The Sharks host the Force at Mr Price Kings Park in an all important match for the hosts, as results so far this weekend have gone in their favour to reach that playoff spot. They now have their destiny in their own hands, and have to go out and get the full bag of points.
Coach John Plumtree has, for the first time this season, named an unchanged starting line-up, and the team should be able to build on their performance against the Highlanders last weekend, with combinations getting time to settle.
The Force have also named an unchanged team from the side that ran the Cheetahs so close last weekend, and will see this as their last chance to pick up a win in South Africa. The Sharks have to keep David Pocock and Matt Hodgson busy as they will steal Sharks ball all afternoon.
Sharks: 15. Louis Ludik, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Tim Whitehead, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Keegan Daniel (c), 7. Marcell Coetzee, 6. Jacques Botes, 5. Anton Bresler, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16. Craig Burden, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19. Jean Deysel, 20. Ryan Kankowski, 21. Frederic Michalak, 22. Meyer Bosman.
Western Force: 1 Pek Cowan,2 Nathan Charles,3 Salesi Ma’afu,4 Toby Lynn,5 Nathan Sharpe,6 Richard Brown,7 David Pocock (Captain),8 Matt Hodgson,9 Brett Sheehan,10 David Harvey,11 Napolioni Nalaga,12 Winston Stanley,13 Nick Cummins,14 Sam Wara,15 Alfie Mafi
Replacements :16 Elvis Taione,17 Salesi Manu,18 Phoenix Battye,19 Lachlan McCaffrey,20 Josh Holmes,21 Ben Seymour,22 Rory Sidey
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Assistant Ref 1:Joey Salmans
Assistant Ref 2:Cobus Wessels
TMO : Johann Meuwesen
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Go Sharks!
Go Sharks!
Rumour going around that the force have approached plum to coach them next year..hmmm!!!
But go sharks!!!!
@shaniboi (Comment 3) : they’re welcome to have him for free! 😆
Go Sharks!
5 points please.
5 points and you will leapfrog two teams straight into 6th place and only 1 point behind the Crusaders in 5th….
Where did that rumour come from and why haven’t we heard it
GO SHARKS GO!!!!!!
@shaniboi (Comment 3) : I heard that from my Dad as well. Apparently Plum wasn’t happy with the rumours.
@siorc (Comment 4) : And we,ll throw in a scrumhalf too….
that was a KNOCK!!!!!!!
@siorc (Comment 68) : I don’t want to be counted as one of those fans.
A late season rally will see Plumtree get a stay of execution and I don’t want that.
Comment 69, posted at 12.05.12 14:10:33 by KSA Shark ©
Hypocrite… 🙄
@shaniboi (Comment 3) : Would spice up the Hawera Cup for sure!
@Die Kriek (Comment 6) : Capastagno has just mentioned the Plumtree/Force rumour on TV…
Harvey reminds me of Neil de Kock for some reason.
O – 3 Force…
OK so we playing against 16 again…. Lets waist these…… Force
Poor handling by the Sharks up front. Everything the Sharks half since the kick off.
Pity about the intercept
Force PK
Sharks 0 – 3 Force
8 min
Sharks’ passing is poor. Not much in the bread basket.
Just paaaaaaaassssssss
LMAO!! Sharks fuck up a gift try.
Geez butchered that try scoring chance
@klempie (Comment 22) : what happened?
Bissie should have passed there. Try missed.
Lambi PK
Sharks 3 – 3 Force
13min
@lostfish (Comment 24) : 3 on 1 overlap and no pass….
@lostfish (Comment 24) : Big overlap, didnt pass the ball quick enough
Sykes!!
Sykes over….
Good buildup finally. Good try
Lambi converts
Sharks 10 – 3 Force
16min
Sharks lineout in the Force 22 and barging runs by backs and forwards off the maull puts wave after wave of pressure on the Force who eventually succumb with Sykes going over under the posts.
Lambie converted.
3 to go.
