The Sharks play a game in South America for the first time. Hope you’ve got a good cup of coffee on hand, because this one only kicks off at 22h40 SA time.
Jaguares: 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (captain), 1 Santiago García Botta.
Replacements: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.
Sharks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Patrick Lambie (captain), 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Mahlatse Ralepelle/Kyle Cooper, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Lubabalo Mtembu, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Garth April, 23 Sibusiso Sithole/Joe Pietersen.

GO SHARKS!!!!!
Actually looking forward to the late kick-off time. Kids in bed and with our late Autumn rain here in the Highveld, it’s gonna be hella cozy tonight.
@vanmartin (Comment 2) : ja but the problem is I must be quiet and that rarely happens when I watch a Sharks game! 😉
Coffee and chocolate biscuits…I wouldn’t stay up late for just any team, but for the Sharks I’ll do it. I see the Blues didn’t do us any favours; we’ll just have to pay the Lions back in kind later in the season, after all, they are are far from un-beatable. For now, merely focusing on the Sharks…
@SeanJeff (Comment 4) : yes for now all th Sharks must do is win preferably with a bonus point. Sharks must get at least 9 log out of the next two games.
What happened to Claassens? 🙁
No Claassens according to the TV team sheet…and no scrummie on the bench… 😯
So seemingly Claassens is not playing and Giant is on the bench?
And here we go…
@Ben (Comment 6) : @pastorshark (Comment 7) : Claassens must be sick or injured?!
Excellent start by the Sharks! Good pressure at the kickoff, maul…Sharks scrum…
Nope Giant is startng.
@JD (Comment 8) : Giant is starting.
Confirmed: No Claasens…Joe P is the backup scrummie…
@JD (Comment 8) : Yup, confirmed by Rob on twitter. Late injury I’m guessing.
Going to be a huge game for Ungerer as he will have to play the full 80.
Knock on by Sharks…sigh…
And Beast is penalised at the second scrum…
@Ben (Comment 13) : ja commentators got me.
@vanmartin (Comment 15) : Big loss…
And so the Sharks concedes the first scrum penalty!!
This time the Jaguars knock it…
@JD (Comment 19) : Hugh Bladen is a nut. He called Terra, Giant Mtembu. 🙄
All of the first three scrums have seen the front row go down…one penalty awarded…
A quick tap gets the Sharks an extra ten metres from a penalty and Lambie will now take a shot…
@Ben (Comment 23) : Yup…never believe what you hear Hugh say…
Lambie misses it to the right…not a great kick…
Ag kak…
@Ben (Comment 23) : ja was not really watching the screen just listening to commentary.
Really poor defence by the Sharks! Missed tackle by Dan, missed tackle by Daniel…try…
@pastorshark (Comment 28) : well said!!!! 7-0 to Jags.
7-0 Jaguars after 9 minutes…
Scrums has been a mess Sharks needs to settle!!!
This time the Sharks get the penalty at the scrum as the front rows go down AGAIN!
Lambie takes another shot…and this time he nails it…7-3 after 11 mins…
Great steal by the Jaguars fullback…then the Sharks steal it back through Deysel…
Nice play by the Sharks…Ungerer looking good so far…
Very adventurous by the Sharks and they get a penalty…
Lambie nails it and it is 7-6 after 15 mins…
One Sharks player looks completely out…
TMO…double movement surely…
Marius van der Westhuizen is a total toss!! A total useless toss who doesn’t know his rules…the Jaguars players is clearly short!! TMO says no try…van der Merwe awards it because he says the player didn’t move the ball forward himself…
WTF?!?!?
Just useless!!! Just a useless referee…
@pastorshark (Comment 42) : Always been anti sharks, will never change, we’ve beaten better teams against him………..
Unbelievable…
@pastorshark (Comment 42) : He’s a bloody retard!
This ref is such an amateur.
Nonetheless, biggest issue for the sharks has been really piss-poor one on one defence. Fatigue?
@jdolivier (Comment 45) : Sure…he remains a tool though…what the hell was that?!
Can anyone please explain to me how that was a try?
Well Lambie is showing his class!!!
@Die Kriek (Comment 50) : Because marius vd westhuizen is the ref
@Big Fish (Comment 48) : @Ben (Comment 47) : @Die Kriek (Comment 50) : I am flipping fuming…how can a useless twit like that referee at this level? Oh my word!!
@pastorshark (Comment 53) : 2012,2013 and 2014. Every time we get any momentum in the season we get this special individual to ruin the progress, some things never change
In between all that Ralapele is on…
Lambie kicks a penalty to make it 14-9…
Sharks get another penalty…warning to the Jaguars…
That makes it 14-12 on the half hour…
Sharks get another penalty at the scrum…
Deysel injured in a ridiculous tackle and the ref does not do a thing!!
That is a red card…Marius van der Westhuizen you *#%&!!!!
Soooooo dangerous and Marius does sweet blow all…I cannot believe it. Deysel has a neck injury because of that!!! Red card offence…and Marius doesn’t even call for the TMO…WHAT THE RIGHT ROYAL HELL?!?!
Jeez, these Argies with their music and disco lights! A guy just suffered a serious injury. Also, notice the music blurring while we need to make lineout calls?
Of course Argentine Tv now shows highlights of the whole bloody game in order not to show a replay…
Really hope Deysel is ok as that was awful!!!
