It wasn’t always an easy game to watch, but you have to give the Sharks credit for recording an invaluable away win over the Cheetahs on Friday. While attack misfired for the most part – and there were some early lapses on defence – the Sharks’ kept their hosts scoreless for 55 minutes, requiring a huge defensive effort. Let’s rate the individuals against this 7/10 team performance.
1. Dale Chadwick. Dale had a good game; his work outside of the set pieces was particularly impressive, with a high work rate on defence again evident. He carried better this week, making ground regularly and even scored what could have been a good early try, had it not been for a technical infringement. Scrums were about average, but then again, one feels a bit like the ref was guessing most of the time. 7/10
2. Kyle Cooper. Coops performed pretty well in the set pieces and was busy as a carrier – however, he’s starting to become something of a marked man and is battling to make progress on the drive. This is clearly frustrating him. 6/10
3. Wiehahn Herbst. Wors’s struggle for real consistency continues. He was very good against the Lions in round 2, but this week I felt he didn’t quite manage to reach those same heights. Continues to work hard and put in an adequate scrumming performance, without managing to obtain any real dominance. 6/10
4. Edwin Hewitt. Edwin is not a particularly flashy player, but is an incredibly hard worker and as his conditioning and match fitness continue to improve, so do the standard of his performances. Comparing this performance to his display against Griquas in round 1 shows that growth. 6/10
5. Marco Wentzel. A big game from a man who is coming into his own as a leader in the tight five. Wentzel was hugely involved in the game for the full 80 minutes, never shirking from the coal face like so many others who wear the number 5 jersey tend to do. 7/10
6. Keegan Daniel. A bit of a quiet game, perhaps understandable given that he’s been on the sidelines for a few weeks. Keegan just has such sublime skills, though, that he really does stand out with a moment of magic or two even in an otherwise subdued performance. 6/10
7. Jean Deysel. Another vintage performance underlining his clear Bok credentials. Deysel sticks out like a sore thumb in this competition because he clearly belongs at a higher level. Man of the match for a second week running – what more can we say? 9/10
8. Jacques Botes. The problem with playing Jacques and Keegan together is that the resulting lack of real “grunt” makes it hard for either of them to really stand out. We saw virtually nothing of the free-wheeling Botes this week, but adaptable as ever, he found a way to be effective. His leadership was exemplary. 7/10
9. Charl McLeod. Another very good performance on the whole. McLeod did particularly well to relieve some of the pressure on his rookie flyhalf. 7/10
10. Fred Zeilinga. Recovered from an early charge down to deliver some composed play. Fred brings a lot of strengths, with his long kicking game a particular boon. He struggled a little with options, though and too often went for a risky chip or stab through when a pass would have been better. My dad always loves to say that “a flyhalf who can kick drop goals is a pearl beyond price” and we have to applaud Fred particularly for the cool manner in which he slotted his in this game. 6/10
11. Lwazi Mvovo. The sleepwalking continues. Lwazi is a senior player in the backline and a proven game breaker, but is way too prone to simply “game watching” from the left wing. It is the most frustrating thing to see, because his class is clear and he should be having the same impact on games at this level that Deysel does. 5/10
12. Heimar Williams. This man is going to go a long way. His reading of the game is so good that he often manages to insert himself into a situation – particularly on defence – and completely turn the momentum with a small intervention. His offensive defence and counter-rucking ability are simply sublime. 8/10
13. Louis Ludik. Continues to look a little out of sorts at centre, but you have to say that this week he really did take some big strides, particularly on defence. The try was just gravy. 7/10
14. Sizo Maseko. In only his second game, Sizo made some mistakes. He needs to improve some of his positioning and occasionally gets a little out of line on defence. What you can’t fault, though, is his commitment, hunger, work rate and physicality, all of which put the Bok on the other side of the field to shame this week. 6/10
15. SP Marais. Alas, his involvement was curtailed after just 20 minutes due to a knee injury; he was looking sharp and dangerous. 6/10
16. Craig Burden. A very, very useful impact substitute when used correctly. Needs to continue to work on line-outs, but you can’t fault his explosiveness. 6/10
17. Rayno Gerber. Made a big impact when he came on, with a superb workrate, particularly on defence. 7/10
