I think after starting the year off by pointing out that the Australian teams are getting a bit of a free ride in the conference system, it is only fair to concede that although this was true of last year, in recent weeks most Australian teams have proven me wrong. The Waratahs especially are looking very strong; they have a few exciting backs, but also manage to put the phases together with their forwards. The Brumbies and Reds are still pushing on and even the Rebels and Force have played some passionate, committed and probably even entertaining rugby. [...]
Posts tagged with: Lwazi Mvovo
Super Rugby team of the Week: Week 13
Sharks player ratings v Reds
The Sharks lost a fifth match in succession this weekend, going down to the Reds in a performance that scored a team rating of just 2/10 in the first half, rising as high as 6/10 in the second. Any player, in other words, who scraped a 5 this week thus outperformed his peers by some margin. [...]
Sharks player ratings v Highlanders
Another performance that vacillated between utterly superb and utter dross, but again the result was the same for the Sharks. With no wins at all in their last four outings, the writing on the wall is now starting to be underlined. The team performance this week warrants around 6 out of 10, so let’s see how the individuals did. [...]
Desperate Sharks fall short again
The Highlanders have beaten the Sharks by 25 points to 22 in a thrilling game in Dunedin, in the process all-but ending the Durbanites’ chances of making the knock-outs in this year’s competition. [...]
Daniel set for Dunedin start
According to an article in the [...]
Reinach returns as Mvovo arrives
The worst has indeed been confirmed, with Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach having to return from tour after just one game, as the result of an ankle injury. [...]
Sharks hold thumbs for Mvovo
In confirming the horror injury sustained by Paul Jordaan, which will see him miss pretty much the rest of the season, Sharks coach John Plumtree has revealed that the team are hoping for a quick-than-expected return to fitness for one of their missing Springboks. [...]
Plum takes a flyer on young flyer
In something of a bizarre move, former SA Schools fullback Sean Robinson might make a shock start for the Sharks Super Rugby team this weekend. [...]
Battered, bruised, broken – Injuries bite the Sharks
While Friday night’s victory over the Crusaders was hugely significant for the Sharks – and has allowed them to further cement their position atop the South African conference – the stresses and strains of the Super Rugby tournament’s opening stanza have taken their toll, with two fresh injury concerns from that match adding to an already alarming roster of unavailable players. [...]
Sharks lose Mvovo
Bad news coming out of Durban is the confirmation that Bok winger Lwazi Mvovo has suffered a thumb fracture and will be out of action for anything up to six weeks as the result. [...]
Sharks get the week off
In celebration of their great win over the Rebels on Saturday, the entire Sharks squad have been given the week off. [...]
Concussion fear for Coetzee
The Sharks have two fresh injury concerns after Saturday’s big win over the Melbourne Rebels. [...]
Sharks v Stormers – by the numbers
Let’s look at a few of the statistics to come out of the weekend win over the Stormers, courtesy of www.rugbystats.com.au. [...]
Single change for Sharks
The Sharks have made only one change to the team that beat the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last week, bringing in Jean Deysel to start in place of Jacques Botes. [...]
The Sharks looking at their own game
The Sharks will play their first home game this weekend when they take on the Stormers in another very important match in this year’s Super Rugby competition. The first few games and getting off to a good start is always very important, but never more so when those games are local derbies where the conference points will be affected. Taking the log points away from your conference opposition has almost become just as important as taking the 4 points from the game. A team like the Reds scraped through to a home play-off game by winning their conference last year, while the Sharks had to fly all the way to Australia to take on a team that ended up with fewer points on the overall log than they did. John Plumtree’s men in no uncertain terms have made it clear that this is not a situation that they want to find themselves in again. [...]