@pastorshark (Comment 61) : So first try, 50/50 for forward pass, second try marius the idiot. And deysel taken out red card fashion……….ref having a man of the match performance
The Argentine captain is very lucky to still be on the field…
Now a yellow to Matera…
Well well well a yellow to Jags!!! Let’s see ifnthe Sharksncan score!
At least there haven’t been lasers shone in the players eyes yet..
Dan scores…after another 72 penalty infringements in one move… 😯
Good work by Keegan and Dan du Preez score!!! Great work Sharks!!!
Great kick by Pat makes it 14-19 to the Sharks…
Still absolutely mind-boggled that van der Westhuizen did not even look at a replay of that incident!! Mein Gott!! Interested to see what the citing commissioner has to say…
Marius is not going to be able to handle this crowd, is he? Mind you…his reffing cannot possibly get worse!
Penalty Jaguars makes it 17-19…
Great play by Keegan there…
I am shocked…Marius spotted a forward pass…
Half time…17-19…
Sharks lucky to be leading
Do the haguaarez not know the rules, or do they simply not care to follow it?
@RuckingFun (Comment 80) : What?! Do you mean lucky that Marius hasn’t done more damage? I think the boys have done very well to be leading under the circumstances…
@pastorshark (Comment 77) : Keegan has been good tonight!!! and Pat what can I say?!?! Class is permanent!!!!!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 81) : Or do they know that they have a ref who does nkt know the rules or simply does not care to blow according to them?
@pastorshark (Comment 78) : And obstruction! 😯
@RuckingFun (Comment 80) : @pastorshark (Comment 82) : scrappy match! Sharks is really playing in patches but has shown guts to come back and lead half-time.
We need to make our first time tackles. Come on, Sharks!
@pastorshark (Comment 61) : Ja, Any other ref would have sent Creevy off, or at the very least penalised him for the dangerous tackle. Let’s hope Marius tightens things up in the second half.
@SeanJeff (Comment 88) : Maybe Gold visits him at half time….convinces him to see things our way. 😉
@SeanJeff (Comment 88) : Or at the very bloody least looked at a replay!!!!
The Jaguares look really impressive ball in hand, but those Judo tackles are really dangerous. Surely that can’t be legal.
Ref aside, we need to improve at the line outs and keep our concentration when on defence. We’ve given far too many soft metres and points.
I’d also like to see a bit more variation on attack – that has been April’s hallmark and forte.
A 1point victory will be good enough for me….an Apache side tonight – very little continuity from last weekend’s side, and last minute Claasen sub (no clarity on why).
@Big Fish (Comment 92) : for sure seems as if the Sharks go to sleep and then awakes to tackle them again.
@Big Fish (Comment 92) :
Although to be fair, part of the reason we are struggling on attack is the fact that the Jaguares seem to believe that they will also be governeded by the Richie McCaw rules of rugby. Ref may need to flash another card soon. Doubt that he has the cojones.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 93) : Really risky not too have taken another scrumhalf along.
If one of the jags players get motm they should be awarded a rule book instead of a phone
If i can trust the commentators Adiaanse is on.
Marius just has no clue about the rules of the game…a Jaguar knocks the ball…another Jaguar plays it from a completely off sides position…play on…no knock, no offsides…
@Big Fish (Comment 92) : True…
The Jag holds that ball for 10,seconds…no holding…I think I need to go to bed…
Stolen by Lewies…knocked by Tera…
Players need to be more physical at the contact points. Jags are making too many metres in the tackle.
Wow…missed kick by the Jaguars…that should have put them into the lead…
Penalty Sharks…
Nice little bit of ref management by Keegan there…let’s see whether it makes any difference with this palooka…
@pastorshark (Comment 104) : Justice
Argie scrumhalf has been good but gifts Lambie 3 points via a really crap box kick.
Lambie nails the kick and it is 17-22 after 50 mins…
EO is on for Giant…
First time Marius picks up the Argies in front of the kicker
How the hell can the ref say he can leave it if 1 or 2 players are in front of the kickoff?!?!?!
Marius blows the Jaguars for being in front of the kicker…then says to the Jaguar player…I can allow you to be 1 or 2 in front…but that was 5…really?! REALLY?! REALLY MARIUS!? I thought in front of the kicker is in front of the kicker…
Sharks kicking a bit too much, but probably because they have not been able to put together more than 5 phases on attack.
@Bokhoring (Comment 111) : Well, his explanation showed us why…this time it was too much in front…just a little in front is ok apparently…
No penalties for holding on?
Beast off, Chadwick on…
@Bokhoring (Comment 116) : Well…Marius does do his thing doesn’t he…
Second mistake by Pat in a couple of minutes, sign that he’s getting tired?
Do you think he received a wine farm in Buenos Aires?????? For the love of all things fair, are we not even allowed to steal the ball on the ground
@pastorshark (Comment 118) : He seems to be making up the rules as he goes along.
Sharks scrum under the kosh…Jaguars penalty…they take another scrum…come on men!
Sharks scrum now being demolished.
@Bokhoring (Comment 121) : Making up implies a modicum of intelligence…I think you give him too much credit!
Another scrum penalty…another scrum…
Another scrum penalty…and another scrum…
Come on, men…big scrum!!
Chadwick is shit he’s never been anything better than average. FFS
Good scrum Sharks and they turn it over!!
Sharks survive and get the turnover scrum.
Now concentrate on the next scrum!!
Sharks get a free kick…phew…
Sharks have been really lucky there.
