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Seasons change, people get older and Rugby moves forward but the Sharks stay the same?! I am getting sick of seeing guys like Gerhard van den Heever and Lionel Mapoe receiving tons of praise in the media, not because i am jealous but rather because i know we have guys in the Sharks ranks who can match these guys given the chance.
Consider the Currie Cup last year, how awesome was it to see Craig Burden smashing opposition around with his bullocking runs, Lwazi Mvovo with ball in hand and even on defence was a revelation, in my opinion van den Heevertjie could get hurt by Lwazi. Lets keep going, Charl Mcleod although a tad inconsistent showed he definitely had the distribution skills to push Rory all the way. Patric Cilliers is much better than Jannie du Plessis full stop. Patrick Lambie was the stand out player int the whole Absa u21 competition last year, he is brilliant on basically every front.
Ive mentioned just a few names of guys that really deserve a chance to show what they are made of. Competition for places can only improve a players game, take a look at Ryan Kankowski who in my opinion is looking hungry this year, this is coming from the fact that he has Willem Alberts breathing Down his neck. Sharks rugby isnt looking great at the moment why not start building up the amazing talent within the ranks and hey who says they cant do better than the current chargers seeing as they arent doing that well anyway! Mjekevu, Van Den Heever, Mapoe, De Jongh and whoever else is making their mark need to face some guys their own age haha
Shall we Build? YES!!!!!
I think we are ALL with you on this one
amen! It all starts with getting out and supporting the juniors and the Sharks 15. We need to show the union that we back these young players, even if they don’t
i would say we aren’t out of the s14 yet, so i wouldn’t go gung ho. but i would start bringing a few of the promising stars in (like lambie and mvovo). if however we mess up the next couple of games, then i am all for total springclean.
LOL Age and talent has nothing to do with it. It’s application, attitude and playing for the team. That’s why van den Heever, de Jongh and even Mapoe are shining.
Obviously it’s alot easier when your side is performing, but if they’re not, that’s when you must simply show your professionalism and do your job to the best of your ability. If so you’ll stand out. Van den Heever, Hougaard etc still work hard and give 100% despite being able to take it easy because of the players they have around them, that’s why they are performing as they are.
People criticise PdV, but he has shown the value and results that flow when you manage individuals, show the confidence in them and allow them to shine. Bulls and Stormers have it too, Lions not yet, and Cheetahs off and on.
@try time (Comment 4) : agreed! Some of the guys can add to the team i really feel!
I do not think you will find anyone on here disagreeing with you, especially given the current state of Sharks rugby.
But please keep in mind, introducing younger guys in the top ranks is a very delicate process, one that starts long before you see them in CC let alone Super 14.
It takes delicate but precise management and the right structures to allow this – most importantly, it requires brilliant man-management.
The Lions are still building
the gautrain is being built quicker.
looking forward to watching jean stemmet play for sharks xv vs wp this saturday.and some of the other youngsters ,ie jerome pretorius (midfield combo with stemmet),lambie @ fh,kyle cooper and loose forwards .and louis ludik .
@robdylan (Comment 3) : hope straueli is taping varsity cup games and having a careful look at the players..unforturtunately it seems as many of those players are already contracted @ unions
..
@bergshark (Comment 10) : you’ll need powerful binoculars to see Lambie, mate
he’s on tour with the Sharks.
Speaking of Stemmet, we’ll have a chat with him next week
@try time (Comment 4) : agree with you !! even if we lose this one -against a team that seems to of late been dominating us -,we still have 9 games -or another 36 to 45 points-left to play.still believe we should aim for a run of 6 from 6 (meaning wins
) back in sa..doing that ,4from4 at absa,and beating the lions @jhb and the bulls @ loftus,will TURN ALL THE NEGATIVITY AROUND ..and i believe the sharks team is good enough to win 6 from 6 back in sa..
@robdylan (Comment 12) : hahahahahaha thanks for the correction
@try time (Comment 4) :
@bergshark (Comment 10) : I thought Lambie was in Oz with the rest of the team?! Isn`t Monty supposed to start at 10 for the VC side?
Mapoe and Van Den Heever are top class players, but have to agree here, Mvovo is a superb player so is Lambie. They will never ever get recognition if Sharks don’t play them. That is why we will never read too much about them. Time for Sharks to be playing the youngsters. I would rather have Mvovo start every S14 game this year than Odwa. Lambie and the others should get a chance too.
