Mission Argentina: Get a win! Simple as that may sound, it’s exactly what the Sharks need.
Looking at the home team first, they have it all going for them. 5 wins on the trot, picking up serious momentum in what is their best Super Rugby run to date, they have to feel quite positive going into this game. It is also their last game before the break, so I can only imagine that they want to continue their winning form.
The Sharks have had pretty much the exact opposite build up in recent weeks. It’s been an up and down couple of weeks results wise, struggling to get a rhythm, or any momentum whatsoever. One would think that this behaviour could be rectified by some sort of mind coach, but I digress.
Simply put, the Sharks have the players to roll over the Jaguares, they have the pack to dominate (should they feel like it) and the backline to inspire great tries. We can only hope they actually get up the motivation to properly show for this match, if not, this could result in quite the hiding.
Teams:
Jaguares: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Tomas Lezana, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizaval, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Santiago Garcia Botta.
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Javier Manuel, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Bautista Ezcurra, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia.
Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Sibusiso Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Ruan Botha (captain), 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Ross Geldenhuys, 19 Stephan Lewies, 20 Jacques Vermeulen, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Makazole Mapimpi.
Referee: Paul Williams
Assistant referees: Damian Schneider, Jose Covasi
TMO: Santiago Borsani
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I would add to your opening statement in saying sharks not only need but actually have to, secure a win to solidify themselves. I also agree on some mental coaching, we seem develop a block if we don’t start fast and we’ll sometimes we overcome it quickly but many times not soon enough.
@coolfusion (Comment 1) : I’d like to see us calm and clear headed whilst retaining the physicality and intensity.
I will actually even be satisfied with a losing bonus point. This Jags team is really a Puma team in disguise which finally ended up playing like a Puma team.
@Bokhoring (Comment 3) : With proviso that we actually show belief in our plans and structures and commitment there to.
Argies by 8.
Depending on what Sharks team runs out onto the pitch will determine the outcome. If the one that played the Blues and Canes pitch up, we should beat the Jags with a bit to spare but if the team that played the Bulls at home pitch up, we are in for a hiding. I’m going to be bold and say that I think we want and need it more so I reckon Sharks by 9 😉
@Fox (Comment 6) : And there in lies the whole argument. Depending what team runs on to the pitch. It’s still uncertain.
@McLovin (Comment 5) : I see what you did there… @Bokhoring (Comment 3) :
I have a good feeling about this game boys. We’ll be the team to stop their unbeaten run. I have been wrong though a couple of times 😉
@pastorshark (Comment 8) : Since our resident Stormer always tries to jinx us with optimistic Sharks predictions I had to let that one go
Sharks not getting out of their half but good defense so far
how do you miss right in front 😯
Rob misses a penalty on front of the posts. Crowd getting to him?
LS overdoing the box kicks
First phase backline move super one dimensional by sharks.
Backline has no rythm
And there it starts, our efforts come to nothing as usual and we get punished.
Once again this season we appear to be uncoached.
Jags finally break our defense. Scores under the posts. 10-0
Sharks cant hold on to the ball and its starting to take a toll.
@sharks_lover (Comment 17) : 30minutes of good possession and territory leads to them scoring.
Ok good night people, better things to do at this hour, have a good weekend
@tigershark (Comment 20) : It seems that patience on the last pass of each move is hurting us again. How many chances will the jaguares still give us this match
Maybe 8 wasnt enough. 😯
Los Jaguares looking impressive.
Its like the sharks players have cooking oil on their fingers
Fuck me. Next try Jags. Starting to look ugly
Headless chickens
What is this [email protected] the Sharks are doing? It’s definitely not playing rugby
Huge mistake starting LS.
@Bokhoring (Comment 29) : Every game he starts is a huge mistake
Sharks back in the game.
@Bokhoring (Comment 29) : seems to be orders from the top. but yes he’s not executing the kicks.
Eventually!
@tigershark (Comment 32) : Our kicking game in general has been inferior to the Argies’
@tigershark (Comment 32) : Then use the guy with better box kicks
Sharks must enjoy playing in front of a big crowd for a change
Good field position undone by two mistakes
Akker has now lost the lineout plot.
They have zero composure!
Jaguares backline easily unlocking our defense
Those wings are lightning fast
@Bokhoring (Comment 36) : shows you how quickly the crowds come back when your winning 💡
We’re just about hanging on here. I reckon if we manage a win it will be a major upset.
Is the left-hand touch judge a local?
Rob has shaken off the effect of the crowd
Ginger is having a big game defensively
the Wright effect 😆
17-13
@Bokhoring (Comment 46) : Also hasn’t coughed up any balls in contact.
Nkosi is not having the greatest game tonight
Beast off and the scrum falls apart
Jags score again.
