Brad Barritt may well be available to play for the Sharks this weekend.
Sharksworld has it from a reliable source that Barritt is back in training in Durban and pending a few legal issues may well take to the field this weekend.
When it was confirmed that Frans Steyn would be out for probably the remainder of the competition with a knee injury, the Sharks put in a distress call to Barritt who has just completed his maiden season with the Watford-based Saracens club. A condition in Barritt’s contract with Sarries would permit him to return to Durban to play Super 14 rugby for the Sharks should they require his services.
As an act of loyalty to the Sharks coaching staff that he respects so greatly, Barritt immediately hopped on a plane and landed in Durban at 13h00 today.
He attended training with the squad today and just needs to get some insurance paperwork sorted out in order to be able to play a part in this weekend’s game.
Tweet
WhoooooHoooooooooooooo
Yeah Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby
MOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still early in the week so no problem with jetlag or being worn out from the flight.
Who woulda thought that I’d be so happy to Brad back in Durban?
Oh and COOL heading BTW. 😉 😉
That would be awesome, please say its so!!!!
Legal issues? All i can think of would be eligibility.
I am sure the Sharks would have done their homework to ensure that getting him here wasn’t a futlie exercise.
WhoooooooHooooooooooooo
@billy (Comment 4) :
it certainly seems so
WooooooHoooooooooooo
Can he handle the pace?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 5) : insurance…
Did anyone notice I am in a good mood?
@Claytie (Comment 7) :
He Could Never handle the pace, we won’t notice the difference. 😉
@Claytie (Comment 7) : now now…
@KSA Shark © (Comment 9) : geee, REALLY? Howcome?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 10) :
But who cares, you don’t need pace to score tries from 15m out.
Sharks for a BP win this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!! Even with the commentators comment last week that the Waratahs almost always play in low scoring games.
@robdylan (Comment 12) :
You’d swear that Brad was KSA’s lovechild. Have to say that these are welcome news. Go Sharks!
Speaking of pace,how was the Cardiff Leicester game?
@blackshark – YNWA (Comment 15) : yeah and I thought it was me that put him in a good mood 😉 🙄
@KSA Sharkette (Comment 17) :
Hehehehehehhehehe
I May be in an even BETTER mood later. 😎 😛 😆
@blackshark – YNWA (Comment 15) :
Something to do with the local government deciding to allow me to transfer Jobs without having to leave to go back to SA before starting with my new employer. 😎
@Claytie (Comment 16) :
Didn’t see it. 🙁 is that the one with the penalty shoot out?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 19) : nice!
very interesting, but will he fit in, meaning into our structures/gameplan etc etc etc
@KSA Sharkette (Comment 17) : now you know the sad truth.
@JarsonX (Comment 22) :
I don’t think that will be an issue at all, it’s not as if he is a new player who has never played for the Sharks before and he has played under the S14 ELVs before.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 20) : Erm,never caught the end 😳 but my word it was awesome,scheme the tigers won it straight tho.
Oh The sneaky Rob has added content to the article and not told us. 😯
Shneaky
@Claytie (Comment 25) :
Must have a look to see if it is on SHowsport or Supersport again during the week. With it being a Penalty shootout I’m sure it will be.
OH MY WORD and another 25k reasons to be happy is gonna hit me this evening. 😯 😎
@KSA Shark © (Comment 19) : very nice
@KSA Shark © (Comment 29) : share please!
@Claytie (Comment 25) :
It turned into a real humdinger. Cardiff scored 2 tries in the last 5 minutes, both were 5 metres in from the touchline and both were onfidently converted. Final score was 26 all I think. It was finally won on penalty kicks by Leicester. 🙁
Ciao people.
@Claytie (Comment 27) : he he he
@robdylan (Comment 31) :
Well I would but then I won’t have 25,000 comments anymore. 😉
@ JarsonX 22 : What structures? 👿
ive got 855 🙁
@KSA Shark © (Comment 34) : sorry – thought you meant money.
Sheeyat… I haven’t even hit 20k yet
@robdylan (Comment 37) :
Live commentary on Fridays does wonders. 😉
@JarsonX (Comment 36) : 🙂
@JarsonX (Comment 36) : keep commenting bud 🙂
This could go down as the biggest ruse in the S14 history. 🙄 🙄
It seems the Tahs think the Sharks are playing games.
Waratahs sceptical about Sharks injury woes
Rupert Guinness in Durban | May 6, 2009
WARATAHS five-eighth Daniel Halangahu has spiced up the atmosphere leading into NSW’s crucial game against the Sharks by suggesting that talk of Francois Steyn being injured could be a bluff.
