Go Sharks Go!
Kick-off in Joburg at 14h30 – don’t be late.
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Francois Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 23 Sylvian Mahuza.
Sharks: 15 Lwazi Mvovo, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Sibusiso Nkosi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Philip van der Walt (captain), 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Coena Oosthuizen, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais/Stephan Coetzee, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Jean Droste, 20 Tera Mtembu, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Garth April.
Tweet
Win or lose…just give your best guys! #ourSharks Black and White, Nothing Else Matters…Sharks Forever!
That’s it, just play for your passion and pride guys and have fun!
Don’t know where SS gets their personal stats. No way Kwagga weighs just 80 kg
Sharks stuck in their own 22 after a poor start.
Elton’s penalty hits the bar and Bosch clears to the 10m
exact same ref panel and same shit unfolding ……. unreal
What is wrong with Etienne Oosterhuizen?
However silly play from Ettas allows Elton another crack
3-0 Lions
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 6) : Luckily of the 5 forward passes missed 2 were for us
Sharks hit back via Van Wyk try in the corner
How the fuck did we loose the ball at that ruck?
The rugby gods are smiling at us currently, hope we take this opportunity
8-3 after Bosch drop
Get reinach off the fucking field, is there a slower scrumhalf in the world at this moment
Thank goodness the ref is aware of Kwagga at ruck time
Van der Walt intercept saves a try
Brainfart by Bosch gives the Lions a lineout on our 22
All Lions at the moment except on the scoreboard
We need to score again, don’t think we will get much more “get out of jail free” cards
We are getting nailed by the ref at scrum time, but fortunately Elton has left his kicking boots at home
Wrong calls at scrum time, penalties should be going our way 👿
What knock ref?
@Bokhoring (Comment 21) : think the ref is getting it wrong…
@HeinF (Comment 24) : Kriel on his knees stealing that
Pity Dan does not have more speed – else would have been another try
knees on the ground steals allowed now, nice
What a difference a week makes, lions getting frustrated and making mistakes
Reinach stuffs up a major overlap with a poor pass
@Bokhoring (Comment 29) : What the hell, no daylight in that, ref is really clueless at scrum and ruck time
and lineouts squiff as fuck also allowed, the hell man!
The lions are amazing at slowing down our ball
Sharks stuff up another opportunity by knocking the ball after a great kick chase.
Go for the try cowards
Finally the Lions get penalized at a ruck. 11-3 Sharks lead
15-3 going into halftime means a truck load more than 11-3
Knockout rugby, nothing cowardly about extending the lead, nothing at all
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 37) : We had all the momentum, lost 4 games this season by less than 7 by going for posts
Lions attacking game vs Sharks tackling game – with tackling winning so far. Don’t know how long we can keep this up though
10000% better reffing than last week
We’re shaking their confidence either way, I just want us to keep at it for the whole match
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 37) : But your point is very valid
Sharks need to be more accurate at the rucks but fortunately we get another penalty. Bosch kicks it from halfway – 14-3.
Sharks lead at half-time.
14-3 against some very poor officiating
Even if we lose from here, I’m happy (and getting on my ear) enough to not have a care 😀
Lions so far being schooled in how to play knock out rugby.
@McLovin (Comment 47) : Where were you last night, you missed a ref assisting the sharks
@McLovin (Comment 47) : At least this is a proper contest, but the Lions have a knack of winning games in the last 10 minutes
@jdolivier (Comment 48) : Watching one now. 😉 😈
@McLovin (Comment 50) : There’s our favourite drunk blind man
@jdolivier (Comment 51) : A week ago one of those would have been correct.
@McLovin (Comment 52) : You’re a great sport mate
40 minutes to salvage the season, let’s do it boys
Shiiiiiit, that’s going to cost us, no warning though……..
Travesty of a yellow
What a rubbish, rubbish yellow card! My word…
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 56) : And van der westuizen is back to form
One decision changes an entire game
Ref team is losing .. say no more
The ref is a ….
That’s me done, catch up tomorrow, not even watching further, this is not officating it is CHEATING
What the hell ref, the last 20min of the first half was almost neutral now back to this
He gives one penalty against us…one…and then without warning gives us a yellow for repeat infringements?! My word…
Thanks Marius van der Westhuizen!
