Tahs topple shocking Sharks
9 May 2009
The Waratahs all but knocked the Sharks out of the Super 14 with a 16-12 victory at a drenched King’s Park.
The Sharks looked a comfortable home semi-finalists just a month ago but have lost the urgency they had in the initial stages of the tournament and their future is now out of their hands. Again it was a match where they looked disinterested and maybe Ben Mowen’s statement before the match that their egos are too big was true.
The Tahs hold the best defensive record in the competition and the Sharks failed to score a try against the couple from the visitors. The only positive was Ruan Pienaar’s steady boot as he kicked with 100% accuracy, slotting four penalties.
The Sharks dominated the key territory battle but failed to finish many opportunities.The rain came intermittently after starting on the 15-minute mark, while the wind was also behind the Sharks in the opening half. It wasn’t conducive to either side getting the bonus-point, but the Sharks looked lacklustre while the Tahs will be content with the victory.
Sharks missed tackles at crucial moments which led to Timana Tahu’s try in the first half as the visitors went into the break 8-6 up.
The hosts didn’t have the dominance at scrum time they enjoyed last week and when John Smit came on he had a torrid time against Benn Robinson. Two scrums later in the match Smit and the pack got shunted back in what will be worrying for Bok coach Peter de Villiers.
The Sharks had a sustained period of dominance in the opening exchanges of the second stanza, but whenever the tryline beckoned, individuals chose to go it alone when the man was on the outside. JP Pietersen chose the correct option when he broke the line, but referee Mark Lawrence ruled he made a double movement as he placed the ball over the line.
The hosts held the lead for two short periods but relinquished it whenever they looked like taking control. Wing Peter Playford’s try late in the second came from an incorrect decision from assistant ref Joey Salmans when he strangely awarded the lineout to the Tahs. Stefan Terblanche made a terrible error of judgement in attempting to hack the ball out and Playford dived on the ball over the line.
Terblanche had an ordinary day, and his ill-discipline also cost his team when he gave away a silly penalty late in the game, ala Rory Kockott last week.
The Sharks launched one final attack in the final couple of minutes as the rain hammered down , putting six phases together for the first time in the match, but Smit knocked on, and title hopes went down the drain.
The Sharks now have a crunch match against the Bulls, while the Tahs travel to Ellis Park to face the Lions.
By Grant Ball
419 Comments
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10 May 2009, 08:58 am
#390 Wallabie. – ‘Keo night owls’ Superbru S14 CHAMPION!!: Not true, you are allowed to place the ball, that is not a double movement.
10 May 2009, 09:01 am
#387 KWAS
Stefan was wrong-footed by the bounce of the ball. If he tried to dive on it, he would have ended up diving in the wrong direction as well.
Either way he was out of position but hardly idiotic decision making.
10 May 2009, 09:59 am
#395 levit8:
I said the same thing this week and was shot down by Puma et al.
I was thinking seriously about becoming a Bulls fan.
10 May 2009, 10:17 am
#396 goyougoodthing2:
That depends how long the player held the ball before placing.
JP’s was two movements considering that he has still being held in the tackle.
you cant roll around and think you can just place the ball…its all about time.
10 May 2009, 11:32 am
Let’s face it folks, the Sharks were pitiful! I have supported the Sharks for over 30 years, through thick and thin. There have been glorious moments(like their win over the Bulls in the Currie Cup final in Loftus after the 100-year drought)and moments we would all like to forget (like their loss to the Bulls in the S14 final!). Excuses aside – the weather and poor officiating – they did not look anything like champions. They looked tired, lacked imagination and showed no desire to win. Their star players were ordinary at best and their inability to out-muscle and out-think the ‘Tahs was blatantly obvious. They deserved to lose and if they have any desire to make the semis, then they need to do some serious soul searching. Rugby is a game for men. It is unforgiving, very physical and tactically demanding. The only tactics we saw yesterday were “handover” possession and don’t run the ball!
10 May 2009, 12:32 pm
#360 Wallabie. – ‘Keo night owls’ Superbru S14 CHAMPION!!: Sit back and enjoy the cry fest!
10 May 2009, 12:36 pm
#304 Puma: Sniffling cry baby! Keep it up, you are very good at it.
10 May 2009, 12:47 pm
#382 WakaNathan: Enjoy it you poephol! Enjoy gloating how kak the Sharks are and how our season is over…rub it in the faces of heart broken Sharks fans!!
But you know what at least we can be proud that we led the table for many weeks which is about 10 times more than what Stormers, Cheetahs or Lions fans can say!
Sharks had a new coach this year but up until week 13 we’ve been in the top 4 week in , week out-that’s one S14 season!!! Where’s Loffie and his pathetic 3 year plan? Or Rassie or Naka?
In his first season Plummers has got us the Currie Cup and kept us as one of the top S14 teams until now…don’t let me remind you of Ludekak and the Bulls season last year – pathetic doesn’t even come close to describing how bad they were!
