Reminiscing over the last few seasons it’s hard to believe how the Sharks got “worked” after they took “the drop” off the back of a very successful 2013 Currie Cup campaign. The Sharks decided to part ways with John Plumtree, who took them to two Currie Cup titles in 2008 and 2010, and appointed former Rugby World Cup winning coach Jake White to take them into a new chapter in Sharks Rugby in 2014.
Coming off a successful Currie Cup campaign in 2013, the newly appointed Director Of Rugby Jake White took them to the top of the South African Conference and their second Super Rugby semi-final in 2014, since 2008, but White, however, failed to commit after the Super Rugby season.
Towards the end of the season the Sharks finished third on the Currie Cup log, but failed to progress beyond the semi-finals as they lost to the Lions. Things started to take shape and looked positive as CEO John Smit appointed Gary Gold, who some saw as the saviour who will surely take the Sharks to Super Rugby glory for the first time.
Needless to say, the Sharks got a “mullering” as they got washed out to shore with a mouth full of sand as they finished eleventh on the Super Rugby log and fourth in the South African Conference with only seven wins from sixteen matches.
The Currie Cup campaign was not any better as the Sharks failed to qualify for the play-offs for the first time since 2005, managing two narrow wins against the EP Kings, the Pumas and Griquas and a draw against the Free State Cheetahs in their final fixture, ultimately finishing fifth with only four wins from ten matches.
“Going into the 2015 season we were optimistic about our chances, however our performances were well below par and our results were just not good enough.
I am passionate about The Sharks brand, the rich history associated with the brand, but most importantly I am passionate about this group of players who I have immense belief in.
It hurts us that we have disappointed you, we will leave no stone unturned in our preparation to come back fighting in 2016.” – Director of Rugby, Gary Gold.
There is no doubt that they have talented players, but as supporters we demand results, we want to support a winning team, we want trophies in the cabinate, which begs the question, is the current management and coaching staff equipped to take the Sharks forward? Gold rightly pointed out the passion, which was clearly lacking the entire season and the rich history of a proud union.
Week in and week out we watched how players ran around the field like they left their hearts in the changing room, like a bunch of school boys playing outside during break time, just somewhere they have to be for eighty minutes.
It seems like the Sharks brand has become the brand of preference for the “rich kids”, just the flavour of the week. What happened to the rich history and the glory years of the 90’s? Do the Sharks need to bring in a coach who’s left blood, sweat and tears for Natal on Kings Park, someone that understands what it means to pull the jersey over your head?
We watch in anticipation of what will unfold from the men in the black and white, and until such time I for one will remain Sharks Forever, Black and White Nothing Else Matters.
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1. Jake White was sent packing rather than any failure of his to commit. If I recall correctly he made himself available for 2 years. His forced exit, in terms of sheer scale, was a far greater error than the earlier curtailment of Plumtree’s contract.
2. If anyone truly thought Gold was to be the Sharks’ saviour, with his dismal record, then they were an idiot. I believe you dreamed this up. I recall a great deal of disappointment (and a neutral coolness at best) upon the maestro Gold being announced as White’s successor.
3. It is obvious we need a new head coach with a track record of success.
Get the x factor back
Can only go upwards!
Wel iets moet gebeur – ek vir een sien wragtig nie kans om nog ‘n seisoen met die gemors saam te leef. Sal altyd ‘n Shark wees maar ek eis dat John Smit en sy vriende hulle gatte in rat moet kry – ons soek wen rugby – soos dit by die Sharks pas.
lets see
before super rugby it was a whole mess interms of coaching as venter (who is a good coach) and BMH plus a few others were holding the fort in press season until gold (and a few players mind you) arrived back from japan
then the SR season started and it looked like we couldn’t defend to save our lives
they made bissy captain (when that was annouced i was shocked) and he promptly lost his mind on the field – I dont blame him for the matfield incident as he was off side, though he should have just caught the refs attention, or atleast learned from it, kicking the chiefs player was just crazy
we lost lambie, rainach, psdt and a few others over the course of the SR season and nothing seem to go our way
and though i felt that gold was responsible for some of what happened in SR i stated afterwards that we should give him a real chance at SR not like in 2015
as for currie cup, I didnt hold out much hope from the start, I saw it as just a means to blood young players.
