Now here’s a first. The Sharks playing a New Zealand team, in New Zealand, with a South African ref!
Will the Blues build on a reasonable victory in Cape Town last week and beat the Sharks for the first time in the Super 14?
Or will the Sharks take advantage of the Blues jetlag and a potentially sympathetic referee to record a fourth successive win?
Teams:
Blues: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Paul Williams, 13 Anthony Tuitavake, 12 Jamie Helleur, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Taniela Moa, 8 Chris Lowrey, 7 Onosa’i Auva’a, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Kurtis Haiu, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (captain), 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Jay Williams, 19 Josh Blackie, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Michael Hobbs, 22 Benson Stanley.
The Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Keegan Daniel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (captain), 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: John Smit, Deon Carstens, Alistair Hargreaves, Skholiwe Ndlovu, Ross Cronjé, Riaan Swanepoel, Luzuko Vulindlu.
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Touch judges: Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Willie Roos (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Tweet
go SHARKS!!! Whoohoo!!! Yeah!!!
GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!!!
who’s ready?
@Dancing Bear (Comment 2) : that’s 1… 🙂
Heya DB
good morning all, welcome
@robdylan (Comment 3) : RobD!!! Hoe gaan dit boet?
Our 7s team didn’t look all that great in the 7s RWC
ok i will only be on til kick off. i get to bulchy during a sharks game so i’ll leave you guys to be civilised.
this gameshould be easier than last week, but knowing the sharks they’ll make a meal of i.
@try time (Comment 8) : Who’s civilised?
we need to win our lineouts. and we can match them in the scrum.
paul williams injured.
@try time (Comment 11) : There you go, being all civilised again. 😉
if theres no sharks team in heaven im not going, lol, great banner
@Dancing Bear (Comment 6) : lekka lekka
@jarsonx (Comment 5) : howzit bruuuu
ok guys i am off. go sharrks. time to warm up my french.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 13) : 😆
Someone tell me why the HELL my alarm went off at 6.15 on a Saturday morning!! 👿
@klempie (Comment 18) : Oh my bad. SHAAAAAAAAAAAARKSSSS!!!
20 seconds and SS goes offside in a kickable position. 🙄
3-0 to Blues already 🙁
Kicked and it’s 3-0 Blues.
gah – my feed is so bad
A Blue went offside 7 metres in and 30 metres out. Rory shaves it past the right hand upright.
Okay I am here…..
JP scores
jpp try, great break ndugane. Whoo!
3-7
WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!
Charlie’s lovechild!! Odd one gets the ball off the back of a ruck in our 22 and Adi comes in on a fantastic angle and runs 40 m offloading to Japes who goes in under the posts. 😎
3-7
Blues penalty now… JB offside
sorry – Penalty against Steve Sykes for a high tackle
Wooooo….I’ve got it on Veetle TV!!
SS again. 🙄 A headlock on Lowery or something. Over.
6-7
Gopperth slots it – 6-7
as i have said a thousand times b4 stefan kicks away tries.
the guy must stay out of the backline. fool.
This Moa looks more like a prop than a scrummie
Man, that Kaino is strong and difficult to bring down! 😯 🙁
Steyn loses the ball going into contact… Blues blown for a penalty.
Rory lines up from right in front
Penalty to the Sharks for a Blue player offside right in front!
penalty chance, blues offside. 10-6.
6-10
Over. 😎
6-10.
keegan is puuting his hand up.
Sharks are playing clever rugby
is it to early for a beer?
still not building phases
@jarsonx (Comment 46) : the way the sharks play it is a good time for a beer.
@jarsonx (Comment 46) : I’ve got a cup of tea. Not had one in months. 😎
@try time (Comment 44) : he is
koko is looking tired already.
@try time (Comment 47) : Here comes the phase play. 😎
well done stefan
well it is my bday today, so ill have 1 for all the shark fans out there
frans over the top again.
silly – Ruan tries to be too clever
Stupid play there by Ruan at the back it has to be said.
and then stefan cocks up again.
jp is having a great game
and rory coks up.
@jarsonx (Comment 54) : happy birthday
@try time (Comment 44) : Positive for once!! 😆 😆
Nice steal by JP in our 22. Then Rory take a quick tap and misses catching the ball. 🙄 Ball bobbles around then knocked forwards eventually. Sharks try to run the subsequent steal out the 22 again! AHHHHHHHHHHH
oh man! What are we doing now?
Geez but we are playing dumb at the moment.
@robdylan (Comment 61) : well thank you lol
if stefan had tap the ball down it would be 22. he is starting to irritate me now.