Sharks steal that lineout ball…
Great play at the breakdown by the Sharks but they spoil it with a knock on in the next phase…ARGH!!
Sharks in a good position but cannot hold onto the ball. Ends with Jag penalty on our 22.
Jags back in our 22.
@Bokhoring (Comment 136) : ARGH! COME ON…
Great maul defence by the Sharks…our scrum…
Good maul defence and get the scrum.
Oh look, Creevy is off…waving in pride, instead of in red card shame…but there we are…
Marius van der guesshuizen, not sure about the rules…..he makes a guess on how to do it
Marius…you are so kak! How is that a Jaguars penalty? HOW?!
And Marius gives the scrum penalty to the Argies. Back to defending our line again.
He has no clue…
Come on…play Sharks…for pete’s sake…
We need to hold onto the damn ball
5 bloody movements there…bet he’ll award it again!!
That should be a penalty for crawling.
How was that not a penalty for a triple movement???
F*&%!!!!! HOW CAN THAT BE HELD UP IF HE HAS MOVED THREE BLOODY TIMES!!! THAT SHOULD BE A PENALTY SHARKS!!! AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!
@Big Fish (Comment 150) : AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
It has been a long time since I have seen such utter rubbish reffing!!!!
And now Sithole is carded for offside
Sithole yellow carded…without a warning first…
Keegan getting kicked in the face there.
Jags have finally scored…shkt!
Eventually the wall breaks. Sharks needs to get their hands on the ball and keep it.
22 all.
It should have been a penalty to us 5 bloody minutes ago…flipping hell…
Keegan kicked in the face…TMO SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING…
Now let’s see what the Sharks has left?!?!
Ok, what rule book is this poephol using? Because it’s not the IRB version
Fuck we can’t kick all the balls away and expect to win!!!
@JD (Comment 162) : I have nothing left…other than utter contempt for these match officials…I’m sorry, it is almost criminal…
Kick from Lambie marked by Tuculet and we back in our half.
Anyone see how we are being screwed by kicks for touch
OFFSIDES MARIUS!!
Joe looking good at 9!!!
@jdolivier (Comment 167) : We’re being screwed almost everywhere!!
Sharks not really going anywhere. Joe P actually doing well at 9.
3 minutes to go…22-22…
Great scrum Sharks…GREAT SCRUM…earns them a penalty!!
@JD (Comment 169) : 2 injuries, in the same position – worse case scenario came true.
Sharks scrum getting a penalty.
Go Lambie!
@pastorshark (Comment 173) : Give it to Joe….give it to Joe
Take your time Pat…take your time…
25-22
Jaaaa…now wind down the clock!!
Hold on Sharks
Wind it down…don’t kick it to them!!!
OBSTRUCTION MARIUS!!!
So obvious and he doesn’t blow it…meine Güte…
Sharks WIIIIN!!!!
SHARKS WIN!!!
Fucking well done, Sharks! Under the circumstances…
Sharks hang on by their fingernails to win.
Put that in your idiot pipe and smoke it, Marius van der Westhuizen…
Sharks were lucky, well done though
@Ben (Comment 187) : Exactly that…
@pastorshark (Comment 184) : lots of obvious stuff missed by him but glad the Sharks got the victory!!!
Will take the win….especially considering our scrumhalf crisis, mixing and matching of the forwards, and air miles racked up over the past 5 weeks.
Sharks were very flat tonight but with that schedule and last week’s game can’t blame them.
Don’t know what we were thinking kicking the ball back to them with 10 seconds left to go.
Sorry about my ranting…but that was the right royally kak kakker kakkest reffing performance I have seen in a while…
@Ben (Comment 195) : 😯 I was like WHAT!!?!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 193) : what crises? Joe was quick and accurate at 9.
Next week, the Kings
@pastorshark (Comment 196) : Me too.
@JD (Comment 192) : Well that…and that he obviously doesn’t know even the most basic of rules…and then makes up other stuff…and actually says to players “Well, you can do it a little bit wrong…just don’t do it too much!!” Just terrible…
@JD (Comment 198) : Joe for 9,showed how bad Undergraduate really is
Wow, Marius was not good today. So glad we had the gumption to hang on. Sharks aren’t easy to beat with the old ugly stick. The biggest loss so far was against the Lions – a 15 point difference. Well, we owe them when we see them next.
@pastorshark (Comment 196) : Haven’t screamed and sworn like this in a loooong time, we should insist on Ben o’keefe as ref for the remainder of the season. Sure he too makes mistakes at least he is fair. This idiot nullified all momentum by allowing the argies to do whatever they like in the rucks. Then stopped us whenever we competed on the ground. Rant forgiven. Here is mine
@Ben (Comment 200) : I know we’ve had a debate about the French refs being worse…but none of them can be worse than this pillock!!
@Ben (Comment 195) : Yeah – that could have gone really badly. The Argies were really good with ball in hand. They keep the ball alive very well. Lucky for us they do give away a lot of penalties.
@JD (Comment 198) : Might have been quicker than Ungerer….but we missed Classes.
Ungerer’s kicking was quite good actually, very rarely (if ever) did his kicks drift into opposition 22, sadly our players seemed too fatigued to give serious chase.
@pastorshark (Comment 201) : What was he on about after the kickoff? Saying 5 was in front of the kicker, but he would let it go if it was 1 or 2? 🙄
@Ben (Comment 195) :
@pastorshark (Comment 196) : for sure so can’t blame you you!!! This side it’s a miracle that I managed to keep quite during this all as the rest of the household is asleep and would have killed me and probably stripped me of all remote privileges for the rest of the season if I woke them.
