Right, now that both teams have been finalised, let’s do a comparison of the lineups and see where the advantage, if any, may lie. [...]
Posts tagged with: second row
The Final: Head to head
Skeate still doubtful
Sharks coach John Plumtree has revealed that, of a number of injured stars needing to be passed fit to face the Blue Bulls, Ross Skeate is the least likely. The lanky former Province second rower injured his groin in the gym last week and is in a race against time to recover. [...]
Sharks may have the edge up-front
I’ve allowed myself to become very negative about the Sharks’ chances against the Blue Bulls this weekend, mostly on the back of an alarmingly poor second-half showing by the Sharks forwards in Kimberley last weekend. In hindsight, I’m perhaps being a little harsh in that assessment and overlooking some pretty enterprising play by the Sharks in the first half. [...]
Bulls face second row crisis!!!
Once there was a Bulls lock (well, actually a Griquas lock) called Victor Matfield and he was considered good enough to be picked for the Springboks. Shortly after that, another Bulls lock (actually originally from Newcastle, via the Valke) was also picked for the Boks. [...]
Flip gets the call
Bulls lock Flip van der Merwe left for New Zealand last night to join the Springbok tour party, following the suspension of Bakkies Botha. [...]
Sharks sign Ross Skeate
The Sharks this morning confirmed the signing of former Western Province lock Ross Skeate on a two-year contract, effective 1 July. [...]
Bulls may rush Bakkies back
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke finds himself with a somewhat difficult call to make ahead of this weekend’s crunch game against the Sharks. Veteran enforcer lock Bakkies Botha is finally fit after rupturing his Achilles tendon back in December and Ludeke needs to decide how best to use him, if at all. [...]
Fudge stays in Tshwane
Former Pretoria Boys High student Mthunzi “Fudge” Mabeta has put pen to paper with the Bulls Union, extending his current contract to the end of 2012. This follows hot on the heels of another young lock, Flip van der Merwe, opting to extend his Bulls stay up until the same point. [...]
Marais starts for Baby Boks
Sharks under 19 lock forward Peet Marais will start for the South African under 20 side when they take on their Argentine counterparts in Vredenburg on Wednesday evening. [...]
Sharks team for Crusaders announced
The Sharks have named their team for friday’s game against the Crusaders. There are a few changes to the forward pack while the backline remains unchanged. [...]
Bulls suddenly facing bulk shortage
Was it Shakespeare who wrote something along the lines of “Neither a lender nor a borrower be”? Pretty sure that one comes from Hamlet, but we could well apply it to the Sharks and the Bulls looking ahead to this weekend’s Super 14 action. [...]
Time to trust the structures
Gerhard Mostert will see a specialist in Pretoria tomorrow to find out exactly what the prognosis is on his injured shoulder. Sharks doctor Craig Roberts’ assessment is far from positive and we’re expecting the big lock to be ruled out for the entire 2010 Super 14, if not the whole season. [...]
Bert will be big in Japan
We’ve known about this for some time, but the Sharks today confirmed that big Albert van den Berg will see out his career playing for Canon in Japan. [...]
What lock crisis?
I note with some amusement that the Sharks are now facing a “second row crisis”, according to some reports. This, of course, in the wake of Johann Muller’s anticipated departure to Ulster after the Super 14. [...]
Not time to hit the panic stations
The recent warm-up game against the Western Force was a disappointing result, although it does need to be seen in the right context as well. While some reports and comments (not on this site) have suggested that the Sharks do not have a strong enough squad to compete in the Super 14 this year and that they are undergoing a “transitional phase”, I believe that there is more than enough potential for this squad to be competitive. [...]