When i saw the squad I knew we’d have a rough CC, but i stayed positive and hoped for the best.
After the first three games i could see that my fears about our forwards, props hookers and locks mostly were coming true.
We were getting killed in the scrum, our line out was incosistent at best and our lock were anemic with the ball in hand for the most part.
We had a decent backline, that was let down by the forwards
side note: when everyones fit and available in SR we have some nice loose forward options
marcell
terra
ginger
JLDp
DDp
J potgieter (possibly lock)
kanko (hasnt performed in two seasons)
klainhans (good but needs to watch footage of kwagga)
bothma (anyone watch him in the wc?)
majola (looked good before he got injured)
so we had a rough year, lets come back strong next year by
clearly indicating the coaching structures for next year
managing and coaching our players leading up to SR
developing the promising young guns we have in the U21 & u19 (that majola prop is a beast)
can anyone post a possible 40 man SR SQUAD pls
all is not lost guys. If we look completely shit in SR then you can sack gold
@revolverocelot (Comment 5) : Hopefully a proper conditioning and recovery program is in place as this year the imjuries where horrific, at onw stage we had bissie, jannie, psdt, lewies, deysel, kanko, terra, kleynhans, alberts, reinach, lambie, steyn, jordaan and a few others out at same stage. Remeber the Cooper as flank situation?
Why did the sharks suffer so much more?
@revolverocelot (Comment 5) : bothma was picked out in the weekend press as a “great” player by a respected English journo/former Lions lock forward. Talked about his rugby intelligence and contrasted him to hyped British players… Even allowing for some kindness to smaller unions, he’s been very impressive
One thing is for sure….neither our billionaire chairman, nor our 82 different sponsors will accept this current level of mediocrity.
The difficult part is decidign whom to cull and whom to keep – especially in the interest of minimising disruptions and building some form of continuity.
Something has to change however, because somthing is clearly missing.
(I’ve wondered how much of Venter’s CC success relied on the platforms left behind by Plumtree?)
@FireTheLooser (Comment 8) : we hang on for too long to some players. Tell me why we still have Odwa as our wing? Brilliant player but is he going to score from the slightest of opportunities? Sergeal was available for the longest time. We haven’t had centres that can really compete at SR level so we stuck with JPP at 13 the entire season. Kanko is another one. Should have parted ways Alberts a while ago. We have a lock and hooker crisis. Speaking of hooker, wonder when does Chilli Boy’s ban come to an end?
@revolverocelot (Comment 5) : you can get to quite a decent SR squad – how about this?
Back 3: Le Roux, Pietersen, JPP (?), Sithole, Mvovo, SP
Centres: esterhuizen, louw, Williams, jordaan
Fly halves: lambie, cronje, Radebe
Scrum halves: Claasens, reinach, ungerer
Props: adrianse, mtwarira, du Toit, Oosthuizen, Chadwick, majola
Hookers: marais, cooper, de beer
Locks: Potgeiter, lewies, Wentzel, hay, Mtyanda, Oosthuizen
Back row, Coetzee, Bothma, van der Walt, du Preez, du Preez, mtembu, majola, kleinhans, deysel
@GreatSharksays (Comment 9) : april 10 2016
JC Astle, Andrews, McDuling, de Bruin, Schoeman, Hadebe, Ndgunane and a few others will presumably also be in the frame from the a Currie Cup squad. 17 guys in this squad though didn’t play in the Currie Cup which is why I really agree with the comment I read here a couple of days ago that there were some strong positives in some of the guys coming through which gives plenty to work with for whoever comes in to coach the side…
@JR (Comment 10) : thanks for the info
doesnt look too bad
cronje will have to redeem himself at fh
Id have (small joe) petersien there after lambie
where is Hay ?
More my pick than informed info! Yeah, Pietersen can cover stand off, Sithole centre.