We will never know what we have until we play them at this level.
just a quick observation – shouldn’t building be ongoing.
@rekinek (Comment 18) : it should although we hit a standstill after 08
@Miguel (Comment 19) : that one i must agree. though the first part of 2009 S14 looked so promising. So was the CC (until semis).
The Blue Bulls Rugby Union wishes to invite coaches and referees to three specialized coaching clinics to be held in March.
These specialized coaching clinics will be presented at no costs to all attendees said Kosie Horn, manager: Training and Education at the BBRU.
The courses will cover numerous important aspects of rugby.
1) BACKLINE PLAY: Backline defence and counter attack; running lines for backline players; attacks from set phases. The presenter is Pieter Rossouw (Vodacom Bulls backline coach) and Heyneke Meyer (Vodacom Bulls director of rugby).
The clinic will be presented at the Auditorium, Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday 10 March 2010 from 18h00 to 19h30
2) NEW TENDENCIES: New tendencies of play at line outs and breakdowns with regard to the latest law applications/interpretations by the referees. The clinic will be presented by Johan van Graan (Vodacom Bulls forward coach) and Heyneke Meyer. T
The clinic will be presented at the Auditorium, Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday 16 March 2010 from 18h00 to 19h30
3) DEFENCE: Defensive principles and techniques (practical and theory). The clinic will be presented by John McFarland (Bulls defence coach) and Heyneke Meyer.
The clinic will be presented at the Auditorium, Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday 17 March 2010 from 18h00 to 19h30
Use it, don’t use it
@diablo (Comment 21) : Do you think that they made it in the middle of the week so that Plum & Bash could fly in between the games
@robdylan (Comment 3) : i agree and amen on that.
@bergshark (Comment 13) : and with that point yes but why must we fans always wait to win at home but we could not build up before the tour don’t want to give the guys, bad feelings but to some point i think i’m right we all want a 1st not a last and if it keeps up going on like this then i don’t know at all where we going to be at the end of s 14
@diablo (Comment 23) : yes diablo gee this comes from the bottem of my sharkie hart
not even my son who is a bb has such nice words 
, i really did’nt think the bulls had a hart this is really great, but you know when we do play the bulls on shark tank or loftus the sharks are ready to beat what ever come’s in front of them so good luck and i’m still with the sharks no matter what 
@diablo (Comment 23) : oh by the way when do we play the bulls and where
You know Sharks and i think most of us feel this way, you get bad days and good days and i know the bad days are gone and the good days are still ahead so what do you guys think lets get going h moon is over it time to go and get what should of beens ours 2009 and i know the whole shark tank stands with you so just do us proud and get to work i think
And i must tell everybody it shit to read at the last moment and then comment on everyhing
just so alone very alone
but know shit just fly high and get points sharks
Talking of building. This from the Premiership website:
Following recent speculation regarding Butch James, Bath Rugby have confirmed that Butch still has another two seasons of his contract to run with the Club, but admit they have been approached by Natal Sharks.
@rhineshark (Comment 32) : it sounds like butch wants to come home and he is getting his agent to fish.
@try time (Comment 33) : did you say “fish”
@Farlington (Comment 34) : no pun intended, but it does fit.
@try time (Comment 35) : hehe you gotta excuse me, I had three cups of coffee already and could just not resist
@Farlington (Comment 36) : oh don’t stress, i don’t hold back and i don’t drink coffee.
where is the Sharks team to play the Waratahs????? It’s Thursday already!
@Megatron (Comment 38) : stefan, odwa and rory have found out they have been dropped, and a revolution is taking place in the hotel.
@diablo (Comment 23) : Rolling downhill, trying to commit suicide
@try time (Comment 39) : They actually on their way home, decided to quit
Apparently there is a report in a Natal newspaper that Plum is about to sign an extended three year contract with the Sharks. Can anyone confirm this??
@Farlington (Comment 42) : Surely he will, ‘coz after his success up to now, not the even the beloved NZ want him on their pay roll…
@Megatron (Comment 38) : We’re secretly flying in the VC Squad. Everything’s very hush-hush
@Charlie (Comment 43) : Question is… can the Sharks poor performance be entirly put onto him??
@Farlington (Comment 42) :
Pressure mounting on Plumtree…
The pressure is mounting on Sharks coach John Plumtree and it appears that he will be sacked if his team has an unsuccessful Super 14 tour in Australia and New Zealand.