Halangahu has been suspicious of dispatches from the Durban side ever since last year when they said Steyn was under an injury cloud for the Waratahs-Sharks semi-final in Sydney, but eventually played.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/news/tahs-sceptical-about-sharks/2009/05/05/1241289166895.html
🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 Do they think we are Rassie Erasmus? Anybody who actually believes it is a ruse is as thick as……
@KSA Shark © (Comment 41) : what difference did it end up making? They stuffed us regardless…
You know, opposing teams really do rate Steyn a lot more highly than we do.
@robdylan (Comment 42) :
This year it will make a difference, With or without him we will take the win.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 43) : wish I had your faith, old boss!
@robdylan (Comment 44) :
Last year it was Bryce Lawrence and it was away.
This year, we have a referee to manage the game and it is at home.
so sarugby.com got the news first 😆
see that there is an article on sharksrugby as well.
@robdylan (Comment 42) : he’s been doing well at inside centre – but this whole shift to FL messed him a bit – methinks. have u seen how happy he was when ruan came back – maybe he truly no longer wanna be FL
@KSA Shark © (Comment 45) : Brycie ‘s been good to us this year. I think on Boots & All when they were talking about refs for Lions series they called him “Bryce Lwrence the friend of the Sharks” (though I reckon they meant last year
i wish i had put money on this. i chatted to a guy today and he said there was squat chance brad would come play for the sharks. mmmm funny that. 😈 😆
@KSA Shark © (Comment 45) : no bryce screwed us in the brumbies game. bryce did ref the semi but it was a poor performance by the sharks that lost that game.
@try time (Comment 49) : looks like he was wrong.
@rekinek (Comment 46) : sarugby speculated. We confirmed. Big difference 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 51) : 😉 nothing like getting a scoop.
@try time (Comment 53) : lol i was just talking to ksa that we should tease rob about his inside info lol
@robdylan (Comment 52) : jokes aside bro this is great news
@sharks_lover (Comment 54) : ja inside his site and he ignored it. 😆 😆
but it is excellent news. it is funny how he has brought excitement back to the fans, hopefully he has bought the same to the players. this week the backline will be filled with team players. that can only be good news.
best news ever!
@try time (Comment 55) : ha! I only reacted when I had this from a credible source.
@try time (Comment 55) :
Love the team players comment – I feel that has been missing of late, and people can say what they like, but Kockott’s petulant slap was further confirmation of that.
I have always had some doubts over Brad’s ability to go all the way – doubts I hoped, and still hope, he would disprove.
I have never doubted his team spirit though – if he is back, I am certain that it will be an ingredient in a potent mix.
As an aside, one must wonder if poor Waylon’s career is yet another to be curtailed by the dreaded knee injury.
@Big Fish (Comment 58) :
On that note a similar thought crossed my mind this afternoon.
Is this Steyn’s first serious knee injury? Will he be another Butch James?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 59) : first time I can recall Steyn injured at all
@Big Fish (Comment 58) : i agree brad isn’t a jdv or meisiekind that score great tries and look good, but he is the type of player that creates tries for the guys around him through clever play. his defence makes the flyhalves job easier and his commitment rubs off on the guys around him.
@robdylan (Comment 57) : scoops don’t always fall in your lap. sometimes you actually have to do some work.
Sharksworld has it from a reliable source
Why don’t you just say you pestered him with calls and sms’ that he eventually had to answer you…
@Morné (Comment 62) : and give away my modus operandi for others to copy? 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 63) :
🙂
Good news for the Sharks this.
Food for thought…
Could Waylon’s fall from grace and dip in form be contributed to the extent the Sharks used, or failed to use Barritt before he departed???
And another thought…
Which is better as a consultant to help the backs?
A druggie ex-league player?
A asshole ex-union test great?
I know who they looked better under…
@Morné (Comment 66) :
Campo?? 😎
@Morné (Comment 66) : frans never had an ego in 2007 and percy was better than stefan and rory only played part time. and butch was an old hand, while ruan is new. can’t compare coaches.
@wpw (Comment 67) :
Do you know anymore asshole ex-union test greats?
@Morné (Comment 69) :
Apart from Naas that is 😉
@Morné (Comment 65) :
Explain please.
@Morné (Comment 66) :
We all know the answer to that one.
Just because someone is an asshole doesnt mean they are not useful.
Take wpw for example.
…No seriously, please – just take him!
you can have the best coach in the world, but frans and rory are going to do it their way and no-one elses.
@try time (Comment 68) :
Stefan was not there and I am more referring to 2008… when the asshole ex-union player left, Murray was no-where and Brad was sparingly used.
The same season JPP could not buy a try.
And it seems the same problems came with them this year…
2007, Frans, Rory, Pienaar, JPP, Murray were all basically rookies…
@Big Fish (Comment 71) : 😆 😆 😆
@Big Fish (Comment 71) :
A second 5-8 makes or breaks an outside center.