Steyn making LOADS of tackles once again!
stefan created that try. what a prick.
and we pay the price. Ice Toeava scores in the corner
Try Blues. Good try. That was all down to stupid play by the Sharks in their 22.
sharks got to relax and focus
i want a new captain.
13-10 Blues
13-10. The mood of the game is shifting…
@klempie (Comment 71) : don’t blame the sharks, it is two players throwing the game away, rory and stefan.
Odwa looking KAAAK again today
@klempie (Comment 75) : my mood is shifting.
@robdylan (Comment 77) : u mean akona
@try time (Comment 76) : And FRANS!!
Sharks have a pen on the 22… Blues player played the ball offside at the breakdown
should be 20 six up had the sharks used their skops. the blues are looking poor.
@try time (Comment 79) : yeah – true
the adrenaline is not down well with alcohol this early
and he’s missed
@try time (Comment 76) : Rory’s playing fine.
Just had a great little run taking a bunch of Blues with him. Kicking is off though.
@klempie (Comment 80) : one bad kick ,but his defence is good.
Rory make amends with a drop
13-all
Justin Downey does not look impressed 🙂
blues are ripe for the beaten. sharks aren’t playig
@klempie (Comment 86) : And now he gets a drop-goal to make up for the penalty. 😎
a rocket drop, wow lol
rory again.
TMO…
no try
No try!
@try time (Comment 87) : Yeh but he keeps doing those stupid 22 runouts when he has no support.
rory and stefan need big wedgies at half time.
@try time (Comment 98) : 🙄
both teams are trying their best to lose.
push sharks push
I’m nervous now…
@try time (Comment 100) : We’re far to loose. We need to bring in structured but quick Sharks ball.
and ruan is kicking poorly tonight.
@klempie (Comment 103) : that is what i have been saying. the sharks aren’t building the phases.
again we kick away a try. are these guys thick.
botes try! Yeah baby!
great try botes.
BOTESSSSS!!!!
Nice bounce off an up and under by TT’s pariah ST and Botes says thanks very much. 😎
great kick kockett
good kick rory.
And Rory gets the kick too from a difficult position. 😎
13-20.
stefan and rory again. kock it up.
the shark was tackled without the ball.
botes should have kicked though. but he did well
Damnit man. We give away a penalty right in front like 2 minutes after the half was meant to end. 👿
blues pen for offside
the net result is stfan and rory’s stupidity has closed the gap.
HT 16-20
half time. 16 20
Jan, Jan, Jannnn is die soul van die span!
im player 23, but dont call me jan please
@try time (Comment 118) : 😆 You’re unbelievable.
@klempie (Comment 116) : Yeah that is maddening. If we had just put the ball out, would have saved ourselves 3 points!! 😡 😡
Naas says it’s a fantastic game! 😯
it would be really nice if we could use our clear set-piece dominance to score a try or two in the second half
Haven’t seen much of the Beast this half!
@Villie (Comment 124) : I think it was difficult for ST to know if time was up at that particular point. But yeh, very frustrating.
@jarsonx (Comment 122) : Twee-en-twintig ous in a ruuuugby span. But the 23rd is a regular stud!
HAHA classis lyrics. 😆
well i hope The Plum has a nice chat to The Boyz
@Villie (Comment 127) : I’m watching the 300k stream. Haven’t seen much of ANYTHING this half
@jarsonx (Comment 130) : if we don’t go on to win this with a bonus, then I just don’t know
@jarsonx (Comment 130) : yeah with a cricket bat.
game on!
@robdylan (Comment 132) : i was thinking the same.
js on
John on for Jannie
smit on for dup
i think plum isworried the thick doctor will get a yelloow card
drop by ruan but a miss, penalty tho
Sharks pen for Blues offside
good work sharks, that is what keeping it tight means.
@try time (Comment 139) : true
kockett over
Kaino (sic?) goes offside and we get a penalty. Rory slots a difficult kick. 😎
16-23
16-23
16-23 now
Well done Rockett…excellent kick!!
he was tqackled in the air
the refs aren’t patrolling that
@robdylan (Comment 131) : Try this
http://www.veetle.com/viewChannel.php?cid=4995e3662b978
come on boyz, jump, secure, break, dodge, pass, score
@try time (Comment 149) : Who? Useless ST?
blues are looking exhausted.
@klempie (Comment 153) : relax man, lol
no jp
@jarsonx (Comment 152) : yeh when you put it like that it’s so easy! 😉
that shold be a pen.
That’s a try….TMO will confirm it. Sykes. THAT is SHARKS rugby!
