The Sharks opened up an 8-point lead on the Africa 2 Conference log last night, when they defeated the Jaguares by 33 points to 25 in Buenos Aires last night.
The visitors got ff to a great start, holding possession from the first kick-off and surging upfield strongly to result in a score for captain Philip van der Walt in just the first minute. Curwin Bosch nailed the easy conversion to push the lead to 7 for the Sharks, but then missed a relatively easy penalty minutes later that would have further increased the pressure.
Bosch and Nicolás Sanchez traded penalties, before a bit of indiscipline saw Michael Claassens yellow-carded for offside play after a dangerous Jaguares break-out. That period with a man down cost the Sharks, with Sanchez adding a further penalty and Jaguares fullback Joaquin Túculet scoring a try in the right hand corner. Bosch kept the Sharks in touch via a penalty, but when the Jaguares scored again, via centre Matias Orlando, the Sharks were suddenly behind and looking rattled.
Trailing 20-13 as the break loomed, it took a moment of magic from Rhyno Smith to even things up, with the fullback setting off on an audacious, jinking run that came very close to the try line. The Sharks recycled the ball and Etienne Oosthuizen went over for a good try. Bosch’s conversion took the scoreline to 20-all at the break.
The teams spent much of the second half feeling one another out, before a contender for try of the season finally broke the deadlock. Lukhanyo Am set up the initial break in midfield, but it was the pop pass from Claassens to prop Coenie Oosthuizen that caught the eye with the big man running into the gap, drawing a defender and setting fellow prop Thomas du Toit free for the 130ks behemoth to fly over the tryline like a man half his size that really caught the eye. At 27-20, the Sharks were finally ahead and Bosch nailed another penalty shortly afterwards to give them a vital cushion.
A late, unconverted try to Bautista Ezcurra brought the Jaguares back in range, but Bosch again stretched the lead on the full time whistle to ensure four points for the Sharks and, vitally, none for their rivals on the Conference log.
Jaguares (25): Tries Tuculet, Orlando, Ezcurra. Conversions Sanchez (2). Penalties Sanchez (2)
Sharks (33): Tries van der Walt, du Toit, E Oosthuizen. Conversions Bosch (3). Penalties Bosch (4).
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Great victory!!! Well done to the boys!!!
Really important win…still a lot to work on, but a good turnaround…well done, men!
Was worthwhile staying up to watch – well done guys!
@Julesgr8ter (Comment 3) : I was glued to the screen but az soon as the game was over I went to bed.
I must say, I had my reservations about Ryno Smith, but that kid is amazing, he can kick, run, defend awesomely, pass, etc etc. I thought garth april was the best fb we had, but wow Ryno smith take a bow. Bosch can focus on FH now
its great that we have three guys,
Things we learnt in this game that we need to continue next week.
Thomas to start and play for as long as he can.
Keep the captain, don’t change it again,Bosch to play 10 till Lambie gets back, start Claassens.
Two twins together better than one on rotation.
Odwa deserves a decent farewell party, lets remember him as a great player, time to call it a day.
Etienne Oosthuzen is our M.V.P.and Ryan Botha not far behind.
Ward and Smith to keep their places,when Eesterhuizen and van Wyk return,Am and Odwa are the ones to cull.
@The hound (Comment 5) : I agree with you on all except for Bambie, the Sharks with CB have moved on to a faster pace of game, no room for him and to add when asharks have game plan keep possession and play fast paced, they will win
@benji (Comment 6) : Hope you are wrong,Ihave always been a big Lambie fan and sincerely want him back again.
Bosch is too young to be exposed to the Aardi Savea’s of this world, he needs to be nurtured and gradually fed in, like Beauden Barrett was.
@benji (Comment 6) : @The hound (Comment 7) : problem is Bosch is going to play for junior Bokke so he (and probably also Ben 10) will be gone from mid May untill mid June so Sharks will need Pat back as soon as possible!
@Julesgr8ter (Comment 3) : @revolverocelot (Comment 4) : same here watch the game however after all the excitement it was not easy to fall asleep!!! Awesome performance by the guys!!!
@The hound (Comment 5) : with you on most of it but think AE and Am was a solid combination and should be kept once Andre is able to play again.
Twins and Ginger was good and yes EO is a must in the Sharks pack he’s doing all the hard work and makes a huge difference. However he and Botha needs to work on discipline as they also concede a lot of penalties.
Would start with Tank, Marais, Coenie, EO, Botha, twins and Ginger. Backs to start will be the same as what started.
@JD (Comment 10) : No matter how we turn it the Sharks need a fetcher. If only Marcell wold return 🙄 Lambie, V Wyk, and a feisty wing like Mpimpi. then a top Scrummy.