18. Peet Marais. This kid works so damn hard – in fact, this kid just IS so damn hard. Another great cameo and surely must be in line for a start. 7/10
19. Tera Mtembu. Only enjoyed 13 minutes in total – over two stretches. The coaches need to give Tera some meaningful game time at number 8, because he’s not getting any chances to show what he can really do. Continues to impress with an unexpectedly physical presence when given the opportunity. 6/10
20. Cobus Reinach. A really top performance; Cobus turned the game with his pace and eye for the tiniest of gaps. 8/10
21. Butch James. Came on to add some solidity at a much needed time and managed to keep things tidy. missing a pretty simple conversion attempt, though, kept the team under pressure. 6/10
22. Jaco van Tonder. I think we learned a great deal about Jaco over the course of an hour. He clearly wasn’t expecting to take the field as early as he did and for once, nerves were evident in abundance. We don’t ever expect young players not to make mistakes; what we want is proof that they’re able to quickly learn from those, adjust and move on and as Jaco got more into the game, his confidence grew in line with the quality of his performance. Definitely a few rough edges, but oodles of class and plenty to work with. 6/10
Tweet
My team for next weekend, assuming that SP Marais will be out injured: 1) Chadwick. 2) Burden. 3) Herbst. 4) Marais. 5) Wentzel. 6) Daniel. 7) Deysel. 8) Mthembu. 9) Mcleod. 10) Zeilinga. 11) Mvovo. 12) Williams. 13) Whitehead. 14) Maseko. 15) Ludik. 16) Cooper. 17) Gerber. 18) Hewitt. 19) Botes. 20) Reinach. 21) Butch. 22) Van Tonder
It was a shocker to watch but a great win in Bloem against a Cheetah team that haven’t lost that many players from the S15. Great defence from the guys and one of the better games I’ve seen Chadwick play.
Is Whitehead injured or dropped?
@Pokkel (Comment 3) : apparently didn’t quite make it fitness-wise.
@woody (Comment 1) : nice team, but I don’t think Marais will be out. Coaches don’t think his injury is too serious.
Also don’t think we should bench Cooper. He’s doing invaluable work in the tight in the early stages, allowing Burden free reign later on.
@robdylan (Comment 4) : General fitness or still the arm?
Gotta agree with the jean deysel assessment, he almost looks “too big” for currie cup lol. Unfortunately I think he might be just a tad too slow for international rugby
@Pokkel (Comment 6) : no, rib and ankle
@RuckingFun (Comment 7) : i was actually impressed with his mobility ,he made a few good cross cover tackles
😈 No a big fan of Chadwick, but he really showed commitment! Well done.
The forwards are just not playing as a unit. We do not scrum together with the back 3 popping up before the ball emerges and leaving the tight 5 to bear the load. Flanks were very guilty of this. Our weak cohesion in our drives made them ineffective.
We can surely learn from these past games that it is better to hold a player off the ground to get the turnover, than to tackle and try to recover elusive ruck ball.
Well done Louis, you had the goods on Sadie! Ours 9 fitted well into the plan 😈
@RuckingFun (Comment 7) : The problem with Deysel is that he gets away out muscling players in CC but he cant do that against internationals. He also doesnt have the linking play to be an international flank.
Boks should be back. Hope Bismarck, Lambie and Marcel get released to play for the Sharks this weekend. Alberts, Jannie and Beast would be a bonus but doubt HM will release these 3 and risk his Bulls getting another whipping.
@robdylan (Comment 5) : So Rob, Peet & Piet for starting 4 & 5 in next year’s Super Rugby?
@Pokkel (Comment 2) : Hmmmmm let me see. No Strauss, Coenie, Brussow, van Zyl, Willie le Roux, Landman, Waltie Vermeulen, Barnes, Adriaanse, Uys, Viljoen, and Benjamin, of which 8 were regular starters.
Do the maths. All of a sudden your logic is flawed!
@KingCheetah (Comment 14) : Arent you a bitter little girl 😆
The Cheetahs were favorites by a mile
@Talent (Comment 15) : He’s only ever around when his team is losing. He needs to lighten up. 🙄
That was not a 7/10 performance, it was more a 5.5/10. Only Heimar and Deysel had good games the rest needs to drop at least 1 point. Burden should be dropped for someone who has a beter line out throw!!
@Talent (Comment 15) : Real brave internet warrior to call people “girls” when you don’t even kno them, not to mention rather immature. You and Looser should form a club.
@KingCheetah (Comment 18) : You really need to lighten up….”man”
@FireTheLooser (Comment 16) : We should make a club 😆 “league of extraordinary gentlemen” 😎
@KingCheetah (Comment 18) : Please stop being so annoying 😆 are you sure you don’t secretly support the Stormers? The kind of moaning I’d expect from one of their supporters 😆 😆
settle down kids
@robdylan (Comment 21) : In the sage words of our good friend tjieta: “Real brave internet warrior to call people “KIDS” when you don’t even kno them, not to mention rather immature.”
😆 