The Sharks need one more win before the break. Having won three from four in New Zealand, surely they can overcome the Stormers in their last home game?
Surely?
Kick-off is at 19h10.
Cell C Sharks: 15 SP Marais, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Sibusiso Sithole, 12 Paul Jordaan, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Francois Steyn, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Lubabalo Mtembu, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Keegan Daniel, 21 Charl McLeod, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Heimar Williams.
DHL Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Martin Dreyer, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Manuel Carizza, 21 Dylon Frylinck, 22 Demetri Catrakilis, 23 Peter Grant.
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Come on Sharks, lets do this
The Sharks, ladies and gentlemen, have secured a third place playoff spot with TWO rounds remaining. 😎
Robster. Could you kindly bold the Sharks on the logs for us? 😎
Sharks need to go full at the Stormers today, in fact we need a BP, it is much to close at the top and we know the Australasian sides score tries
Honest question: did that really warrant a yellow?
6-0 to the Sharks after 10, Stormers have a yellow for dangerous tackle. And their restart goes out on the full
@vanmartin (Comment 4) : Imo, yes. It was high and dangerous.
@vanmartin (Comment 4) : Did one of ours get sent off?
Brilliant steal by Bissy close to our line
@klempie (Comment 7) : Nope, Nizaam Carr
@Die Kriek (Comment 6) : Fair enough
@klempie (Comment 7) : Nizaam Carr tackle on Reinach
@Die Kriek (Comment 9) : @vanmartin (Comment 10) : Damn…. 🙁
@Die Kriek (Comment 8) : Agreed
Quiet here for a Sharks game
Not a great kicking game from the Sharks so far
The bad placing of kicks by Steyn and Reinach breaking our momentum
Obstruction by Sbura, Coleman gets the Stormers on the board
55m DG attempt by Steyn, just wide
Sharks look a little flat tonight
Struggling a bit at the moment. Scrum looks strong though
@Die Kriek (Comment 9) : @vanmartin (Comment 10) : I see that one went over your heads… 😛
@Bokhoring (Comment 18) : They’ve looked okay working the phases but kicking and first time tackling needs more accuracy
Sharks are letting the stormers play spoiling and they falling for it
Faaarrkkk these kicks Steyn and Reinach! !!!
What exactly was wrong with that steal?
6 all
@klempie (Comment 20) : Yup 🙂
Awful kicking game by the Sharks. What a waste of a 1 man advantage.
@vanmartin (Comment 26) : The irony was intended to indicate disappointment at a Shark not getting sent off given their performance when they are reduced to 14 or less. 😛
Come on Cobus
9-6 Sharks
Offside Stormers, Steyn going for poles. And over. 9-6
@klempie (Comment 28) : Night’s still young 😉
No9 is shocking!
Reinach playing pathetic rugby so far.
Someone on the Sharks side needs to inject some energy into the game
9-9
The Stormers have reason to smile
Why the fuck are we not trying to score tries?
man we are really playing poor rugby, this lack of bonus points might well come back to bite us in the ass.
Come boys – you playing for a first place on the log now
Now the Stormers steal a Sharks lineout
Time to get Reinach off his ego may get in the way tonight
Kicking isn’t excellent I’ll admit, but the Stormers are clearly targeting our kickers
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 41) :
Reinach is not playing well, but it’s rubbish to suddenly say that his ego is an issue.
He certainly has some technical issues to sort out.
And that’s why we call him the Bone Collecter
Reinach scores a good try
Reinach you BEAUTY
And then he brings the magic moment!! Well done Cobus! !!
3 from 3 for Reinach 😎
And Reinach scores again! 😳 😆
Maybe now the team will wake up from their slumber
Ego scores another try!
Great break Sithole!
Sithole did really well to keep the ball alive in the buildup to that try.
Not a great half but we are in the lead. Come on boys!!
Thank goodness for CR,12 and 13 must leave the Netball players have found them very. Wanting
Great end to the half but lots to do in the second half
how the F**K are the Stormers still in this?
@benji (Comment 55) : They’re not the only one that have slipped tackles. Whole team needs to step up in that area.
@Big Fish (Comment 43) : I question this because he shines on his own but not good at playing the ball to others.
Come on Sharks, 3 more tries, we can do this
Uhhh score?
@klempie (Comment 61) : 16-9 to us at half time
@klempie (Comment 61) : 16 – 9
I rate Cobus and would love to see him in the Bok squad
@robdylan (Comment 62) : @vanmartin (Comment 63) : Ta
So aside from 3 tries, what do we want to see in the second half? Personally, I think applying pressure through our tackling is imperative.