@Bokhoring (Comment 50) : The whole backline has been iffy
Esterhuizen also very quiet
That is a double movement
@Bokhoring (Comment 55) : Refs seem intimidated by the crowds in Argentina
We were offside because we had a hand infront of the kine geez
@jdolivier (Comment 56) : TMO caught that
@Bokhoring (Comment 58) : Great officiating by the tmo
Good defense Sharks. Now need a decent scrum
@Bokhoring (Comment 60) : At this time of the match after that start against essentially a top 7 test side, did not expect us to be this competitive
Almost try there
@Bokhoring (Comment 62) : If he said on field try it probably would have been.
Those chances should be taken
Our locks need to start competing in the lineouts
Our back 3 really need to up their highball game
Our skills under the high ball are shocking
@Bokhoring (Comment 66) : They seem very hesitant, Nkosi and mvovo have been fantastic in previous years
Scrum is suddenly looking great
@Bokhoring (Comment 69) : Scary how clean Rob Jr still looks compared to the rest
@Bokhoring (Comment 69) : Where did that come from?
Bladen says patience, we drop the ball and Jags score on the other side. Jag wing is killing us
Ag for fuck’s sake!!!!!!
24-13
Useless Sharks!
We are playing backwards when we have the ball
Ruan doing the same as last year. Stupid
@Bokhoring (Comment 77) : That is any Bok chance gone again
In the last 10 minutes (since Bosch left the field) our back three has been absolutely useless!!!
@Bokhoring (Comment 78) : Game set match
Well done Botha.
And that seals it…
If the ref had penalised the two offside s before the ruck there would never have been foul play … just saying
When you play in Argentina you play against the TV producer as well
We were right in it with 10 minutes to go…and then folded…
Ach damn it!!
Can we keep the score semi respectable?
@byron (Comment 83) : And ruan is a south african so 4 weeks ban??
The score is closer than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting Jaguares by 20 at least.
@jdolivier (Comment 87) : He has history unfortunately. Could be even worse?
We drop the ball and Jags score. They drop it and we fumble it each time
@Bokhoring (Comment 89) : Hopefully not, how many jags have had red cards historically and almost no bans
The Jag winger totally bamboozles poor Nkosi
Final score 29-13
@Bokhoring (Comment 92) : The entire backline was piss poor tonight. I mentioned earlier Rob Jr was still absolutely clean. So no commitment from Robs golden boy. So yet again the sharks prove to be the best choke artists in superrugby
Deserved win by the Jaguares. What a pleasure to watch a well-coached side. The score ended up more in line with whatI expected.
A couple of Sharks players probably just played themselves out of Bok contention
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 95) : Rob snr is a currie cup coach at best. We won’t make the quarters this season again……
@Bokhoring (Comment 96) : Well, they’ve been trying their best off and on to fuck up any chance of wearing the Bok jersey all season
Jaguares are too strong! They will have to dilute that national team pretty soon to avoid them dominating future competitions. That was pretty stupid by Botha, considering that he was really in with a shot for a Bok jersey…
@Bokhoring (Comment 96) : Not a single one should be allowed to get in the bok camp. Spend the next month sorting this Shit out rather
So we are now the whipping boys of the RSA conference, we only beat a piss poor province side.
What a shockingly inept performance by the Sharks. This team does not deserve to be anywhere near the play-offs.
@jonnow (Comment 102) : Bring the cheetahs back into superrugby, let us go play top 14 instead. Then at least we can blame the wet ball each time we lose
@boertjie101 (Comment 99) : We played kak, with a red and got close, that last try was just a summary of the season’s commitment from our backline. So we did well against a test side but not well enough for all the hype Rob snr made us buy into
@jdolivier (Comment 103) : I am starting to think SA should only field 2 (3 tops) super teams and draft players from the teams that loose out into super and Cheetah pro 14 team
@Bokhoring (Comment 105) : Agreed. If our players in RSA had the same levels of pride the kiwis had, we could field 6. Unfortunately we have become mercenaries in world rugby, money talks and loyalty walks. Look at the amount of world class players no longer in the country. And please can Rob Jr be benched. He lost his mojo 3 games back.
We have the worst kicking scrummie in the competition in Schreuder, yet the game plan seems to be for him to do one of his pathetic box kicks whenever the sharks have the ball. If this is really the way RduP wants to play at least start with Wright who actually knows how to kick. As for RobDu Preez’ kicking out of hand, it is pathetic how little distance he gets. Why not let Curwin or Andre take the kicks for touch, at least they make more than 10 meters when they kick.
What was up with our lineout on the Jaguares throw, we didn’t even seem to want to compete for the ball.
Our backline on defence was abysmal. Twice two Sharks players went for the same Jaguares player, leaving another player unmarked which lead to 2 easy tries.
just another day boys.
