Occasionally in this game you read something that makes everything seem right with the world. I’ve just had such a moment, courtesy of Sharks Technical Director Brendan Venter and the SuperSport website.
I’ve been running this site for a number of years – and obviously supporting the Sharks for far longer than that – and like to think that over time, my instincts have sharpened somewhat. More than blindly trusting my own judgement, though, I tend to consult rather widely (as those unlucky enough to have me on their WhatsApp or Skype contact list will attest) and will always lean on those who understand this great game better than I do before making a judgement call or writing a technical article.
Perhaps the most frustrating feeling in the world is when you know that you’re right about something, but are powerless to change it – it gets worse when those who are able to take action seemingly haven’t seen what you’ve seen, won’t acknowledge it and continue to blunder down the wrong path. I will admit to having just such a feeling this week after my article on failings in the Sharks’ defensive system seem to have been met with a response of “it’s all individual errors and we just need to try harder”.
Doctor Venter has blown that wide open in his latest SuperSport blog post, which I encourage you all to read if you haven’t already done so. I’ll not repeat its contents verbatim, but will rather summarise: Venter concedes that the Sharks spent virtually no time working on defence during pre-season because he assumed that the necessary structures were in place and would endure. He concedes that he broke all his own rules in doing so and has put up his hand to admit that it was a mistake.
That’s good. That’s honest. That’s what we need. Mistakes are made, but credit to Brendan for not hiding behind PR and just coming out and admitting to getting something wrong. Now that we know it’s there, we can fix it. Perhaps not all in one week, but over the next two to three.
That’s me feeling a lot better, for sure!
Tweet
assumption is the mother of all f.ups
anyways good on you Doc, now you can sort it out
but I have to ask, why invest in a Horak if you dont intend to work on defence?
Am I the only one that doesn’t know what ameliorating means?
@Dryden (Comment 3) : from the Latin “melius”, meaning better. To “ameliorate” means to make better.
It’s the opposite of “exacerbate”.
@robdylan (Comment 4) : Great article Rob. You know we all respect your rugby knowledge, and it seems people in the Sharks admin are reading your articles. Keep up the brilliant work.
Reading that just makes me sad that Brendan is not prepared to commit full time to the Sharks, and be the actual DOR.
@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 2) : Agreed…was Horak on the payroll during pre-season? What did he do during that time? Bolle rol?
so here’s what Morne said on Monday:
“If you get the three things right in defence: alignment, spacing and communication, you achieve one very simple goal, you take away space from the attacking side. ”
And what Brendan said:
“I also never addressed keeping their alignment and spacing in place.”
@robdylan (Comment 8) : Proof, if any was needed, that Morne knows his stuff.
We’re lucky to have him here on Sharksworld.
@StevieS (Comment 9) : Morne is also the first person to comment on Brendan’s article 🙂
@Bokhoring (Comment 10) : So I see lol
Great and refreshing read. Honesty is appreciated.
Lots of respect to Brendan for owning up and taking responsibility and good to hear they are working on getting the defence aspect right.
😉
@StevieS (Comment 9) : Yeah Morne knows his stuff that’s for sure
Reading that article of BV’s is very interesting. Anyone else think he’s taking a pot at Nick Mallet? 😆
@pastorshark (Comment 13) : oh, I think we’re ALL thinking that 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 14) :
@robdylan (Comment 14) : In that case I’m very glad these subtle statements don’t pass too many of us by! 😆
Hell people why did it take him 9 games to finally see this it was apparent after game 1.
Thats when all the spin was on how we were going to play attractive rugby.
that it was going to take time to get used to our brand new style of play.
Sorry why didn’t he take immediate steps to fix it.
@The hound (Comment 17) :
I was just thinking that. My initial reaction was also, great honesty.
But then just now I thought, but did he really just think of that? Or did they start working on defense earlier, it just takes time to fix what you did not focus on in pre-season.
I don’t want to be a nit picker here, but I totally agree, the Cheetahs run through massive holes in our defense in game 1. The Bulls scored several soft tries around the ruck…
And teams have been breaking our defense at will since, was BV just hoping it will solve itself? Or so entrenched in his mission to change the way the we play that he really did not find it that important to focus on that area?
