It’s probably safe to say that the Sharks’ decision to sign Reds lock Dave McDuling for the upcoming Currie Cup and Super Rugby seasons did not exactly meet with universal approval. In fact, a quick scan of my Twitter timeline revealed something approaching howls of derision from many quarters. “Why do the Sharks always sign foreign players instead of local ones?” seemed to be the main point of contention.
This kind of thing typically gets my back up very quickly for a whole bunch of reasons that I’m not going to go into here. Let it suffice to say that I do not really care too much about where a player comes from, so long as he’s prepared to bleed for the black and white; I do feel, though, that a genuine dearth of available second row talent on the local scene has forced the Sharks’ hands to an extent.
Looking at the wider context here; Stephan Lewies and Pieter-Steph du Toit are both out of the picture for the time being due to injury and Bok commitments. Giant Mtayanda has returned to the Pumas and Mourtiz Botha has perhaps not quite lived up to his pre-season billing. With Marco Wentzel having also carried a far greater workload in Super Rugby than was anticipated, there is very little doubt that the Sharks need to bolster their second-row stocks – and do so quickly. The situation, of course, is largely one of their own making. We won’t go into all the reasons that various young locks have left the province, but it’s probably fair to say that the high turnover in coaches over the last few years (and ensuing uncertainty) must be a big factor in all of Anton Bresler, Jandre Marais and Peet Marais opting to depart for European clubs. There have been other young locks to leave (plenty of them, in fact) but I believe those three are the ones we’ll regret losing the most.
There are those, of course, who will ask why the Sharks do not “back their own systems” and the point is valid, to an extent. One would think that, in well-functioning setup, the obvious thing to do would be to call up the current under-21 locks to the senior squad and just carry on. Again, I won’t go into exhaustive reasoning, but the feeling in Durban seems to be that those very players – currently Hyron Andrews and Johan du Toit – are perhaps still a year away from being physically ready for senior rugby. We all know how much damage can be done to a young body if thrown into the big leagues too soon and in this case, I will back the coaches’ assessment. The players are rated, but the feeling is they should be playing under 21 rugby this season, in their own best interests.
Digging a little deeper, it doesn’t require much of a leap to work out why the Sharks are struggling for quality in the second row, even at junior level. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to trawl back through the archives and count just how many of the last few years’ Junior Springbok and SA Schools lock forwards are contracted to the Bulls.
You’ll probably find that a number of them – frustrated by a lack of senior opportunities, or due to being forced onto the flank since you can only play two locks at a time, despite contracting four – have already left to play in France. There are swathes more, though, just biding their time at Loftus and hoping that the selection lottery will work in their favour before too much longer.
Turning back to McDuling, though, it turns out he’s perhaps not quite as foreign as his detractors would like him to be. The lad’s father is Durban born and young Dave admits to supporting the Sharks as a child, tweeting on Friday that “when I was a kid, my dad bought me a Natal jersey. Soon I will have the opportunity to earn one.” We’ve seen a fair few South African-born players go all the way in Australian rugby in years gone by. Wouldn’t it be a great if maybe, just maybe, it worked the other way for a change?
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“so long as he’s prepared to bleed for the black and white” Young players who choose to play overseas for more money are definitely not that, and they can leave for all I care.
Also if a young player would rather leave than wait for their chance they should go. Several players who have left would be playing if not starting now if they were still around.
I am all for this signing. He has good promise and if not for injury would be a lot more well know. There is always a chance a player doesn’t work out, but that is risk vs reward.
I am still waiting for someone to tell me why local is better?
France. All the locks are in France.
It’s a low risk with possible high reward scenario. McDuling is not a superstar and so one can probably safely assume he didn’t come with a big price tag but at the same time he apparently did very well in the Australian club scene while playing his way back to fitness. Looks like a pretty smart move from the Sharks (in my opinion).
Great points Rob. The one i picked up on especially is yes we may have 1 or 2 young locks but i really dont think they are ready for the toils of senior second row rugby- these arent flyhalves lets remember. Also by throwing the young guns in that would seriously weaken our junior sides. And the poor junior results of late is why a lot of young players seek other pastures in which to play.
@SheldonK (Comment 4) : yup, proper chick and egg.
You can’t really convince 18-year-olds to sign for you without a culture of success that starts with the senior side then moves down. In the past, good schoolboys have signed for the Sharks knowing that, while junior trophies aren’t likely, they at least stood a better chance of playing senior rugby for a winning side.
If the senior side doesn’t win, then the whole system collapses.
@robdylan (Comment 5) : Also with the quality of tertiary education in KZN the rugby prospects have to be really worth coming down here.
We had a number of good young locks a few seasons back. Some didnt cut it and some left – but none were breathtaking players to be fair.