Is there anybody out there that hates kicking scrumhalfs as much as me…….
Mcloed has a whole backline to swing it too but ops to kick it..whhyyy???
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 31) : A devcent defence would have slowed that down though. They just crumbled.
Has Macleod taken a blow to the head this season. He seems to be about 3 seconds slower than last season
@klempie (Comment 27) : who was the guilty party?
@klempie (Comment 37) : Indeed, but normally the sharks would have blown that, so at least they took their chance.
@lostfish (Comment 39) : bizmarck
@lostfish (Comment 39) : Bismarck
@lostfish (Comment 39) : Not sure. Pablo seems to think it was Bis but I seem to recall Beast with the ball.
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 40) : True dat.
Sharks doing good in the lineouts….. so far…
@klempie (Comment 43) : It was both, Bis was at 1st centre and Beast at 2nd…
who is that angry/animated grey haired guy in the crowd who gets shown every game?
Sharks in pressure, scrambling back in defence
Very poor initial defense from Sharks Force passed the ball down the line and had an overlap from nothing. Good recovery though.
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 46) : 😆 1st and 2nd centre.
@siorc (Comment 47) : I dunno. But he’s a bit of an embarrassnent.
@siorc (Comment 47) : its his position he sits, and his always there…..
@klempie (Comment 43) : bismarck.
Sharks defence is pathetic. 😕
Sharks doing a shocking job of trying to clear their line
@klempie (Comment 51) : we’ve sat behind him a few times as the Nida “losie” is right behind him……. he can get seriously worked up during a game….
Lots of pressure on the Sharks….
@siorc (Comment 53) : See #46. 😛
Penalty had to come sooner or later… Lambie down
@Franshark (Comment 56) : I think he might have some Blue Bull in him somewhere.
AI, Lambi down…….
@klempie (Comment 60) : he hates the Bulls with serious passion……
Is there a more frustrating team to watch than the Sharks?? Well apart from the Lions obviously
Oh god…Stransky is waxing lyrical about his boy fantasy again. 😐
Lambi back in action,
Force PK
Sharks 10 – 6 Force
30 min
Lambie up again
Laaaaaaaambiiiiiiii
Moment of brilliance… that attack was going nowhere till then
@Franshark (Comment 62) : Yeh and I hate both the Poms and the French, but I have both running through my veins. 😛
Jordaan gets the 5. Good for him
Great break by Lambi, puts Jordaan and in for an excellent score…
Looks like the bump to the head woke Lambie up
2 to go.
Am I a bad person for thinking not my FL league captain when I saw Lambie down? 🙄
Lambi converts
Sharks 17 – 6 Force
33 min
@lostfish (Comment 74) : same here 😯
Go for the corner!!!
Force offsides. Lambie from 26m in front.
Ok, fair enough, but then get the kick
Sharks to stretch that lead through a penalty,
Lambi hits the upright…..
@klempie (Comment 78) : Okay that wasn’t in front. Foreshortening of the lens….
Damn
@lostfish (Comment 74) : Not bad. But sad maybe… 😛
Unlucky for Pocock… wasnt a deliberate knock down
Lawrence thinks that Pocock has slapped the ball down…which he hadn’t.
Lambie from outside the 22..more or less in front. Over.
Lambi gets another shot right away…..
Lambi PK
Sharks 20 – 6 Force
HALF TIME
Sufficient 1st half. Nothing special, but the job being done against a below average team
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 88) : good summary.
Lambie’s off. 🙁
I’d like to say that was a good try but WOW the Force are pathetic!
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 88) : this where we as supporters now want them to show serious killing mentally….
I would rather have a groggy Lambie on the field than Freddie.
Should have brought on MB! Well done on the try boys.
@klempie (Comment 90) : and Mitch on…
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 88) : Well put.
Fred converts.
Sharks 27 – 6 Force
42 mins.
I stand corrected but is that Ludik’s first try in super rugby ever?
1 to go.
Lucky bounce for the Sharks there…..
