The Sharks have just announced the departure of defence coach Omar Mouneimne, who has been granted an early release from his contract to take up employment with Stade Francais in Paris.
Mouneimne’s contribution has been huge this season, with the Sharks going from perhaps the worst defensive record in the entire Super Rugby competition last year to among the best just a year later. When he joined the team, there was concern about a track record that sees him battle to stay in one job for very long and it’s hugely disappointing for us, as Sharks fans, that that patterns has once again repeated.
I’ll not say what I think of the decision to leave the team after less than a year, but I will extend my thanks to Omar for the great work he’s done with the Sharks and wish him well for the future. I hope that he finds what he’s looking for in Paris.
Gary Gold will not look to immediately replace Moumeinme, trusting in his other lieutenants to ensure adherence to the defensive systems and patterns that the departing coach has established.
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Damn, that is really disappointing to hear.
Very strange. Wonder what happened during the international break. Our defence leaked tries like no tomorrow all of a sudden. And now Oscars gone. Falling out maybe?
That was a bit unexpected!
Whenever there is a crisis he it financial, poor decisions, leadership or performance you can bet on the mercenaries to jump shop first. Unfortunately the sharks have all if the above problems so no surprise that this is happening with the unsteady.
Whenever there is a crisis he it financial, poor decisions, leadership or performance you can bet on the mercenaries to jump shop first. Unfortunately the sharks have all if the above problems so no surprise that this is happening with the unsteady pillars. Sharks must get one thing right and that is to build loyal homegrown SA talent and try to focus on retention and rotation so everyone feels there is a union taking care of them. Why are other unions like the Lions better able to attract and hang on to guys? They face the same challenges with overseas currencies as we do. Maybe the sharks is not a good home for anyone anymore?
Sad news! Good luck with the new job Omar and thanx for what you did for the Sharks!
Rob, in serious need of a face plant emoji!
At least now, I won’t have to struggle with the pronunciation of that surname of his anymore…;)
Just remember we still have Horak that can take over as defensive coach!
This sucks, whoever said the thing about the rollercoaster after we signed Ward , you jinxed it 😈 😆
@JD (Comment 9) : I’ll need that face plant emoji now!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 8) : I never learned
Huge blow
Man, this sucks.
News from the Sharks is like dealing with a bipolar person.
Holy mother of sweet baby Buddha, what next!?
Looking at what the Sharks have achieved this year vs. all the crap they have gone through, I can’t help but feel that if they could keep their shit together for even *one* calendar year, they’d be able to kick the All Blacks’ arses by the end of that year…
@Pokkel (Comment 15) : Even when we’re out of SR, we’re still making headline news…
…could be worse, we could all be streamers supporters – they’ll be going at 2017 NZ conference with the same staff of 2016 (it seems). 😯
@FireTheLooser (Comment 17) : Can’t see them doing better than us against any of the NZ teams especially on tour.
@Culling Song (Comment 16) : Someone at the union read your roller-coaster analogy, transformed it into a business plan consisting solely of the sentence: “more roller, less coasting” and got it board approved in a day.
This was always going to happen, he is known for not sticking around very long. The biggest disappointment is that it doesnt seem like he groomed anyone to take over his role and the Sharks arent filling the very much needed gap. I hope we score plenty tries somehow in the CC as i can see quite a few being scored against us…hope im wrong though but previous few weeks suggests im not
@vanmartin (Comment 19) : 😆 😆 😆
@SheldonK (Comment 20) : With his track history I would be surprised / dissapointed if right from the outset the Sharks didnt insist on someone being mentored by Omar at all time.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 22) : Wait, maybe I wouldnt be so surprised after all.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 22) : I think thats why im disappointed. Good opportunity missed i think..
@coolfusion (Comment 5) : Problem is there doesn’t appear to be much in terms of “home grown” talent in the Sharks structures, and loyal home grown SA talent will be loyal to the highest bidder, which sadly is Europe!
@KingCheetah (Comment 25) : this is not a uniquely Sharks problem
@robdylan (Comment 26) : Most certainly not. In terms of players in the Sharks structures, there is a problem. This is compounded by the Sharks not having a team n the Varsity Cup. How much longer can the Sharks sustain buying a competitive team?
It is one of the reasons why the Cheetahs battle…. They simply can’t compete in the financial war to retain talent.
Well sad that he is leaving. His involvement in this year’s campaign was pretty clear. Hope that some of his structures will remain.
@KingCheetah (Comment 27) : How are things looking at the Cheetahs? Frnaco Smith finding life is much tougher than Varsity Cup- you actually have to defend at this level. Lood gone. Griquas partnership gone. Where to for the Cheetahs? Can they realistically improve going into 2017? Think they will still be decent value this CC
@KingCheetah (Comment 25) : When was the last time you looked at your 9 and 10 both local Sharks boys,
All valid questions! He seems to be building a squad that can be retained. A quality replacement for Lood is a concern. Dennis Visser has been contracted from the Bulls. I really don’t know. Franco’s only option is to build from within. It will take 2 or 3 years, and he faces significant challenges in trying to retain players like Francois Venter and Small-Smith
@KingCheetah (Comment 31) : I suppose the real question facing the Cheetahs and perhaps its the same question thats been there for last couple years…what will be done different so that the position in 2 years is a better one than the position today.
