Sharks v. Tahs - 2011R15

[PaarlBok]

Sharks a bit silent this week.

Plumtree
Sport24

Sharks prepared to win ugly

Johannesburg - Sharks coach John Plumtree has hinted that his team has now reached a stage of the season where they might have to shelve the quest for the entertaining rugby that wowed their fans last year and win ugly if they have to.
The Sharks go into a series of four matches that are all must wins if they hope to stay alive in the competition into the play-off stage. It was interesting to note from his words at a press conference at Mr Price Kings Park on Tuesday that the focus might have shifted slightly for the Sharks from the previous week, when they were poised to over-take the Stormers at the top of the South African conference.

While not giving up hope of overtaking the Stormers if the Cape team should slip up in some of their remaining matches (they need to lose twice for the Sharks to overtake them now), it appears that the emphasis has now shifted to ensuring that the Durbanites just finish in the top six, which would ensure they take part in the quarter-final round.

“The players know we cannot afford to drop another game as there are pretty much four teams vying for fifth and sixth spot,” said Plumtree.

“Those four sides have all been inconsistent this year, winning a few more than they’ve lost, but it’s going to be the side that holds its nerve and plays the best rugby that kicks on. We’ve only got one more home game and then three away so the challenge that faces us is a massive one.”

A win on Saturday will considerably ease the Sharks’ task as the Waratahs are one of the bigger challengers among the group of teams that Plumtree mentioned. But he noted that the Waratahs face a stiff challenge that could become much tougher if they get knocked over in Durban.

“If the Waratahs lose to us it will be tough for them as they then go onto Pretoria to play the Bulls. The other team in that group battling for fifth and sixth spot (the other being the Bulls) is the Highlanders, who have a couple of tough derby games to look forward to in the final weeks, so it is going to be very interesting from here.

“If we do the job this weekend and the Waratahs lose to the Bulls, that effectively puts them out. That’s the great thing about his competition, four games out and everyone’s talking about finals. It’s great for everyone, except the coaches (who have to handle the stress).”

It was when speaking of the Waratahs that Plumtree hinted that the Sharks may have to change tack a bit after a season where the quest to play the running style that won them the Currie Cup, and the failure to get it together, particular in the South African derbies, has been a talking point.

“The Waratahs have had some injury problems too. They’ve lost Wycliff Palu and Phil Waugh, and one or two backs, like Drew Mitchell. They have some senior players out, so it has been a difficult season for them,” said Plumtree.

“The thing about the Waratahs and the Australians is that they like entertainment and winning with it, but have figured out this year that if they can only win without entertaining, then that is a track they have to go down. We want to do the same, we want to entertain and win. We want to play attractive rugby at our home ground and it’s what we based our Currie Cup on.

“But we haven’t always been able to do that this year. So like the Waratahs, we might have to think on embarking on a different way forward as well. The South African culture in sport is mainly not about how you cross the line, but just so long as you cross that line first.”

The Sharks would have noted that the Stormers have scored far fewer tries than them this season and generally play a style of rugby considered ugly by some of their supporters, who want to see the Cape side play a possession based game not unlike what the Sharks did last season.

However the Stormers, by engaging their approach, have won two more games than the Sharks have and even though they haven’t picked up as many bonus points as the Sharks, it has enabled them to go five points clear at the top of the SA conference.

The question of course is whether the Sharks have the team to adopt a more conservative, percentage orientated approach. Their forwards just haven’t played well enough for most of the season for them to bank on the forward superiority needed for that game, and flyhalf Patrick Lambie is not really a player geared towards a kicking orientated approach.

 

[Blue]

Oy vay.

An ugly playing Sharks against the Tahs.

This might be too ugly to watch.

 

[qwerty51]

I'll call it already. No tries will be scored.

 

[DPK]

Negative x Negative = Positive

Both sides will get the bonus point, for better or worse.

 

[Richo]

Tahs just need the win. I expect some ugly action. I hope they try to catch the Sharks off-guard by attacking early. But we all know how likely that is.

I think we see the Tahs drop both games in SA, beat the Highlanders and Brumbies and finish 7th. Losing away to the Blues and Reds is understandable, especially since NSW is clearly not a top-tier team. It may well be that the Cheetahs game is what cooks the season.

 

[Ash]

It can't be worse than the that classic Sharks Reds stinker from 2005. Keep that in mind if you were wondering if you should stay up to watch it. Worst comes to worst tue game will put you into a deep sleep anyway.

This is the game I think the Tahs should really be targeting to get their SA tour win.

 

[Richo]

Waratahs team:

15. Kurtley Beale
14. Lachie Turner
13. Ryan Cross
12. Tom Carter
11. Soseni Anesi
10. Berrick Barnes
9. Luke Burgess
8. Ben Mowen
7. Chris Alcock
6. Dave Dennis
5. Sitaleki Timani
4. Dean Mumm (c)
3. Sekope Kepu
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
1. Benn Robinson.

Reserves: John Ulugia, Al Baxter, Pat O'Connor, Hugh Perrett, Brendan McKibbin, Daniel Halangahu, Atieli Pakalani.

 

[Jnor]

That's not a bad team really. I might whisper it just in case but has anyone else been a bit, well, impressed with Anesi over the last couple of games? I've actually seen him doing things which is more than I can say for the rest of his time at the Tahs. Smokey for the AB world cup squad?

 

[Richo]

He's just doin' what marquees do.

 

[Hawko]

It can't be worse than the that classic Sharks Reds stinker from 2005. Keep that in mind if you were wondering if you should stay up to watch it. Worst comes to worst tue game will put you into a deep sleep anyway.