Yebo….this just further highlights our problem. We left it all to Brad, Sean, Paul and Horrick….how John and Venter could trust these guys to run a pre season is shocking. Read the Mark Keo article on Jake and the Sharks. Apparently it came to a point where Jake refused to work with these guys any longer….they were just not adding any value. Seems Venter and John finally realise what Jake was talking about.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 19) :
According to the article, Venter made the decision not to do any defensive work.
But I get the point about not adding value. If they were more experienced they may have been able to identify the issue earlier and warned Venter that they would need to put some focus on defense.
@Letgo (Comment 18) : I think he is talking out of his hat,he hired Horak in the pre season, before Gold arrived and Horak is a defensive coach,nothing more.In the box on match day Horak has prime position,Sean and Brad pushed in the back and Anthony is the on field guy with the water.
So please tell me what Horak has been doing for 8 games.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 19) : As far as I know Venter was in charge of pre-season training.
@The hound (Comment 21) : He has been enjoying the ringside seats thats what…
@The hound (Comment 21) :
Apparently it’s more about what he was doing in pre-season. Venter basically reveals that nothing was done on the defensive side pre-season and says this was his decision, so Horak would have played catch-up. I suppose he wasn’t given enough time with the guys.
We may have felt that attack was a bigger issue. Who knows. We had games where our defense looked better than others, but the big blunder must have been not to focus on defense at all pre-season. And it looks like Venter feels this put them behind where they needed to be come mid-season.
@Letgo (Comment 20) : Please don’t tell me you believe that! Knowing Brendan, he is the type of leader that will take the blame and pass the credit to his players. He was in charge of the attack and on the days he wasn’t in Durban the rest of the guys were meant to work on other aspects of the game. If you dispute that, please research articles that contain comments by Horrick about the defence work they were doing. Venter is taking the blame cause he was responsible for our pre-season training and he trusted the rest of the coaching staff.
@Bokhoring (Comment 22) : Hence he is taking accountability. He is not the type of leader to say I trusted Horak and Horak did a shit job. Horak probably spent pre-season getting autographs from the players.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 25) :
Interesting – I found this on rugby365 dated 30 January:
For Horak, who spent four years with the Cheetahs before a two-year stint as Director of Rugby at the Shimlas, his main role has been to balance and maintain the Sharks effective defence with the attacking mindset they are promising this year.
“We have put just as much work into our defence as we do into our attack,” the coach added.
Wow, I see Keo and his underlings are having a full go at Smittie and the Sharks.
O FFsakes……what a load of bullshit. Now because he is honest we must now accept this circus. Trust me on this, it’s a load of shit he is talking…..Venter that is. Surely as the person in charge of pre-season you turn to your newly appointed has been or never was defensive coach, Horak and say : ” listen we haven’t worked on defense I suggest you sort it out”. Horak couldn’t even make it at the Vrystaat.
Venter is a gentleman now and is taking the fall for the clowns next to him and the CEO!!!
Biggest kak I have heard ever……like saying we didn’t practice penalty kicks in soccer cause we assumed it was in place seeing that we are playing a World Cup semi! Sort this shit out and fast….
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 28) : good for them…
@Bokhoring (Comment 27) : As I said, Venter will always take the fall when things go wrong. We know him by now. Jake was right about those guys. Check article by Keo on SA Rugby.
Jake found it unacceptable that a union like the Sharks with their budget, players and global brand has never won the a super rugby title. From his analysis a culture change was required at the Sharks and that is what he tried to implement until John’s assistant coaches colluded with the players to oust him.
@Lieplapper (Comment 30) : @GreatSharksays (Comment 31) : Sorry but I just find it hard to stomach anything that imp has to say about the Sharks (even if mostly correct) and when it comes to White, who Keo has/had a business relationship I find it even more unappealing.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 32) : 😯 Did we read the same article…”until John’s assistant coaches colluded with the players to oust him.”..I didnt read that anywhere. Axe to grind maybe?