@vanmartin (Comment 66) : Better kicking
They scrum us off the ball. Are you f%*# kidding me!
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 64) :
I rate him, but he’s not ready.
He needs to work on his kicking and general decision-making.
@Big Fish (Comment 69) : And his passing.
16 – 12
@Big Fish (Comment 69) : Agreed, give him another season or two
Kak Steyn!
Adriaandse on for Jannie
Lucky break after another questionable kick
19 – 12
Man Skinstad nauseates me with his one – eyed commentary.
If only Sbura could get more attacking ball…
Keegan on for Oosthuizen
Daniel on for Ooshuizen
DC on for Coleman
That’s either one moerse shiner or a broken cheekbone. Hope for his sake it’s the former
Here we go…
Reinach tip tackle, penalty only though. Peyper wanted to go yellow
TMO mans up! Cannot believe it!!
19 – 15
Thays not even a penalty. Its only a spear tackle if it is driven into the ground … otherwise its a tackle and LEGAL
@vanmartin (Comment 84) : Very happy he did! That would’ve been a VERY questionable card
@byron (Comment 86) : Tip past 90 is a penalty, driving down is a yellow
@Die Kriek (Comment 87) : Agreed
@kriek … theres an AND in that law
Charl on for Cobus, Cooper on for Bissy
McLeod and Cooper on, Reinach and Bissy off
Pyper misses a lot geez… that all started from a province knockon
CM as captain WTF
Maybe we will play some rugby now were down to 14..
Marcell yellowed
19 – 18
Well deserved. Sharks want to win by playing no rugby.
If they lose, they earned it.
Whats the score and time left?
@JarsonX (Comment 99) : 19 – 18, 14 minutes
@Big Fish (Comment 98) : Agreed. Sharks dont look like they want to be on the field. Its an ugly ugly game.
Brilliant cover tackle from Cooper
Sharks kicking game has been wayward and ineffective too. Although that was a good penalty clearance from Frans.
Cooper playing like a man posessed. Sharks get kickable penalty in Stormers half
@vanmartin (Comment 104) : Seems like the Sharks thrive on being a man down.
Missed…
I think Jake should have started with Cooper and co.
Damn, Steyn misses. 19 – 18
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 105) : Yeah, see Klempie’s early comment 🙂
Geez our attack is steadily working its way back towards our own poles!
Sharks attack very easy to defend against
Boy the sharks are doing their level best to throw their last home game and last game before the break. WTF!
Coetzee back on
Sharks get a penalty just inside Stormers half
Long penalty and on the angle…
Lewies off, Hoff on
Missed
19 – 18, 2 minutes and change
So nearly a try off the rebound. Have to defend here!!
That dropped pass may have just been our lifeline!!
Thanx Demetri, phew..
DC knocks it. That should win us the game
This is truly the shite est display
Sharks scrum, 45 seconds
game over boys. Penalty. we have lost
Fucking pathetic!
19 – 21. Sharks stuff it up
Fuck
Well done Stormers! This shit display of a gameplan is again sure to sink us!!
Pathetic from McLeod. Every time he comes off the bench he does his best to give it away.
How was that possibly play on
Shocking passage of play. Shocking
Well done Stormers.
Sharks deserved nothing more. Don’t EVER think that a reputation alone earns you a victory! Pathetic.
Guess that’s what happens when u constantly kick the ball away, and have no desire to run it
We lost this at the Reinach- Steyn combo. Just not working!!!
Blatent offside at the ruck after mcclouds kick
F**k you McLeod!!!!
Congrats to the Stormers. Well played
Kak game
As poor as Reinach was, Mcleod is not it.
I don’t really rate Hanco Venter, but Ungerer seems like a gem.
Well done waratahs, u deserve it
Well.. that puts our home semi on ice. Now the Waratahs are in the driving seat. Sharks played a negative abysmal game and deserved to go down.
Said this 2 weeks ago when we beat the Crusaders. When we are underdogs, we play our hearts out but when we are favourites this happens. 🙄
Peeps we never deserved to win, simple as that, I have said this over and over, when we play this kicking defensive game plan we shoot ourselves in the foot.