Mvovo……… speedster
Cheeky intercept by Mvovo and he runs 80m to the corner.
Hell, I miss 4 minutes and the bonus point!!!
Lawrence just got falconed I think.
@siorc (Comment 99) : 4 more………
Fred misses the conversion.
Mvovo should have kept his speed up to get the kick closer to the posts to make the kick easier.
There’s that angry grey haired dude in the stands again, this time not so angry.
The cameramen love him.
Sharks 32 – 6 Force
47 mins.
@Franshark (Comment 105) : Lol.
good stuff Sharks….
Jordaan holds on. Force have a lineout on the 5m.
We’ve asked to see the Sharks be a bit more ruthless.
Let’s hope for a few more tries.
Not being content to defend this lead.
That’s it Mvovo again…….
Very lucky try… what happened to the advantage?
Loads of phases, quick-tap penalties and penalty advantages for the Force on the Sharks line. The last penalty advantage is apparently over just as Mvovo boots it forward from a bad pass. He breaks hearts by going 90m this time. Converted.
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 115) : Lawrence having a shocker.
Yeah, the ref didn’t play the Force advantage. Lucky 5th try.
@siorc (Comment 118) : true, but we’ll take it…..
@klempie (Comment 117) : Indeed. Ball bouncing sharks way, but hes made a few shockers against too, they just didnt result in points
Keegan off… Kanko on…
Michalak is playing well.
Hey I just noticed Kanko is on!! 😎 😎
Sharks have a 5m lineout.
@Franshark (Comment 121) : This is the kind of game Kanko might thrive in
Maul over the line but ruled held up. 5m scrum.
@klempie (Comment 124) : Now a 5 scrum
Sharks over the line, held up called and 5 meter scrum for the Sharks….
JP is really awesome.
Card coming.
Coetzee is a good young player, but seems to have glue on his hands. Needs to learn to offload to be the complete package
McCaffrey binned for taking out McLeod without the ball on the line.
Good maul 5 more to Bissie
Nope try dissallowed…
That’s shocking…..
Bis gets the ball over the line from a maul off the lineout. Try reversed because Bresler was apparently caught out for foul play. Replay shows that we are apparently watching tiddly-winks.
Another shocking call…
@klempie (Comment 136) : Whatever it is, the ref and his assistants havent contributed to the spectacle
@klempie (Comment 136) : Too be fair we’ve also benefitted from some dodgy decisions
Don’t take the foot of the gas boys!
Force are, in all fairness, pretty woeful.
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 138) : @vanmartin (Comment 139) : Agree.
Are you friggen kidding me???
Brain explosion from the Force – no yellow though
Wara not carded for an early tackle on Ludik. 😆 What a joke.
Burden scores.
Good one Burden. Finally another try
Everything we asked for the guys delivered today…well done boys.
Converted.
Sharks 46 – 6 Force
68 mins.
Viljoen is gonna find it tough to claim back the fullback jersey!
Wow, I hate to harp on this, but the refs are worse than the Force. This reffing team is the Lions of the reffing world
Wolla’s back!! 😎
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 151) : Now, now. Let’s not be nasty. 😈
5m scrum in front of the posts for the Sharks.
Botes!
Hard to argue with that one.. 5 more to Botes
@vanmartin (Comment 150) : agree
Converted.
Sharks 53 – 6 Force
73 mins.
Ive had my doubts about the Sharks closing out games this season, but I think I can safely say that the Sharks have a better than 50% chance of winning this game. 😉
Well played Sharks. Is this a season turning performance? [or were the Force really bad?]
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 160) : 🙂
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 160) : Baha!
@siorc (Comment 161) : lets hope it gives them the hunger to do it again and again…..
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 160) : Comment of the thread!
@siorc (Comment 161) : The Sharks were better no doubt. However, I’m not reading anything into this game. We can take stock after we face the Stormers in two weeks time.
@Franshark (Comment 164) : Definitely
Force…take the points! 😆
Well done Sharks!