@The hound (Comment 7) : spot on his got talent but lets not let him get killed out there
@JD (Comment 8) : if Bosch is part of the springbok squad,will he still tour with the baby boks?
Excellent result for the Sharks. Well done. Love seeing saffa teams doing well against the overseas sides, especially in their backyard.
@sharks_lover (Comment 11) : I really miss charl mcleod 🙁
I dont understand why CR is so poor, when Brendon venter was in charge CR and charl were really good, now cr is frustrating, what was he doing with his year off ?
And how about the ref/assistants? Really did their part as well. Consummate professionals.
@McLovin (Comment 16) : They keep astounding us with their levels of professionalism, consistency and just plain skill. I, for one, am loving it…
The Lions very likely have the top spot in the Africa group sown up – Rebels, Brumbies away, Bulls, Kings, Sunwolves at home, Sharks away. Probably at least 2 bonus point wins in there with their toughest game the Sharks in Durban.
Jags have a pretty easy run from here – Sunwolves, Force, Brumbies, Kings at home followed by Waratahs and Rebels away. Likewise at least 1 bonus point win in there with Tahs away probably their toughest game.
Sharks still have the Force at home, Kings and Wolves away, Stormers, Bulls and Lions at home. Probably the more difficult run of the three.We know other SA teams do not have a problem playing at Kings Park.
So I think it will be imperative to score a bonus point win this Saturday.
@pastorshark (Comment 17) : That’s the spirit. 😆
@Bokhoring (Comment 18) : Sad to say but I don’t think it really matters. The Kiwi’s are in a league of their own. Might as well save money and organise the semi finals now with their top 4 teams. 😐
@McLovin (Comment 20) : I think that the Kiwis are going to be given a huge wake up by the British and Irish Lions,
They should’ve given Eddie Jones a role in that team.
@McLovin (Comment 20) : Just because the Streamers, bulls and tsietas offer zero resistance against the kiwis doesn’t make them invisible, just means they haven’t come up against decent opposition.
@The hound (Comment 21) : Hope so. Can’t wait for that series to start.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 22) : Perhaps.
Suppose we’ll only really know where everybody stands at play off time.
@The hound (Comment 21) : Biggest problem is Garland doesn’t know how to beat SH teams, he loves running his mouth, but when the rubber meats the road, his team falls over to play dead.
Had Eddie thrown his hat into the ring, then the kiwis could well have been in for a 3 – 0 walloping….Garland however might win 1, and he’d need a ton of luck to achieve that.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 22) : I can only see a SA side having any chance if they get both a home semi & final.
Unless it’s the Stormers playing a kiwi team at Newlands. We all know how those go. 🙄
@FireTheLooser (Comment 25) : My biggest concern too. They might have the players but not the gameplan. Still think 3-0 to the Lions. 😈
@McLovin (Comment 26) : Yeah, going to NZ for play-offs is suicide.
I feel for you streamers supporters, sadly as with the bulls an Bok rugby, you guys are suffering under rubbish administration….Kings have proven what happens when you’re unshackled from greedy self-serving administrators.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 28) : What have the Kings proven? Not sure I understand. They’ve always been useless and still are.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 28) : To think Eddie Jones should have been Stormers coach. Think they need to find a coach of similar ilk and fast.
On a slightly different subject, but why are all the ‘W’s missing in the super rugby log on the side of this page? Or is it just me?
@McLovin (Comment 29) : They’re on a steady and very definite upward curve, two wins in a row, playing exciting enjoyable rugby – all since Cheeky fell on his sword.
I believe they are busy building something special with their group of discarded missfits.
Neither Cronje nor Schreuder have ever looked as good as they currently do….And there’s a few gems being uncovered in Mapimpi, as well as their 8th man.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 32) : Okay, I see. Will keep an eye on their progress, but I’m not wildly optimistic about their prospects.
A bit left field but am I the only one thinking Rhyno Smith should be playing scrumhalf. Great pass vision and kicking skills and a huge burst in speed
@FireTheLooser (Comment 25) : This is going to be a fantastic series, wish I had got my shit together to make the tour, saving it for Japanese world Cup.
@byron (Comment 34) : Heard this so many times about so many small players from Brent Russel to Kolbe,has there ever been a single case where this has worked.
There have been some amazing small backline players,Cullen ,Robinson,Williams,Russel,and some amazing big scrum halves,Robert du Perez,Joost,Mike Phillips
The ‘W’s are back, thanks. Thought I might need to reassess my drinks choice at breakfast.
@McLovin (Comment 20) : Making the top 6 + Stormers 🙄 + Aussie team is what we aim for. After that we watch the Kiwis and perhaps the Lions play real rugby.
@Bokhoring (Comment 38) : Suppose we have to take what we can get. 😐
@McLovin (Comment 39) : Shame man just bite that pillow and think of table mountain or fynbos
@The hound (Comment 40) : By ‘we’ I meant all of SA, but thanks for the tip. I’ll certainly add fynbos to the list.
