JLDP start in the blindside flank position while Paul shifts to open side. Fassi gets another chance to show off his pace at 11. Stringer and Vermeulen feature on the bench, and Van Wyk is back in the team on the bench.
Dobson is starting the very under-rated Stander at 10 for WP. Willemse shifts to 12.
Sharks
15 Curwin Bosch, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Aphelele Fassi, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder (captain), 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Tyler Paul, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Juan Schoeman
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Jacques Vermeulen, 20 Luke Stringer, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Kobus van Wyk, 23 Leolin Zas
Western Province
15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 SP Marais, 10 Josh Stander, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Kobus van Dyk, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ali Vermaak
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Michael Kumbirai, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Dan Kriel, 23 JJ Engelbrecht
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Thats a good Sharks side selected, cant argue about any of those choices. Not too sure what WP is doing with their selection, best i can think of is they just want all their best places on the field so positions will mix and match as play goes
Hoping Louw can exploit Willemse’s lack of game time at 12 and bust the line a few times. Also, Stringer and Vermeulen are on the bench together…
Shark Centers … New meat!!! It’s feeding time
@SheldonK (Comment 1) : I trust the brains has analysed how the Bulls were able to pressure WP. Juan will have to play a big game and hold his own against Wilco.
I really like our chances…
@Karl (Comment 2) : Just wanted to see if anybody actually reads before they post
@Kabouter (Comment 4) : If Schoeman has a solid game against Louw surely he then starts becoming part of the Bok conversation, especially with next season probably being the last for Beast
@Kabouter (Comment 4) : Well bulls also failed to contain them when they opened up. Remember they lived on penalties only for first half when they saw they remain in touch they opened the taps at 55mins. I hope the sharks are honest with themselves regarding exhaustion and ensure they keep enough in the tank to starve out the WP all out rush. Best way in my mind is still ball in hand starve them of possession. Loose play at the 50 min mark will be punished we cannot repeat our unraveling of last week.
@SheldonK (Comment 6) : The Sharks will have to match WP in the scrums if they want any say in the game. Otherwise it will be the slow poison of 3 points building up pressure
@coolfusion (Comment 7) : think it’s more a habit of unraveling!
@Bokhoring (Comment 8) : for sure! Sharks forwards needs to do beter than last years final (and the last game be WP) if they want any chance of beating them!
@JD (Comment 9) : Still our unraveling window and their push window is at roughly same time. I hope we’re cognizant of that. I’d hate for us to play a sparkling game and that one flat spot be our undoing.
@Bokhoring (Comment 8) : Well without seconds they may have to work for their points in the first half…..
Our backline has some serious speed. Hope we get to see it, and that the finishing is spot on.
@SheldonK (Comment 6) : Sounds like Rassie is planning to use Nyakane at loosehead on the tour as Beast has been ruled out due to an injury he picked up in the RC
@Bokhoring (Comment 5) : Haha, good man!
I see Lambie might be back in action soon. I wonder if Rassie is paying attention to this?
@Bokhoring (Comment 14) : Yeh i expect Kitshoff to start at loosehead with Marx at hooker and Maherbe a tighthead. The on the bench Nyakane, Mbonambi and probably one of Koch/Louw/DuToit/Oosthuizen
@Bokhoring (Comment 8) : The sooner they bring Calib Oosthuizen on the better for us, our tight heads will be in the money.
@Bump (Comment 18) : Our Oosthuizen against their Oosthuizen should definitely be in our favour.
@Bump (Comment 18) : @Bokhoring (Comment 19) : Sharks forwards need to be on their game for first 120 min of the game! After that they can relax a bit!
@Bokhoring (Comment 19) : Absolutely
Interesting facts:
Going back to 2007 Currie Cup final the home side won all the finals except the last 3 finals played by the Sharks and WP (2012, 2013, 2017) when the away side won!
Since 2010 Sharks played WP 4 times in the final with each side winning 2 games (although 3 of the finals were played in Durban).
Winners of the finals also alternated with Sharks 2010, WP 2012, Sharks 2013 and WP 2017 Champions.
Lastly Sharks away record in finals is way better than their home record!
Go Sharks!!!
@JD (Comment 22) : right now I feel better about the Sharks chances to win after finding all those facts!!! 😈
Hi Sharks fans, it’s finals day and for us fans that means the day starts in less than 30 minutes when the our under 19s take on the young Bulls. The game is being televised on Supersport so take the time to catch the future Sharks and lend them your support.