TMO for Sykes try
try
I can’t see the lines at all
hell i didnt even notice the try line, 3 tries one more for the bonus, please!
the blues like the cheetahs did last year,
awarded – I like that
30-16
Let’s turn this into a rout
Kockott converts.
16-30. This is in the bag now. Just the BP left to get.
Okay…don’t blow it now Sharks…AND go for the BP!!
that was skew by a mile
sorry last week
Blues are falling apart
How was that skew throw in “marginal” from the commentators??
i knew the blues were stupid bringing ali back too soon
sh!t
Morning everyone, how’s the game going?
they don’t want the bonus point.
I’m a Stormers fan today too btw. I will still boo Puke though…
come sharks… KILL now
@klempie (Comment 176) : No way..Bulls for me!!
@Lyndy_in_Mtl (Comment 174) : A noob! Welcome!
come on boys, u need to keep attacking, no more of this defending crap
botes is briiliant.
@klempie (Comment 179) : Not a noob, just a lurker. 😉
the commentators are crap, stefan hasn’t played well.
stefan has given the blues 10 points.
that was skew, but he notices the forward pass
@try time (Comment 175) : seems that way. We have them where we want them, so we resort to aimless kicking?
is it just me, or is Woodcock giving John just a little uphill at scrum time?
@Villie (Comment 178) : You know they’re at the top on points right? WE must be the leaders! 😈
@robdylan (Comment 186) : yeah we get ahead and go defensive.
@Lyndy_in_Mtl (Comment 182) : Where are you watching from?
we’ve have let them right back in here…
morning guys. just woke up, nice score to wake up to.
Try Gopperth…Well worked. Put us under pressure. I don’t think we could have done much more.
and my worst fears are being realised. by not going for tries we are giving them away
Jimmy Gopperth scores.
I honestly can’t believe this
We gonna blow this…we’ve gone to sleep!!
same story as last week. Have the game sewn up, but then ease off and let them right back into it
they have control the game better, to much screwing around
that missed kick could save us.
missed conversion. 21-30
Here’s where the BIG problem is… Sharks exhausted, out on their feet yet they cannot bring the inexperienced bench on…
Rory is stuffed too…
@robdylan (Comment 197) : and the 2 b4 that
@robdylan (Comment 195) : Me neither…but thankfully he missed a relatively easy kick!
Kanko finished… Pienaar finished… Bismark finished… zero replacemnents…
It’s no coincidence the Blues with their fresh legs are coming back…
here we go again
the blues were holding
some relief
hallefrigginlujah
TRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
Fantastic comeback!! Smit goes over after a fantastic rolling maul. Bonus Point!
Smit scores the BP try!
see thats why smit should be captain, he bleeds for the team.
1st bonus try, well done smit, now boys finish them. Go for the Kill
Thank fark for the BP…
you guys got the NZ commentators?
Ok…now we really must have sewn it up! Well done JS!
conv missed.
35 – 21
Conversion off the post.
21-35.
Saffers break out in “ole ole”
@klempie (Comment 209) : Klempie…now we need the damn Proteas to wrap up the Aussies for less than 400 and it will be a good day!! 😆 😆
@try time (Comment 211) :
Nah classic chirp from Muller saved a yellow card…
@robdylan (Comment 214) : no??
@bryce_in_oz (Comment 219) :
Sheet… I just jinxed it…
Beast off not rolling away.
shit – and Beast carded now
@robdylan (Comment 214) : Yeh. Don’t you?
@jarsonx (Comment 220) :
Ah… don’t you?
yay yay yay, finally the BP
Blues have thrown in the towel. They take the 3 points with the Sharks a man down…. 🙄 pussies.
And the inevitable late yellow card 🙄 🙄
watch the elephant
24-35 now
Hargreaves… a CC player…
jp toying with the blues oke lol
ok, i will now apologise to adi. he proved me wrong and deserves all the accolades.
Jumbo is on. Super 14 dayboo
tough game this is, hope were not to bad off for next week
Geez the kiwi commentators are loving us…Can’t get enough of the Sharks. 😎
@bryce_in_oz (Comment 231) : you may be right
Hargreaves still too lightweight!
@jarsonx (Comment 235) : Against the Reds?? 🙄 As Rob would put it…”Pah!”
well albert better be ready for next week
Don’t give Blues a BP!!
Hargs is down… noncontested scrums
stefan wastes another try.
ST duffed that up. Should have got to the line.
@try time (Comment 243) : Yeh but not cos he kicked away!
@klempie (Comment 245) : no cos he is brain dead.