Hats off to our forwards for that last scrum!! Brilliant stuff…
@Ben (Comment 195) : Ja, reminds me of a game against province that took us to the low road in SR2014? Not kicking to province would have been better on that occasion. On this occasion, we were lucky. @FireTheLooser (Comment 193) : Yes, but Gold was smart to keep Lambie on the whole game, all respect to April, because Lambie was the guy to take that kick at the end. Solid
@Ben (Comment 208) : I mean…wow!! 😯 He should be drawn over hot coals for that by his assessor…
Great win considering our harrowing travel schedule. Many top quality, exerienced teams would have withered in the last 20 in Argentina. Another victory based on fitness and character…
Lot of hard yards put in by many lads, but big shout out to Joe P – how many backs can do a solid SR-level job at 15, wing, 10 AND 9???
Also have to call out Daniel and Pat for being 2 vital cogs tonight.
@Ben (Comment 208) : yup he’ll allow up to 2 jags to be offsides but cannot justify 5 of them offsides with no penalty.
@benji (Comment 202) : ja sad but true!!!
Good night folks…big day tomorrow…let’s see whether my blood pressure has come down enough to be able to fall asleep!
Who got man of the match?
@jdolivier (Comment 204) : had to keep it bottled up as the rest of the household is asleep!!! Fuck he was pathetic!!!
@pastorshark (Comment 213) : not to dissimilar to a double movement actually requires 5 movements?
@gregkaos (Comment 215) : Just wow… 😯 👿
@gregkaos (Comment 220) : There was one with 5 movements that he didn’t blow, wasn’t there? 😀
@Ben (Comment 218) : the ref he was by far the best Jaguars player on the field!!!
@Ben (Comment 218) : They didn’t show us here…
Well done boys. Felt like I was watching test rugby there. Nerves are shot but super proud of that effort. Hope it’s nothing serious for Deysel!
Really feel bad for Sithole. He gets a rare 10 minutes to play and then he gets sent off by this fool. Ref never warned us about repeated offside infringements. 🙄
@gregkaos (Comment 220) : @pastorshark (Comment 222) : FFS the guy crawled to the try line. That was about 15 movements and was not penalised1!!!
Hope Deysel as Claassens are okay.
@vanmartin (Comment 225) : Good comment van…and with that I will sign off. Well done, Sharks…please be ok, Jean…
Good night…
@JD (Comment 227) : Anyways, we could rack up 500 more comments if we had to name all the mistakes that Marius made. 🙄
@Ben (Comment 226) : to be honest from the one replay he did not even looked offside (but it could be my Sharks biast view)!!!
@pastorshark (Comment 229) : Good night Pastor.
@Ben (Comment 230) : ja way easier and shorter to mention his correct decisions like blowing the final whistle!!!! 😉
Hope JD is OK. And the injury doesnt keep him away too long. In my opinion he was starting to find good form, the form that we got to know him for….
Respect big man!!!
Well done sharks!!! Excellent win considering the schedule the guys had to overcome the last couple of weeks.
Pat’s post match interview summed it up..
@SharksRTB (Comment 234) : I’m fine….. oh wait you were referring to Jean Deysel. Ja that was awful and i hope and pray he’s ok!
@SharksRTB (Comment 235) : yes now to take a bonus point victory against the Kings and then a month or so break for most of the guys!!!
@JD (Comment 219) : Pathetic is an improvement for this fool. Reminds me of the tappet henning days of biased refereeing
Pray for a speedy recovery to JD. Well done to the boys. Really had to dig deep for that one. Was pissed off when Giant was taken off but boy did EO have a huge impact. Extremely happy with Ungerer’s performance. Service was quick and crisp…just the way I like it. Well done young man keep it up. Also thought Joe was super when he came on. Absolutely beautiful service. See that the guys are starting to run with the ball now. Gary must have changed his philosophy.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 239) : it’s all about deciding when to kickand when to run that’s important!
@jdolivier (Comment 238) : tappa is probably his role model!
@JD (Comment 240) : No, it’s about momentum rugby, giving your backline that one or two seconds to take advantage of defensive lapses, being the second or third receiver to the breakdown and clearing the ball without have to send numbers to secure the ball therefore ensure you have more players on their feet to receive the ball, give the ball carrier options on attack. It’s the difference between attacking rugby or defensive rugby. Playing philosophy.
I see Creevy and Senatore are both cited,bit late,but it helps. Daniel was pleading with the damn ref to take a look for foul play,but he refused and said something like noone saw anything,couldn’t quite hear. But why the heck could he not ask the tmo! Biting is a serious accusation and he could have gone to the tmo for that!
Then ge would have had to cancel the try and he wasny doing that – whats more frustrating is that there is tv evidence
@HeinF (Comment 243) : Citing commissioner stated that both incidents warranted red cards. Wonder when refferees will start getting cards for pathetic performances. One rediculous decision, yellow and one match ban, 2 like last night and red, 3 to 5 match ban.
@byron (Comment 244) : He gifted them 2 tries last night, also denied us any momentum in the 2nd half. We had no possession due to his law interpretations in the rucks. Just watched it again. The argies were off their feet, coming in from the side and slowing down the ball each ruck. Not even starting on the 16 times they were clearly offside
@jdolivier (Comment 245) : And there is the problem there is no disciplinary comitee for refs. No way for players and unions to object no way to ensure refs are competent to do the job. At least no mechanism that actually works. The when a coach gets frustrated and upset because he cannot get justice and resorts to taking matters in his own hands there is very swift and severe justice against him.