I fully agree that we shouldn’t rush the current young locks. Young Andrews seems a useful player, for example, but doesnt seem robust enough yet for senior forwards play.
@Big Fish (Comment 7) : I’d be pretty happy to still have Jandre and Peet around. Maybe not breathtaking, but better than much of what we currently have?
I’ve wondered to myself quite a few times why so many promising youngsters choose to sign for the bulls. Why would you want to go somewhere were 80% of your craven week competitors are going too, where the previous went and were the next year will go.The only way you stand out is by playing. Surely you would want to maximize that by rather signing for the Sharks, cheetahs, lions etc were you will probably get a lot more game time? Just doesn’t seem like a good long term move to me
I have to say, for the first time in absolute ages, it feels as if the recent signings have actually been done as a result of careful consideration. No complaints from me!
@Culling Song (Comment 10) : Now that we are signing shrewdly, we need to follow suit and shed wisely too
@Culling Song (Comment 11) : Any suggestions? 😀
@vanmartin (Comment 12) : Name is on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t think of it… Help a brother out? 😈
@vanmartin (Comment 12) : @Culling Song (Comment 13) : Odwa, Murry, SP and Hoffmann.
@Seth101 (Comment 14) : Nope, still not ‘The One’
The problem is that I think it would probably cost more to terminate a contract than to just let it run down and then not offer a new one. Ltes just hope they don’t see any game time.
Bressler was good but very injury prone and not young anymore !
Jandre left because he was not getting S15 playing time.
Edwin Hewitt and Peet Marais left because Jake bought his wonderboy Ettienne and all but chased them away. They were good enogh to help winning the CC ?
I have heard All three doing very well in France.
@Observer (Comment 17) : Jandre left because of Pieter Steph getting picked ahead of him. Simple as that.
locks specifically have been a problem for us to hold on to, and it goes back a while now. Muller, Gerhard mosterdt, Skeate, Hargreaves, bresler, Marais, Sykes, probably du Toit etc.
Rob any chance of a list of all our contracted locks? I have Wentzel, Botha, Lewies (injured), PSDT (injured), McDuling, Oosthuizen, Andrews, Du Toit…
@Pokkel (Comment 15) : It is the one. The last name he mentioned is the guy that Culling Song has a crush on.
@Ben (Comment 21) : It was a ninja edit 😎
@robdylan (Comment 8) :
I agree. But I do think that it was the right thing to do to sign PSDT and Andrews for example.
A team does need at least one lock who is athletic and/ or bruising enough to be a factor beyond the setpiece. Guys like Atherton, Andrews, Roumat, Venter and van der Bergh all played huge parts in successful Sharks teams of the past. I wasnt convinced that any of the guys we lost offered that (Mostert perhaps, but he wasnt homegrown anyway).
@Seth101 (Comment 22) : Aha 🙂
@SheldonK (Comment 20) : well, you’re missing Astle from the seniors – also Christiaan de Bruyn.
In u21s we also have Jean Droste, who we got from the Bulls and Petrus du Busson. Under 19s this year are Christie van der Merwe and Rikus Swartz
@robdylan (Comment 25) : Ok so updated list:
Wentzel, Botha, Lewies (injured), PSDT (injured), McDuling, Oosthuizen, Astle, DeBruyn, Andrews, Du Toit are the only ones that realistically could play lock for seniors without having loose forwards to fill in.
So assume Wentzel,Botha start…McDuling bench with Oosthuizen (as he can cover flank too). That only leaves Astle and De Bruyn as injury reserves.
@SheldonK (Comment 26) : Nobody has yet given me a decent argument why Jean du Preez shouldn’t be our next star lock.
I have so far heard that he is too short,although he is taller than both the Highlander locks,then he is too young,Marcel was his age when he played for the Boks.
@The hound (Comment 27) : I know the age thing was a factor last year as his dad asked them to be kept back. Dont think thats the case this year. I have a feeling both Jean Luc and Dan are lined up to play flank rather than lock. For me i think whilst they arent the tallest they could both probably play lock…just means our lineouts would need to be efficient..but our speed on the ground at lineouts should give us clean ball. Ive saud for the last year and a bit that i thought Alberts should move to lock to prolong his career…he is too slow for flank these days. So back to your question, any reason- possibly only because they are both being lined up as flanks primarily i would assume. If it means Oosthuizen plays lock not flank then im happy with that. ID rather have the DuPreez x 2 than Deysel.
@The hound (Comment 27) : His dad doesn’t want him to be pushed too soon. And apparently the Du Preez household is a democracy; one man, one vote. Robert is the man, and he holds the vote
@The hound (Comment 27) : Ignoring the fact that apparently you are the only person on earth who wants or thinks he should play lock….