@Morné (Comment 73) : campo left in 2007.
@try time (Comment 76) :
And their problems started in 2008…
@Morné (Comment 73) : rookies that hadn’t had rwc trophies that messed with their heads. jp had to be “re-conditioned”, frans has never recovered and ruan has finally settled in a valuable position after injury plagued him last year and this.
@Morné (Comment 77) : after the rwc. there are too many factors too take into account before you can validate your claim.
@try time (Comment 78) :
Or perhaps they had a coach (Campo) that kept them in check, on the edge and always improving…
You only develop an ego if you are allowed to.
And Campo would never have allowed anyone in that team to have a bigger ego than him!
@try time (Comment 79) :
Like what?
They did not play more rugby than usual (any other season) thanks to them being pulled out by White.
They had the same coach (Muir).
Settled team, no serious injuries.
Only major difference is they had a new 10.
if campo is such a great coach, why are northwood battling along? i think you are missing a big factor and that is player attitudes. in 2007 we had no namers that needed to prove themselves so they were willing to listen to all the advice they could get. in 2008 you had players that had rwc trophies therefore they knew everything. player attitude plays a big part in the success of a team, hence the sharks losing to the reds, but holding out miraculously against the chiefs.
But like I said – food for thought…
@Morné (Comment 83) : well stirred 🙂
This is awesome. Brad was a huge loss to us. He’s awesome on defense and probably the most DISCIPLINED Shark around. Going to be fantastic seeing him back. Robster, will he be around til the end of the comp?
@try time (Comment 82) :
Pienaar, Murray and JPP were all capped in 2007 prior to the RWC if memory serves.
As I mentioned before – there is a massive difference between a head coach, and an assistant coach.
Plum was a great assistant – most agree he made crucial errors this year as head coach.
And that is at any level.
@Morné (Comment 69) :
There are those two from WP who are always airing their views, but you asked for test GREATS so they don’t qualify. 😉
@klempie (Comment 85) : he will.
One thing the Brad and Andries Strauss have in common is that both are brilliant communicators on the field. Fransie Sulk doesn’t ever say a word and Ruan is also a little introverted… you need someone in midfield to do the talking.
To add…
What is the situation at Northwood?
What structures are present, what resources are available?
What was their record before he joined?
How dynamic is the environment, i.e. does it change a lot from players available or resources available?
What is his mandate?
Those are just a few things I would like to know before I would judge him in a coaching capacity – because all that plays a vital part in his coaching success, or lack of it.
@Morné (Comment 81) : and 4 backline players that had rwc trophies. percy worked his ass off for that trophy and never had the same desire as he did in 2007. look at how poor he is in wp this year. and the youngsters couldn’t get down to reality after winning the highest accolade in rugby. 21 year olds with rwc trophies. it was going to take 8 months to ground.
@robdylan (Comment 84) :
I aim to please… 😈
@klempie (Comment 85) : I hope they let him run out first with “Ladies and gentleman, please give a warm welcome back to the Shark Tank for…BRAAAAD BARRIIIIIIT!!!!” 😎
@Morné (Comment 89) :
Bryce will be able to confirm but I believe he has left Northwood a while back. Not sure where he is now.
@try time (Comment 90) :
But once Percy left, you gained the services of a seasoned international in Stefan – who has filled his boots admirably.
And in Michelak, you arguably had the best running 10 and seasoned international in world rugby in 2008…
@Morné (Comment 89) : exactly my point, there are far too many factors to get to a conclusive opinion. you may well be right, but we will never know. frans has played his last game for the sharks, butch, percy, brad are gone. all we can hope is that adolf is working on solid replacements for next year, because we were found wanting this year.
@try time (Comment 95) : Adolf! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
@klempie (Comment 92) : no he is a team man, he mustn’t be exalted like frans. the great thing is our backline is without its egos this weekend, lets not create tension where there isn’t now.
@Morné (Comment 94) : fred wasn’t the abrasive player butch was. the team also had a whole new set of laws to adapt to. and fred got injured. stefan is nowhere near the class of 2007 percy. and probably never will be.
@try time (Comment 97) : Brad couldn’t get egotistical if he tried.
@try time (Comment 98) :
But Fred, as his career suggests, should be able to fire up any slightly talented backline – and the Sharks were more than slightly talented.
Every team had to adapt to the same laws.
And you just hate Stefan – more than I do which is scary….
Morné, TT
Both of you are just plain forgetting about the opposition in your respective cases. The other teams also have a dynamic around them which will affect the way any other team looks like on the field.
Directly linked to that is the style of rugby a team plays, sometimes it will make them look good against one team and less good against another, depending on the oppositions playing style.
