Cobus Reinach is on his way home from New Zealand, having broken his hand against the Highlanders on Friday.
His replacement in the tour party, oddly enough, is not a scrumahlf at all – an indication that the Sharks feel they have enough cover at 9 in the form of Conrad Hoffmann and Stefan Ungerer. Kyle Cooper is on his way to join the team, having been pulled from the Sharks XV lineup on the eve of yesterday’s game against Griquas. With Bismarck du Plessis and Franco Marais already in the party as hookers, don’t be too surprised to see Cooper asked to deputise in the rapidly-dwindling back row.
Turning back to Reinach, though – we obviously wish the player well for his recovery.
Tweet
Odd replacement
shit!
@Morné (Comment 1) : It’s like they pick by name, not by number. If you know what I mean. Fuck. FIVE locks and no cover at all for the back row.
Get well soon Cobus. Can’t agree with the coaches thinking *if* Cooper has been brought over as back row cover. We really need to give someone like Khaya Majola, who’s been diligently paying his dues in the Vodacom Cup, an opportunity like this. The season is lost, it’s time to develop our youngsters now.
@vanmartin (Comment 4) : Actually, I’m finding it challenging agreeing with a lot of the decisions of late.
@vanmartin (Comment 5) : My personal theory is that the coaches are now picking players and game strategies using a magic 8-ball…
Nothing surprises me any longer with regard to selections in the sharks set-up.
Oh for the days of Tommy Bedford, Mark Andrews, Andre Botha, Gary Teichman, Keith Thorreson, Hannes Viljoen, Tony Watson, Andre Joubert, etc etc
How can we go from a team that was so skillful over the years, to a bunch of “stamp krag” Neanderthals in a matter of months.
I’ve been a Sharks supporter for 50 years and will die so, but hell, even in B division we played a more attractive brand.
@Bayshark (Comment 7) : I was a Sharks supporter for close to 30 years, but I’ve downgraded to “Sharks observer” of late
@Culling Song (Comment 6) : I dislike criticizing Sharks players or coaches – even Jake. I have however run out of ammunition to defend them with, their bizarre choices simple add more fuel to the fire.
The worst that will come out of this is that Hoffman will now start… even playing Cooper at 9 will be better.
Anyway, get well soon Cobus. And while you have time off, I hope you can realise that you are not the only player in the TEAM, and that your aimless kicking is hurting the TEAM, and that your big ego is costing the TEAM.
Hoffman was crap!
really start turning red in the neck when I think about that try they scored under Hoffman’s nose,… He showed no guts, no commitment, no heart, no balls to save the situation after Wentzel did his part to steal the lineout 5m from his own line.
A big fat middle finger to Hoffman, and the coaches if they pick this useless goon again this week.
Well, if you think of the top players in the team injured or banned for any number of weeks its actually scary: Lambie, Bismarck, Lewies, Pieter-Steph, Reinach, Frans Steyn, Jean Deysel…holy cow bells. Add to that those that are not performing or are technically not up to the job: JP Pietersen, Matt Stevens, Hoffman, Murray. Add to that those who can do better but are in a funk: Zeilinga, Esterhuizen, Sithole, SP Marais (also injured), things get more complicated. How did this happen?
@robdylan (Comment 3) : how long is Renaldo out for?
@Sharkfinn (Comment 11) : Ja, his play was rubbish, and he needs a couple of sandwiches because he looks like a twig. If they don’t start with Ungerer then I just don’t know. Starting with Hoffman makes no sense (even if he is next in line technically speaking)
@SeanJeff (Comment 15) : they should drop him the same way they dropped Cooper the last couple of weeks
The silver lining here, however small, is that now ungerer will get an opportunity to blast Hoffman out of the matchday 22 and back to Vodacom cup where his skills are better suited…
I read something else in this,how can you justify sending Cooper over as a replacement scrum half.
