It was seldom pretty and never comfortable, but the Sharks ultimately achieved the result they needed in scoring a 29-18, bonus-point win over Griquas on Friday night. Given that the same opposition trounced them by 21 points in Kimberley earlier in the year, we as fans shouldn’t be too quick to write off Griquas as a minnow side and should probably use the strength of the opposition as one of the inputs to the player ratings we give.
1) Dale Chadwick. A solid 80 minutes for Dale, who came under pressure for his showing last week. This time around, he was disciplined at the breakdown and active on the drive, scoring a great try – all the while maintaining pressure on his opposite number in the scrum. 7/10
2) Kyle Cooper. A fiery and committed performance by a man who clearly relished his first starting opportunity. Line outs were great, with only one bad throw that I saw. His loose play was a marvel to watch as well and somewhat reminiscent of a young Bismarck du Plessis. Our man of the match. 8/10
3) Eugene van Staden. An impressive scrumming display on the tight head side, but was far quieter in all-round play than he had been against the Cheetahs. 6/10
4) Anton Bresler. A serious-looking ankle injury forced him off after just 19 minutes, before he’d had a chance to really get stuck in. We hope it heals quickly. 5/10
5) Alistair Hargreaves. Had a big game in the line outs, but was a little subdued otherwise. Needs to step up and show what he has to offer. 6/10
6) Jacques Botes. An industrious effort that saw him play more to the ball than he usually does, but offered little in terms of real threat on attack. 6/10
7) Jean Deysel. Despite a few silly early penalties, Deysel recovered well to put in a strong performance, both with ball in hand on on defence, where he put in some bruising hits. Nice to see the Wolla we know and love returning game by game. 7/10
8) Keegan Daniel. A bit of a mixed bag from the captain, who ended up playing the final quarter at wing. Can’t shake the feeling that he only really excels in a loose trio containing two heavier flankers, but his balls skills and anticipation never fail to impress. 6/10
9) Ross Cronje. An error-strewn performance that will have the young Michaelhouse man disappointed in what he dished up. 3/10
10) Fred Michalak. A likewise off-key display from the man on whom the rest of the back line depends for inspiration and direction. Freddy played like a guy who had missed a few training sessions during the week, which he of course did. Needs to knuckle down this week and show us what he can do. 4/10
11) Lwazi Mvovo. A pretty good showing from Lwazi, who looked to get a bit more involved this week. Good defence and scored a cracking try at the end too. 7/10
12) Meyer Bosman. A very good game for Meyer, particularly when he moved to flyhalf later, where he controlled the game well. Defended well and was ever-present at the breakdown too, while a number of good off-loads saw continuity maintained. 8/10
13) Marius Joubert. Starting to show some glimpses of the player we all want him to be, but taking some time to settle into the role. We need to see some real menace on attack, to go with the solid defensive performances. 6/10
14) Sbura Sithole. Not his best showing, with a number of costly fumbles and a little defensive naivety leading to the first Griquas try. Hugely strong on the charge, though and remains a great prospect for the future. 4/10
15) Stefan Terblanche. Kicking from hand was shocking – not for the first time this season. Very hard to give a fair analysis of the rest of Stefan’s game given that his all-too-visible errors proved so costly at critical points throughout the game. 4/10
16) Monde Hadebe. A pretty good showing in his first appearance, with a lot more to come of yet another talented youngster from the Academy. 6/10
17) Wiehahn Herbst. Solid in the scrums and put in a few nice tackles and drives. 6/10
18) Ross Skeate. Played most of the game and while he is still trying to get back to full match fitness after his break, remains a key man in the pack with a lot of strength and good skills. 7/10
19) Marcell Coetzee. A better performance from a man who looked to be rediscovering the magic. 6/10
20) Charl McLeod. Added a huge amount of stability and calmness when he came one, with crisp predictable service that was a world away from Cronje’s effort. 7/10
21) Adi Jacobs. Sparked the Sharks into action with a lovely break out from within their own 22 and generally looked a cut above the other backs while he was on the field. 8/10
22) Louis Ludik. Only lasted 4 minutes before a horror foot injury cut short his involvement.