@klempie (Comment 99) : I send him a *lot* of fan mail…
@Ollie (Comment 101) :
So how do you explain losses to the two bottom feeding teams?
Did they make the Sharks look good 😉
@Ollie (Comment 101) : yes, the elvs played a big part in this. some adapted quicker than others, and campo may not have been able to coach the new laws as effectively as he did the old.
oh and remember freds french was a big stumbling block in the early games as communication was a big problem.
@Morné (Comment 100) : this is a misconception, my apparent hate of stefan. i just don’t think he creates enough with the ball he gets. you can see players are sick of chasing his stupid up and unders. he needs to link up with the backline, not piss them off. i love his positioning and defence, but that doesn’t win games scoring does.
@Morné (Comment 103) :
I can’t explain it without discussing it with both teams and coachs in front of a video of the game where they all give there truthful input.
The man who can explain exactly what the problem (presuming that it was a problem on the Sharks side) was would be a very rich man selling his services if he is regularly correct.
If I am not mistaken the Reds have toppled another big team in the compo as well.
@try time (Comment 104) :
True, but those are probably 1 or a myriad of reasons/excuses. At the end of the day it comes down to 14 coaches making a pre-season game plan that tries to take into account what players they have on offer and also what the other 13 coaches will try. Second guessing the other 13 for 13+ matches as the season progesses while the other 13 are doing the same to you can be tough.
Throw team dynamics/injuries/girlfriend breakups/ etc.etc. into the mix and you have a lottery of sorts, albeit it heavily weighted towards the stronger team.
@Ollie (Comment 106) : agreed, if you look at it 2 factors killed the sharks last year. lack of bonus points and bryce lawrence. the sharks were showing cracks, but the loss to the brumbies broke them. they were left to fight there way back into semi contention making the semi a bridge too far. thats why this season we need to win the last two games, but not over do it or we will mess up the semi again.
@Ollie (Comment 106) : but yes it is a mine field being a coach. we don’t even know what grief the kznru administrators put the players and coach through. from odd reports here and there adolf doesn’t seem to make life easy.
@try time (Comment 107) :
What I find amazing is that everybody in the world seems to say that SA has the biggest player base, depth etc. etc. but every one of our S14 teams seems to come undone if there are 2 or 3 injuries at the same time.
To me the biggest problem seems to be the building and management of the supporting structures for the S14 teams.
@Big Fish (Comment 71) :
Thanks BF. 😥
@Ollie (Comment 109) : it is a lack of skills transferral. we lack quality coaches and trainers in this country. we have ex-players that go into business instead of giving back to the game that got them the fame. you look at nz rugby how many coaches are top all black players? where are our top stars? in lays adverts, bonking hookers, on supersport knocking players, in sales positions, on the golf course. but very few are training up the future stars. who can tell me what position heynecke meyer and loffie played?
@try time (Comment 111) :
That might be true (probably because they couldn’t be bothered because of the politics in rugby in SA) but then my question is, if there were decent structures in place that ensured a career could be maintained wouldn’t there be more experienced people staying involved.
@Ollie (Comment 112) : well that is it, sa rugby has always been run by people out to further their own interests. the current sa administration is probably the best we have had in a long time, but we are having players from the old structure coming through now. currently there are academies being started and the eastern cape being resurrected so if more work like this is done we could look good in the future. but we need to keep the work going. no point doing half a job.
@Ollie (Comment 112) :
I think that it might also be a focus problem, I suspect that there is too much focus on getting players that are naturally gifted into the top teams instead of working on the building of the marginal players’ skills in an individual way.
@Ollie (Comment 114) : exactly, how many school players disappear out of the system?
@try time (Comment 115) :
A frighteningly big percentage.
@Ollie (Comment 116) : yeah. a big enough percentage that would nullify the player drain going north.
@wpw (Comment 110) :
😉
@KSA Shark © (Comment 2) : Jet lag??? 😆
One is never too old to learn…
Never imagined “Lovechild” translates to “Prodigal Son”!
So happy Barrit is back with the Sharks!!! WWWHHOOOOHHHOOOO
Geez – this sit is turning into the local bottle store… 😆
@Namboer (Comment 120) :
Rob’s Lovechild, The Sharks Prodigal Son. 🙂
@Reds (Comment 121) : 😯 😯 We thought you had been abducted by aliens. 😉
@Prof. Ice (Comment 122) :
Do you have the right thread? 😉
@KSA Shark © (Comment 123) : Not chatting much.. been watched by alliens!!! our IT Alliens 👿
@Reds (Comment 125) : bastards. good thing is i am the only computer literate person in our company. sorry for you guys.
@Reds (Comment 125) : trolls 🙂
@KSA Shark © (Comment 124) :
yeah…*hic*..