Think about it dropped from the team, left off the tour not in the Vodacom cup team or on the bench,and then sorry you can captain the Vodacom team ,sorry you are on the plane and probably going to start on the weekend.
I hope to hell Gary Gold managed to get the jersey’s over to New Zealand,hope we don’t have to ask Plum if we can wear the Hurricanes reserve jerseys.
Iam beginning to think that Ipi Tuhone was a better signing than Gold.
@SharksRTB (Comment 14) : he’s ok to play. Knocked out in training on Tuesday, which is why he missed the game.
Just vindicates the suggestion that the coaches have no clue and that the union has become a joke fest. An utter shambles. Is anyone doing any thinking?
Reminds me of the Boks under Peter De Villiers, stumbling from one controversy and baffling brain fart to another. Real head in hands stuff.
Hold on, Gold was 2IC to Peter De Villiers, wasn’t he? That’s where he must have learned this coaching game.
Back after 10 days rushing around SA! And not back to very good news…
@robdylan (Comment 3) : But if they are looking for a backrower…why not take a backrower?!
Good luck with the recovery Cobus…
I am really happy that we now have a third hooker on tour, that position just about gave me sleepless nights – well done Sharks management 🙄
(maybe celebrating mediocrity will make the sharks an easier team to support)
🙄
😯 😯 🙄 🙄 🙁 🙁 😳 😳
👿 Yep a veritable roller-coaster of emotions, mostly ranging from shock and dismay to anger and utter disappointment.
Brendan Venter reaches for his old bag of tricks when interviewed following the Highlanders match:
Interviewer: Well Brendan, another proper pasting by a New Zealand team. What went wrong?
Brendan Venter: That is a very good question, I am going to have to think about it, think about it very deeply.
I: But what is the problem
BV: I’m going to have to think about that, think very deeply.
I: Did it turn on a little bit of magic from the referee’s whistle when he blew for the kickoff?
BV: Yes, Referee’s whistle, little bit of magic, three cheers for the referee’s whistle.
I: Yet once again this season, you lost?
BV: Yes, winning is very important. We must try harder.
I: Then it is a lack of effort?
BV: Hmmmm lack of effort, no, no can’t think it is a lack of effort.
I: Then what is it?
BV: That is a very good question and I’m going to have to think about it, think about it very deeply.
I: Thank you Brendan.
BV: Thank you very much.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 27) : does Venter even have the time to watch recordings of the Sharks games?
Speedy recovery – Cobus.
This means Hoffman will start next week. Oy vey.
@Feather (Comment 28) : I don’t think so which is why it is best for him just to repeat answers from his Saracens days.
@SeanJeff (Comment 13) : Feel your pain. Cheetahs in the same boat. Injuries and forced rest for books have cost us big time. And why oh why dis Sare’s wife have to go into labour whilst the Cheetahs were on tour lol.
Lood, Mohoje, Cook, Brussow and BG Uys are sorely missed. Our backs have been effective, but our scrums a total mess…
@KingCheetah (Comment 31) : You beat the Streamers…quite effectively without any of your stars – your team is a VERY strange one.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 30) : Venter’s priorities, in this order:
Successful medical practice…Technical Director at Saracens…Assistant coach to his son’s high school team…write opinion pieces for SS…hobbies: dabble as technical “director” for Sharks
@FireTheLooser (Comment 32) : Lol, that is very true. And very frustrating!! They fark up my SB with precision 🙂
@KingCheetah (Comment 31) : Cheetahs are better without Mohoje. Weak link in your loosies, but with Brussow the Cheetahs play at another level
I really don’t know with this team anymore. We have a coach that looks like a used car salesman, a whole host of muppets underneath him that calls themselves assistant coaches, a whole host of journeymen players with no love for the jersey, only their own pockets… Senior players that is so comfertable in the knowledge that they won’t be dropped that they are not playing to prove anything, a CEO that appoints on a buddy basis… hell, I have not been this embarrassed to be a Sharks supporter since the Putt days
So lets see…we lose a loose forward just before the game, no adequate cover in the squad so a lock has to cover. We then lose a scrumhalf to injury and instead of sending a loose forward or scrumhalf they send over a hooker? Im sorry is that a joke? If i took that rationale to my boss i would be unemployed very quickly. This just shows the level of incompetence at the Sharks. Someone needs to be held accountable as very soon we will be hoping to maybe compete with the Valke in the Vodacom Cup and Super rugby will be a distant memory. Enough of the BS from the management…someone needs to answer the tough questions
Yoh the fans are getting agitated. Like a hornets’ nest ready to hit the floor something has to give.