Charl basically just needed to put it out or at least further downfield. The drop goal at the end was a bonus for them as they had the penalty anyway
Absolutely disgusted. Kicking myself for staying up late to watch this shit. 🙄
Im so glad to see the back of Mcleod in a few weeks. One of the most useless counter productive arseholes in the history of the sharks. Same league as Andy Goode and Epi Taione
Well there goes number one spot on the log. You need to play rugby to actually win the game. Time for some rotation Jake. Plus a huge change in attitude needed. Nothing wrong with a kicking game but then kicks need to be accurate and mostly gain you something. Just hoofing the ball downfield is not a kicking game.
@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 147) : Calm down bud. Charl made a poor call but the whole team had a hand in putting themselves in that position.
So back to the kind of crap we dished up against the Brumbies. Wonderful.
Well done to the Stormers. I think Carr is a star in the making. Great hands and huge on defense.
Reinach and Steyn absolute horrible in the kicking from hand department. We need a real flyhalf. Hope Lambie is fit after the break.
How the hell do they give Reinach the MOM!!
Move along peeps, no Super Rugby Champions to be seen here.
Not with this game plan anyway.
@vanmartin (Comment 149) : 100% correct. The whole team was dismal tonight.
The average to weak players in the Sharks wholy exposed tonight
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 152) : 😯 🙄
@Ben (Comment 151) : Agree! They are so busy playing their own star performance in a team game! We need Lambie. So funny that McLoed gets the brunt and nobody objective on Reinach’s game!!???
We played such a balanced game against the Blues. How do we fall back on this bad plan???
Wooo Hoooo, well done Stormers, sad to have lost but on the other hand glad that the boring crap we played did not win.
@vanmartin (Comment 149) : ja youre right. Just heavy pissed off. Ill calm down soon enough
What a load of shite from this team…this was so painful to watch, not one sharks player impressed which was extremely disappointing…
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 157) :
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 135) :
That knife cuts both ways. Mcleod made a horrible decision and worse execution.
But the reality is that the whole team was poor and White didn’t have a remedy.
I’ve backed the team all season, but we should be on an upward curve at this stage of the season – not dishing up such rubbish.
Horrific day at the office for the Sharks.
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 158) : That’s coaching, like Naas said, after 10 minutes we changed and went into a kicking frenzy.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 159) : Supported. Our mentality is our biggest downfall. Can’t blame Charl. He is trained to kick everything. Cheers.
@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 160) : Know how you feel. Very disappointed with that performance. As Big Fish pointed out we should have been on an upward curve.
Safe play is dangerous play. This was bleddie stupid
If you want to be champions you simply can’t lose at home. This is our second defeat at home. Just not good enough I’m afraid.
Sharks not champion material yet.Cant loose easy home games and think you gonna end on top.Bismarck very immature with his off the ball tantrums and he’s definitely no bok cappie yet.The road has just become very tough and our chances are hanging by a thread!!!
John Smit needs to have a chat with Jake. Our squad is far superior to the one the Brumbies had last year and look what Jake managed to do with them. Well maybe that’s exactly the problem. Sharks players are playing for themselves. Even our captain tried his best to get yellow carded a few times.
You guys know what must happen now, nick mallet must invite Brussow to come and play for world XV against the springboks
Did Paul Jordaan even have ball in hand? Not to mention our wings. Every time Steyn used his backline he threw a skip pass. 🙄
Losing to a Stormers c side with almost full strength Sharks side was like watching the movie “dumb and dumber”.
We were the latter. Wtf Jake? Did you leave the real players in NZ? Cause the guys that played tonight can’t be the same players?
Reinach, McLeod, Reinach, McLeod……..I mean [email protected] really. What about Steyn, kicking every single [email protected] ball away even of there is an overlap. SP Marais, had 2 or 3 good kicks, otherwise useless….for [email protected] sakes does JP even play rugby anymore?? I hope all of these big names get left out the Bok team. Bismarck so busy niggling and off the ball stuff……how the [email protected] do you expect o be considered for Bok captain if players get under your skin so quickly.? And by the way Reinach and McLeod……an absolute joke.
So disappointed……….gutted to say the least.
Bulls and Sharks fell into the Springbok trap in a crucial period.
Not even Jake can get the guys fired up, same problem John had with the senior boks in the sharks setup
Off game for a few of the guys- Ooshuizen, Coetzee, Mtembu, Alberts, Steyn!, Jordaan, Pietersen (Off season)
Soak it up guys – that’s the all familiar feeling of supporting the Sharks 😉
Fucking pathetic. They thinking of the R95k per test pay cheque coming in the next month
@SharksRTB (Comment 174) : We need a leader. Sorry to say but Bismarck doesn’t seem to be the man for the job. Or just not yet at least.