Sharks u19 playing against 16
Its one helluva day when you are relieved to see Toilet Peyper on the field and not cheating Seconds
I hope for these young Sharks today, but whatever happens we made it into another final and if we can keep this team together we are going to have a great season next year.
Actually it should br Sloppy Seconds,enjoy the game boys.
40-27 to the Sharks U19
Super proud of these under 19s. Take a bow to all concerned with this team – I wish I knew more about you all but not being the ” main manne” you mostly are annonomous to many of us. You obviously are a special bunch to come through a 14 match season unbeaten. Enjoy your moment
Congratulations to the U19s for crowning an awesome season by winning the trophy. Well done boys. Now for the big one! Bring home the cup guys. Black and White forever!
@byron (Comment 25) : Indeed they were…the referee missed the bulls often cleaning out breakdown from the side and focused almost exclusively on the Sharks offside line. The penalty count only started to level off in the second half. Flip but the hooker was poor at throwing in.
@sudhir (Comment 30) : I wonder whether Peyper saw through the suck-up charm-offensive in the week where WPRU and the wp captain praised him to the stars. Without a left-field tactician like Brendan Venter, I think we’re short on that commodity that is defined by a lot of copycat commentators as ‘nous’. A lot of things have to align for the Sharks to walk away with the cup, and part of that involves wp making bad decisions and the Sharks making good decisions. I’m not sure how to read the team in the build up top this game: S’Bu sounds incredibly bullish with Rob Sr. being both terribly economical with words and modest. I’m not sure Peyper has the stones to blow penalties as they stand…there must be some conscious thought about ticking off the WPRU/SARU in the back of his mind. The Sharks put up a ‘Black…White…Dynamite’ music video on Facebook hearkening back to past glories. I don’t know what’s missing as an element between now and back then…perhaps player turnover? Stale thinking? And my favourite theory: killer instinct? Apologies for sounding like I’m making it about me, but I represent the Sharks at work; I’m not arrogant, or petty and when wp lose I don’t engage in snark. The opposite is true for at least half of the wp supporters who love nothing more than to pile on. I must admit, Super Rugby was a happy time for me as most of them wound their necks in and kept quiet. For that reason, the Sharks winning would have a delightful and unintended consequence. Primarily though, its not about me or my woes at work. The Sharks need this: the team, the management, the faithful supporters who have lived through five years of having their hopes battered. wp had their year – 2017. And I know that they’re not going to give the cup up to the Sharks, we have to take it. I hope the team is up for it, we’ll find out soon enough.
Good luck gents & ladies.
Enjoy the game.
Hope it’s a classic.
Doing well in the scrums so far.
Kak pass Schreuder. Sold poor Fassi there
Sharks doing well to disrupt the WP lineout but then unfortunate penalty from Shreuder bouncing the ball off JLDP who did not expect the pass. 3-0 WP lead
Sharks looking very nervy on attack. Need to settle down and focus on retaining posssesion
Tactical kicking from both teams really poor
How did they decide that Schoemann was guilty there ?
WP clearly getting the benefit in the 50/50 calls so far
@Bokhoring (Comment 39) : He’s not playing for Province. 😉
@Bokhoring (Comment 39) : The WP oke fell flat!! Ai…
WP is starting to get dominance in the scrums
Excellent take from Fassi competing for the ball. TMO decision on Thomas try
We’ve been shafted there
Where was this SP Marais when he played for us?
Try coming up.
Solid scrum from the Sharks on their own ball
And again
@McLovin (Comment 47) : Eventually…
Brave decision to take the scrum. Hopefully 3rd time lucky
Province living on the edge.
WP using up a lot of luck
Wow, Dan’s wouldnt be able to hold on to a trolley today ????
Crickey, Province got out of jail there. A few times.
How was that not skew?
Some really random penalties by pyper. Esshhh
Sharks scrum up and down. Competitive and then dominated
I still don’t understand what the penalty was for
Sharks really cumbersome with ball in hand
Huh?
Peyper is ticking me off, making assumptions at scrum time based on conventional wisdom instead of facts
WP 6-0 at half time. We doing well in the lineouts but the scrums starting to kill us. Ref is seeing WP as the dominant scrum – so all the 50-50s going their way
Watching the half time replay Schoemann is actually doing well against Louw. Thomas is struggling at times though
We need to bring Coenie on and shift Thomas to LH. Hopefully that will reduce Louw a impact and give has more of a chance when the ref makes a decision when the scrum goes down.
