Daniel denies Sharks rift
16 Mar 2010
Keegan Daniel says there’s no in-fighting in the Sharks camp.
With five losses from five starts, the Sharks find themselves in the unfamiliar 12th position on the Super 14 log. Despite the player drain over the last couple of years, the Sharks still have one of the best squads in the tournament as they regularly field over 10 Springboks, but continue to disappoint their fans.
With every loss, the talk of a split between captain John Smit and the Du Plessis brothers Bismarck and Jannie, continues to surface. Bismarck has had to sit on the bench for two games, Jannie has started a couple, while Smit has started all the matches so far.
Daniel predictably backed his team-mates and coach, and said there were no off-field problems, although on the field the trio all look visibly frustrated. They have all been sin-binned throughout the season, while the Du Plessis brothers lambasted replacement scrumhalf Rory Kockott late in the Brumbies match for what they deemed a poor decision to pass to Jannie as the Sharks looked for the winning try.
‘Talk of a split is bullshit,’ Daniel told keo.co.za. ‘Personally, I say there is no rift in the camp. We are the ones here and we know what’s going on. People are just looking for a story and are looking for other reasons for the losses. The mood in the camp is great, we all see how we hang out together and get along.
‘If people think a rift is the reason for losing, then that’s what they must write, but it’s not true.’
Whatever the reason for their poor form, the facts are that the Sharks have lost seven consecutive Super 14 matches and have won just one from their last 10. Most recently they went down to the Brumbies 24-22, the fourth time this season they’ve lost by less than five points.
‘I wouldn’t say confidence is a problem, although anyone will tell you that after five losses it does become harder to pick yourselves up,’ said Daniel. ‘We are positive as we’ve been so close in losing by narrow margins. We’d be having a different conversation right now if we’d won those.
‘But we haven’t been clinical enough in closing out games after being in good positions. Indiscipline again cost us against the Brumbies, as two penalties led to their tries.’
The Sharks’ last victory in the competition came against the Highlanders, who they face on Saturday at Carisbrook. The Landers return from their South African road trip, where they were hammered by the Stormers and Bulls. They will also be jet-lagged after the return journey.
John Plumtree’s charges have also won on their last three visits to the House of Pain, and if they don’t repeat that this year, more questions will be rightfully raised.
‘They say history doesn’t lie and we have been successful there, but we mustn’t take anything for granted,’ said Daniel. ‘We’ll go in with confidence after doing reasonably well, but the Highlanders are still a Super 14 franchise who can play good rugby.’
Meanwhile, centres Adi Jacobs (knee) and Riaan Swanepoel (ankle) are battling to be fit for Saturday’s match, while prop Deon Carstens is also struggling with a knee injury.
By Grant Ball
303 Comments
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16 Mar 2010, 05:42 am
Of course there is no rift. You just have the worst coach in the competition.
16 Mar 2010, 05:43 am
The old boys needs to be fired and more home grown players developed…
16 Mar 2010, 06:11 am
@Aus_Rebel:
I think the Force have that mate!
16 Mar 2010, 06:19 am
@whatever: Mitchell is shocking, and to think that some of the Sharkies are hoping he will be coaching them next year. Absolutely bizarre.
16 Mar 2010, 06:36 am
Sink the Bismarck.
16 Mar 2010, 06:54 am
Ja sure, all is honky dory in the sharks camp.
16 Mar 2010, 07:01 am
So much for the reputation of The House Of Pain. The name no longer has the same effect it once did on visiting teams.
The House of Plain seems more fitting.
16 Mar 2010, 07:06 am
go Keegan! Shooting from the hip is see…
16 Mar 2010, 07:09 am
Its a pity that there is a rift between these players. This means the Boks will also be affected. I must say everything was fine at the Sharks for many years between Smit and Bismark until the older brother Jannie appeared on the scene
16 Mar 2010, 07:12 am
@whatever:
As bad as Mitchell is, he doesn’t have as big an academy nor 14 Springboks in his side to work with like Plumtree has had.
16 Mar 2010, 07:13 am
I worry about people that question John Mitchells abilities.
Personally, I think he is one of the finest coaches around. He has worked minor miracles the past two seasons, given the material and circumstances he was let loose with. Unfortunately the enormity of his work over the past two seasons appears to have caught up with him this season.
He needs a change. Give him some decent material to work with and then will see how good he really is
16 Mar 2010, 07:22 am
I dont really give a toss about the Sharks, but if quoted correctly that ou Jannie DuP lambasted Kockott for that pass and then actually slept well that night, then I give up.
Nee man Jannie, vang eersie ball…. dan kan jy ***** en moan.
16 Mar 2010, 07:24 am
So laat ons opsom: Selfvertroue is hoog. Daar is ‘n lekker gees in die span. Julle het een van die sterkste spanne in die toernooi. Julle het ‘n goeie afrigter. Maar julle het nognie ‘n wedstryd gewen nie. Wat jy eintlik vir my sê is dat perde dr#lle eintlik vye is. Of dit, of julle verloor aspris. “Match fixing ?”