And for bloody good reason too.
I hope somebody at the union is sitting up and paying attention. I am not sure how much more of the joke we can stomach.
@Feather (Comment 38) : The last time the masses got agitated it lead (directly or indirectly) to the exodus of Plum, van Zyl, Straueli, de Bruyn, and others…that to me is the real problem, loss of Sharks intellectual capital.
Maybe the agitated restless masses are now getting what we actually deserve.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 39) : I disagree. Plumtree was with the union for a while and he plateaued. He took us close but not close enough.
The same applies to Van Zyl. He had his time. We needed a new direction if we were serious about going all the way. Don’t forget there were also financial maladministration issues plaguing Van Zyl’s last year in office.
I mean come on, how have the Sharks not won this thing since ’96?
Don’t blame the fans for (rightly) being frustrated at the lack of a Super Rugby trophy.
Perhaps you should lay the blame at the door of the people or person who appointed (a) a rookie CEO with no prior business experience (b) a journeyman and/or under qualified DOR with no track record of success whatsoever (c) woefully under qualified and/or incompetent assistants (d) a part time Technical Director with many other business interests (e) and a bizarre recruitment programme.
Don’t blame the fans for demanding more. We know that in the right hands this union will have the Super Rugby trophy in its cabinet. When the time came for much needed change, unfortunately many decisions were made (see (a) to (e) above) which have proven to be unwise. The problem is it is just not one or two decisions which have been incorrect but rather all of them and their collective weight has now reached critical mass.
Blaming fans is just silly.
The spoke to a few sarfu and old white assosiates over the past 14 days. And the bottom line is. The players are spoilt. They demand and don’t perform. If they are spoken to they cry unhappiness thus bad results. Bad bad sircle of unloyal, unprofessional bullshit.
So what now. Per Golds terrible strategy Hoffman will be starting scrummie. Let’s see how many tries he can give away given more time on the field. The circus continues.
@BoerSeun (Comment 41) : well if that’s the case the union is crying out for a grizzled veteran of a coach, a disciplinarian task master with an unquestionable track record to instil the proper balance of respect and discipline. Someone like Jake White. Oh, hold on…
Sack any senior player who will not bend the knee to the coach.
Can you imagine Alex Ferguson putting up with this shit?
I am a huge fan of du Plessis bros…but sad to say they are running the show at the tank….thT would be my first step…..very sad to say.
@Feather (Comment 43) : I can imagine him chucking a boot at Bissie only to have Bissie retaliate with a round-house kick 😈
@Feather (Comment 43) : Can you imagine Danie Craven putting up with this shit
I can’t see Smit adding management value. John if you read this….please mate get a business manager. Restructure, say you are sorry once, but never again, and redirect the Ship!
Michell assisted by Swys deBruin and David Campese,that would be my dream team.Warren Whitley as the captain.
I see toulon has taken the honors in Europe. So what does it mean for Michael Claasens? Will he be joining sometime soon or has he got some remaining commitment? A
On a side note the sharks must think about an early termination clause for non performance in both player (stevens, Murray, hoffman) and in coaching staff contracts.
@Feather (Comment 40) :
“Perhaps you should lay the blame at the door of the people or person who appointed (a) a rookie CEO with no prior business experience (b) a journeyman and/or under qualified DOR with no track record of success whatsoever (c) woefully under qualified and/or incompetent assistants (d) a part time Technical Director with many other business interests (e) and a bizarre recruitment programme.”