After 40 minutes after what we’ve dished up we can be positive that we’re only 6 points down. Hopefully we can find our feet and start to make some inroads in the next 20 but a monumental 40 minutes is required.
Even with the Dup brothers according to Supersport their forwards outweighs ours by almost 20 kgs
We are doing well on the lineouts.
Akker scores after making the initial break. Good play from Louw as well
Rob gets another shot at goal after Peterson charges too early
Sharks lead 7-6
Personally would kick the ball out and let our boys compete in the lineout
@Bokhoring (Comment 71) : And then we loose our own lineout and concedes a penalty. 9-7 WP
Rob starts a good counter attack. Another TMO decision
Looks like Dan fluffed that try but we get a penalty
Sharks look very impressive once they hold on for a few phases and get their off loads going.
10-9 Sharks lead
What the hell is a collapsed ruck
The return from these box kicks are too low to keep kicking ball away. Use Bosch to kick deep on exit
Vermeulen on for JLDP
First scrum for Coenie. Can he steady the ship?
Sharks lineout a lot better today.
Bosch’s penalty from 50m our had plenty of distance but just to the right.
Coenie is looking good so far.
Van Wyk on for Bosch. Fassi moves to 15
Akker is having a storming game
Stander has a massive line kick
If Sharks don’t concede any kickable penalties they’re home and hosed. WP not looking like getting anywhere near the try line.
Brilliant patient attack from the Sharks. Paul scores
17-9 Sharks
Congrats on your team’s victory folks.
Certainly deserved.
Created far more try scoring chances. Should have been much bigger hiding.
Enjoy the party. 🙂
Cam is just so much better than Louis
@McLovin (Comment 90) : Not over yet bru
17-12
@Bokhoring (Comment 92) : Just a matter of time.
25 seconds
Peyper stops the game for Caylibs bleeding
Sharks need to win the scrum and kick out the ball
Solid scrum and the Sharks win the Currie Cup.
Well done boys. Excellent victory.
Akker my MOTM
Proud proud proud
@McLovin (Comment 90) : thank!
It tastes sweet. Well done to the team!
Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
It’s a great day to be a Shark. Proud of you boys. Well done to the teams and coaching staff. 2 cups in the tank has me smiling from ear to ear.
Big game for our sharks. We held our own in the scrums and were a little unlucky to get penalised as much as we did. But it was our dominance in the lineouts and from the kickoff that won the game for us. We crossed the tryline a couple of times too many without being rewarded. Tmo calls were borderline and all went provinces way. Nervous start but we created more opportunities and played better finals rugby. Well done sharks.
Great win, we crossed the line 4 times,Province not once.Province missed Seconds,but seriously what terrible losers, captain never mentioned Sharks once in his post match.
Hats off to Rob and the boys we had to score everyone of our points on our own,Peyper as usual never did us one favour.
Just hope that the people on this site get back behind the team and stop all the negative nitpicking.
This was a great win for me,I was in the stands at Loftus for our first Currie Cup win, this one was almost as good.
Just such a shame Mallett wasn’t in the studio would love to see him having to eat shit and admit that his wonderful WP team are actually second rate.
What a disgraceful biased prick Erasmus has turned out to be, Bongi I couldn’t find my arse with two hands ahead of Akker,and Sikhumbuzo Notshe yes he was on the field today ahead of both du Preezs,Nel ahead of Jeremy Ward,
Fuck those du Preez boys must be pissed of that prick snookered them into playing that mickey mouse game against Wales in the USA,they could have done a CJ Stander.
If I was Jeremy’s father or agent I’d convince him to go, he could be another Brad Barrit.
@The hound (Comment 108) : Don’t think du Preez’s or Ward could have qualified to play for another country as they played u20 rugby for SA..
@The hound (Comment 107) : Think some commentators are still crying for their beloved team losing!
@The hound (Comment 108) : Man, Ward’s defensive reads lately are a thing of beauty! And the aggression he shows after a hit just to let his opposition know he’s not there for fun and games! Well done the Sharks!
Schickerling and van Zyl were owned by the Sharks locks and he still gets a call up?
@Karl (Comment 111) : the way Ward is playing Am should have a fight on his hands.
@JD (Comment 109) : So did CJ Stander.????
Bok squad- 4 sharks, 5 lions, 6 bulls, 19 current and former wp players(14 & 5)? No bias Rassie?
Brits and Mbonambi in but Akker out?
I don’t see faf in the team either?