@pastorshark (Comment 65) : Someone should tell him that a ref cannot win motm
This is crap. How many times can a ref cost us like this. The ref is a flippen ass
That’s the 4th time Bosch has missed a tackle on Kriel
How is it that in 2017, blatant biased and cheating refs are not brought to book …. like at all, ever. SMH
1min left on yellow and 25 to get momentum back we haven’t lost yet
So there our guy is legally on the ball, the Lions guy hangs on and Marius says play on… 😯
@pastorshark (Comment 71) : Did you really expect anything else from him
And just like that the lions have no more rules at ruck time
No Lions player around the fringe is behind the last line of feet…I’m a bit irritated right now!! Come on, man…
It is as if the ref is okay with blatantly cheating
Marius u r such a chop!!
How on earth was that a high tackle?! Well played Marius…match winning innings…
Looked like Skosan knocked that?
Sad thing is every twat of a lions fan is 100% ok with this cheating, judging by reading their comments everywhere …… hope reality smacks them with a neutral ref
Wow…after three ricks that the Lions were offsides at we get a penalty… 😯
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 79) : Wouldn’t it be nice if we pull it off besides marius van der cunthuizen
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 79) : Who cares. They struggle against and out of sorts sharks team can’t win without the ref decreasing numbers and missing infringements. They will be in supers 1 week longer than us. Can’t see them getting near a final.
Come, boys! Try time…
Now he goes back to the TMO…sigh…
Scheiße…
Feels very familiar to the first match
Lions get a yellow now…come on, men…it has to be now…
@pastorshark (Comment 84) : Don’t they always? Last week he didn’t even check a dodgy corner try.
sigh, no tmo nothing when it’s them but Sharks, hold the train, we need 100 tmo decisions 🙄
Try time!!! Come on!!!!
Sharks lead again 21-20
A little justice. Now let’s put a few nails in the coffin.
20-21 Sharks with 12 minutes to go…
Let’s go to the tmo again and check for an infringement in the last 30 minutes so we can disallow.
Lions kickers are struggling today
Lions goal kicking has been shocking!!
@Bokhoring (Comment 95) : Blind justice for the ref
Pulling out all the stops these refs to give the home side the win, bloody shocking
@pastorshark (Comment 96) : It negates van der westuizen
Maybe we should train some ex sharks players or administrators so they can become refs.
Hang onto the ball through phases now!!
Sharks players have to assist the ref
Bashing the bastard seems to help he helped us there
The drop from 60m just short…
Two almost drops by Bosch
Who’d a thought. 😯
Gotta love knock out rugby.
That grubber from Ettas almost worked. Should have been a penalty for tackling without the ball
Van Wyk tackled without the ball and Marius does nothing!!! Now the TMO is calling him back…at bloody last!!!
Eish
Nothing done by the officials…my word!!!
@pastorshark (Comment 108) : Agreed and no one saw it?
absolutely expected disgusting decision
Needed to hold onto the ball there
see, pull out a bullshit call for a shot …. fuck this shit
Oh my word. 😯
Monster penalty by Combrinck and the Lions lead again
Lions cheat their way to the semi’s with help from the ref.
Sharks needed to hold onto the ball there
Sorry…even that penalty…Lwazi was offsides, but it was 5m further back!!!
Lions needed the ref to win. I reckon the Canes must be the favourites next week.
Well done Lions.
What a thriller.
Well done Sharks.
That had to be a penalty Sharks there…just f*&# Marius vd W…what a cheating toss!!!
Had the Lions had a kicker it wouldn’t have been so close.
I’m actually so angry I am not reasonable right now…goodbye!
@McLovin (Comment 123) : Had we had a neutral ref bud, neither
@McLovin (Comment 123) : True, but you don’t need one if you have a sympathetic ref
Well I’m voting canes next week. I would rather support non cheaters.
Can we get some people with the connections and the balls to look into this biased cheating system with certain refs or is it a ‘tough shit’ situation? No one seems to want to rock the boat and take them to task or even ask the damn questions. Sports journalists used to be those people but nary a peep these days
@pastorshark (Comment 122) : 100 % Lion will not get my support further or again, that was open blatant CHEATING.
@jdolivier (Comment 125) : Sorry old boy, barking up the wrong tree if you want sympathy when complaining about the ref.
All evens out in the end.
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 128) : No one cares. Least of all people who can do something about it.
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 128) : Was the result reversed because of that last decision, it would’ve been on every headline tomorrow and cock mallet would’ve been crying now
The refs job here was to make sure the Lions win
Marius makes up the rules as he goes along. There is no mention of if the player slightly overruns you can tackle him without the ball.
Marius needs his license revoked! He was a different ref in the second half! Absolutely disgusting!
Something needs to be done about these refs.
