The battle for log supremacy in the South African conference takes place at Kings Park in Durban, in what’s expected to be a very wet game.
Both sides lost away to local opposition last week and will be keen for revenge.
Kick-off (or swim-off) is at 17h05.
Sharks: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Andries Coetzee, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton Bresler , 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Jean Deysel, 19 Lubabalo Mtembu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Sean Robinson.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Burton Francis, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Rynhardt Landman, 19 Frans Viljoen, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Ryno Benjamin.
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Go Sharks!!!!!
Late changes:
Bresler starts at 4.
Steph moves to 7.
Deysel to bench.
Coetzee starts at 11.
Robinson moves to bench
I’m kinda resigned to a Sharks loss here…
@robdylan (Comment 2) : Alrighty then!
@klempie (Comment 3) : Ah, we’ll be getting proper updates from you?
@SteelShark (Comment 5) : Sorry, dawg. I’m at a house warming do.
Shaaaaaarks!!!
@klempie (Comment 6) : No biggy, plenty people to fill your shoes
@klempie (Comment 6) : if you wanne warm a house just make a fire 🙂
@SteelShark (Comment 8) : @Franshark (Comment 9) : 😛
KP looks abit empty with all the rain around
I predicted two loosies on the bench. Just didnt see the Kanko drop coming.
First scrum, attacking scrum for the Sharks, cheats22
Great scrum, bad play afterwards
Another scrum
Sharks scrum, half lin
Herbst looking better thn JDP
How bad is it raining?
Sharks scrumming good early on
Cheetahs scrum
Cheetahs looking better
A lot of kicking 🙁
a lot off kicks…quiet wet atm
Knock on. Scrum time…again.
@SteelShark (Comment 18) : drizzling but very wet
gona be a forwards battle
Penalty Sharks. Lappies offside
2nd time we are held up and loose possession
collapsed mall. cheetahs scrum
Come on sharks!
its rather frustrating
EP Kings 3 – 15 Sharks XV
Geeezzzz
Ndangane Knock on. Costing us almost a try
Great tackle by lambi
5m scrum Sharks put in
We need to win today.
@DBOY (Comment 37) : even if its an ugly win.
scrum Sharks put in
Epk 8 – 15 Sxv
Ugly win is better than a pretty loss.
Cheetahs looking good
@DBOY (Comment 41) : for sure
Reinack with a kick direct into touch
Reinach
17min
0 – 0
Good play ending in a knock
M.Coetzee knock on…ai dinge nou so mooi gelyk
20 – 10 to Sharks XV
We need to be patient and not force passes in this weather conditions
Another knock on. still no score
yet another scrum 50m Sharks ball
@DBOY (Comment 50) : We also can’t just run smack-bang into defenders and lose the ball like Coetzee did there.
Beast looks like he hurt his ancle. JdP on
Another big player injured…how far is allen dell?
Gooi enos, miskien sal hulle die gap kry
Cheetahs scrum penalty.
First scrum with JdP on. Enough said
This game not enjoyable cause of the wet
“Cheetahs with a good scrum. Resulting in Cheetahs being in a almost certian try
Boring stressfull game. Cant take it anymore
We were dominant in the scrum. Now getting our heads shoved up our arses. 😯
Going better with Jannie and Wiehahn swopping sides.
Beast come back plz lol
Good kick Tjoppie
That was good play from viljoen
Rule try….TMO having a look
Rhule over…
Try awarded 0 – 5
And so it begins…..
This try will be the difference
0 – 7
Eish…
@SteelShark (Comment 68) : Or ends…
Damn wow that was close
34min
Gaan haal Pokkel se Whisky
we r 5m out!!
Cheetahs penalty fuccckkkkk
Pathetic call
Sharks penalty. Kickable
@rhineshark (Comment 71) : jip, depends on which side of the fence you are 😈
but opting for a LO. 7m out
Sharks going for line out after penalty
Everyone standing in the line wanting to be the glory boys instead of securing the ruck ball first. Do we know that Brüssouw is playing against us?
penalty Sharks. going for LO again.
And again
Cheetahs turn over
pathetic
@SteelShark (Comment 79) :
we are not finishing the oppertuneties. why cant we mall them with PSdT in at flank
Two thirds of the other S15 sides would have scored by now.
More bad news guys, Sharks are down 23 – 27 to Kings 5min left
Thank goodness we are going for poles
pierre i dont think i can handle more stress
3 – 7
HT
There is no ‘I’ in team 💡
Deysel really over his injury? If yes, we need to give him atleast 30min.
Hugh Bladen wondering who the top dog is going to be at the end of this game. I reckon we have neither the mongrel in the forwards, nor the pedigree in the backline.