@jdolivier (Comment 246) : They showed absolute disregard for the rules of the game….the quality of refereeing would show vast improvement, when the players on the field show a slight interest in obeying the rules….sadly with this Hagoooaaaarezz side, that will only happen when the ref throws the law book at them.
Sharks need to find ways to negate such blatant disregard for the rules….clear out anyone that hangs within 1m of a ruck.
@coolfusion (Comment 247) : They are allowed to ruin teams seasons, this is the business end of the tournament a win now is worth more than anything. So if Lambie had missed the kick we would have lost 2 log points. Thus ending our revival. Also the jaguares would have been with 14 from 46min and 13 from 69min had he been fair.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 248) : Any other ref and we would, if we tried that last night, Marius van der guesshuizen would have carded us for playing legally. How rediculous was the card on Sithole
Sharks did realy well considering this is was a full argies pack
@JD (Comment 241) : Or illegitimate dad by the quality of refereeing
He completely ignored evidence of a bite… do you think he was going to penalise tge argies for anything
Do yourselves a favour to get the blood boiling again and read Gavin Riches’ write up on supershit.com he actually tries to make it seem that we did not deserve the win
Wonder how Claassens got injured ,getting off the plane?
Seriously there is something a little not right about that,if he had a niggle before he went they would have taken extra cover.
@jdolivier (Comment 254) : Off course he would ,just like that turkey Shimange’s comment during the game that the Stormers poor performance was due to their rhythm being severely disrupted by having to endure a bye last week.
Shit as if this tournament is not biased enough.
@The hound (Comment 256) : Funny how the bye weekend had the polar opposite effect on the Lions.
But, Shimange is the UCT coach…..says it all really.
Hands in the ruck, offsides, not releasing after the tackle, foul play, poor game management from referee. This game had it all and the Sharks’ composure still ensured the win. I don’t care what anyone tells you or writes about the Sharks after the game, this was a significant and well-deserved victory for the team.
Rob has confirmed on Twitter that Jean Deysel is going to be fine. Thank goodness!
Patrick Lambie has ice water coursing through his veins…!
@The hound (Comment 256) : Emotional topic, but the biased against the sharks from supershit the last 2 years is urking the cap out of me. The writeups and commentators openly dislike our team. And the streamers get the world’s praise, for what?
@jdolivier (Comment 261) : Lately I’ve found Keo’s articles more balanced than most of the opinion pieces on SuperSport. Don’t read either site very often but if I had to pick, it would be SA Rugby Mag.
@jdolivier (Comment 245) : And in his case,it’s a pathetic performance week after week. He made bad calls both ways,but ours were more expensive. Even the jag’s last try came from a scrum penalty where they just wheeled it around,they definitely were never close to first going forward. All in all,really one of the worse and most confusing displays I have seen from an official in a while…
@vanmartin (Comment 259) : That is some really good news!
@HeinF (Comment 263) : Now that you mention it, I remember a few times when the Jaguares prop’s arm was sticking out of the scrum because he was angling in even before the scrum was set; of course the Sharks were penalised for wheeling the scrum. Marius’ interpretations irritated the heck out of me
Before all those Bambie worshippers get upset,my view is GA is the real deal,he has a much higher skill and rugby kop level and kicks way further,Sharks run sideways constantly with Bambie,he shovels ball along while GA always gets go forward,attacks gain line through reading best option,he a young EJ
@benji (Comment 266) : only problem is April is only a year younger than Pat and Elton.
@vanmartin (Comment 259) : @HeinF (Comment 264) : that’s really good news!!!
@benji (Comment 266) : Wonder how well April will do with Joe P feeding him from 9.
@HeinF (Comment 263) : We won against all odds……this team is restoring the pride in the jersey. Very soon we will be a team to be feared and now the world can see we will do it against 18 if need be
After the multiple scrum penalties on our line, our forwards turned over the next scrum and we’re superb from then on, dominating the opposition. Chadwick was excellent in every scrum, and the last scrum penalty against us that led to their last try was a joke. We wheeled the scrum perfectly legally, even the commentators were surprised about the call. Should have been a Sharks scrum at a minimum. Great heart showed by our boys. This is far more than I expected this year.
@benji (Comment 266) : Sorry, but as well as April has been playing, if you would rather have April take that last kick than Lambie, you’re quite simply wrong.
@benji (Comment 266) : You can’t be more wrong.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 272) :
This dude has had an issue with Lambie from day 1. Initially it used to be that Zeilinga was the Special One being hard done by the continual selection of Lambie. It’s just the victim who has now changed.
I think April is a great talent and a bit of a fairytale, but I’m damn happy that Pat was on the field yesterday.
@jdolivier (Comment 270) : Plus add the two citings of Creevy and Senatore which the citing commissioner waranted as red card offences, to the entire pathetic VD Westhuizen performance. Also how did he decide the Landajo try should stand when TMO said no try..My blood boils again after watching the game again. Hats off gents! Pride and guts. I wonder what Omar told the forwards when brought water on just after team had been given final scrum warning….