This is the game I think the Tahs should really be targeting to get their SA tour win.

Hickey's bone-headed thinking on "needing to get one win in SA" is exactly why we need a new coach next year. The negativity involved is just palpable and the mindset will influence how we play (gameplan) and what to do if we fall behind. To state the bleeding obvious: "We want to win both games in SA to set a benchmark and put the fear of God into every other team above us on the table." That's how we should be thinking. That's the mindset that will have every player focussed on what he can do to make sure it happens. With Hickey's thinking, what happens if we win Saturday night? Do we roll over and let the Bulls have their way with us because we've already got our win?

Hickey is happy to be an also-ran who just scraped into the semi's. His negativity as coach will seep into the Tahs whole playing structure this weekend. I fear the worst.

 

[Richo]

Bloody good point. While it's true that winning one in SA and both at home would almost certainly ensure a finals position, this is an appalling approach to take. If you are a contender -- and apparently it's "our year" -- then you should believe you can win and aim to win every single game, whether its the Rebels or the Crusaders, the Sharks or the Bulls.

 

[Lee Grant]

The only differences with the matchday 22 are that Douglas is dropped from it entirely for Timani - and Pakalani, who came back from a hamstring injury for Randwick on the weekend, comes onto the bench, replacing Kingston, who is off with the U/20 squad.


The fall of Douglas has been remarkable. I thought his one negative last year was not participating enough, not through laziness but through a lack of footie know-how, and that would improve this year. But Timani has played well in 2011 beyond all my expectations and deserves to start now his injury is resolved. At last his footie ability is starting to match his physical attributes. But for plodder O'Connor to keep his bench spot ahead of Douglas is a surprise.


Let's hope all this is just 2nd year syndrome, which I noted before the season might happen to Kane, though more as a standard disclaimer than an expectation.


Yes, Anesi had his best game for the Tahs on Saturday night, which is not saying a lot. His team mates will be pleased for the popular Kiwi, but it doesn't mask a root flaw of the Tahs backline: Carter, Cross and Anesi are all slow for their position compared to most of the Tahs' competitors.


I don't mind Carter at all as a 12, warts and all, because he has great diligence, but when he's in the same backline as the other two, opponents have advantages. It was a clever grubber kick from the Butcher for the Lions 1st half try the other night, which delayed Carter turning around, but Carter's effort to get back in time to ground the ball in his in-goal area was pedestrian. Then we saw QC (Quade Cooper) take the outside break against Cross to score the only try in the 2nd game against the Reds, but without the need to get into top gear.


These three moderately paced backs all have to play to the optimum of their ability to balance the deficiency and the chances of all of them doing it in the same match against strong opponents are low.



Not to the point, but I was sitting by KBs girlfriend and her mum and dad at the game on Saturday night and had a good yak to the dad, who had the seat next to me, about KBs young days at Joeys. He said, that Kurtley said, that he had never been fitter in his life, which is different from a Tahs factotum saying that. I just looked up the Tahs website and they are now listing him as 90 kgs. If that's right, and as ever it may not be, he is fighting fit.


Er, this is the match thread and most of this should be in the Tahs thread? I claim the right of reasonable digression for over 70s.

 

[DPK]

I dunno, LG, Anesi showed a bit of pace last week. He's not superman quick, but he's not Mortlock either.

 

[fatprop]

We have two quick wingers who can't break a tackle

 

[mark_s]

Pure speculation on mybehalf, but I suspect there are off field issues for Douglas that are affecting his form.

 

[inthestands]

Hickey's bone-headed thinking on "needing to get one win in SA" is exactly why we need a new coach next year. The negativity involved is just palpable and the mindset will influence how we play (gameplan) and what to do if we fall behind. To state the bleeding obvious: "We want to win both games in SA to set a benchmark and put the fear of God into every other team above us on the table." That's how we should be thinking. That's the mindset that will have every player focussed on what he can do to make sure it happens. With Hickey's thinking, what happens if we win Saturday night? Do we roll over.

Everyone is taking this way too far. It's pretty clear that an 11-5 win-loss record will get you in the finals; a 10-6 record is cutting it damn close.

With the Tahs (8-4) having four matches left, they need 3-1 at absolute worst to make the playoffs. They need at least one win in Africa. Everyone knows it. Hickey knows it.

And if anyone reckons coach or players are only targetting this game or only targetting one win, then they can forget about it.

Whenever another coach says "it's really important that we win when we're at home", no one jumps up and down because he hasn't targetted away wins.

This is typical Hickey-bashing which is getting quite tiresome.

 

[DPK]

Is it really too much to ask, inthestands, that a coach aim to win every game?

 

[Bruce Ross]

Particularly when he has excellent cattle and a side that has the benefit of having very largely played together for quite a long time. And when the coach has had them for three seasons.

 

[Richo]

ITS, I go back to my earlier point. Do the Waratahs believe they are true contenders for the title or do they think they are making up the numbers in the finals? No doubt the coaching staff are privately thinking "we only need to win one of these". Fine. But to come out and say as much? What does that say to fans and players alike?

"We believe we can beat any team in this competition, away or at home. It will be tough, but we are going to South Africa fully believing that we will win both games and put ourselves in a strong position for the Finals."

Isn't that a better statement?

 

[fatprop]

Is it really too much to ask, inthestands, that a coach aim to win every game?

I am sure they do aim to win each game, I bet they also do the maths as well to work out the minimum they need as well.

They should win on Saturday but the Bulls are looking scary again for next week .............................