Time to get in the rugby version of the Dog Whisperer. Our current coaching team reminds me of Barbara Woodhouse.
What’s up with the Ajax plugin? Can’t edit comments.
Final score Kings 27 Sharks 23 Vodacom Cup
@pierre_mackie (Comment 97) : Bummer! 🙁
2nd Half starts
I hope we pitch up for the second half. 🙄
Can we turn this around?
after that first half I only have one question: what to make for supper so that I don’t have to watch this poor Sharks side get beaten by the Cheetahs. 👿
Why are we screwing things up whenever things looks promising.
A great attacking position completely and utterly pissed away by a shit pass. FFS!!!!! 👿 👿 👿
Im hungry for a win hehe
Jordaan down if it is him
Sharks cant go on tour with a loss
Viljoen having a very solid game at the back. Coetzee buggering up another opportunity by not passing the ball.
Reinach it was
Should they risk Reinach?
Ja Viljoen looking better thn Steyn
We are not in this game..
Cheetahs loosies are dominant. How many turnovers have we conceded thus far?
Francis with a failed DG
Brussouw down
3 – 7
46min
Cooper is maar n yster en klaar
Deysel on
Sharks looking good now
Another penalty. Holding on
And ANOTHER turnover. Can’t we learn???
@DBOY (Comment 117) : Dis waar. Stoomroller daai boytjie.
Kom nou Sharks!!!
Bosman off
Steyn on
Second screw up from Deysel already.
A crap, Steyn coming on. Hope it’s just a blood replacement for Viljoen.
This is bullshit
Cheetahs killing us at scrum time. they are going for points. JdP is useless
I’m running out of exasperated sighs here. 😥
Kick misses
Juctise
not the most enterprising game
Coetzee with a fucking knock 3m out
Hahahahahaa!!! This is fucking laughable. USELESS!!!!
Steyn should have passed
We dont want to win. Simple as that
Are both Coetzee’s still on the field?
Yes think so
@rhineshark (Comment 134) : In your heart you are crying, I know 😛
@SteelShark (Comment 139) : No. I’m too pissed off to be sad, bru.
@SteelShark (Comment 137) : Asking coz I dont know which one is the knock on king
This is pushing me to alcohol.
Daniel knock on
Now we decide we don’t need to win our lineouts anymore. I mean why bother.
3 – 7
18min left
Teach marcell to pass!!!
@SteelShark (Comment 141) : Player of the Year nominee 2012 Coetzee.
The whole team is off form, drop them all Plum!
Sharks penalty
Lambie to kick
@SteelShark (Comment 147) : 😆
Lambie converts and making it a 1 point game
6 – 7
Some guys are really giving it all. Cooper, Daniel, Viljoen and Coetzee have been pretty good.
Cant believe we are just a 1 point behind after playing our worst game
Guess what? YET ANOTHER TURNOVER. 😯 😯 😯
14min left
need to get in Cheetahs half
@rhineshark (Comment 151) : which Coetzee 😉
Good question
Really glad I’m not watching
12min left
Scrum 10m from our 22
@SteelShark (Comment 155) : His name isn’t Andries. 😉
Lappies down
Burden on
Cooper off
Rob mentioned Magic Spray in his ‘Injuries’ post. Maybe the team should sniff it 💡
This might turn out to be the kakkest home performance since we lost 6-5 to the Reds. Even then we managed to score a try…
@SteelShark (Comment 162) : Nope. They need to spike the stuff straight into the main aorta. I feel drastic measures are required here.
cant expect to beat the Highlanders on tour after this performance
Awesome… almost 250 minutes of rugby since the sharks scored their last try. So proud to be a sharks supporter right now
Im sure the Aussies are thinking: Eish, another boring SA derby.
Adriaan turnover the ball but knocks it on.
Andries injured his right shoulder. Sean on.
Injuries killing us
@rhineshark (Comment 164) : Desperate times, desperate measures.
6min left
And now Dries Coetzee is going off injured. Our overseas tour is going to be a nightmare.
Or to put it another way. 8 games played 13 tries scored, 10 in one game, 3 in another. So 6 games without scoring a try. Is that some kind of record?
can someone pull out some muti in the name of a sharks win
Same Shit Different Year
4min left.
Turnover. Cheetahs scrum 50m
Someone also thank Meyer for breaking Lambie. Wheres Michalak when you need him
@SteelShark (Comment 170) : JIP!
Without bissie at the breakdown we are exposed
Le Roux try hahahaha
The faith is now gone.
im off Cheers mates. So long Sharks. Thanks for spoiling my weekend.
@klempie (Comment 3) : Called it…
he was playing advantage to Sharks?