The Sharks are not serious. Can’t lose your home games and expect to win this competition. Anyway, just means we are not going to play the semi’s at home. Our limited game plan and the lack of urgency it causes is a problem.
@uShaka (Comment 175) : All of them mate. You can name all 23 of them.
Would be risky to take this gameplan into the play-offs unless we have Lambie starting. Doesn’t seem to work without a proper fly half, when Steyn plays well we win.SP doing a decent job at the back, so it’s only at 10 where we have a problem.
4 SA teams played tonight
1 SA team entertained and won
3 SA teams tried to bore the opposition to death
Guess which team had the least players attending the “we’ll break your players” Springbok camp?
@Big Fish (Comment 162) : I am with you. I sense that Jake may be a coach with a would-be-test-match gameplan only and not cut out for SR.
What a horrible bloody game!! The whole team played absolutely KAK. We looked so good in the first 10mins – and then we reverted back to that “wonderful” kicking game. You will not win Superugby like that.
McCleod, you dumbass. With 30 secs on the clock, you could have run it out, kicked into touch, even knocked it on but you go and kick it straight to the opposition??? WTF. I’m not even mad, I’m amazed… 😯
@SharksRTB (Comment 172) : Stormers played bloody well. Really have to commend them on their defence. Knocked us back in the tackle every time. Alistair Coetzee has copped a lot of flak this season but he has the Sharks’ number, that’s for sure.
@Ben (Comment 180) : Kyle Cooper was a lone ranger out there. Thought he was excellent. Come mate, at least give credit where credit is due.
@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 147) : Good grief, mate. Mcleod basically won us the Currie Cup final last year. He’s been a matchwinner on a number of occasions and a great servant to the game but he made a schoolboy error tonight. Bloody stupid mistake, I agree, but to dismiss his entire contribution to Sharks rugby is a bit harsh.
Whatever meyer did in the bok camp somehow messed everyone up lol. The bulls, sharks and stormers who played prior to that camp looked like brain dead zombies with no imagination. And poor brussow and boshoff were only invited to camp for the show lol. They were never going to make that team it seems. Meyer hates losing so he will always revert to his tried and tested. Morne will be his starting flyhalf with goose on the bench, and fourie will be his scrumhalf with pienaar covering for him on the bench in all four games. Oupa, lood and sbura will never see the bench let alone the field (kewl by me anyway) as he’ll only be playing his tried and tested. JJ is stront yet again but will start in the 13 jersey and de jong will darem eat the bench but hardly, if ever get called up to play. And then to add injury to insult de allande will play before him also in the (out of position) 13 jersey. See what I did there? I took my mind of the swak game of the sharks and focused on what meyer did with his squad, luckily brits is there so callie visagie won’t even come close to the bench as well
I just cannot believe it! 😥
We just have this knack of losing what we should never lose in a month of Saturdays and stuffing up seasons because of it. 😯 😯 😯 Anyway, nothing to do but keep going. Please let the Waratahs and Crusaders lose one! 😛
@Big Fish (Comment 77) : One eyed for who?? He just about said Taute should retire he was that kak (despite the drop to win it)!
What happened tonight illustrated every shortcoming I have been complaining about all season (at least since the Loftus game).
– Reinach’s athleticism doesn’t make him a good #9, seriously lacking in decision making and tactical accuracy
– Steyn did what he has done all season from #10. KILL OUR ATTACK
– Don’t think I saw Jordaan, Mvovo, JP or SP receive the ball from a back line move?
– Bismarck is NOT a captain
– Loose trio had no creativity!
Kyle Cooper, Mtembu on defines and Beast were decent.
@Stiko85 (Comment 189) : Yeah, that’s how I also dealt with the loss.
I’m also happy that my mind found a way of blaming tonight’s loss on HM, makes me feel much better, and I’ve even been able to find some examples to back it up. 😈
The only positive from this weekend is that the Sharks have a home playoff.
I do believe Jake stuffed up by not rotating some players. After the last two tough games overseas it would have been hard for the starting players to pick themselves up mentally for this one. Only way around that is to inject fresh energy by starting with fresh players – case in point Cooper.
Secondly the attitude needs to change. Sharks needs to start playing to win, and stop playing not to loose. This aimless kicking away of the ball needs to stop. We needs some thinking behind the kicking – not to aimlessly hand over possession.
And boy, we need Lambie or Fred. A good flyhalf looks like he has all the time in the world – Frans unfortunately makes the opposition’s defense look like they have all the time in the world.