@Culling Song (Comment 29) : hahaha ja boet!! but must say I’m 100% with him on this!!!!
@The hound (Comment 27) : ok, I’ll give you a reason. “Jean” (I assume you mean “Jean-Luc”) has never played lock a day in his life.
Now if you/re talking about Dan, I guess that’s a different story. But I’m not actually sure just how tall he is. 1.94/1.95 is my guess, so definitely on the short side.
@Seth101 (Comment 30) : He played lock 3 years for Natal Schools and 2 years for S.A. Schools,so think about your comment again.
We have a surplus of loose forwards and no locks.
We are talking about Currie Cup rugby not Super Rugby or International rugby.
@robdylan (Comment 32) : Right I always mix them up,have done since I watched them as grade schoolers at Durban Prep.
Dan is 1.96,again watch the super rugby final and see how the two” little” locks on the Highlanders team both under 1.94 dominated the lineouts and the scrums.
Best example is the giant Skelton who plays for the Warratahs,probably the tallest man in rugby, and is a pathetic lineout man he’s too heavy to get off the ground.
@The hound (Comment 33) : Have the Sharks, or even himself made any indication that he will be playing lock?
@The hound (Comment 34) : Umm.
Alex Ainley 1.97m
Mark Reddish 1.96m
Joe Wheeler 2.00m
Those Highlanders locks?
@robdylan (Comment 36) : Whats a few centimetres between friends 😉
Dan du Preez 1.96,
Wheeler hardly got any game time,put Dan next to Wentzel or P.S.D.T or Lewies and you have a much bigger pairing than Ainely and Reddish.
Willem Alberts 1,92,Jean Deysel 1,92,can’t remember anyone complaining that these guys were too short on the occasion that they played lock.
@The hound (Comment 40) : I actually remember many people complaining when we had to play those two FLANKS at lock.
@Seth101 (Comment 41) :
Exactly. We had shitty lineouts. Barely secured our own ball and didnt compete on the opponents’ ball at all.
I am not saying that 1.96 is too short for lock – depends on the athleticism, vertical jump and even weight (lifters must be able to carry you high enough to compensate). Also needs the player to buy into the position change.
@Big Fish (Comment 42) : This kid is a natural lock he has played there most of his life, this is the first year that hasn’t , is no question about his ability in that position
The argument here is that he is too short.
I am never suggesting that we play two short locks,and when Alberts or Deysel played lock there was always a jumper playing with them,they never ever played as a pair.One of them usually went to lock to allow the other one on at flank.They were never on as the only jumping options,so don’t know what you are talking about.We always had a Sykes,Bressler or Kanko,or a lifted Daniel as a lineout option.
Rob, what happened to Koegies?
I wouldn’t mind the Sharks signing the 2 Bulls locks that played this year for the Boks u20 team
@sharks_lover (Comment 44) : Koegies is playing u21 rugby for the Lions
@The hound (Comment 43) : Which of our starting loosies could jump in his place? Deysel? Majola? van der Walt (If he starts)?
Again this argument is all pointless unless you can tell me if the Sharks or even the player himself has any intention of playing lock?
@sharks_lover (Comment 44) : that Jenkins kid is VERY English…. surprised he’s in the Kraal.
But if I know the Bulls, they’ll have those boys locked up tight.
@The hound (Comment 43) :
Many youngsters play at lock or prop etc at junior level but switch in early senior rugby. Some guys just mature physically earlier than others.
I never said that Alberts and Deysel played together at lock. But when you have just one real limeout jumper playing with a retreaded lock it makes your lineout that much easier to compete with and to dominate. Which is why Kanko was such an important starter for the last few seasons.
I hope that you now know what I am talking about.
Typically South African, we do get stuck on size quite a bit! 😛
@robdylan (Comment 47) : I think Jenkins has just signed a contract extension.
here are the Bulls contracted locks
Grant Hattingh, Victor Matfield, Marvin Orie, RG Snyman, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Jacques du Plessis, Flip van der Merwe, Jason Jenkins,
Irné Herbst, Dennis Visser, Abongile Nonkontwana
@robdylan (Comment 51) :
Impressive.
Whatever happened to Fudge Mabeta?
@robdylan (Comment 51) : Rob any official confirmation on Marcell signing for the Sharks again?
@robdylan (Comment 45) : when did he sign for them?
I see Riaan Viljoen is back with the Kwas
@JD (Comment 54) : last year. Sharks cut their losses after 3 straight years injured
@JD (Comment 53) : nothing from the Sharks, but we know it happened. His mom told us 🙂
@Big Fish (Comment 52) : was playing club rugby in durbs, but seems to have disappeared again
@robdylan (Comment 57) : Methinks it’s high time you befriend a PSdT family member.