Try Blues. Oh well.
i had the sharks by 4 on SB
and Joe Rokocoko scores
i am happy with this result, but it doesn’t help our pd.
this is a let-off of note, but let’s take the 5 points and move on
@klempie (Comment 247) : VERY annoying. I could see this coming. We didn’t want to give them a BP!!
FT 31-35
Commentators saying that scores makes it look like the game was alot closer than it was.
31-35 is the final score
only my 2nd prediction on the dot this year lol well done for getting the BP boys
@try time (Comment 233) :
Pity about his 3 missed tackles… would have been a complete performance…
Good result… pity we didn’t have replacements earlier… would not have let through those last pts…
Will we have a team for next week? So many injuries!!
On the positive side…Zuks looks very exciting. Want to see more of him! Also would like to see what his defence is like.
JPP awesome again as per normal… Daniels good too… Bismark too… MOM Kockott…
yeah well done sharks, in hindsight it was a great result.
@bryce_in_oz (Comment 258) : bryce rory definately wasn’t mom. mom was adi.
@try time (Comment 259) : hahahaha….you’re awesome.
Johann Muller was excellent again tonight. He does a lot of the hardgraft that goes unseen. Check out his tackle count too!
Sharks go second. Blues 5th
@try time (Comment 259) : haha…but according to you, ALL Sharks players would have a rating of 5 and below!! 😆
we can actually win all our overseas games
Daniel gets my vote for MOTM
@jarsonx (Comment 265) : next week is going to be a big challenge. We’ll field a weaker team
@try time (Comment 260) : I thought Rory was excellent. Made a few mistakes yes, but that’s because the guy has balls and is willing to go for it. Would much rather have that in my team than someone who is not willing to try anything.
His goalkicking also improved as the game went on.
@jarsonx (Comment 265) : Yeh. I wonder if that has ever happened for a Saffer team.
@Villie (Comment 264) : no reread, only stefan and rory, get 5. everyone else gets 10.
@Villie (Comment 268) : i don’t mind mistakes, but if they result in points against then they must get bollocked.
@klempie (Comment 269) : Nope. Has never happened yet!
We complain about not scoring BONUS POINTS and when we eventually do- we complain about giving away points. The boys were wasted-not an excuse but we can all see the fruits of their labour. Celebrate you ungrateful bunch!
Okay all…going back for an hours kip…then up again for the cricket.
Cheers all.
TT..you still making me laugh. The arch critic!
@blackshark (Comment 273) : BS….I AM celebrating. Just annoyed that we managed to let them get the BP. I don’t like giving away any freebies!
we can still stuff the reds, hope the injuries aint serious all round
@blackshark (Comment 273) : no look the points given away were silly but not cruciale, pd rarely comes into play. but sharks have one of the worst records when it comes to building leads.
@blackshark (Comment 273) : Hey *I* did not say anything! 😉
@jarsonx (Comment 276) : JS had a cut head so should be okay. Only one that looked serious was Hargreaves.
However I guess some of the reserves will get a run next week. Guys like Swannie and maybe even Zuks and Downey.
as i said, it was an excellent result. i just have a bad taste in my mouth the way we threw away easy chances. the good thing though is the sharks will watch the eplay and know they can improve.
you don’t win tne trophy in week 3
or 5
Go Highlanders!
@klempie (Comment 269) : never. Stormers won 3 from 4 last year
@Villie (Comment 279) : either way i hope were gud, coz bp wins are crucial
@Villie (Comment 279) : we must let Downey play… I know that they are trying to give 9-10-12 as much gametime as possible to gel, which is why Swannie isn’t getting on.
Zuks in for Odwa is a no brainer
@robdylan (Comment 284) : Opportunity for history.
I’m off to the TV now
Aaah, that was worth getting up at 6am for.
Guys, we really are too hard on our boys.
Remember that we played into the wind and sun in the 1st half, and then came back and still locked them out in the 2nd.
This Blues team is gonna still win a few, and were desperate for a home win – with guys like Meealamu, Woodcock, Afoa, Williams, Kaino, Rockoco and Toeva, they are no pushovers.
I thought the loosies were superb today – Daniel especially was quick and yet also very hard to bring down. The T5 did a great job, and I agree that Muller had a blinder.
Amongst the backs, Rory, Adi and JPP were excellent, and Stefan did a lot more good than bad – he offers us great stability at the back and is one of the best under the high ball and in kicking the up-and-under.
My only slight concern was Ruan – he didnt look very fluent, but credit to him: he made sure the ball went wide.