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You’re generous imo…
If Adi Jacobs can get 8/10 for 20 min…imagine 80 min… 😆 😈 😆
I PVRr’d the game. It doesn’t seem like it is even worth watching. It’s a pity that Freddie has taken a slump. Is Oupa still going to be around next year?
@SharksRTB (Comment 1) : got to look at the result in context… this was a 32-point turnaround from the last time we played them
Good ratings Rob, I agree with 21 out of the 22 ratings, and I’m sure you know what I’m thinking!
@Pokkel (Comment 3) :
Freddie’s form is a direct correlation to the different scrummie’s he has had to deal with over the past few weeks.
I reckon Michalak will hit top form with McLeod back inside him
@Charlie (Comment 2) : If Jacobs was conditioned to play 80min he would have started by now. I think thats why he is confined to an impact role.
Overall the Sharks were terrible though, no commitment in defense and shocking concentration. It looked like they were at a training session where mistakes dont matter. For professionals it was not good and all the ratings are too high as Griquas were average on the day, if they were on form we would have lost again!
@SheldonK (Comment 7) : Jacobs is in good nick to play…even for 80 min…just bad player management but it seems more of coaching staff preference… 🙁
The Sharks looked pretty good when they calmed down a bit and did not try to force their passes as much.
The forwards also deserve huge praise for the way they counter-rucked, that put Griquas under a lot of pressure.
@Charlie (Comment 8) : If he is conditioned for 80min then its madness he isnt playing. But then again every coach has his own ideas and what he wants from different positions at different times of the game.
@SheldonK (Comment 11) : 😉
I think Ross’ wish to impress got the better of him…
So dissapointed in cronje 🙁 he should have done better with that start.poor passing from a scrumhalf is not acceptable
@robdylan (Comment 4) : good ratings ,
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 6) :
Freddie will never be a settled flyhalf choice (never has been anywhere) because he’s too indirect. Sometimes you need to just go through the motions and pick your oppurtunities well. He’s never been a settled flyhalf anywhere, and he’s not going to be at the Sharks. A genuine game-breaker, but over 80-mins I wouldn’t regularly trust him to manage an important game.
@hendrikp (Comment 16) :
I cant argue that..
15 Stefan 4, was very poor and prolly lucky to get a (4)
14 Sithole 4 yes he bumped off 1 or 2 defenders and did what??, his option taking with ball in hand was very poor (4)
13 Joubert 5 was just ok (6)
12 Bosman 7 was solid and them moved to flyhald , made a big diff to sharks backline (8)
11 Mvovo 7 was much better this week (7)
10 Fred 4 eish i know he does some good stuff but i been saying for a while he never attacks the gain line? and poor option taking yesterday (4)
09 Cronje 2, on the day 1 word describes his play, PATHETIC (3)
08 Daniel 6.5 (6)
07 Deysel 8 (7)
06 Botes 6.5 (6)
05 Hargreaves 6 (6)
04 Bresler 5 although he only played a short while (5)
03 Van Staden 5 (6)
02 Cooper 7.5 I thought he had a tremendous match, it was his first start so 1 or 2 missed line outs i feel is forgivable (8)
01 Chadwick 6 was a bit better this week (7)
16 Monde 5 (6)
17 Herbst 6 (6)
18 Skeate 6.5 made a diff when he came on (7)
19 Coetzee 6 (6)
20 Mcleod 6.5 (7)
21 Adi 7.5 again shows why he is our best center (8)
22 Ludik did not play long enough for rating and got injured
ok for the fun i had a look at my ratings earlier vs Robs, his being in brackets
well atleast this time we basicly agreed on all players, just a slight variance in the rating given here and there
so he wont get on my case this week , or richard 😆 😆
@sharks_lover (Comment 19) : ha ha… we’ll have to find something else to get on your case about 🙂
@sharks_lover (Comment 21) : 🙂
Plum needs to grow a pair and drop Stef! Or he should have while Ludik was fit! 🙄
Maybe I’m wrong but plum shouldn’t of coached the guys for the currie cup..someone new should of stepped in and taken the reigns..u will see the same happening in super rugby where players who don’t perform will still play week in n out!!!
@shaniboi (Comment 24) : Who would u have got to coach in the Currie Cup? Hugh Reece Edwards? Strauli? Deon Kayser?