@benji (Comment 266) : If single-minded criticism of Pat Lambie was an Olympic sporting event, I’m sure the judges would feel compelled to award you the gold, silver and bronze medals. Sheesh…
@Kabouter (Comment 275) : Vd guesshuizen as he shall henceforth be known. Sharks playing well might score, guess again. Opposing team cheats, tmo denies try, guess again. Not sure about the rules, let me guess what to do
Am I the only one not convinced that Ungerer is the way forward? His service is a lot like Reinach’s and things really started flowing when Joe replaced him. Some of his kicks were good, but that’s about all.
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 278) : To some extent, yes. Ungerer was better this week than last week against the Hurricanes. Having said that, coming back up top SR is a step up in intensity and the need for accuracy, and a certain quality that I call ‘being ball-sy’. He’ll get better. Still, Claassens is the guy for now – oodles of experience.
@jdolivier (Comment 270) : Almost everything was against them last night,but they made it. Not the the jaguars played bad rugby (how legal they played it, we can definitely debate), but they made it difficult for us, but we came back to win it. In the end, they just wanted it more, they played hard and with discipline. Everyone did what they needed to, whether it was defend, stand tall in the scrum and win a penalty, or kick the penalties under pressure, the team played well. You could see the way everyone congratulated each other after the win how much it meant for them to win this one
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 278) : He lacks Reinach’s X-factor and Claassens class, but he did not do too badly for someone who has not really played at this level and probably had very little warning that he was going to start. He is nowhere near the form he had before. If he can rediscover that, he will definitely make it at this level. Luckilly we have Rob du Preez, hopefully he can help sort him out. If only we had Hoffman while Ungerer was rediscovering his form
@Big Fish (Comment 274) : I know, I don’t want to take anything away from April, but as Lambie showed with that long distance penalty to beat the All Blacks, he has massive BMT is ice cold under pressure. April is great attacking the line but let’s not forget he did miss the conversion at the end of the half last week that would have put the sharks in the lead. Why anyone would rather have him take that last kick rather than Pat is just beyond me.
@benji (Comment 266) : LAMBIE is one of the most intelligent rugby players in the world . Only because April has a good step and can brake a line now and then doesn’t mean his the best. The thing that divides Lambie from the other Flyhalfs is his ability to make good decisions in high pressure situations .Yes maybe April can beat someone one on one but can he read a game and know when to be flat,deep, attack space , etc…
@benji (Comment 266) : When last did Lambie have a bad season he is way more consistent than EJ . EJ had a shit time at the stormers and was not even the number 1 flyhalf at the lions when Boshoff was in form . HE only recently picked up some form
@schrodingers cat (Comment 283) : I think we are fortunate to have both April and Lambie, would April have made the last kick, probably not, would he have created a try thus not needing the pressure kick, very likely. The both of them have different styles. Lambie is without a doubt the military genius type fly half, where April is more a Spencer type where he can make magic happen from nothing. Gold just has to pick which opposition he wants to run at (ie kings using April) or control the game and live off the mistakes caused by frustration due to tactical control (lions using lambie)
How great is it to be a Sharks supporter currently with the promise this team has
@FireTheLooser (Comment 248) : That is exactly how the Kiwis do it – clean way past the ball.
@jdolivier (Comment 285) : Very likely April would have created a try??? Don’t forget the sharks were a man down in the backs at that point, it would have been very difficult for April to create anything at best. Our best shot was exactly what we did, work a penalty and have Ice Lambie kick the three points.
@Bokhoring (Comment 286) : It ticks me off no end that Kiwis get away with this all the time…Richie’s rules.
@Bokhoring (Comment 286) : Against teams like the Jaguars, you need to impose your will at the breakdown, especially when you have a ref like Marius.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 289) : Unfortunately in rugby you have to play to the ref’s interpretation of the rules. The Kiwi / Aussie teams do this in a very subtle way, whereas SA teams either don’t or push the boundaries too blatantly.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 272) : @Big Fish (Comment 274) : for sure! Pat just looked so comfortable and calm!
@HeinF (Comment 281) : hahaha ja Boer really funny!!! Think I’d rather have Joe at 9!!!
@jdolivier (Comment 285) : we are fortunate to have quality fly halfs and we also have that skinny kid from the EP
@HeinF (Comment 243) : The Keegan incident I can sort of understand…can the ref refer on the basis of a player saying something to him? But the Deysel incident for me is almost unforgivable…he saw it, he saw that it caused a neck injury, he was addressed about it by one of the touchies…but said he was happy and didn’t refer. If it was referred there was only one conclusion: red card! In my book that should be a serious blot on his scorecard…
@jdolivier (Comment 246) : Not releasing the tackler…the list goes on…
And you missed the point he made so clearly on the effects mic: Those 16 times only a few players were offsides. He only starts to blow them when 5 or more are offsides or in front of the kicker!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 248) : Of course it would help if the ref KNEW the rule book and applied it accurately…two things I don’t think MvdW is capable of! If he just blew them they would stop….
@jdolivier (Comment 250) : Crazy…no warning…no repeated transgression…the only thing he rightly addressed was our front row and warned them…but then cards the winger for a simple offsides…mind blown!
@jdolivier (Comment 254) : No thanks…
As you might be able to gather from my comments in this thread, my view of MvdW refereeing performance is…ummm…colourful…and strong…not acceptable. Of course, nothing will be done. This game I love is making me cynical! Anyway, consider it now flushed (almost) out of my system…
@vanmartin (Comment 258) : Significant and well-deserved and one that stirs the rebel spirit in me and makes me not just a little proud!