Even the support from the Sharks’ rugby bosses appears lukewarm after the team lost their first three matches in this year’s competition.
It was reported this week that Sharks coach John Plumtree was not prepared to comment when he was asked whether the coach’s job is safe.
And, to make things worse, the Waratahs have stated that they will have no mercy for the struggling Sharks in Sydney on Saturday.
The Sharks have a poor record in Sydney. The last time that they won there was in 2000.
Of the eight games they have played there against the Waratahs, they have won only two.
“It’s sometimes a case that a team full of champion players like the Sharks aren’t a champion team,” Waratahs prop Al Baxter told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said that he realised how dangerous a wounded side like the Sharks could be.
“They are realising that they are running out of time and that they have to win against us. If you look at their games, they were in the picture every time with 20 minutes left to play, but just could not make it.”
@Farlington (Comment 45) : Where’s the gameplan, don’t see it, and if there’s one, then it does not seem to work and why persist with it
@Charlie (Comment 46) : I’ve seen the same report, however there was “apparently” a report in a local (KZN) paper suggest that he was going to extend his contract. I would just like to know where they get their info from and if there is any truth to it.
@Charlie (Comment 47) : The Sharks setup at the moment is like a ship that has sailed into the Bermuda Triangle of Game Plans.
@Farlington (Comment 42) : that sounds like a curse, everyone gets a contract extension before they are fired. i am over rumours, it just blurs things. when we get a new coach then i’ll relook at what he needs to do. but rumours have no real use other than to keep a dull conversation at a work braai going. give me facts and i’ll comment.
@Charlie (Comment 43) : is he really the only problem in the sharks? i think he is becoming the fall guy.
@Farlington (Comment 45) : oh i see you beat me to it.
@Charlie (Comment 47) : the players have admitted they aren’t playing what they trained. i am sure rory admitted this in his greenaway interview. so is plum to blame because certain players are choking under pressure. he is to blame if they don’t get dropped this week.
@try time (Comment 51) : Maybe, maybe not, only time will tell…
for example, how many times does jp have to be reconditioned?
@try time (Comment 53) : Can be, but what are they trained, that they’re not interested in following Plum’s “gameplan”
you are damned if you do and you are damned if you don’t. if plum puts faith in players, they don’t deliver. he is a bad coach. he drops those “stars” and the youngster has a nightmare. he is a bad coach. thankless job.
@try time (Comment 55) : He has been overhauled by a game plan that’s killing his natural game…
@try time (Comment 57) : Part of the package it seems…
@Charlie (Comment 59) : Would help if it’s in small print on the contract
@Charlie (Comment 56) : i think the biggest problem has been the flyhalf cock up. you buy an expensive argie who then ducks. you have already promised ruan he will go back to scrummie. so you run around and find a new guy, who retires twoa days before the first game. so you rush in plan b, who has a shocker because the team hadn’t trained around him. then you throw in the tiger woods of rugby and he is showing no interest in playing flyhalf anymore. so now you are in kak. you get a pom and now centres and scrummie have to learn the new combination. can you really put blame on plums shoulders? his forward pack is doing well considering the extra work they have to do because the backline is a mess and they kick everything away.
@Charlie (Comment 58) : i don’t think there is a game plan because there has been no flyhalf.
@try time (Comment 61) : Plum also have a say in the buying of players or don’t he ?
i think adolf should get the boot before plum, for not getting the depth right at crucial positions.
@Charlie (Comment 63) : @try time (Comment 64) : Lack of communication…the downfall of many…
Honestly I think The Sharks just need to get rid of the kicking game especially Oupa Stef
@Charlie (Comment 66) : Backline players that can run with the ball, especially front foot ball seems usually happy, ask me…
@Charlie (Comment 63) : none at all, he puts in an order form and gets declined stamped on it.
@Charlie (Comment 66) : why is ludik sitting in sa?
@try time (Comment 69) : Maybe he is not 100% fit…Dunno
@Charlie (Comment 70) : he has played two games for sharks xv hasn’t he?
@Charlie (Comment 65) : I agree… The problem at the tank can not be put onto one person. I think RS should also be held accountable and hopefully everybody has learnt a very expensive lesson. Local youth is the way to go. Support them and they will become loyal servants to the team.