Jake and co – carry on with this plan and attitude and we are guaranteed to end in third place, or use the break plus the remaining two games to adjust the lack of ambition and who knows.
It‘s part of Sharks culture to piss away games like these. It was always going to be on the cards. We just can’t keep the intensity up consistently. Another year of “oh well, there‘s always next year” staring us in the face.
How many line-outs did Bismarck miss last night?
He was obviously already obsessing about playing with his little toy stuffed springbokkie, and couldn’t wait to be done with the game last night.
Morning guys, hey no additional thread to rant and rave on? Ah, guess the administrators are all still seriously pissed hey? Look this game should never have gone this way, especially playing at home and coming back from a dream tour away. But unfortunately it did. There was no real standout moment or game play, the were as poor as they were against the cheetahs, difference in that game was, we won. However. Its not the end of the world yet. We made the climb harder for ourselves that’s a fact and we might have handed the home semis to tahs and saders on a silver platter now. But hey reckon we have any positives to find in this game? Anyone? I suppose a player rating would not be appropriate for this week. Things will look toooo bleak. Cheer up though boys. We’re still on top, and will stay there for four more weeks. Happy day after our demise everyone.
@Bokhoring (Comment 194) : Correct!
We could find ourselves in 3rd by the end of the comp if we are not careful.
And if that is the case then we will not win the comp! Only the Saders have done that before and that was the Saders in their prime!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 196) : So true. but what is more disappointing is the man’s attitude on the field, as a captain. There is no excuse for a captain to whinge and throw his toys out of the cot all the time – and he is not always reacting to something, but also starting incidents himself.
All Right…
Now that I`ve calmed down to just pure rage after last night, lets see what we can salvage?
A couple of different ways to look at this setback.
1 We can abandon all hope of ever winning a super rugby title cause if you can`t get a result against the stormers, with that many injuries, at home, you should probably rather worry about a relegation match, we certainly have no business at the top of the log that`s for sure.
2 We can see it as the obligatory ” timely wake up call “, get stuck in and deliver 2 of our best ” backs to the wall ” performances in the final pool games to at least get one home play off game, and hey the boys know how to win overseas, so that illusive title might still be ours!
3 And this is the route I would take, Launch an Official Enquiry into Match Fixing and ban the guilty parties from rugby for life.
Cause how will Bissie ever explain the whole Winning in Christchurch with 13 men vs losing at home against the stormers minus Etzebeth, JDV, Deon Fourie, Schalla and Jaco Peyper issue?? 😈
@Stiko85 (Comment 197) :
Yeah, youre right. We need to keep perspective. After all, we also won a few games we shouldnt have.
I think what made this loss really bad was that it wasnt just a boring gameplan – it was a disinterested performance from a number of guys with their eyes on the Bok squad. A case in point is the number of lost lineouts to a makeshift lock pairing. Bismark didnt pitch up at all.
Lets hope the guys wake up for the last 2 pool games; all is far from lost.
If this team can get its act together, it has shown that like in the Saders game it can make history. A final in Sydney would be tough but not impossible.
@Bokhoring (Comment 202) : a final in Sydney would in all likelihood mean ANOTHER large final loss. History tells us this. And another new team winning the trophy before the Sharks do.
No, yesterday’s loss was huge in terms of the grand scheme of things. We may just have kissed home advantage good bye. Typical Sharks really.
@Original Pierre (Comment 200) : you are not the first I have heard that point mooted from or about,it has been bandied about for a few years now,what makes that case stronger is the Sharks actualy looked they were contriving to lose
@Stiko85 (Comment 197) : I think let’s put this loss in perspective,as huge a monumenatal win achieved against the Crusaders was ,equally is this loss u huge monumental loss
And Heyneke makes my day by selecting Zane Kirchner, Guthro Steenkamp and Ruan Pienaar into his 36 man squad for the June tests.
@Bokhoring (Comment 206) : I almost get more excited about seeing the AB’s vs. England, than watching the Blue-Retired-Foreign-League-Boks vs. whatever garbage opposition is being sent our way. 🙄
I just still can’t believe what happened yesterday! How was that possible…gutted! 😥
By the way, if anyone wants to know what a sermon full of references to the rugby looks like the day after a game like that, mail me on [email protected] and I’ll mail you a copy of my short, but heartfelt sermon of today… 🙂 You’ll quickly see what sort of day I had yesterday! 😥
@Feather (Comment 203) : Yeah…my gut tells me the same! I couldn’t sleep from somewhere around 4 this morning just thinking about. Of course, we could still end top…OR second and then have someone beat the Tahs in Sydney in the semi and still have a home final. Or is that just wishful thinking?