So before you start with your immature insults against the Sharks, first think jeez how many new coaches would actually be able to achieve 70% win ratio? Look no further than the hugely overated Stormers who according to Keo were guaranteed to win the Super 14…what a joke!
10 May 2009, 12:48 pm
#401 wegbreek: Stomers, Cheetahs, Lions? Where are they? 10% win ratio as opposed to 70%…I know what I’d rather have!
10 May 2009, 16:42 pm
Sa,e as the Bulls too much brawn and not enough brains.
Good enough to down minor teams but not teams that play
smart rugby and do not wait for opponents to make mistakes
which has been one of the Sharks hallmarks this season.
10 May 2009, 18:58 pm
After all the comments I have to agree with many, we didn’t look hungry yesterday, and after sitting through torrential rain in the stands I am less than pleased.
Altogether no teeth on attack and no phase play. Yes of course I’d like to, and have, blamed Lawrence in particular for some very poor decisions in 2 games this year but at the end of the day, the Tahs, like always against us, looked more eager.
Maybe we peaked too soon, that’s a lesson for the players and coaching staff. Maybe the egos have got a little big and maybe this is a good thing.
With some luck we may make the playoffs, but looking at the Bulls they may just give us a hiding on Sat.
Half of me wants them top of the log and the other half wants some luck going our way. I guess, as the last game of the round robin, we’ll all know come game time what the best result will be for SA teams.
10 May 2009, 19:21 pm
#406 goyougoodthing2: First word about the Sharks, i dont say much against my teams next opponent, sort of superstition.
Hell i feel for you guys, sad to see this hapening. And worst of all losing to the dam Waratahs, they somehow bugger up our plans every year.
But something is amiss in the creativity department of the Sharks. Only 27 tries in 12 matches, no ways can you fare well in the S14 with such a low scoring record. Even the much maligned Bulls do better in that category, we have 34, also far too low.
10 May 2009, 19:28 pm
Waratahs vs SA teams
Summary Total Home Away
Played 61
Wins 38 62.3%
Losses 21 34.4%
Draws 2 3.3%
vs NZ Teams
Played 73
Wins 35 47.9%
Losses 38 52.1%
Draws 0 -
10 May 2009, 19:46 pm
#407 superBul: Yeah too right there. Been lacking since day one in this year’s comp though.
Tough ask, though and Mr Rory should take some heat, Charl Mac played okay but his passing has a little kink to it that slows down the feed and put Ruan under pressure, something he’s never been comfortable with.
Good luck, but not too much
10 May 2009, 19:50 pm
Bulls and Sharks bring out the best from them too.
They won 7, lost 6 against Bulls
and won 8 and lost 3 to the Sharks.
Cant believe the Sharks underestimated them.
11 May 2009, 00:12 am
stormers fan 1st. sharks fan second. but most of all a fan of SA rugby. and on that note I hope the bulls get the 5 point maximum this weekend and top the table (and i’ll just stay away from here for a while so I dont have to listen to some of their fans crowing about it). and I hope all of SA feels the same.
feel sorry for the sharks. they were very very good and then kinda lost momentum as the season wore on. but they’re still a good side. except for the bulls all the SA sides have underperformed this year. cant figure out why but lets hope PDV can get the boks to perform.
11 May 2009, 02:58 am
Ai ai ai Sharks. Didnt look hungry enough and honestly didnt look like we even belong at 6th on the table. Poor display. If we dont make the playoffs then that is what we deserve. We had the opportunities through the season and we didnt take them, and the Sharks players only have themselves to blame. But alas, a proud supporter I will stay and I’ll stand by my side even if we were on the bottom of the log. (shudders when thinking about the dark years)
11 May 2009, 03:11 am
No doubt the Bulls will knock the seasand out of the Sharks this coming weekend. Expect the Bulls to go for the four tries and get them too. I might even be shouting for the superior team. Why support a losing culture when it makes more sense to admire winners.
11 May 2009, 17:29 pm
#403 Crouching Tiger Hidden Bokke:
Hang on……
so where BP says:-
“Sharks used up all their luck in earlier rounds…they had lucky calls from the ref that could have swung the result either way……Sharks also w/o Kockott today, he’s been huge…….Sharks will be much stronger with Rory back vs Bulls. Im sure Sharks are not out of it yet, MASSIVE match at the Tank next week. I still fancy the Sharks at home”.
You say THAT is “gloating about how kak the Sharks are” ???
and yet when Safas say:-
Levit8 @ 395 – Sharks are “kak…..lazy”
WegBreek @ 400 – Sharks are “pitiful…..no desire to win”
Brentie @ 405 – Sharks are “brainless”
So a Kiwi can actually have positive spin for the Sharks ie “…Kockott has been huge…Sharks will be stronger…still fancy the Sharks”
and YET you somehow interpret that as ‘gloating’
and ignore all the other insults merely because they were made by Safas ?
I suppose this is atleast consistent with the whole persecution and conspiracy theorists.
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