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 34) : I am doing the math. A friend of mine is a sports reporter and he told me last year that Jake is basically doing all the coaching. It came to a point where Jake refused to work with these guys going forward. This caused some unhappiness amongst the coaches. Players were also not happy with the working hours and teacher mentality. So yes, the collusion part about the players and assistant coaches working together to take their Jake issue up with senior management is theory of mine which I don’t believe is far off. So if you have the players and the assistants that were appointed by John not being happy, what option do you have but to fire the so called “problem”.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 35) : Honestly, if what you are saying is accurate, and the players and coaches colluded to oust JW, and he refused to work with the assistant coaches, that would have been huge news, and your reporter friend would have written an award winning article. The fact there is no such article stating what you claim, leads me to believe that while he may have told you that, he does not believe it himself, otherwise he would have written it.
@The hound (Comment 21) : “Horak is a defensive coach, nothing more.”
He is actually our kicking coach too. 🙄
@Ben (Comment 37) : He was working with Bissie, and it worked out, Bissie’s kick landed square on the head of the player he was aiming at. Deysel’s knee was also incredibly accurate and could be defined as a type of kick. I think his kicking coaching is working, maybe not so much the defensive coaching?
😛 😈
@Letgo (Comment 24) : Horak was hired in November, how much time does he need?
@Dancing Bear (Comment 38) : I disagree. Bissie aimed for the head but kicked the guy in the neck. Horak has a lot more work to do.
@Ben (Comment 39) : ummmmm an hour a day on the training field with the whole team working on tackling technique….with him as tackle bag!
@Ben (Comment 40) : How do you know where he was aiming?
besides, if you want a coach to cover both kicking and defence, then surely Butch James or Henry Honiball would be better choices.
😈
@Dancing Bear (Comment 41) : Sounds good to me. 😈
Interview with Brendan Venter
I: What is the problem with the Sharks defence?
BV: I don’t know, I have to think about, think very deeply about it.
I: Your players seem to be falling off tackles, and aligning incorrectly.
BV: Yes it is unacceptable, we must try harder.
I: So then it is a lack of effort?
BV: Lack of effort? No, I can’t say it is a lack of effort.
I: Then what is the problem with the Sharks defence?
BV: That is a very good question and requires lots of thought, very deep thought. Thank you.
I: Thank you Brendan.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 42) : We are talking about Bissie, aren’t we?
@The hound (Comment 17) : Because Rob only wrote his article identifying the lapses in defense on Monday…Venter couldn’t have known before that 😈
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FgchHlaSQE
@Ben (Comment 46) : Are you implying that Bissie’s lineout throwins are anything less than perfect and pinpoint accurate???? 😛
@Dancing Bear (Comment 43) : I think Butch was helping the Crusaders while they were in Durban. Two yellow cards for shoulder charges.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 45) : 😆
@Ben (Comment 50) : If Butch were training them, the players on the receiving end of the shoulder charge would have been stretchered off…
@Dancing Bear (Comment 45) : that was very well done
Best answer Brendan gave in the bizarre interview: You’re right, we didn’t win, winning is important, we MUST try harder.
@robdylan (Comment 53) : 😆 I watched that interview again a couple weeks ago, and have been itching for an opportunity to use some of his answers. That was the best post match interview ever given, I can’t watch it without breaking down laughing each time.
Tow it seems a whole lot of scapegoats and sacrifices are now being offered publicly. All this to protect the real culprits the real problem who sit in directorship. Is it not obvious? Did we all so quickly forget the very public funds mismanagement scandal just recently. That along with bad or shady procurement deals then issues with coaching coaching staff turnovers. Something stinks in sharks directorship THAT is where all the problems originate.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 52) : SP was pretty close to it. 😈
@Ben (Comment 57) : Even SP got up from that shoulder charge 😛
@coolfusion (Comment 56) : All the funds mismanagement problems happened before the current CEO. Let’s keep a little perspective.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 58) : Probably shouldn’t have even been a yellow. 😛
@Dancing Bear (Comment 58) : Okay, come to think of it. If SP can get up from that tackle then anyone can. 😈
@Ben (Comment 61) : See I knew you would come around to my way of thinking sooner or later.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 62) : I’m with you uncle. 😉
Er my comment was about directorship which does not start and end with the C.e.o. you do know that directorship is made of more than one exec don’t you? Try reading a little and I will try keep a little perspective..hmm?