@pastorshark (Comment 209) : Best to have your sermon done before any Sharks rugby, it will always have the potential of ruining your day. 😉
@FireTheLooser (Comment 211) : Sometimes the rugby is enough to change sermons! 🙂
sorry guys – after that gemors I just needed a break.
I’ll be back on the horse tomorrow.
Sharks still top with destiny in their hands.
My prediction is that that is where they’ll remain.
And then it’s just two wins from glory.
Big picture – this is a minor speed wobble.
@pastorshark (Comment 209) : I’d love to read it. Will mail you shortly.
@vanmartin (Comment 215) : Just mailed it to you!
@McLovin (Comment 214) : Sadly, both the Tahs and the Saders have a game in hand, Tahs definitely looking like favorites to finish top, with Saders in with a very good shot to finish second.
@pastorshark (Comment 216) : Thank you, enjoyed it!
Jake blaming the Springbok camp/HM is pathetic ! The Stormers were well represented at the camp, playing with half a team and no captain. Come on we had a shit day.
Do you think the players that were selected for the Springboks, were informed of their selection before the match ?
We must now regroup, hope there is no serious injuries at the Springboks and regain our momentum.
Not worried where we play the playoffs. We loose stupidly at home and win spectacularly away !
Go Sharks ! We are now in the business end of S15.
Jnr Boks beat Scotland 61-5
@Observer (Comment 219) : In Jake’s defence…for our boys the camp did come just as they set foot in SA after a tough tour while the Stormers have been at home for weeks…I reckon that makes difference. Of course, it doesn’t change the fact that we were just really, really poor!!
@Seth101 (Comment 220) : The junior Boks were really impressive in the second half…
@Observer (Comment 219) : Yes – Jake knew before that his starting players are fatigued, that there would be a Bok camp and that the Boks would be distracted by the coming June tests. He should have started with some of his second stringers – change the entire front row, rest Alberts and Steyn.
The team was flat. The previous two games were really tough and took a lot of out of the players.
Third place is in the bag – first and second now require other teams to do the Sharks some favors. Regardless of what happens Jake and co need to focus on a couple of things:
– if you want to play a kicking game, sort out the tactical kicking. There has to be some thinking behind what you want to achieve with each kick
– starting working on some attacking plays, and drill respect for possession into the team’s heads.
The main attacking play on Saturday consisted of Frans passing the ball to a loose forward (mainly to Tera) would got smashed back by three Stormers waiting. It is utterly predictable and does not work.
The team looked promising for 10 minutes, and then just decided to stop playing rugby. A bit more patience and it could have been a long night for the Stormers.
@Observer (Comment 219) : They were, I can’t see them running to their television sets to watch Xola inform them of their squad inclusion.
I honestly dont think the Sharks were that bad. Scrums were pretty good although 1 or 2 went less than perfect. Same for the lineouts. So those 2 areas and then the common Sharks problem of putting away try scoring opportunities was evident again. But these are things that have happened all year so I wont say we were worse than any other game barring the Highlanders stuff up. Again if Jaco Peyper and his touch judge did their job Nizam Carr would have been blown offside we would have kicked the ball into touch and claimed a win and then what would the assessment have been?
@FireTheLooser (Comment 207) : Sigh, I really doubt I will be going to Newlands to watch the game anymore. I really could not be bothered. Sad state of affairs.
@Observer (Comment 219) : The Stormers were equally crap. I dont know if it was the Bok camp but the Stormers were a shadow of the team that played the week before – the fact that they won does not mean that they were in any way good, and that makes our loss even more frustrating.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 227) : The quality of rugby from both sides was awful. That Stormers team had the feel of “spoeg and cellotape” about it – especially the tight 5.
@SheldonK (Comment 225) :Well that didn’t happen now did it and what did happen was a weak player made a weak descision at a crunch moment which is what weak players are prone to do
@benji (Comment 229) : We’ve been making weak decisions all season. I personally have not seen us play worse than when we played the crusaders. Tons of errors and mistakes.
That does not negate that sheldon was right and what should of happened was for the stormers being called for being offside at the breakdown. We should have come away with a tight fought, error ridden, boring victory. Just like in most our matches.
@garyxxl (Comment 230) : At least that is one constant in our rugby, win or lose – its boring. 😈