All that came about after the fans demanded the head of Plum, I mean there was even a Facebook page dedicated to getting rid of him. This is fallout from that.
As they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Eat away.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 50) : what a mess and the a-e of it
Get well soon Cobus!!
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 50) : I think you missed the point of my previous response bro. The fans cannot be faulted for wanting change. Plumtree, as good as he was, never won the trophy. Change was the right thing at that time. The right change. We got the wrong change.
Capisce?
Well no player is bigger than the team. If it means the Du Plessis brothers need to up and leave for a European pay day for us to turn the corner then so be it. Plenty of hungry youngsters who will not poison the team environment.
Kitch Christie,Jake White,Graham Henry,all schoolmasters and school boy coaches,all won a World Cup..
Johan Ackerman,Todd Blackeradder,Stephan Larkham,no coaching experience before their current jobs.
Stop pointing fingers at the wrong people.
@Feather (Comment 53) : Yeah right, fans can demand and drive change left right and centre and when it backfires on them they can hold up their hands and say it was the wrong type of change.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 56) : I honestly don’t think the powers that be gave a toss about the fans’ opinions when they went about the clean out. If they did listen to fans, Hoffmann would not be playing week in and week out.
I think it was simply the new CEO and board deciding it was time for a clean out.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 56) : so you were happy to stay in the pack of also rans? One season losing an away semi, the next finishing in 9th place? When Plum was in charge the Bulls won Super Rugby TWICE. Is there really that much of a big difference between the Bulls and Sharks?…
Spin it whichever way you want bro, fans jump up and down all the time. Either for joy or in agitation. But do they select the team? Do they play between the four white lines? Do they decide the training moves? Do they attend board meetings and cast a vote? Silly of you to persist with your argument I feel.
@Feather (Comment 53) : @Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 56) : Do the fans really drive change though? I’m fairly sceptical of that.
@vanmartin (Comment 59) : the same poor results which cause fan angst are the motivator of personnel change.
There is only one cause. Poor results.
@Culling Song (Comment 8) : Hoes the perks on the new package?
@Bokhoring (Comment 57) : @vanmartin (Comment 59) : I believe that the fans unhappiness with Plum (taken to social media) was the catalyst for hastening the Boards appointment of Smit, who at the time was on a rugby contract. I believe the well moneyed board brought in Smit to placate the restless fans (and it worked – go look at the outrageous comments of instant success after his appointment)
@Feather (Comment 58) : Its not an argument – its an observation, reality. The baby was thrown out with the bath water.
@The hound (Comment 48) : you can become a Lions supporter and get 2/4 … 😈
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 63) : except you’re missing out the whole Jake White debacle. Perhaps he was the right man for the job? Perhaps the so called poisonous elements (whether senior players or assistants) should have got the boot instead of him?
I mean, he got us to the top of the conference for the first time. And worked similar miracles with the Brumbies before that. Perhaps we wouldn’t be in this mess if he was retained?
Yet another decision to question along with all the rest…
@Zibbie (Comment 64) : Off topic, so apologies but what the heck was up with the weird loopy passing of the Lions in that last game of theirs. I’m almost convinced it cost them the game against the Bulls. Their backline also seemed to be a tad to deep but each of those passes seemed to be rob their attack of momentum. Things seemed to improve a little once Ross came on but there was still a lot of very silly passing on the go.
@vanmartin (Comment 66) : i have no idea .. passing and the line outs were very poor for the Lions . defiantly need to improve that in the next week .
(i hope i dont sound to much like Brendan Venter ?)
@Zibbie (Comment 67) : 😆
@Zibbie (Comment 61) : The perks are fantastic; lots of time off on weekends, way less stress and anxiety, better quality of life all round. I’m not sure I’m ever going to upgrade to being a supporter again.