@coolfusion (Comment 64) : So who are you referring to?
” Venter concedes that the Sharks spent virtually no time working on defence during pre-season because he assumed that the necessary structures were in place and would endure. ”
I have read this again and seriously the only way that assumption could have been made,is if you approached the new season determined to change nothing from previous season.
This makes a mockery of all the crud bandied about of playing a new style of expansive rugby.
Something is missing here,and it seems to me it’s the good doctor.
I think he was paid a handsome salary to get the team ready for the delayed arrival of Gold,and he went A.W.O.L.leaving the team in the hands of the band of senior players who had managed to get rid of Jake.
The coaches who every one is having a go at,were rendered powerless by the very group who had ousted Jake.Hell if they could get rid of a World Cup winning coach what hope did Brad,Sean and Antony have.
Management were happy cause they relegated all the responsibility to the highly paid ”Technical Director” whose solution by his own admission was to hire Horak from the Kings and piss off to his numerous more pressing and very lucrative other commitments
Some of the mental leaps in the comments are worthy of Olympic qualification. Comments escaping from any orifice not featuring a larynx should perhaps be reconsidered?
@vanmartin (Comment 67) : nah, they should keep going. I’m sure the identity of the second gunman on the grassy knoll is about to be revealed.
@robdylan (Comment 68) : There was a second gunman???? ❓ ❓ ❓
Perhaps this quote from Brendan Venter after a Saracens victory over Sale Sharks may shed some light on the topic: “Defence and chasing kicks is easy, it just takes a good attitude. Attack is hard…..” 😯 Doesn’t say much for defensive structures does it.
@vanmartin (Comment 67) : Like…
Look, whoever or whatever is to blame, it is now being stated by the Technical Director that defence was ignored in the preseason. And seemingly up until game 9 in the season if you go by the results.
I find this staggering. One would think we’re dealing with a Thirsty Thirds Varsity team here, not a professional sports union in the most competitive regional league in the world.
Amateurs. Heads must roll.
The CEO is not covering himself in glory.
@Feather (Comment 72) : I would like a serious definition of what exactly a ”technical director ”is responsible for.
Exactly what are the parameters of his accountability.
As far as I can ascertain ours is not covering himself in glory either.
Seems like he feels he only needs to look in here every 9 games or so and assess the situation.
@Feather (Comment 72) : It is not like others are queuing up to replace the heads that must roll.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 70) : He is right. South African teams (bar the Cats) have mostly been pretty good at defence. However very few have been able to unlock structured defences, and even fewer have been able to combine a solid defence and an effective attack. Seems most of our players can only get one thing right at a time.
@The hound (Comment 74) : I would have hoped that our DoR and Defense coach would have been able to spot the Defensive frailties before the Sharskworld admin/owner was able to.
And surely they should have worked on this to fix it before week freaken 9 😯
Do we really need the absent technical director to figure this one out for them?! 😡
@GreatSharksays (Comment 25) : I don’t, I am actually questioning it. Just saying, this is what Brendon is saying.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 77) : One has to wonder.
I’m surprised nobody remembers how great the defense was in the pre-season friendly against Toulon. It is what won us that game. So if pre-season was so attack-based, how did that happen…none of this makes any sense.
Having said that I still applaud Venter for taking responsibility.
I think Brendan is trying (admirably) to take some of the pressure off the players and hands-on coaching staff.
@neilster (Comment 80) How in the name of all things holy could he avoid taking responsibility.
I would have been number one in the que to applaud him in week one,but its week nine.
By the way didn’t we bring in a New Zealand specialist defence coach for an intensive pre season,session
@The hound (Comment 82) : Fair enough. No, we brought in an attack coach…which hasn’t exactly borne fruit either.
@neilster (Comment 83) : Surprised they haven’t laid all the blame at the Kiwi’s door.
@neilster (Comment 80) : That’s a interesting point! One other game where our defense stood for me was against the Chiefs but that probably had a whole lot more to do with righteous indignation than it did with proper defensive structures
@The hound (Comment 84) :