I think Hay is injured but somebody closer to the squad can confirm whether that’s right? Seeing that they’ve just signed him, maybe McDuling is more likely but my impression is that Hay’s the kind of big guy we could really do with longer-term…
@JR (Comment 10) : Engelbrecht instead of Majola at prop. With Coenie, Engelbrecht, and Adriaanse at TH and Beast, Tank, and Dale at LH, our SuperRugby prop situation does not look all that bad at all. Hooker we have massive problems as we do not have a single SuperRugby level hooker in our squad.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 15) : I was quite impressed with Franco Marais’ workmate. I think he can really go places. Apart from the Bulls (Strauss) all the SA franchises seem to have relative average or newish hookers, and in the Cheetahs case props.
Both our prospective Super squads don’t really have that look of class about them.
Cheetahs have blooded many youngsters this year, but it will take a year or two before that translates into any decent depth.
LH: BG Uys, Danie Mienie, Caylib Oosthuizen,
Hkr: Torsten, Jacques du Toit, Hugget, AJ le Roux
TH: Maks van Dyk, Luan de Bruin, Dolf Botha, Stephan Kotze
Locks: Carl Wegner, Lood, Uys, Reniel Hugo, Koster, Hugo Kloppers
Flanks: Boom, Willie Britz, Paul Schoeman, Neill Jordan, Gerhard Olivier, Mohoje, Tienie Burger, Henco Venter, Carel Greeff, De Wet Kruger
SH: Shaun Venter, Tiaan Meyer,
FH: Zeilinga, Brummer, Neill Marais, Sias
Centre: Small-Smith, vd Spuy, Francois Venter, Benjamin, Clinton Swart, Tertius Kruger, Nico Lee
Wings: Rhule, SErgeal Peterson, Danie Dames, Dukisa
FB: Coenie van Wyk, Blommetjies, Gouts Prinsloo, Immelmann
Not many of those names look familiar to those outside Cheetahs rugby, but definitely something Franco can work with.Problems mainly at tight 5 and wing
@KingCheetah (Comment 16) : A few names coming up on my list, maybe you can tell me where they stand:
Props: Aranos Coetzee, Ewald van der Westhuizen
Hooker: Neil Rautenbach, Martin Bezuidenhout, Stephan Coetzee
Locks: Boela Serfontein
Loosies: Jonathan Adendorf
Scrummie: Renier Botha
Flyhalf: Willie du Plessis (Isn’t Brummer going to the Pumas?)
Also Jason-Colin Fraser and Uzair Cassiem are joining Griquas from the Pumas. Not sure if they will make it to the Cheetahs, Cheetahs has tons of loosies
@Baylion (Comment 17) : Yes, you are right. I certainly skipped some.
Ewald definitely in the frame. Not familiar with Coetzee.
Forgot Neil Rautenbach, Martin Bezuidenhout, Stephan Coetzee,
Locks: Boela Serfontein – will defo be used.
Loosies: Jonathan Adendorf might battle to make the squad. Been impressed with Cassiem and Fraser
Scrummie: Renier Botha also in the mix yes, with Mkhabela
Flyhalf: Willie du Plessis – Think Willie is off to the Kings.
Thanks for the heads up.
Tell me me more about Aranos Coetzee please.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 8) : I still rate Venter, but you can’t have any meaningful input into a union if you are hardly there.
@KingCheetah (Comment 18) : I saw Aranos Coetzee on the Wikipedia transfer list. Was at Brive but he’s been involved with Namibia apparently and could be joining the Cheetahs now their RWC is over
Every team goes through a bad patch and this is exactly what is happening at the Sharks right now. Massive changes from boardroom down to coaches and players and even the academy has caused a lot of uncertainty at the Union. In order to build lasting success we need a good platform and some stability. Measures need to be put in place to revamp the academy and varsity cup side. The coaching structures in the juniors need to be kept in tact (Yes Paul Anthony had a bad season but he is a good coach). Then the senior side- whoever is coaching both head and assistants need to be clarified before preseason starts. Then a good foundation needs to be laid by getting the squad a LOT fitter and better conditioned. The Sharks have serious issues in the tight 5 and this is where recruitment needs to take place. A big emphasis needs to be placed on our set pieces and then lastly a strong leader needs to be appointed as Captain to take the union forward.