Geez how big were the blue bulls u19 players
JJ killed it for the u19 sharks though
Shout out to Tyler Paul who looked at sea earlier this year at openside but has really come along
@revolverocelot (Comment 118) : actually you’re right. He’s been immense and certainly requires a mention. Seems to be a real team man and a hard grafter.
I would however like to see a more traditional open side flank recruited for Super Rugby and let Tyler move back to lock to add much needed grunt to our tight 5.
Actually Schreuder is a former W.P player during Erasmus time at Province ,so he also qualifies in the W.P column.
Never seen such utter provincial bias in a Bok team, this guy is without shame.
Our underdog Sharks team went and silenced the Newlands faithful with the perfect tactics. Great defence, disrupted all their ball and won all the collisions. Gavin Rich looking for excuses as just like Province Captain, Chris van Zyl, are fucking sore losers. When we lost last year, Ruan Botha praised them for the way they played and congratulated them on winning it, but not these numbnuts. They thought they were unbeatable and we absolutely regained our revenge for last year. Very proud Sharks supporter today. To our coaching staff we can only say thank you for using the perfect tactics against a very good Province team. The Dup brothers, Akker, Tyler, Ward, Nkosi, Louw and Schreuder were all immense. And a big mention to Coenie, he brought huge energy and showed he is back with a bang. The Cup is back where it belongs!!!!!!
@revolverocelot (Comment 117) : Some deal has been made with his club to allow him to play in the RC but then not be available for EOYT.
Problem is none of the scrumhalves selected are close to the Faf mould – some are actually pretty pedestrian. Faf missing plus Willie not being available for some games will mean the Boks loosing both the guys that spark and run their attacks.
With the way that WeePee played throughout the CC, i expected them to dominate the bok squad BUT taking Notshe ahead of JLP was not based on capability. i understand not taking Dan beacuse of the presence of Duane and Whitely but not taking JLP was just criminal!
Hi my fellow sharks lovers. I was the only shark serporter at a full house wp game yesterday. I woke up yesterday morning and had that feeling we are going to take this one. Went on with my day telling every wp poephol the cup is ours. When I get that feeling in my gut it is usually spot on. Needless to say the Halloween after party was dead as the wp serporters lol. Today I am walking around with my sharks jersey with pride and all of Cape Town is looking at me with some hate in their eyes. But fuckem we have the cup. As for rassie enjoy your tour with wp. Hope they make you proud you bias ass hole. Not that his doing a kak job, but your wp boys like devallende is going to give you a kick up the o-ring. Well done boys sharks forever.
Yes boys we can get the trophy case out off the pawnshop …we have some silverware at last!
https://www.sarugbymag.co.za/sharks-coach-hails-team-leadership/
I like what I see here…
…and couldn’t agree more with Rob about the quality of our centre pairing, the impact of Tyler Paul and the improvements of Juan Schoeman this season…
The glow of satisfaction is still strong on the day after!
I also like the fact that the Sharks leadership are so respectful and complimentary towards their opponents…unlike the Province okes who can’t seem to say anything about the Sharks. It’s all about them…
Anyway…I am soooo chuffed. We had our village Spring Festival (with Lion’s River Brewery Craft Beer…big up to Ronald and Devon…top stuff!!) and did we make some noise! After the rugby it got very festive around the braai fires. Top stuff. Thank you, Sharks!! And we’ll done…
@The hound (Comment 120) : @sudhir (Comment 115) : If we going that route Elton can also be included as he played for Stormers in 2013.
@The hound (Comment 114) : yes he did but it was before u20’s was SA’s officially nominated “B-side”. All players that played whilst the u20’s was officially SA’s ” B-side” can not play for another country.
@pastorshark (Comment 126) : awesome performance by the lads! One and all gave everything and tried 100% even if it did not always work they kept on trying!
Yes I must agree with everyone who makes mention of the tactical play. The score wasn’t huge but we also didn’t try and force opportunity that wasn’t there and lose much possession that way. We also did very well during their burst to gain and retain possession and starve them for that window. We kept ball in hand when we should. Yes it made for slow progress on the score board ala Jake style…. but everything was work towards a solid chance at victory also like Jake was known to produce….
We still look a bit uncomfortable attacking from set piece – especially in the first half, but that could also have been nerves. However what was great to see is how the Sharks turned turnovers into points. This time we made the break and then were very patient in their 22. The direct off-loading game is working very well.