Philip gets man of the match – just slightly beating Marius there
@McLovin (Comment 130) : For a change Nick Mallet disagrees with you…
Sharks played very well. Disrupted the Lions and not giving us anything. Elton was terrible today. If we play like this against the Hurricanes that would be our last game. But very well played Sharks. We were lucky today. Lions4Life
I take back my comment I’m not angry at the lions. The ref is the asshole. And if I have to be honest it would be a travesty if we popped them after they worked much harder than we did this season. We really don’t deserve to go to a super semi final.
Even mallet feels sympathetic to the sharks supporters.
@pastorshark (Comment 138) : I’ll have to have a word then.
The ref played his part but the lions players did plenty dirty shit, how you can only blame the ref is beyond me 🙄
That last call spouting utter bullshit when Skosan clearly made an off the ball tackle. What kak was that?
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 143) : You can only blame the ref, cause ALL players will play dirty if they can get away with it. Even sharks.
@coolfusion (Comment 140) : don’t deserve? The hell you smoking ….. we put the supposed leading team to the sword and if not for their ref, would have beat them. How is that not deserving? So tired of the idiotic statement “the more deserving team” or “they are our best hope” – bullshit man.
@McLovin (Comment 130) : Not blaming the ref for the loss, that was mvovo making a fuck up 3 minutes to play. But van der westuizen did make that last penalty so much more crucial……..Great teams win in spite of the ref, this group of sharks are not yet a great team
@Mutley (Comment 139) : The Canes defense is much better than the Sharks’. Lions better also hope Elton can regain his mojo next week, otherwise you will be in trouble. I have to say the Canes must be the slight favourites now.
@jdolivier (Comment 147) : Well said.
We deserved to win the game but were going to get smashed in the semi finals. Still would have wanted the opportunity regardless of the outcome. From an SA point of view the ref did the right thing but fuck that. The ref cost us.
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 146) : And the rest of the season? Played like clowns. So we might win this one with a once off performance but we were nowhere good enough this season. Still aren’t.
Regardless of other factors, unfortunately the Sharks could not hold onto the ball at the end through wrong decisions and a stray knee at a ruck.
Now that was Sharks rugby. Lions were lucky to get a win, our boys played very well. Small part of me is glad the Lions are through as I believe they have the best shot at beating the NZ teams, and now we can focus fully on the CC
@Mephisto_Shark (Comment 146) : And in what world did we really put them to the sword? Squandering an initial lead cause in the second half they came back they made the ground and we to be quite honest just got that first try by luck and Jantjies wasted a crap load of kicks. Bar that it would not have been an idiotic statement of put them to the sword it would have been a 10 point loss.
@coolfusion (Comment 151) : The sharks have pulled off all the impossible games this season, pressure surely makes them gel
@jdolivier (Comment 155) : But it can’t be the only thing that does. Because then we go and lose the games we should have easily won. This means we don’t have the character and the balance.
@jdolivier (Comment 155) : The Sharks put in a huge defensive game today, but we still loose games because we can’t hold onto the ball at crucial times.
We know Marius van der Westhuizen and his MO. We deserved to win but didn’t and know why.
This time let’s not focus on that and instead celebrate the clear improvement in our boys’ game
@Die Kriek (Comment 158) : Well its not the million to nill most people were imagining… so there’s that.
@coolfusion (Comment 154) : Bud the very debatable yellow gave them 10 points and swung the momentum their way. Had they not scored there and the pressure was kept on them, the result very likely would’ve been completely different. The first mistake of the entire season was this shit conference, 5th on log points seeded 8th. Stormers seeded 7th on points have a home quartet. But as in years passed: should have, would have, could have………….if today is the foundation for next year, maybe just maybe, we will be much more rewarded fans
@jdolivier (Comment 160) : I return to my point that I am not angry at the lions. They were on the fortunate end but we would also have taken that kind of fortune without a second glance and never mention it again. So the only blame can go to the ref I’m not upset with lions for being oppertunist we would be too.
@Bokhoring (Comment 157) : That requires a back to basics approach to running rugby. Took the lions 3 years to pull it off, we expected rdup to get it right in 6 months. Like I just told mclovin, this team is not great, yet. 2 more seasons then we can see if the changes in recent times were for the better
@jdolivier (Comment 160) : We (42) actually ended below the Stormers (43) on the final log. You should rather complain about the Brumbies with 34 points hosting a QF
@coolfusion (Comment 151) : That unfortunately is the reality of matter at hand. We are a team that is very inconsistent. Our systems on attack are poor poor poor. What are the Sharks going to do about it? We need a DOR and to admit that Everitt has for years failed to put anything decent together.