Burden carded for tripping a player up.
Burdens rare gametime is cut short..
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 171) : But could the touch judge have been any gayer about his assessment of the situation..
Force close!
Wara try in left hand corner being TMO’d
Not a try
Benefit of the doubt given, and the Force have a try.
😯
great tackle Mcloed and the TMO adds his part to the refs circus show off the night….
Another poor decision, but hey, Sharks scored from a shocker too… Hope that doesnt bite the sharks later when it comes to points difference.
Conversion from touch missed.
That wasn’t a try.
Jeez, the reffing has been bad this game, for both teams.
42 point margin 😯 Did the Force even pitch for the game 😈
FT Sharks 53 – 11 Force
Well done boys! That’s the sort of score we want to see against a team this poor!
I think the Sharks are starting to play well. So proud of the boys. Keep up the good work..
Well done Sharks.
I am so glad the team went for more tries and put a decent score on the board.
Into the top 6 and a bit of momentum gained. Cheetahs next week.
Well done Sharkies!
Not the best overall performance by a long stretch but a well worked bonus point victory. Finally there is a smile back on my face. Now let’s take this and build from here and see what happens.
Well done Sharks and my LMS is safe this week.
Well done to our Sharks.
Great win for us and now sitting at 6th.
Just a bit worried about Lambie. Hope he was only taken off for precaution, was having a great game before that. We sure as heck need him for next week even if Freddie played okay tonight.
Great to see Beast back at his best.
Actually proud of our boys tonight…. 😎
Well done to all the players.
You have to go back a very long way to find the last time the Sharks put 50 points on the board.
7 April 2007 vs the Reds in Brisbane: 59-16
In the circumstances I guess we should be pretty happy.
In fact today’s result was only the 5th time the Sharks have passed 50 points in Super rugby, I believe.
2007: 59-16 v Reds in Brisbane
1998: 52-18 v Chiefs in PE
1997: 75-43 v Highlanders in Durban
1996: 63-25 v Chiefs in Durban
So today’s result, for a traditionally “non ruthless” team, should be celebrated 😀
WELL DONE SHARKS!!!!! Now THAT is a performance!
I’m surprised Rich doesn’t have a post match thread up yet, he’s usualy so quick. Must be the shock. Mooi gespeel Sharkies!!
@Die Kriek (Comment 194) : think his taken off for the night….
Yebo boytjies, well played. Where’s old Hmmm, now that we’re winning and Mvovo’s burning up the field?
@CapeShark (Comment 196) : lol, that guy seems to enjoy posting here, but only when the Sharks lose it seems…… schadenfreude 😡
Great stuff Sharks, awesome match, my MOM was Lambie, hell he is back to his best even though he only played the first half
@sharks_lover (Comment 198) : Lambie is also my man of the match. How we missed Beast! Marcell is a machine, how fortunate we are to have him.
@sharks_lover (Comment 198) : Snap.
Lambie was my mom too even if he only played half a game. He was outstanding last night.
Just a bit worried about him now, really hope they only took him off for precaution. We definitely need him against the Cheetahs and more important want him in the Bok team. So really hope he has not picked up a injury that will keep him out. He got a head knock it seemed to me and maybe the reason for taking him off just for precaution.
Very proud of our boys performance last night.
@sharks_lover (Comment 198) : Also thought Beast had a great game. Just shows how our scrum and perform with the Beast back.
@Puma (Comment 201) : and = can
Imo our boykies got the killer instinct only after a couple of ‘lucky breaks ‘, but I’m not complaining, cause at least they got it!! 😀
Now hopefully they will build on it. 🙂
Great work in the end Sharkies.
I think we can all agree it is a Much more balanced team.
But in fantasy terms how does this look for our back line
9. WISH WE HAD PIENAAR (no strong candidate)
10. Jordaan – played there before (but howz his kicking game?)
11. Mvovo
12. Whitehead/Steyn
13. Whitehead/Steyn
14. Pietersen
15. Lambie