Great weekend for Sharks rugby. Yes the Senior side winning was awesome but i think the u19s campaign was even more impressive. Think they finished unbeaten and its been a long time since a Sharks junior side has won the CC. So huge congrats to the team and coaching staff. As for the Senior side, i was impressive wth how they learnt from mistakes and kept the game tight in closing stages. So big credit to Louis Schreuder as i thought he captained well but also to Cam Wright for showing great application to close the game out. There is a serious fight for spots in the centres for next years Super rugby thats for sure. Only slight concern would be our front row in the scrums, we just dont seem to be explosive and quite slow on the hit, somehting that can be worked on if identitifed.
As for the Bok selection, i can imagine a few players can feel a bit unhappy but i also think it has also possibly been quite clearly spelled out to them that Rassie has to hit his SARU targets so unfortunately that discounts quite a lot of our sharks guys etc. I feel the team to play ENG will look like this:
1. Kitshoff. 2. Marx 3. Malherbe 4. Etzebeth 5. Mostert 6. Kolisi 7. PSDT 8. Vermuelen 9. Schreuder 10. Pollard 11. Dyanti 12. DeAlllende 13. Kriel 14. Nkosi 15. Aplon
Bench: Nyakane, Mbonambi, Koch, Snyman, Notshe, Papier, Jantjies, Willemse
@SheldonK (Comment 134) : I appreciate that, but we have a 37 old Britz ahead of Akker, a Schickerling when we have Etzebeth, Lood, Snyman plus PSDT who can cover lock ahead of a JLDP.
I assume if PSDT gets an injury, the plan would be to shift Thor to 7 and hopefully Whiteley to 8
@Bokhoring (Comment 135) : Yeh look you do have a point. Really not sure what Rassie is doing with Britz. The we definitely have too many locks but i think there is some uncertainty over Mostert which could just see him fall out the squad. Im also not a fan of picking these overseas based guys if they arent available for all the games as it will just be disruptive. Rassie will be judged on his results so lets see…but yeh fully agree some players can feel aggrieved
@SheldonK (Comment 136) : I think we may have a slight hooker problem on our hands. Mbonambi, who was very good in the English series, has since really fallen of the pace. I am not sure if he is carrying an injury, but he is also not looking very comfortable on the field. So Rassie may actually have to call on his 3rd hooker – the one that actually retired from rugby to play.
@SheldonK (Comment 136) : Jean Luc ‘s omission is a serious insult, and must be something personal, maybe because he is so superior to the incumbent 7 Koilisi.
Another very strange one for me was Erasmus statement that he wouldn’t finalise his squad untill after he had watched what would come out of the final.
How he then uses that as a selection benchmark for Mbonambi and Schickerling who bungled 8 line outs, Mbonambi then subbed by the pathetically unfit Ntubeni who did even worse.Schickerling got bossed by Hyron and the very junior Koeglingberg.
Then if he was honest about it Thomas was totally overshadowed by Coenie,no contest there who should have got on the plane.
Please don’t tell me its because Coenie is coming back from injury.Lood hasn’t played a single game for 5 months.
@Bokhoring (Comment 137) : Mbonambi looks jaded and tired. I do think he is a better player than he is currently playing. That said i do feel the 3 best hookers are Marx, Mbonambi and Akker and they should be fighting it out for spots.
@The hound (Comment 138) : I think both Jean Luc and Dan should have gone in place of Louw and Whiteley to be honest, and thats not just Sharks blinkers. Agree on the Coenie over Thomas, Think Thomas needs to wise up and get his ass back to loosehead and compete there. I do think there are enough players in the squad to put out a good team but there are also those left out that could have made it a very strong 23
@SheldonK (Comment 139) : Robbie Coetzee is a better hooker than Mbonambi,and if you can have the audacity to pick Britz then so so is Bismark
Just looking ahead to next year id like to see this Sharks side given a go, assuming no injuries:
1. DuToit 2. Akker 3. Coenie 4. Botha 5. Koegelenberg 6. Paul 7. JL DuPreez 8. D DuPreez 9. Schreuder 10. R DuPreez 11. Am 12. Esterhuizen 13. Ward 14. Nkosi 15. Bosch
Bench: Beast, Chilliboy, Meyer, Van Der Walt, Vermuelen,Wright, Fassi, Van Wyk
@SheldonK (Comment 142) : Excellent team, but no place for the excellent Louw,Lawazi and Hyron Andrews,and if you watched JJ play on Saturday the sooner he makes it into the match day team the better.
@The hound (Comment 143) : Yeh would be tough on Louw and Andrews, just not sure where could fit them in? I watched highlights of that u19 comp and agree on JJ- have said id like to see him being put on the bench to grow and learn frm there.