Wow, that was truely abysmal. Just when you think it cant get worse… surprise!!!
We might as well forfeit the entire tour and try to stay injury free.
To get advantage you must cross the infringement line!!!!
im not watching the overseas games. Had enough.
Well done Cheetahs. Well deserved. Sharks need a major rethink. Even our final opportunity we managed to butcher. Absolutely KAK!
Have a goodnight all, later!
Fuck fuck fuck – how poor was that at the end
Well done Cheetahs.
What happened. My feed froze just at the line break? How did we screw it up that time?
@DBOY (Comment 188) : We all know that’s impossible. 😉
A decent team would have scored there, but the Sharks have to butcher everything
Congratz Cheetahs. My SB is ruiened again
Please, please, please get rid of Plumtree. I have finally had enough.
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 193) : The same as all the other times. No fucking clue how to score tries.
@Bokhoring (Comment 195) : A decent team would have scored 5 tries today with all the opportunities created. I shouldn’t have watched the Waratahs vs Chiefs game yesterday morning, because it has put me off even bothering to watch our overseas games.
We have a few embarrassments waiting for us.
How did we go from the team that played the most attractive rugby at the end of 2012 to this bunch of Lions wannabes? I hope Lambie gets dropped from the Bok team. He needs to be recuperated. Where oh where are Whitehead and Bissie. Get them out there on crutches for all I care, they cant do worse than this lot.
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 187) : not true
Average ref, but what a miserable group of individuals this Sharks franchise has become.
Should we cling on to the hope that Smit will miraculously lead the Sharks into the promised land, or should we just finally lose our patience and all hope?!
Totally wrong tactics for the conditions. WTF was Plum talking about half time – it is obviously very difficult the maintain possession in these conditions.
Cheetahs totally outsmarted us. Their loose trio ruled the breakdown – when are we going to get a clue about maintaining our own possession? Plum is supposed to be a breakdown expert – there seems to be no evidence of that.
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 200) : This happens EVERY single year. We can only play decent rugby when we’re in dire straits and HAVE to win every game to make it through to the finals. Sometimes we catch a few flukes and actually get there.
The truth is that we have NEVER had the mental strength to win a Super Rugby title, even with all the superstars and money. Nothing seems to have changed this year.
@Bokhoring (Comment 203) : We were outsmarted by Naka Drotske 😯
There is serious problems at the Sharks for that to happen. 😈
Another year down the drain. This was a must win match, and was there for the taking at the end.
Time for some new blood in the coaching.
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 187) :
Not at all the case…advantage is over if you are in a better position than the knock on offense…which the Sharks were…
@Bokhoring (Comment 206) : Yeah, Plum only averages a 61% win ratio, that’s rather worrying considering the players we field each year.
I back the Cheetahs as the SA side to go all the way…
They just scoring less tries with Burton at 10…but they still managing the wins…
@Hmmm (Comment 207) : Have these guys heard of playing until the whistle blows. KD just stood and watched Le Roux running through
The Sharks are looking better from the beginning of the year with the LIONS boosting them….
I knew we’d be killed at the breakdown with a kiwi ref, they are far more lenient at the breakdown and the tjietas are experts at exploiting it.
@Hmmm (Comment 209) : They just use Willie le Roux to create the magic on attack for them.
It is pretty impressive from the union with probably the least financial resources in the country.
@Bokhoring (Comment 210) :
Yes…and Frans just stopped…that try was actually perfect result…and hopefully someone in the coaching staff uses it to highlight the poor character shown by the players…
And maybe it wakes them up before the tour…they NEED at least 2 wins…
@Bokhoring (Comment 213) :
They are being inventive…tough up front and inventive out back…
@Hmmm (Comment 214) : I am starting to doubt that. Fortunately the Highlanders and Force are pretty poor this year, although the Force did manage to knock off the Crusaders.
I cannot see this sorry bunch beating the Reds or the Chiefs. The best I can hope for are 2 loosing bonus points in those games – but I am not holding my breath.
The worst is after the tour the Sharks could end up in 4th position on the log.
@Bokhoring (Comment 216) : Not the OVERALL log, surely?
@rhineshark (Comment 217) : Sorry, I mean conference log
@Bokhoring (Comment 218) : Thought so.
@Bokhoring (Comment 216) :
Agree…but lets hope that they can improve themselves mentally…
@robdylan (Comment 201) : sorry, not meant the rule, just a comment on the call. We never got into a advatages position in my opinion before ref called it
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 221) : Mind boggling the amount of variation in different refs’ interpretation of that rule.
@rhineshark (Comment 222) : true as well as the input into scrums, scrumming in, holding on vs releasing, supporting body weight, etc.
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 223) : Jip. Too much of it in rugga imo.