The best team on the day didn’t win…and lions falls in same category as bulls and stormers in my book…ek is net so gatvol DAT die Sharks altyd aan die kort end van justice is…here’s to the hurricanes doing the job…oh wait not if sa referees cannot help it…
@GreatSharksays (Comment 164) : Yup. First we need to learn the definition or job description of the post D.O.R.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 164) : Great defence like today show that the guys showed up committed to give their all. Unfortunately no amount of gees can fix the problems on attack – you need smarts there
@coolfusion (Comment 161) : Not for a second this entire season have I gotten upset with players, officiating has been the nut cracker. Very happy for the lions players, they live for each other. What really makes me want to be a psychopath stabbing random people, is when a ref has a biased game and gets rewarded by officiating that same team 3 more times, and still has a bias against them.
I’m off.
Bad luck gents & ladies. It sucks.
Reckon in about 2 hours time I’ll be crying into my fruit juice.
@Bokhoring (Comment 163) : Might have gotten 42 and 43 wrong, mea culpa, the conference system took away the strength vs strength of Superrugby history, that was what made the competition super
@McLovin (Comment 169) : Good luck – you never know what happens
@Bokhoring (Comment 171) : Thanks
@McLovin (Comment 169) : Will be shouting on your behalf to support you (can’t honestly support your team) let’s hope for a stormers vs lions final. At least SA rugby wins then
@jdolivier (Comment 168) : Well how does that help. These people seem to have no disciplinary or review system. And unions seem to have no way of lodging grievances or getting action. So we have nothing. …
@jdolivier (Comment 173) : Hope so, but my spidey sense is tingling, and not in a good way.
@coolfusion (Comment 174) : That is where we need captains that can charm a ref, look at the body language marius van der westuizen has when a sharks player approaches him, our players complain, the lions captain, in this case Kriel, was one voice and a humble one at that. 60% of our problem starts with how we manage the officials, let’s face it, we don’t know how
@Bokhoring (Comment 171) : You’re joking right? It’s one miracle a day buddy. The fact that the sharks didn’t lose by fifty is enough.
@McLovin (Comment 175) : Send some of that weedbix this way, need a calm down
@coolfusion (Comment 177) : Ja look the Stormers have a really crap record in playoffs
Chiefs defence are really fast of the mark – bordering on offside
@jdolivier (Comment 176) : you can’t charm the broedebond boet
Wish the Sharks had the handling of these Chiefs. McKenzie grabs a ball out of the air that none of our players would manage to do.
Etzebeth trying his scary eyes again
Chiefs destroy a Stormer scrum 🙄
McKenzie popping over some monster penalties
watch the chiefs play you see what the sharks should be aspiring too.
but do we have the coaching staff to do it, hmmm
Sharks apparently boycotted the post match press conference
@byron (Comment 187) : I really hope that is true. Damn the consequences
@HeinF (Comment 188) : no, they didn’t. Rob went and stayed for 90 seconds, then left.
poor crowd attendance for the streamers, everyone complaining about the prices
@robdylan (Comment 189) : pity…is there any chance they will lay an official complaint?
Stormers supporting friend says to me they lost cause they played a better team than we did, really now ..
@coolfusion (Comment 127) : They cheat too, but I get your point
@HeinF (Comment 191) : Well, the only consequence would be him not refereeing Sharks for a while or not be asked to officiate in the competition
@HeinF (Comment 188) : If the lions had been screwed over there would be an outcry…just the lowly Sharks…They will say we’re sore losers and the press will whitewash it because they’ve got lion pinups in their basement
@robdylan (Comment 189) : They are very, very upset with the refereeing performance in the second half. The last breakdown the Sharks boys insist that they had their hands on the ball and that vdM saw it and just ignored it. I am so bloody upset I’m staying a million miles away from anything resembling a TV! I see the Supersport report calls the Lions very lucky at that last breakdown…I suppose that is one way to put it!
Scheiße, scheiße, scheiße…story of our lives!
@SeanJeff (Comment 195) : yes, when we complain, we are sour losers, because the lions were so great this season…I am just so over a ref being a cheat, cause no professional ref can be that bad by accident. I also walked away from the tv after mapoe’s try, could not stop shouting at the tv
I heard from a well known news paper reporter that the Sharks attended the post match formalities for only a few minutes and left. Rdp refuse to respond to any questions. There might be some consequences for them. Some accused them of being completely unprofessional and ……. Needless to say, the Lions call their actions non-sportsman like
Question, do you think their actions is justified and appropriate?