@SheldonK (Comment 144) : Lewies as well such a good player promise everything for one season, then fuck alll. I I also like the look of Stringer
I’ve given up on Hyron Andrews a good while ago – given up, that is, praying that he doesn’t get broken as the game goes on.The guy is a machine, he punches way above his weight, never gives up and and has been a real revelation for someone that doesnt completely “look” the part.
@The hound (Comment 145) : Lewies was very disappointing this year to be honest. I also like the look of Stringer, apparently he is just on loan from WP though, we should sign him
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 146) : Best line out jumper in the country,
@The hound (Comment 138) : Speaking of unfit…I had a splendid chuckle at this:
https://m.sport24.co.za/Rugby/world-rugby-ditches-sa-ref-after-problem-with-his-fitness-20181029
Hahahahahahahahaha…aaaaahahshahaha!
I am I allowed to laugh like that about someone else’s misfortunes…
@pastorshark (Comment 149) : I saw that and found it quite interesting. The refs are subject to constant fitness tests monthly so find it tricky to believe he just suddenly was so bad. I have a feeling they didnt think he was up to the required level and are just using fitness as the easy excuse.
@SheldonK (Comment 142) : Personally I’d back Fassi as the first choice fullback for super rugby next year. Both his defence and his fielding of high balls are far superior to that of Bosch, who hasn’t really cut it at fullback all year. It is obvious that Bosch is a much better flyhalf than a fullback and so he should only be thought of as a flyhalf and must compete with Rob for the #10 jersey. No point including him in a position that doesn’t suit him just for the sake of having him on the field.
@woody (Comment 151) : Would be a big call that, i actually thought Bosch has improved his defense at the back. He could still work on attacking high balls and running the ball back more. Remember we have only seen Fassi in CC, Super rugby is very different level. I definitely think Fassi needs to be in the 23 though if not starting on the wing
@pastorshark (Comment 149) : No surprise there have long held the view that he ,Toilet Peyper, Sloppy Seconds and Starving Marvin Rashavenga were unfit to referee any contest involving the Sharks.What is wrong with this province that we cannot produce one Sharks biased referee
https://www.supersport.com/rugby/springboks/news/181029_Final_showed_up_Rassies_selections
And so the excuses start!
@The hound (Comment 138) : that should also answer your question about players performance in the final being used for selection!
@SheldonK (Comment 152) : 1) I agree that Bosch’s defence has improved but it still has a long way to go and starting at fullback for a super rugby team shouldn’t be the place one goes to improve their defence, that should be done in the currie cup qualifier tournament; and 2) I feel that if Fassi can be trusted to close out the last 20 minutes of a very close, high pressure currie cup final, he can be trusted to start at fullback in super rugby. He brings so much more stability at fullback because his basics are better, which I think the sharks coaches realize, hence the decision to keep Fassi on the field rather than Bosch. We haven’t seen all that much of it, but his kicking game also looks really solid. Did you see that clearance kick he did from inside our goal area? Having him in the team as the left footed kicker would also be very useful as he looks to be a more natural kicker than Esterhuizen who often takes too long to get his kicks away.
If the Boks loose against England, Rassie is going to catch a lot of flak from Sharks and possibly Lions fans.
@SheldonK (Comment 142) : @The hound (Comment 143) : @Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 146) : @woody (Comment 151) : All the players are performing and I think the Sharks could successfully utilize a rotation policy in Super rugby 2019! Competition for match day squads will be high and if handled correctly will only benefit the Sharks!
#BrotherForBrother
@woody (Comment 155) : Yeh fair points. Id stil like to see a bit more of Bosch at 10 with RDP at 12 with either Esterhuizen or Ward at 13
@The hound (Comment 143) : @SheldonK (Comment 144) : yes JJ is an awesome talent but personally I’d give him time to “grow” into senior rugby. At the moment Sharks have the “luxury” of Botha, Andrews, Koegies, Paul and Lewies competing for places in Super rugby so yes JJ can be given the time needed to mature!
@SheldonK (Comment 142) : @woody (Comment 151) : personally I like Bosch a lot but after Saturday I’d give Fassi the starting fullback spot in Super rugby. He just reminds me a lot of a young JPP!
Did anyone else notice how well #6 Vian Fourie played for the sharks u19s? Hadn’t heard anything about him before the final but looks like he could be the next Heinrich Brussouw. Represented Western Province for wrestling while he was at school and so is extremely good on the ground. A strong fetcher is what the sharks have most been lacking since Bismarck and Marcel Coetzee left so I would love to see him in the senior side’s #6 jersey in a few years if he develops nicely.