@vanmartin (Comment 259) : Thank goodness! I am very glad to hear that…
@pastorshark (Comment 299) : You should have a read at what the streamers-sours has to say about the citings….sheesh they’re bitter after their team basically emulated the Boks 2015 rwc loss against Japan.
Fun to remember that our team won in spite of the man-child with the whistle, and their “bok” team merely salvaged a draw against the 2016 flogging boys….bet they’re thankful to only play the Kings once 🙂
@Big Fish (Comment 274) : This…
@Culling Song (Comment 276) :
@FireTheLooser (Comment 302) : I enjoyed that comment…
@jdolivier (Comment 285) : Well done. Very mature response to all the crap that people write here. Would have given a rough response but your mature diplomatic response wins hands down.
@vanmartin (Comment 259) : That’s a miracle of note. Will interpret fine as that it’s not serious? Swelling which will go down in a week or two?
@pastorshark (Comment 294) : Especially after the citing commissioner decided that both incidents had met the red card threshold. So how can one ref decide an action deserves a red card, and the other does not even hand out a penalty?
@vanmartin (Comment 259) : Thank goodness. The way Jean landed on his neck that incident could have turned out very badly. The Argies did the exact same thing to Dan earlier in the game but fortunately he rolled over as he landed. These judo tackles are as bad as the worst spear tackle in my book.
@pastorshark (Comment 294) : I have seen a ref refer a similar incident to the TMO, granted the player showed him his arm and I suppose there were marks that convinced the ref to ask the TMO to take a look. So I am not sure if he can or even would refer the incident, but I have enough other reasons not to be happy with the ref, so I am going to add this one anyway 😉
Don’t know if I’m late but I see Creevy and Senatore were cited.
@Culling Song (Comment 260) : I know many people are angry that April did not get time. But in a situation like this where you don’t know what to expect or you do know to expect lots of negative play and play outside the rules and the norm you MUST have the level head of Lambie steering. I also was calling for Lambo to come in off the bench, but Gold made the right decision. Now the guys and have a proper go of it in this game just before the rest period. A loss under these pressures could have set April back quite a bit. Let’s not forget he is only recently finding form.
@coolfusion (Comment 312) : Meant to say now the guys have weathered it and can have a proper go if the game just before the rest period.
I think this was a great win by the Sharks…playing in Arg is never easy- just ask the Chiefs. Those Argies are massively strong in the tackle and ruck area…would love to have a bit of a knowledge exchange with them in that regard. Yes they arent always on the legal side of things but they get away with more often than not and really stifle teams attack. This was definitely a very disrupted game for the Sharks and ive seen more experienced Sharks side lose their way with far fewer distractions…so really good result in that regard. Id love to find place for both Lambie and April in the side…just not sure how. Ungerer i thought was better until Pieterson came on…his little cameo was pretty much the best ive seen him play in 2 years. Some guys could definitely do with a rest against the Kings this weekend…so lets see the selections go. And how fit is Andre Esterhuizen that he just keeps churning out the 80minutes…
@SheldonK (Comment 314) : How good was Joe P at 9? Granted it was only a short stint, but I have not seen such a bullet pass from a Sharks scrummy since Cam Wright in his first Currie Cup game.
Yowser, I wonder what odds a punter, could get at the bookies for picking the Sharks to win in Argentina but also losing the try count 3 to 1. Pretty good Id guess.
I have too agree, Lambie needs to up his interplay, GA really does light up the backline way more. Lambie reminds me of MS lately.
It was a try people, the player came up short but his team mates pushed him over the line, like a frigging wheelbarrow, they did….crazy punter.
@Uli Boelie (Comment 317) : Did you actually watch the game,sheet bru that is such a spiteful comment,the guy scored 20points.
@Bokhoring (Comment 315) : He had a good pass, was quick to each breakdown, even sniped a few times. When a guy who doesnt play scrummy tries to do that job he often knocks on at the base or his pass is behind the man…that definitely wasnt the case for Joe. I was worried when they subbed Ungerer but those fears soon came to pass. I just wonder what they would have done if it was a prop and not a scrummy that got injured before the game? Very high risk not taking enough cover.
@Uli Boelie (Comment 317) : If the conditions of the two games were the same you could make that comment. Personally I wish April could have started under these conditions just to prove a point. Unfortunately if we did have Garth starting we would probably have been staring at a loss instead of a win this week.
@Uli Boelie (Comment 317) : @The hound (Comment 319) : @coolfusion (Comment 321) : well what do you expect he was forced into that style of play for the past 4 years by HM! Can’t expect him to now all of a sudden change into the old Pat just because HM no longer coaches the bokke.
@SheldonK (Comment 320) : I’m sure Rob said they had an extra prop and hooker in Argentina.
@SheldonK (Comment 314) : @Bokhoring (Comment 315) : ja Joe P had a great game at 9. Would love to know if he ever played 9 before even if it was at school?!
@GreatSharksays (Comment 306) : Thanks for the acknowledgement
@JD (Comment 322) : My opinion is that we are measuring 2 good games by April which occurred under totally different circumstances and environment with this one lie played. You have to agree that this game had way more adverse circumstances starting with our star scrumhalf withdrawing even before the game started and Lambie having to play next to an untested and very junior partner who has at best been mediocre. We played a game riddled with bad calls and a side who always takes full advantage of negative play and questionable tactics. Out forward pack did not have the same momentum as last week. All of this translates to immense pressure on the pivots. All this pressure was expertly absorbed by Lambie. My comment is that I don’t think April would have absorbed it as well and secondly would not have had the freedom he had in his previous match to play such a sparkling game. Nor would I want April to be put in that position. He is just coming into his own. Having a few setbacks might just do him more harm than good. Better let the seasoned man ( Lambie) take these adverse games and give April more room and time to grow. I’ve seen what too much confidence damage does to good prospects…remember Fred Zeilinga?