@BluffShark (Comment 199) : short answer, yes
Personally only watched until the Lewies yellow card. Then just knew Lions will win no matter what!!! I really feel for RdP and the players they put in a super performance!!!
@pastorshark (Comment 196) : mate the amount of swear words I typed after the game to post here would have made my mother disown me! Luckily my girlfriend saw it and took my phone away and only got it back now. Cheating is an understatement of what we witnessed today.
I really don’t like it when fans start blaming refs as I am a strong believer that sometimes the calls go your way and sometimes it doesn’t. The perception might also be that they are bad losers.
I recall the Super 2007 final (I am sure most of us do). The manner in which they beat us in the last few minutes still haunts me. Jaco vd Westhuizen climb on the crossbar of Rugby goal post after the game revealing a white shirt that he had underneath his jersey. The shirt had a religious message on it and I thought to myself “what a contradiction!”
Are we bad losers, if we complain about the refs? The Sharks team has selected this as their professional career and just like any other job, certain decisions would be perceived as unfair. I assume just like we would vent our dissatisfaction about those unfair decisions, they have the right to do so.
In general I will always advocate a dignified to response to whatever comes your way. I can understand this though. The second half was poor reffing and I got hot under the collar…but looking straight at a Sharks player who has hands on the ball, not penalising him because you know he is legally on the ball and then just ignoring the fact that the Lions player is holding on in front of the poles after the hooter…what can that be but just blatantly not wanting the Lions to lose on their home ground in what would have been Ackers last game. That’s just wrong. The Sharks aren’t doing themselves any favours with this reaction, but I can understand it and I feel it is the sort of response you will get in the face of the no-consequences impunity of referees…they feel powerless in the face of being robbed in broad daylight for all to see and this is about all they can do! What happened on that field was wrong and it makes me sick to my stomach…right now…well, screw it!
What a disgrace
@benji (Comment 205) : The reffing or the Sharks reaction?
I was one to say never knock a ref but eish he certainly shoved that down my throat now didn’t he
@pastorshark (Comment 206) : As for the reaction ,they should not have even pitched ,when even the Supersport commentators as well as Supersport Blitz post writeup alude to cheating then what?
interesting to see the make up of the team we have at our disposal in the cc.
Maybe we rest a few players after a long sr season.
So…
Rob Houwig: …the Sharks, who may also feel referee Marius van der Westhuizen made some brutal calls against them at important times…
AFP: The Sharks suffered severely from the harsh yellow-carding of lock Stephan Lewies…
Brendon Nel: On a day of drama, it isn’t far-fetched to say the Lions burgled the win after looking rather ordinary for most of the game, and were given one of the luckiest decisions right at the end where it seemed the Sharks looked to have won the ball on the final whistle and their players howled for a penalty for their cause. Referee Marius van der Westhuizen, ignored their pleas and gave the Lions a fortunate scrum, ending the game and giving the home side a massive victory in the process.
None of it seemed to balance out, did it? This is what is so frustrating – the problem is there for all to see but absolutely nothing can be done about it…and making the Sharks the bad guys also doesn’t help…
Ag damn it!
@jdolivier (Comment 176) : I think you are on to something. Our discipline is also no good.
@BluffShark (Comment 199) : I really hope that is true. We were robbed. How many times must this happen especially when that fuck but is referring? The crap thing is if you complain you are called a bad loser. How was a penalty not awarded for the tackle on Kobus? He was tackled without the ball.
We need to discover why we are always getting robbed by match officials. Do our guys chirp the ref during the game? Is our captain too confrontational with the ref? I don’t know how many games we have lost due to bad calls against us by refs. The refs should remain neutral though and until something gets done about it, I will support RDP’s actions when it comes to post match conferences regardless of sanction. Bullshit is bullshit. Quiet diplomacy has not worked for us.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 213) : Discipline like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. How many around the neck clean outs at ruck time get overlooked every single match? But oosthuizen already had been carded early in the season, hence he is over scrutinized on this at every ruck. Same with our Aussie and kiwi counterparts when bans are handed out. Our captains tend to approach the ref hands in the air requesting justice. Kriel last night was the model of how to approach the ref. He started every statement with : sir could you please, if he didn’t hear what he wanted, with a straight face: yes, sir, thank you, sir. Where Philip had clear disgust on his face when he wasn’t pleased