@SheldonK (Comment 158) : not sure I agree with RdP jnr at 12. Without him shifting to 12 the Sharks already have a difficult job of juggling André, Louw, Am, Ward and Deysel as centres. Personally I’d like to see Bosch playing more at the10 to give RdP jnr some rest as he can’t carry on playing as much as he p!ayed this year.
Well done to our boys both the u19 and senior side! Very proud of the way the senior side dominated the game(Score should have been higher to us).
Not at all pleased with the Springbok squad. I am going to have to stop joking about random WP players getting called up because they seem to be coming true.
Best try from the u/19s was the Sharks loose head dragging a number of defenders over the line – he had some way to go. Second best was the lock pair combining to score a try that started near the Sharks 22.
@Bokhoring (Comment 164) : Those 2 tries should make any highlight package – they were brilliant. Van der Mescht has some serious gas for such a big guy and his ball handling was brilliant as well.
@JD (Comment 154) : Gavin Rich.sigh. (o)
I thought that Willemse had a terrible game this guy has failed dismally to live up to his hype since he broke down at the junior world cup .The coaching team had no faith in him and shunted him to no12 now Erasmus is going to play him at 15 against England,I get Gaffie du Toit deja vu here.
My suggestion for a Sharks Super Rugby Trial match, tickets to be free and played at KP…
Team 1:
1. Beast 2. Chilliboy 3. Oosthuizen 4. Botha 5. Andrews 6. Stringer 7. Vemuelen 8. Dan DuPreez 9. Wright 10. Bosch 11. Mvovo 12. Louw 13. Am 14. Van Wyk 15. Fassi
Team 2:
1. Schoeman 2. Akker 3. DuToit 4. Koegelenberg 5 Van Der Mescht 6. Paul 7. JL DuPreez 8. Van Der Walt 9. Schreuder 10. R DuPreez 11. Zas 12. Esterhuizen 13. Ward 14. Nkosi 15. Winnaar
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 166) : Both his articles have basically said we rubbish and we lucky to have won and then gone on to praise WP
@Byron Wright (Comment 169) : According to the Cape scribes you can never beat WP – they can only loose.
@SheldonK (Comment 168) : Nice! would love to watch that! I do think the sharks need a new 10 as backup/Comp for Rob. Curwin is going well at 15 and I am not sure he shouldn’t have a chance to settle there.
@Bokhoring (Comment 170) : Ha ha that’s a good way of putting it.
@Byron Wright (Comment 169) : I have only read the one as refereed in an earlier post. I will finish my lunch before attempting another of his sage pieces.
@Bokhoring (Comment 170) : And once they have lost they cant even acknowledge that there was another team on the park. That captain of theirs was pathetic in his after match speech, came across as a spoilt tit. The Bulls captain in the under 19 game was no better, not a word of acknowledgement to the team that had just beaten them for the third time this season.
Both Sharks captains on the other hand did us proud in acknowledging their opponents in the proper way.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 173) : Wait a third gem just published.
“Ditto Jean-Luc du Preez. Now that he is fit again, Du Preez would have been expected by most commentators to be in the squad. He is a special player, and while the other Du Preez brothers, Robert and Dan, are really no more than good provincial players, Du Preez undeniably has the potential to be a world superstar.:” wow a bit of an insult to the two other brother who are already both Boks.
@Byron Wright (Comment 175) : Yes a gem full of excuses as to why wp lost!
@The hound (Comment 167) : To be fair to Willemse shifting him to 12 against Louw was setting him up to fail! He should have played 10 or from the bench.
Let’s be honest with RdP Louw and Ward the Sharks had a solid hard tackling mid field! Any time you have to pick RdP jnr as the “weakest tackling” mid field player to run at opposition players might have a long hard day at the office (just ask Josh Stander about Ward’s tackling)!
@JD (Comment 177) : Yet the guy is being groomed as our next 15, if he can’t handle Louw imagine the mess he is going to be when C.J Stander is finished with him in the Ireland game.
@JD (Comment 177) : I actually think Willemse’s best position is 15. He was good there in last years CC final and think he would offer more than Lleyds (im not a fan of his). Must also admit SP Marais is playing some good rugby, just doesnt have the explosive pace to go any further than this level though. Stander lost all confidene being dropped for the semi final. Also really disrupted their lineout-especiall Koegelenberg
@The hound (Comment 178) : To be fair Willie LeRoux isnt exactly a tackler either. Think Willemse must be left at 15 going forward, much like Bosch has been and those 2 and Gelant and duel it out for Bok spots post RWC.