@SheldonK (Comment 21) : Every journey starts with one small step,here’s my suggestion for that step, the first one Gold takes heading for the door,
@GreatSharksays (Comment 9) : Chilli can play again in April next year….. it’s a very interesting time to be asking that question and makes me wonder if you’ve heard something… *taps nose*
@robdylan (Comment 23) : …he used to be good – especially 2011 – then he decided to roid-up.
I can’t see him adding much value – but he certainly falls within John’s m.o. of contracting 🙄
@robdylan (Comment 23) : There were some rumours doing the rounds on Twitter regarding Chilli joining the Sharks next year. Is this a case of “where there is smoke”?
@FireTheLooser (Comment 24) : John was always his mentor
@The hound (Comment 22) : Thats cool…so step 2 then in ur opinion?
@vanmartin (Comment 25) : Chilliboy sets a horrible example to every young player. I wouldnt want him at the Sharks. Cant remember the last time he actually played rugby nevermind decent rugby. Sharks shouldnt waste their time
@SheldonK (Comment 28) : Would you welcome Johan Ackermann as coach?
Whilst on the subject of future signings. Has anyone any further news on that Gentry fellow
@durbsguy (Comment 30) : back in the US
@robdylan (Comment 31) : That is a pity, was hoping the guys at the sharks had found an untapped resource
@robdylan (Comment 23) : Haven’t heard a thing Rob. Just using my mind trying to determine who we can recruit. Have lost faith in our management. Don’t know what they are looking for when deciding which player to go for. Putting names out there hoping some of them read Sharksworld.
@Baylion (Comment 20) : A TH prop too. Maybe one of the TH’s can cover LH, because we aren’t spoilt for choice there. Calyx has been disappointing which leaves BG Uys and Mienie.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 33) : give credit where it’s due signings have not been that bad, Bothma,Pietersen,Claasens,Willie,and Coenie?, if you could rehabilitate Chilli without the pressure and expectations of the captaincy and the next great hope on his shoulders,we could be in a decent position.
@robdylan (Comment 29) : A tricky one that. He has done well as a coach, not sure he would get the same results in Durban though but he isnt the worst option. Yes i kno he was also banned etc. so in that regard no he doesnt set the best example. Signing Chilliboy would show youngsters that steroid use is bad but in the long run you get rewarded. Sorry i rather say no to both him and Ackermann and take that stand.
“no doutb” 13th line from the bottom 😉
@SheldonK (Comment 36) : Don’t you believe in second chances Sheldon?
😈
@vanmartin (Comment 38) : For majority of things yes. For some things like cheating- no. My opinion may differ from a lot of guys. But Steroid use is pretty clear cut in my view point.
@The hound (Comment 35) : Id love if Bothma is becomes a permanent signing- at the moment he is only here for 1 more super rugby season
“Things started to take shape and looked positive as CEO John Smit appointed Gary Gold, who some saw as the saviour who will surely take the Sharks to Super Rugby glory for the first time.”
I’d love to know who ever thought that ….. certainly not one single Sharks supporter I know in life.
Passionate players and a passionate and most importantly, competent coach – recipe for starting the build up back to our greatness.
@SheldonK (Comment 36) : Difference between Chilli and most pro rugby players (read sportsman): He got caught.
From what I’ve heard, steroid use is rife at schoolboy level already…if we had to do an anonymous survey on steroid use by pro rugby players, I’d be shocked if less than 80% admits to ever using.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 42) : Chilliboy got caught twice! But yes you 100% correct. Steroid use in the schools and clubs is widespread but without more severe punishment they know at most that they will get a 2yr ban and thats if they get caught. So cheating now benefits you later. People may disagree with me but i just think if caught cheating the sport you should be banned for life.
@SheldonK (Comment 43) : I tend to agree with you Sheldon.