Sad news indeed, he really made a big difference in the team, loved watching the aggressive and abrasive defence of the Sharks, especially in the early parts of the season. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to figure out how to keep that going, and towards the end, the defence was very porous and half-hearted, which was disappointing.
Good luck to him in France.
@The hound (Comment 30) : We both know it’s futile debating the players that were Cheetahs based that now play for Sharks. Point is Zeilinga wasn’t seriously considered by the Sharks, and the same for Tiaan Meyer. We traded Joe for Zeilinga. I can safely bet that the Sharks have had more “home grown” Cheetahs boys than vice versa.
My point was actually, the same that many have raised here, and that is that almost all the Sharks teams below Super Rugby level are battling and have for some time.
The Cheetahs junior teams are faring marginally better
@KingCheetah (Comment 31) : A quality replacement for Lood would not have gone amiss at the begining of this season. He really just hasnt pitched up yet this year – very frustrating.
@SheldonK (Comment 32) : True that! I have heard many people say the Cheetahs need to be more professional. How much is that going to add to the bottom line? Player expenses are rocketing! That has always been the biggest single obstacle. I recall Naka commenting, that the net result of retaining players of the caliber of Brüssow, was being able to contract 6 less players for the extended squad!
So do you gamble on retaining one influential player, and hope he doesn’t break down, or have a bigger squad?
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 35) : Exactly! As I commented above. If you gamble on retaining a high profile player, at the expense of say 5 as yet unheralded players. Then the player gets injured, or is out of form, you have gambled and lost!
Why do the Sharks insist on giving people contracts if we give every single person who requests it, an early release, whether they are needed or not.
@KingCheetah (Comment 36) : Yeh that is one big issue. Especially for a Union that isnt exactly wealthy. Its easy to say just get better players, well unless there is a cash handout after those words its not happening. So where does a team like the Cheetahs turn now…yes they have to build from within…well thats great but how are results going to change. Do they drastically alter they way they play? I mean supporters may get a warm fuzzy feeling seeing hem throw the ball around but at the end of the game that warm feeling isnt there as the cheetahs have lost. From school level to u19, u21 and varsity cup the Free State is in a pretty good position….its converting that into senior success that appears to be an issue.
@Hulk (Comment 38) : And we wonder how the Sharks finances are messed up…
@SheldonK (Comment 40) : What I want to find out here is how long was he contracted for? Have we released him so we have to pay 1 coach less, helping us break even before the 2019 deadline? Are we that broke? This move does not make sense to me. If there was 1 coach I feel the Sharks should have held onto it was him.
@Hulk (Comment 41) : This wouldnt be about the money and what we were paying him wouldnt make that big a difference to breaking even. Not sure how long he was contracted for but i assume he wouldnt just leave without some payment…probably not paid for the rest of his contract but i doubt it would be nothing.
@SheldonK (Comment 39) : The domino effect of building from within, is that players that do develop, get poached my richer unions, and the vicious circle is formed.
@KingCheetah (Comment 43) : Indeed…like watching reruns of a bad movie
Why are so many people assuming that his leaving cause of unconfirmed rumors that we’re in financial trouble.
until its confirmed that we’re in financial trouble, lets not gossip.
“…who has been granted an early release from his contract to take up employment with Stade Francais in Paris.” the sharks granted him the request for an early release to take up new employment at stade.therefore the sharks will not need to pay any remuneration for the remaining time on contract.
@revolverocelot (Comment 45) : It’s not a rumour the sharks will only be flush in 2 years or so. That much was admitted to by sharks leadership. They capitalized shares and sold to Supersport to try and alleviate some of the financial pressure.
@Hulk (Comment 38) : @SheldonK (Comment 40) : @SheldonK (Comment 42) : guys all we know is the Sharks released him from his contract to go to France. From that I’m sure it was a request from him (and possibly from Stade) so I can’t see any pay out to him from the Sharks, it could just be the opposite and he (or Stade) could just pay the Sharks to release him. Fact is we don’t know all we know is from August there’s one less coach to pay.
My gosh. Just nothing to look forward to at the Sharks. This is perhaps the worst news this year. Might as well start following football, Man United might be my home. Can’t take this continuous bad news from Sharks country. Why the heck is Gold still there.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 49) : how is this Gold’s fault?
@GreatSharksays (Comment 49) : seriously, though. You make a decent point, but then you just erode all credibility by finishing with a silly statement that has no logical connection to the rest of what you are saying.
@robdylan (Comment 51) : I thought the only bit of sense in his post was the last sentence.Different strokes I suppose.
@robdylan (Comment 51) : Actually it was a question. Punctuation great shark, I keep telling you. Also, it is a valid question but the alternative is way worse than keeping him right now. Do we seriously need a new coach at this point and even if we can get one with our finances and marketability at the moment what would we get? Would a real backwards move to push for that now.