Adi is my baby!!!!! What a game he had…..the rest of the guys as well!!!
@Big Fish (Comment 289) : Agree with your summing up …but…think your comment on Ruan, a bit off…thinkk he had the best game of his S14 so far this year….
@KSA Shark © (Comment 290) : Hi!
Sharks grab full house against Blues
by Gavin Rich | 07 March 2009 (08:30)
The Sharks’ Vodacom Super 14 challenge started to gain impressive momentum in Auckland on Saturday morning as Johann Muller’s team scored a 35-31 win over the Blues.
The Sharks have not been beaten by the Blues since the Super competition was expanded to include 14 teams, and they maintained their dominance over their old rivals with a win that was far more comprehensive than the narrow winning margin might suggest.
The Blues scored a late consolation try to Joe Rocokoco, but in reality the Kiwis were a beaten team long before that as the Sharks took control of the game in the second half.
There were several outstanding performances from the Sharks, who picked up a four-try bonus point en route to their victory, but no-one stood out more than Springbok centre Adrian Jacobs, who is continuing the rich vein of form he established last year.
Jacobs repeatedly wrong-footed the Blues defenders, and in so doing created the space needed for the Sharks’ attacking opportunities.
It was his run though from a turn-over ball deep in Sharks territory that set the Sharks on the road to victory. Wing Odwa Ndungane started the move when the Sharks turned over a Blues loose-scrum, Jacobs found himself in space, and he swivelled this way and that as he created the advantage in numbers which enabled JP Pietersen to score off the switch.
That made it 7-3 to the Sharks after eight minutes, cancelling out an early penalty from Jimmy Gopperth, and after that the Sharks were always significantly better in everything they did than their opponents, who just made too many mistakes and didn’t protect their possession enough to really sustain a challenge.
However, that early long-range try might have seduced the Sharks into thinking they could ignore the basics of the territory game, for they did play too much rugby in their own half before the break, and this played a big role in allowing the Blues to remain competitive on the scoreboard.
A Steven Sykes infringement enabled the Blues to cut the deficit to one point through another Gopperth penalty, but Rory Kockott, another stand-out performer for the Sharks, kicked one for the Sharks to make it 10-6 before the Blues profited from a silly Sharks decision to tap a penalty inside their 22.
The Sharks made the mistake that enabled the Blues to set an attacking scrum in the middle of the field, and it was from this that they created the extra man going left with a set-move that realised a try for fullback Isaiah Toeava.
The conversion meant the Sharks were down 13-10 at a stage when they were dominating, but they restored order with a perfectly-placed Stefan Terblance hoisted kick that pressurised Jerome Kaino to make the mistake that saw flanker Jacques Bote grab the loose ball and score in the corner.
But the Sharks could easily have been punished again for their dithering in their own half of the field, with an intercept of a Kockott pass following a dummy from a defensive situation almost leading to a try for his opposite number, and it was a missed clearance that created the pressure late in the half that led to a Gopperth penalty that cut the score to 20-16 at the break.
The Sharks paid greater respect for territory early in the second half, and also great control, and this led to a try to Sykes which, coupled with an early penalty from Kockott, put the Sharks two scores ahead at 30-16.
The Blues did launch a late rally in their desperate attempt to win the game, and the gap was cut to nine by a Gopperth try, but some heroic defence from the Sharks, plus a bit of good fortune, led to a Sharks try at the opposite side of the field that effectively wrapped up the match.
The defence led Rocokoco to spill a ball on the line when a try looked there for the taking, the good fortune was referee Marius Jonker failing to spot that Johann Muller was in an off-side position when he made the tackle.
Keegan Daniel kicked the ball through off Rocokoco’s knock-on, Stefan Terblanche chased, and from a resultant attacking lineout the Sharks rumbled it up to score through Springbok skipper John Smit, who played the entire second half at tighthead.
It was the Sharks’ first four-try bonus point of the season and lifted them to second position on the log behind the Waratahs.
Scores
Blues 31 – Tries: Isaiah Toeava, Jimmy Gopperth and Joe Rocokoco; Conversions: Gopperth 2; Penalties: Gopperth 4.
Sharks 35 – Tries: JP Pietersen, Jacques Botes, Steven Sykes, John Smit; Conversions: Rory Kockott 3; Drop-goal: Rory Kockott; Penalties: Rory Kockott 2.
Wales had just knocked out NZ from the 7’s World Cup 15-14
Very impressive from the Sharks. Well done! 😎
Sevens SA v Arg
Try SA!!
22man 85min rugby… Plumtree better starting using his replacements sooner…