I’ve come up against some guys, especially from my club days in Durban, who were definitely juicing. The aggression was off the charts. One Midlands club in particular stands out, seemed like all of their players were using.
@StevieS (Comment 44) : I cant speak for other provinces as never have played there but in KZn steroid use amongst school boys and clubs is massive as guys believe they need to be bigger and stronger in order to get noticed. Unfortunately there arent resources to cover testing everyone and whilst guys that dont get caught still get rewarded with contracts (like some in the current Sharks squad) then steroid use will continue
@The hound (Comment 35) : What would make me feel better is if we would do like the Stormers and actually inform the fans which positions we are looking outside to fill. Currently we have have hooker, lock, inside centre, outside centre and right wing problems. I would like to know from these guys which positions they want to firm up and are prepared to source the best and not an Australian lock that could not even crack the starting CC side that finished 5th. They must put us at ease or ask the fans for advice.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 46) : I think our tight 5 is of great concern. Besides Beast and Thomas DuToit the rest have shown to either be very injury prone or not up to standard. And as the cliche goes: It all starts up front…
@GreatSharksays (Comment 46) : Do we really need to strengthen all those areas? We’ve got some good U21s coming through – surely the priority should be to make the spine of the team strong and then allow the best youngsters to come through? I can’t see why you’d buy another inside centre and potentially lose Williams and one or both of Esterhuizen and Louw – lock starts looks better with Giant and Potgeiter in the picture, Lewies back, and some U21s coming through… With all the experience already coming in, feels like the priority should be to make sure this crop of juniors stays with the squad and develops as Sharks players rather the Marais brothers, Cameron Wright, Herbst, Riedelinghuys and all the other guys who’ve moved away and who we could really do with now.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 15) : majola (prop) def looks a rough diamond, but yes if everyones fit its probibly best we develop him in CC, his a LH so we can afford to take our time and teach him to excel
@KingCheetah (Comment 16) : have you seen the lions hooker and lock options, may god man! Wow
they let acker go to Metro for three months and still they have marx, coatzee etc
same story with locks, muller, MB, erasmus
chilli wouldnt be the worst idea
and he was caught doping once, the first time four years ago with him and basson at the bulls it turned out is was a false positive, or the bulls gave them a supplement that wasnt approved, so whats going down at the bulls ?
I really expect cooper to step up with Bissy gone, remember when cooper showed up on the scene, craig burden could pack his bags quick enough, but now burden is a star in france (been coached up) able to throw the line out ball straight all the way to the opposite touch line, and cooper i guess has struggled to over come some injuries. Hadebe was inconsistent, not sure if it was because of him we got out scrummed of was that just a weak pack
marais looked the best of a poor bunch, you guys would remember that I stated I was excited to see more of those three, boy did they disappoint for the most part.
I guess with burden newly signed to JW montpillar RSA revolution we wont get him any time soon
lion!! Give us one of your hookers !!
Chilli could bring that mix of experience,ability and bmt. And mentor the young forwards. Ad unlike marco (who I admire deeply) his not yet toooooo old
poor marco, came to teach, then had to play himself into the ground, i hope they amended his contract and gave him extra cash
@revolverocelot (Comment 49) : Yes the Lions have awesome depth. Malcolm Marx is a beast, and Mark Pretorius has kinda gone all quiet.
@KingCheetah (Comment 50) : Jeez, if chilli got bust for doping then they clearly haven’t looked closely enough at that Pretorius kid’s wee….
@SheldonK (Comment 43) : @StevieS (Comment 44) : ja I do agree penalty should be harsh (even going as far as paying back two or three years salary with a 5 year ban), it must be so strict that it’s not worth the risk.
Surely ignorance can’t be an excuse anymore with all the team doctors and training staff available (even to some school sides).
SA rugby must start with random testing of school boys as I believe that using band drugs could be a big reason for the alarming injury rate of some of the youngsters.
@revolverocelot (Comment 49) : is that the Chilli that apparently tested positive again?!?!?!
@robdylan (Comment 51) :
Quite a few come to mind.