@Big Fish (Comment 48) : You are presuming that he cannot jump,doubt if he would have played Natal Schools lock for three years if he can’t jump.
I don’t think in the history of the province that any kid played Natal schools lock at 15,16,17.
That in itself should indicate that he is something special
I rest my case.
Once again watch the Highlanders you don’t need to be 2 metres to dominate a line out.
@The hound (Comment 60) : I’m amazed by your ability to get this fixated on one individual at the Sharks, and fight for them tooth and nail – do you at least know these guys whom you so patriotically defend?
@The hound (Comment 60) : Well, ultimately it’ll all boil down to the Sharks coaches’ opinion on the matter. As a matter of interest, did he play 4 or 5 lock?
@robdylan (Comment 57) : hell I hope he’s mother has the correct info!!!!!!!!!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 61) : Or does he even know that the player even wants to play in the position he is trying to force him into?
Anxiesly waiting for news on PSdT. Can the guy make up his mind already?
@FireTheLooser (Comment 61) : You guys are like a bunch of school girls,I put forward a case for him being considered at lock and batted away every reason you guys gave on him not to be considered,too short,too young,can’t jump,and then we get to he doesn’t want toppled there.
How do you know doesn’t want to play there,same as i don’t know that he does want to play there.
The question is can he play there the answer is yes.
So now we get to the personal shit,I am not at all fixated on this kid,but have watched him and his brother since they were at pre primary and trust me,every one who ever saw them at any age knew that they were very special.They were always so much better than any opposition that it was a joke.
Through DPHS and KearsneyCollege there are many many people who think like me.
@The hound (Comment 66) : You bring it up on ever article that includes anything to do with them ore locks or anything close to that, that’s pretty much a fixation. Surely if it’s meant to happen it will?
Another rumour doing the rounds in CT ….F Hougaard to Stormers end of Currie Cup….pure speculation but lots of smoke about it…
@The hound (Comment 60) :
Dude. Are you even reading what I write? Where on God’s green earth did you dig up that I presume that the guy can’t jump?
I get that you are old and passionate, but before you call the other guys schoolgirls check your own hysterical reactions.
For the record, I’m not suggesting that the guy can’t be an amazing lock. I’m just saying that the transition will be significant.
@Big Fish (Comment 69) : I’ve learnt to ignore the troll quite some time ago. It helps.
@grant10 (Comment 68) : He’s pissed off with Heyneke? 🙂
@grant10 (Comment 68) : What position would he play, though?
@Ben (Comment 71) : Probably very pissed at the Bulls for letting him rot on the wing all season long and missing the Springbok squad as a result.
With PSdT sent back to the Sharks for rehabilitation by the Boks, will they be very eager to pay for said rehab if he’s unwilling to sign his contract extension?
…it would also say a lot about his character if he milked the Sharks for one last rehab bill, just to run off to the streamers upon recovery.
@Ben (Comment 72) : No idea….I think he wants the 9 spot ….
Well the best reasons would have to be Rob doesn’t want his boys in young also someone once said locks should not be exposed young since they develop bad knees if they are exposed to early. So why the u – turn?
Not that I’d want Hougaard at the Sharks but since when did the Stormers start to become a bigger player draw than the Sharks? Perhaps since Durban became a shit tip in the last decade and Cape Town became a world class destination with all the trappings? I mean shit I’d rather live in Cape Town over Durban any day. This factor is only going to get worse in time…
University of Natal has really taken a nose dive as an institution over the last 10 years too. It saddens me. Its my alma mater. The city is a trash can too and the violence seen recently was no good. Contrast this to Cape Town and its not hard to see why players may start viewing the Stormers as their future. Victim of circumstance.
And jeez Pretoria was a real shit tip too the last time I was there in January.
@robdylan (Comment 58) : for those of you lucky enough to live in durban and able to attend games: Are spectators able to attend sharks training sessions, if so, all of them or just open training, I attended a bok open training last yr, was fun
@revolverocelot (Comment 80) : From what I know you can. Some guy tweeted Tera the other day asking if and when he could bring his sons to watch them training, and he said 3pm.
@Orlok Tsubodai (Comment 79) : Fortunately they have a uni that offers a great education as well as top tier rugby. Let’s be honest there aren’t many good looking cities left.
PSDT has announced that he is leaving The Sharks.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 83) : My heart skipped a beat there for a second.
Springbok lock Pieter-Steph du Toit has confirmed his departure from the Sharks at the end of his contract 2015
I am so disappointed in PSDT….he leaves as he recovers!! Wtf!!
Perhaps the Marais brothers would have been more tempted to stay if we didn’t sign others like Wentzel and Hewitt. Not that I have anything against those guys, but it must have been discouraged for the lads. The third Marais, wasn’t there talk of him being a wing?