he should not even be secure in his position in any of the Process teams – there are many good players on them fringes who are more talented than him.
Perhaps less driven and determined though.
It seems almost like AB has an influence in keeping him there.
Won’t bother correcting the spellcheck mistakes.
@ ryecatcher:
You seem so clear and erudite when we meet for a beer though?
@ Charo:
True that.It,s the whisky that fuddles my brain.Beer rules.
@ grootblousmile:
101
GBS,
While it is acknowledged that you and some good mates established this site, it should also be pointed out that us bloggers make it what it is.
You seem intolerant of criticism of certain sports personalities.
On this thread, you have attacked UFO for expressing a view on Faf – it was only a view and , as such, should be welcomed and debated.
Similarly, any blogger (me and Superbul particularly), have been shouted down for having doubts about HM and/or his coaching team.
Surely, as the webmaster and founder of this site, you should welcome such comments to instigate further debate and discussion?
Otherwise, this will become a sterile and boring platform where everyone agrees and posts are few and far between?
@ robzim:
Well he averages 50 in international level, do you suggest he be dropped to work.on his first class average in franchise cricket?
110 @ Charo:
Surely you don’t read well…. go read my comments again and you’ll see I did not attack UFO.
I was very careful to state that I want a debate about it, as I felt his ASSUMPTIONS were not backed by enough proof… and that I was open for convincing.
Heck, I do not even think Faf is so great.. I also think he has flaws.
BUT… I won’t speculate about his ego, without instances to back it up.
As far as you are concerned, I feel less for you and your ego… and let THAT also be clear.
Cheers… run off now
@ grootblousmile:
112,
GBS,
Bud, thanks for the reply. Pretty much as anticipated.
113 @ Charo:
Good, you get the message
Charo wrote:
ryecatcher wrote:
😆
@ Charo:
I value the input of UFO highly. In this instance I don’t necessarily agree with all his comments re Faf. As always UfO will have his reasons which I respect.
I’m not here to defend GBS but I feel his first reaction after UfO’s comments was rather “mild” (for the lack of a better word”) and he mentioned that he encourages different point of views to stimulate debate (or something to that effect) etc.
@ grootblousmile:
Having just said the above to Charo, I don’t like the last paragraph and sentence in post 112……you are not doing yourself justice by making comments like that: just my two cents
@ MacroBull:
@111
No, lol, I wont go so far.
All I am doing is to use this glaring weakness in his “CV” to argue my point that i do not rate him as a world class batsman.
If he can still average 50 in test cricket after 40-50 tests I will reconsider my view even if his first class average remains as bad as it is currently 🙂
@ Charo:
Who on the proteas fringes should replace a player averaging 50?
GBS, you should know better:
A ‘judge’ should not descend into the arena of conflict – it clouds sound judgment …
@ robzim:
It is unlikely his 1st class average will change. I see his career progressing to averaging 40-45 eventually… which is not world class, but well above average when compared to our domestic scene…thats test cricket.
in T20 cricket he has one of the highest averages in the world currently only to be surpassed by Duminy even at a lower SR. Lets not fool around, the Proteas coaching staff does not take T20 cricket serious enough, AB rarely plays and when he does he has a very weak record. The Windies are in T20 cricket to what we are in Test cricket and we are pretty much on the same level in T20 cricket they are in test cricket, if not worse.
Faf has been very disappointing in ODI cricket.
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