@JD (Comment 53) : chilli tested positive twice, first time was four years ago with basson, turns out there was a mistake some where, both of them got cleared
the second time was when he was in france a year ago
Is basson still on the bulls roster, didnt see him once during the currie cup
nice too see john mamentsa on SABC tv wc coverage, udo carelse is boring on radio but funny on tv
by the way, If our uzair cassiem, why would you leave the pumas who look like a really well run team, making the most of the players they have, developing them and identifying their strength and weaknesses. To go to griquas
were you assured a spot on the cheetahs SR squad ? Thats the only logic I can figure
did they double your salary ? Do the pumas pay that little that GWK can out bid them ?
I guess he and fraser were told theres no chance in hell they could make the lions SR squad
but do the lions really have that much loose forward depth
@revolverocelot (Comment 56) : I compiled a Lions 2016 squad list based on the CC list and the players returning for SR 2016, as wel as some u21 who should be coming through (also did that for the other teams if you are interested). Must say I’m happy with the depth except possibly on the wing
Fullback: Andries Coetzee, JW Bell
Wings: Ruan Combrinck, Courtnall Skosan, Anthony Volmink, Sampie Mastriet, Mark Richards, Selom Gavor, Vainon Willis
Centres: Harold Vorster, Lionel Mapoe, Stokkies Hanekom, Howard Mnisi, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Jakey Nel, Gerdus van der Walt, Koch Marx
Flyhalves: Elton Jantjies, Marnitz Boshoff, Jaco van der Walt, Ashlon Davids
Scrumhalves: Faf de Klerk, Ross Cronje, Dillon Smith, Lohan Jacobs, Ricky Schroeder, Marco Jansen van Vuren
#8: Warren Whiteley, Ruaan Lerm, Jano Venter
Flanks: Jaco Kriel, Warwick Tecklenburg, Derick Minnie, Robert Kruger, Stephan de Wit, Fabian Booysen, Bobby De Wee, Cyle Brink
Locks: Franco Mostert, MB Lusaseni, Martin Muller, Andries Ferreira, Lourens Erasmus, Ruan Ackermann, JP Du Preez
Props: Julian Redelinghuys, Ruan Dreyer, Jacques van Rooyen, Corne Fourie, Dylan Smith, Pieter Scholtz, Bubbles Ackerman
Hookers: Robbie Coetzee, Acker van der Merwe, Malcolm Marx, Mark Pretorius, Ramone Samuels
@Baylion (Comment 57) : thanks, where can i find the rest of the SA squads ?
Im surprised not too have seen JP du preez atleast once in the cc, was he running out for the u21 team ?
Is ruan akermann related the coach ?
Hookers for days in the lions squad, its like a brothel lol
@revolverocelot (Comment 58) : Yes, JP du Preez was with the u21s. ruan is Ackers’s son
@revolverocelot (Comment 55) : I know that but I want to know if you think Sharks should sign him?!?!
@Baylion (Comment 59) : with the big three gone at the Sharks it’s maybe time to use some of the spare change left to relieve Lions of one of those hookers?!?! Just trying to make it easier on Ackers so that he does not have such a head ach with team selection ;-P
@JD (Comment 60) : Yeah I say roll the dice on that one if we cant get one of lions top 4 hookers, then go for the chilli, couldnt hurt, he would command a huge salary
@revolverocelot (Comment 62) : wouldn’t
@revolverocelot (Comment 62) : Chilli is probably better than the 4 Lions hookers. Why then would you want to get a hooker that is 4th best at the Lions before getting one of the best hookers in SA that is currently available, well, will be available in April 2016? Doesn’t make sense and would definitely kill team morale. Rather stick with the current lot until a credible option comes. 4th best at the Lions to be our main hooker? Noways.
@JR (Comment 10) : I’m compiling potential 2016 squads based on this year’s SR and CC squad and known movement of players.
Who am I missing from the Sharks squad and who shouldn’t be there? What’s the situation with Matt Stephens, the Wikipedia confirmed squad list has him as confirmed for 2016?