That I think is it for Sharks SR 2018. Unfortunately.
@jdolivier (Comment 106) : I think we overestimate the amount of talented players we really have and more importantly the number of talented coaches available. Rugby requires players that can perform all the tasks needed for their position. We mostly get guys that can do 1 or 2 things really well (e.g. strong with ball in hand) but totally lack skills in the other depts (e.g. compete for high ball under pressure). Don’t even get me started on the lack of decision making.
Players often have to go overseas to develop their all round games properly, e.g. a guy like Burden. Dynamic player but struggled with the lineout until he went to France.
I think it may be better for SA rugby if only our top 70-100 or so players (spread over 2 / 3 teams) compete in Super Rugby with proven coaching teams in charge.
@Bokhoring (Comment 110) : So true. I think I am about to do some serious damage to a TV set if I have to watch the non effort of competing for a high ball. To me its almost as if the player is saying to his team mates and us fans “stuff you, I dont do the high ball thing, I am here to score tries”.
Not a great day at the office and despite that we were still in this game for a good 70 minutes. Soft tries coughed up and chances not taken. No doubt the Jaguares deserved to win.
RIP Lood Muller, as strong as an ox Natal and Bok tighthead of the 80’s and early 90″s, died in a car accident. 😥
@jdolivier (Comment 94) : ” I mentioned earlier Rob Jr was still absolutely clean. So no commitment from Robs golden boy.”…..I hope the babelaas is not too bad this morning. You must be the only guy I know who determines how well a guy played according to how clean he looks. 😆 I presume that that comment is meant to somehow indicate that he lacks commitment on defence and in mixing it up when necessary, if so I think you need to find another angle to take him on at like his passing, kicking out of hand, speed etc because you just may be able to make an argument on those grounds but certainly not on the grounds of shying away from the physical stuff.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 112) : Sharks actually scrapped well to hang in there. I think it is less a matter of commitment and more a lack of all round skills, decision making and concentration
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 114) : Commitment on defence is what I was referring too. Andre Am and even Bosch try to get involved in the dirty stuff. Honestly the entire backline was anonymous last night. So fair enough I shouldn’t pick on just Jr.
@Bokhoring (Comment 110) : Well put
@Bokhoring (Comment 115) : I’ve also tried that reasoning. However it breaks down for me when we beat difficult opponents better than way easier ones. Your argument is they might just not have the skills at all, but skill doesn’t just dissapear one game to the next. I still feel these guys either don’t have the belief the depth of character or something. Your previous assessment of it being a mental thing seems closer to the truth for me that and discipline.
out of our hands now. I hope they experiment alil in the upcoming games. put jr at inside centre and let curwin be flyhalf. Andre at outside centre and am at left wing. mvovo at fullback( or anyone really). can’t do much worse. time to try new things and give it a go.
@Madonsela Precious (Comment 120) : How’s Mama Thandy’s track record with fixing struggling rugby teams?
@Poisy (Comment 119) : Well it’s not like we’ve had something that consistently works. The back 3 just don’t have the defense or arial skills so there nothing to lose but I think our coach will be too slow to change, we’ve seen this. Curwin might change the pace but we are still shifting his weak defense to another position.
@vanmartin (Comment 121) : I’d be interested to know if she can help our backline.
@coolfusion (Comment 123) : At this point we will try anything including a sangoma.
I would like mama thandi to get Bissie Marcell Coetzee and Patrick Lambie to come back to us.
lmfao
all of you are taking this mama thandi business rather well. rob leaves and within a few weeks we considering sangomas
@Poisy (Comment 126) : All the help we can and so on…..
@Madonsela Precious (Comment 120) : What if your man is still with you but you want him to leave? Can you make it happen?
Seem the Boele need Mama Thandi more than us.
Something I have had sitting with me for a while is just how horrible of a captain Ruan Botha actually is (In my opinion of course). He is by no means a very foul player, but he does get in trouble with the ref on occasion and that’s not what you want to see from a captain. But his biggest problem is that he is just not even close to as talkative as he needs to be. He barely ever address the ref on issues, and will let bad calls, mistakes and unnoticed things go passed without talking to the ref at all.
Perhaps he is a good leader of men and good in the changing room (I doubt that considering the teams performances) but he is definitely lacking when it comes to engaging the ref during the game. As a player he is fine, he’s good and should be starting, but he should not be our captain.
@jdolivier (Comment 103) : I’d much much much rather watch the Sharks play in the Pro 14 rather than the shit show that is Super Rugby, regardless of results. I really hope the rumours were true, but I am doubtful.
@vanmartin (Comment 120) : @coolfusion (Comment 122) : @Poisy (Comment 125) : @McLovin (Comment 127) : @Bokhoring (Comment 128) : sorry guys will check the site better to remove post loke that.