Great win by the Sharks, but no getting away from the fact that the sharks desperately need a fetcher in the Chris Cloete mold.
When the opposition have the ball the sharks just don’t have the ability to turn over possession and pretty much have to wait until the other side either make a mistake or resort to kicking. Apart from the one turn over by Oosthuizen i don’t think the Sharks made a single steal.
Likewise, something has to be done about the Shark’s ball retention, we can’t go for more than a couple of phases before we lose possession. Against a team like the Jaguares we got away with it, but should we make the play-offs the new Zealand sides are going to kill us.
Last point, please start Claassens every game before Reinach until Reinach learns how to pass a rugby ball.
@McLovin (Comment 20) : At least on of the teams in positions 5-8 are going to have a fair chance of a win when they play the Stormers in the quarters…
@jonnow (Comment 42) : The Jags are very good at protecting their own ball – top the Ruck Success stats so fair. They are generally very difficult to turnover.
The bigger worry is our own ball retention.
@jonnow (Comment 42) : All out rugby stats say we made 7 turnovers on Saturday…I can certainly remember a few more in the game and some games we made many good turnovers. The point about Cloete and turnovers is fair though – he has made the most turnovers of any player in the tournament and Kings is the top turnover team because of it…
@jonnow (Comment 42) : @pastorshark (Comment 45) : point taken about Cloete and the amount of turnovers but just wondering his many penalties he conceded?
@JD (Comment 46) : Remember that normally AE plays the fetcher role where possible, before that we had Bismark and Marcell, so the cupboard is bare 😕
@sharks_lover (Comment 47) : Am is also not bad at stealing balls. Don’t get me wrong I’m also for having a player like Marcell but can’t see one playing in SA that’s even close to that level so Sharks must do with what they have.
@Bokhoring (Comment 38) : I missed all the changes to this competition earlier. How is the top eight going to be decided this year? Will it be the conference leaders that take up the top 4 places and the rest determined by log points regardless of log position? Or is it the same as last year?
@GreatSharksays (Comment 49) : Same as last year. Leaders of each of the 4 conference ordered by log points, and then the next 3 from NZ-Aus group plus next best from SA group ordered by log points.
@sharks_lover (Comment 47) : Where’s Kleinhans….His name has disappeared in a suspiciously similar way to that of Hadebe. ( we all know what happened to the latter)
@FireTheLooser (Comment 51) : Kleinhans still with the Sharks, I think he was injured and still might be “hope Robs can tell us” If not injured then just not being selected.
@JD (Comment 46) : He’d fit right in at the Sharks then… 😀 we are giving away a lot of penalties!!
@The hound (Comment 36) : for me its his kicking game that is so good unlike russel, kolbie etc he has the skillset to make it work.
Just for info, The Sharks academy has signed very promising up and coming young FB named Jason Rautenbach from Selbourne College. He joins next year.
@pastorshark (Comment 53) : that’s the problem don’t need any more penalty specialist in the team!!! 😉
@byron (Comment 54) : would not shift Smith he has lots of potential at 15!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 51) : @sharks_lover (Comment 52) : last I know he was still injured.
@Bokhoring (Comment 50) : Thanks. Thought I read somewhere that it had changed.
@JD (Comment 58) : Can’t remember reading his name in the most recently published injury list on here, as well as not seeing his name in the Sharks XV team….Maybe I missed it. (Can’t find the post with the injuries timeline)
Went to have another look:
Under touring squad, only injuries listed are Pat, Garth, April, Inny, van Wyk.
Under Sharks XV squad, his name also did not show up.
Kleinhans’ name has dissapeared like a needle in as stack of needles.
Hopefully Rob can find us some info on this.
I have no clue what’s up with Franna. I can only assume he’s injured again?
@FireTheLooser (Comment 61) : Just as I was going to type..”if you can find Rob”…..
@robdylan (Comment 62) : Thanks Rob….
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 63) : Seems easier for me to find Rob, than it is for Rob to find Rob (du Preez).
I just use the Batman light, failing that, start infringing site rules – works like magic.
😆 thats always a good fallback method of getting attention. I wnder where Klempie is these days, hopefully still lurking somewhere.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 63) : pffft – it’s not THAT bad. Attention whore 🙂
you guys can always whatsapp me, you know.
@robdylan (Comment 67) : You back in the UK?
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 69) : I am – have been for a while
😎 Hope the new job keeps you nice and busy. I think FTL wants to moderate around here when you cant.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 71) : one thing I never turn away is a volunteer
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 71) : If ya’ dont mind a sheep in wolf’s clothing as moderator, I’m your guy….Earn my keep in lieu of my coffee cup icon.