Props: Lourens Adriaanse, Beast Mtwarira, Thomas du Toit, Coenie Oosthuizen, Dale Chadwick, Mzamo Majola, Matt Stephens
Hookers: Franco Marais, Kyle Cooper, Monde Hadebe, Chris de Beer
Locks: Jacques Potgieter, Stephan Lewies, Marco Wentzel, Wiehan Hay, Giant Mtyanda, Etienne Oosthuizen, Dave McDuling
Flanks: Marcell Coetzee, Philip van der Walt,Jean-Luc du Preez, Dan du Preez, Khaya Majola, Franna Kleinhans, Jean Deysel
#8: Tera Mtembu, Renaldo Bothma
Scrum halves: Michael Claasens, Cobus Reinach, Stefan Ungerer
Fly halves: Pat Lambie, Lionel Cronje, Inny Radebe
Centres: Andre Esterhuizen, Marius Louw, Heimar Williams, Paul Jordaan
Wings: JP Pietersen, S’bura Sithole, Lwazi Mvovo, Wandile Mjekevu
Fullbacks: Willie Le Roux, Joe Pietersen, SP Marais, Garth April
@GreatSharksays (Comment 64) : Agreed if we can get chilli boy, and now seems like a great opportunity to do so, then do it. Young enough experienced enough and talented enough.
@coolfusion (Comment 66) : Also wanted to say maybe desperate enough to join sharks… but that would be mean…
@Baylion (Comment 65) : Matt Stevens has signed for Toulon.
@Baylion (Comment 65) : Why is Jacques Potgieter at lock? And JP Pietersen at fullback?
@war1 (Comment 69) : Joe Pietersen, not JP. And Jackpot played mostly at #4 for the Tahs
@war1 (Comment 68) : Thanks, it’s not showing on his Wiki profile
@Baylion (Comment 70) : Ah, I glanced too quickly. My bad. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Pottie play at 4 for the SHarks TBH.
@Baylion (Comment 70) : Your squad looks pretty complete, to my knowledge.
@war1 (Comment 72) : it’s not bad at all…. only name I would remove at this stage is that of SP Marais, if rumours are correct
@robdylan (Comment 73) : No names to add (according to rumours?)
@war1 (Comment 72) : Waylon Murray?
@robdylan (Comment 73) : And Etienne Oosthuizen, pretty please!
@war1 (Comment 68) : Anyone who still thinks that Gold has anything to offer as a coach should take into account that this is the same grossly overweight,asthmatic excuse for a player that Gold fielded week after week.
I am willing to bet that he was not hired for the world’s most expensive club in the chronic condition that Gold tolerated.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 64) : I would agree. Mark Pretorius has never really stepped up since his junior years. Another hooker with potential that struggled to make the step up to the seniors is Swys du Toit, now at the Pumas. I was impressed with him as a junior and when he started at UJ but somehow he never really made it
@robdylan (Comment 73) : Makes sense with probably both Joe Pietersen and Willie le Roux ahead of him in the pecking order.
@war1 (Comment 69) : Thank you. Hence I stated that we have a lock problem. Both 4 and 5.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 64) : I hear what your saying and i respect your opinion
however, i see it like this
I havnt seen chilli play of late, he looked solid in the games i watch of him in france (that could have been the roids lol, who know)
but his not better than any of the lions hookers who all looked solid at throwing and scrumming and are big okes
the fourth best option at the lions is Mark Pretorius, did you watch him play in 7/8, he looks as good if not better than marais. And marais is our best hooker
my concern is that if we go into SR with these three guys, they will play better as there is more quality players around then, but it will still be a glaring weakness
I was really hoping to see cooper step up, he played so well at one point they invited him to bok camp, but from what iv been told he was struggling with injuries this year, look for him to come back strong
wp have three good hooker options
bull hav struass
kings have edger and a few other lesser options from what iv seen
cheetahs have torsten !!
And if the lions offer us their fourth best in Mark Pretorius, take it !!
I hate when talented young players get sidelines for people over the hill, (smit blocked bissy)(matfield blocked lood for some time) but we need quality