@JD (Comment 323) : Would have loved to know who they were? As far as i know they took just enough to cover the starting and bench props and hooker.
@SheldonK (Comment 327) : Kyle Cooper made the trip to Arg, so we had a third Hooker, but we only brought 4 props.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 328) : I didnt know Cooper went with. But that still means if a prop went down like Claasens did the Sharks would have been in trouble
@SheldonK (Comment 329) : I agree, perhaps Gold was planning on filling in at prop if needed.
@Dancing Bear (Comment 330) : Now that would have got a good few youtube hits…
@SheldonK (Comment 327) : @Dancing Bear (Comment 328) : yes I do know they took over 25/26 players. Cooper was there just not sure who the prop was or thinking about it now if only 25 players went over they did not take an extra prop?!?!
@Dancing Bear (Comment 330) : Cooper can cover prop and flanker. .. remember last year?
@JD (Comment 332) : Considering Thomas, Schoeman, Engelbrecht were playing CC in SA im not sure who else could have been there? I think they only took 4 and gambled
@coolfusion (Comment 333) : I have never seen him scrum at prop?
@coolfusion (Comment 333) : yes I know he tried prop but without any disrespect to him I can’t see him being able to cover prop in Super rugby!
@SheldonK (Comment 334) : ja checking team sheet and total players going to Argentina I also just came to that conclusion. Very lucky that a prop did not go before the game down!!!!
@JD (Comment 337) : I wonder what would have happened if an injury occurred in the warm up? Obviously cant fly anyone out then…but its a requirement to have a full front row on the bench
@SheldonK (Comment 335) : Tongue in cheek reference to last year when he was sent to cover hooker and flanker. I’m not serious about him being a prop. Technically he could but I have never seen any reference to him ever playing there never mind see him scrum at prop.
@coolfusion (Comment 339) : Ah i thought i was about to learn something new 🙁 haha But yeh it again raises my question about what would have happened had a prop got injured in the warm up?
I can’t even believe people are even comparing April to Lambie. 😯 2 good games and a little pre-season hype and it’s the second coming. Which one has been performing for the Sharks for years, winning Curry Cup finals almost single handedly (hand in Schalk Burgers face!), Superugby playoff games when April was only dreaming of Vodacom Cup! All while remembering Lambie is only ONE year older…
This is not an attack on April, I like him. I’m rooting for him. But who will be calling for his head after the first bad game? Just Curb your enthusiasm and remember who has done the business. Its not like Lambie was ever dropped because he was playing badly. 😐
@SheldonK (Comment 338) : Kyle would have probably benched as a prop.
@JD (Comment 342) : I just wonder if he can actually scrum at prop? And would he…i mean if he doesnt know what he is doing it could lead to injury and loss of career. Remember it wouldnt be uncontested scrums if he had come on. I just think it was an all round risky decision not to take a 3rd scrummy and 5th prop on tour.
@SheldonK (Comment 343) : ja for me it was madness to travel to Argentina without an extra prop and scrummy and I think the Sharks was very lucky to get away with it! As for Kyle at prop can’t see him last more than one scrum at Super rugby level!
@JD (Comment 344) : I just wonder what the reason was to take that risk…
@SheldonK (Comment 345) : ja not really sure maybe they knew Joe could cover 9 but why they would risk it without an extra prop is a very good question?!?!
@JD (Comment 346) : I mean i get that it was only 1 game and they wanted to give the 2nd string guys a run in the CC but then surely at least take like an u21 guy to bench…he would love the experience and could carry kit bags etc and if there is an emergency well then he can cover. But seems they decided to just roll the dice. If Ungerer had gotten injured early on im not sure how it all would have turned out
@SheldonK (Comment 347) : ja they rolled the dice and was very lucky! Hope the luck last long enough to get them into playoffs!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 269) : devastating
@Big Fish (Comment 274) : no mate Bambie has been at 10since 2009,he is what he is,he ain’t going to get better with all the chances he has been handed,no SR trophy either,thats why I back new talent and say let’s give th the same chance and perhaps that damp trophy, they can’t do worse than Bambie
@benji (Comment 350) : Curious to know what bout Lambie’s play you dont like? Is it the accurate passes? Good goal kicking? Good tackling?
@schrodingers cat (Comment 284) : really,how time passes you by,EJ has been the former 10 for the past 3 SR seasons and should have been the Bock 10 at the WC,his ability to read a game and the opposition is way ahead of Bambie
@SheldonK (Comment 351) : I like his shoveling passing way before the gain line,i also like his pea shooter kicking and his tackling that leads to his habitual injuries
@benji (Comment 353) : He probably has the highest tackle completion rate of all SA flyhalves though…injuries happen. Considering he has kicked penalties from halfway im not sure about the pea shooter assessment. He does sometimes pass to quickly but he does also attack the gain line a lot.
@SheldonK (Comment 354) : Is he for real?? 😯
@benji (Comment 350) : @benji (Comment 352) : dream on my friend. Elton is good but not nearly as good as what you think. He has a habit of every now and then having a nightmare game!