@SheldonK (Comment 180) : Look come Saturday doubt if there will be one Sharks player in the match 23,maybe Nkosi,so guess who I will be supporting, no not Western Province.
@The hound (Comment 181) : Yeh Kolbe not available so should just be Nkosi, unless somehow Esterhuizen makes the bench. I do think Shreuder may start though
@The hound (Comment 181) : Supporting England is really frowned upon here – even if there may be extenuating circumstances in this specific case 🙄
Ja look guys I’m actually happy Rassie went this way, yes he will be learning a lesson but it also gives our guys a well deserved rest even if just for the one game. Guys like Rob jnr have had a gruelling year so let’s not risk major injury due to fatigue previous years we donated a lot to the bok cause and ended up with overworked and injured sharks. Let we have their fun we can step in and pick up the pieces soon.
@coolfusion (Comment 184) : so much for resting the guys….I see that Rob DuP (jnr) is off to Sale Sharks on 3 month loan
@Julesgr8ter (Comment 185) : Spoke too soon. Rob is the only sharks player currently who has won two Curry cup consecutively.
@coolfusion (Comment 186) : He may also be the only Shark player to have played and started every Super Rugby and CC game in a year…dont know if anyone else has been able to do that before? Quite an achievement i think
@Bokhoring (Comment 183) : I have watched the Boks play in England ,Ireland,Frnce,Australia and New Zealand ,been at two World Cup finals that we won and I have never felt less like supporting them than this Saturday.
I used to wear a t shirt to games at Twickinham that said” I support any team playing England”,but today it would have to include ”except W.P ”
https://www.sarugbymag.co.za/rassie-explains-akker-omission/
What is it about holding down the Bok coach post that turns their brains to mush and then think the broader public are total morons that will now believe anything that comes out of their mouths.
This guy is losing the plot and if he continues in this vein will single handedly be contributing to the weakening of franchise rugby and ultimately (and ironically) Bok rugby. Its really a no-brainer as to why anyone would commit to the Boks via their franchises when the national coach can get away with sprouting such crap.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 189) : Agree with you this guy just sprouts unadulterated shit,but then why are we surprised this is the same moron who used to coach the Cheetahs during the game from the roof of the stadium with a bank of different coloured disco lights.
Just funny how no other team gets the ticker tape parade lion do when doing basically the same thing.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 189) : It is a bit of a joke, isn’t it? Surely Rassie should know better?! What’s with the “…based on just one game…” comment? Akker has been better all bloody season. I get the experience thing…but Brits hasn’t played for months! Pick him in your backroom staff and he can share his experience as easily…
@pastorshark (Comment 192) : The fact is he painted himself into a corner. Instead if just owning up and moving on he is making it worse. He should just be honest people may not like it but they have to respect it. What he is doing now is costing him both and it really shouldn’t be as big a story as it has become.
@pastorshark (Comment 192) : Brits did run onto the field in the Newlands test against the Poms. Can’t recall for how long though. He did get a chance to socialize with his ex-club mates at the end of the game.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 189) : What makes his comments all the more dishonest if he really does need an experienced mature hooker with NH experience why not call on Bismark.
Secondly what inexperienced props is he talking about
@The hound (Comment 195) : Bismarck just had neck surgery. Out for 2 months.
The Ginger is probably one of the best looseheads in the world at the moment. Any hooker would love to scrum next to him.
@pastorshark (Comment 192) : @coolfusion (Comment 193) : He should also have kept his mouth shut about the Currie Cup final being a Bok trial match – makes his look stupid when on the form there you take Bongi and leave Akker behind, take Notshe (who I swear I did not notice on the field) and leave the Du Preez brothers out of the reckoning etc.
And looking at it from another perspective does PS Marais not maybe have reason to feel aggrieved after the season he has had?
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 197) : I remember seeing notshe dumped on his ass by one of the DuPreez boys. I would agree on SP Marias to an extent, probably is he doesnt have the pace for an international wing. Good domestic player though
@SheldonK (Comment 198) : Agree on SP’s speed, Im thinking of him being considered more as a stop gap fullback that has a reliable boot.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 199) : Rather SP Maris than Aplon
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 197) : Didn’t Akker score at the bok trial? Hehe….
@SheldonK (Comment 200) : Rather Willie
@coolfusion (Comment 201) : Akker was brilliant in that trial, obviously not brilliant enough though.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 202) : Id even take a semi conscious Lambie