16 Mar 2010, 07:27 am
As the old saying goes, where there’s smoke theres’s fire!
I believe that there are problems in the camp but who knows what they are actually all about, they might have nothing to do about the Du Plessis brothers and John Smit.
I believe, it has more to do with players having to play week after week out of position. Enough has already been said about John Smit and Ruan Pienaar but what about Willem Alberts, one of there better eigthmen around, now having to play lock and flank.
Jean Deysel does not know what is expected of him one week on the bench the next week not.
The acquisition of Steenkamp from the Bulls ahead of their own home grown Hargreaves. What does that say?
I have no doubt that the players are confused to say the least and have now lost all confidence in themselves.
This is a good example to all to what can happen if you do not manage your players properly.
16 Mar 2010, 07:27 am
Should be another tight one for the sharks this weekend, hopefully coming out on the better side of the scoreboard this time. This game and the blues/brumbies could ruin many a superbru scorecard this weekend.
16 Mar 2010, 07:29 am
@Bod:
Jannnie du Plessis dropped a pass minutes after he came onto the field in the Waratahs game too. I recall using expletives at both crucial moments where he was funnily enough involved.
Palooka of note, and he should make a sexual departure back to the Cheetahs.
16 Mar 2010, 07:31 am
I do not really care what people say here on keo regarding the sharks. I dont really care what the journo’s have to say about the sharks. Quite frankly i dont give hoot what Keegan Daniels has to say about the Sharks there body langauge on the field say’s it all. Utter stront rerige k*k rugby. Jammer ,Sorry the Sharkies are my team but come on , Please give me a break !!!!!
16 Mar 2010, 07:32 am
israel dagg should punish these sharks if they’re sleeping?
16 Mar 2010, 07:37 am
@Predawn: And he is supposed to be a doctor, with those hands of butter….
I have never understood those that have ever rated him, as he never has and never will even manage his prime function at tighthead and that is to scrum half decently.
In my mind if its a toss up between the DuP bros and John Smit… there is absolutely no debate at all
16 Mar 2010, 07:41 am
I wouldn’t be at all sorry to see both palooka brothers leave.
John Smit would probably agree with that sentiment and his game would improve overnight.
Just think how many yellow cards The Sharks would save on…
16 Mar 2010, 07:58 am
@Bod: He had a very good squad at the Force last year and the year before. A backline of Valentine, Giteau, Mitchell, O’Connor, Cross, Staniforth, Shephard (when not injured), and a forward back which included Sharpe, Pocock, Brown, Hodgson and a couple of others.
His squad at the Force has not been as weak as is often suggested, and he has not been able to instil a toughness in the team.
Some of his decisions this year have also been horrible, such as not selecting Staniforth at 12 when O’Connor started his first game at 10, allowing the set pieces to disintegrate etc.
Giving a coach a good squad is not a reflection of his abilites, seeing how he develops and grows a squad, or the decisions he makes within limited resources shows what type of coach he his.
Ask your average Kiwi what he thinks of Mitchell – it will not be positive.
16 Mar 2010, 07:58 am
@Transformation:
israel dagg, What a player. He glides like cullen.
16 Mar 2010, 07:59 am
sad to see the sharks in such disarray…
16 Mar 2010, 08:00 am
@Predawn: More like the House of Joy after the Boks won there.
16 Mar 2010, 08:06 am
Israel Dagg new All Black full back????
16 Mar 2010, 08:16 am
@WOLFMAN21:
I base my statement on the fact that when he took started with the Force it was a brand new franchise with no history, no culture, no player base, no junior structures and a brand new spaghetti bolognaise player base. They started slowly, but playing to a rigid structure within their limitations, culminating in a fairly decent showing last year given the circumstances.
The main reason he got the bullet as the Kiwi coach, was his inability to win a world cup. That was in the days when the average kiwi supporter actually believed they could win a world cup! Today they know they will never win a world cup and all they are concerned about in is theit No 1 ranking and thumping all and sundry between world cups… something John Mitchell was able to guarantee
16 Mar 2010, 08:51 am
Ok! nou moet die Dup boeties seker weer Kaap toe trek en dan begin die res van ons vertel van watse K@kke hulle eintlik was, hulle pa is ‘n drol en hulle ooms nie ver agter. Dan die gewraakte een, toe Bismark een aand na ‘n bok game, ‘n glas Wellingtons&Coke op sy Boktrui gemors het. NEE HULLE MOET LAND UIT!!!
16 Mar 2010, 08:52 am
Is Jannie Dup for real? He knocks on and turns around and blames Kockott!
This guy is the biggest liability to the team and still wants to mouth off? Unbelieveable.
16 Mar 2010, 08:53 am
@iori Yagami: Mills and Corey Jane need to worry. Dagg is looking the business.
16 Mar 2010, 09:00 am
Bloody gutless journalists need to ask 1 question……
What was the original deal when Smit returned from Clermont related to a time frame?
Perhaps instead of knee jerking and attacking the Du Plessis brothers one would get an understanding of their frustration.
Smit as opposed to Bissy….?
Madness i tell you, sentimental candy floss for brains drivel. Bissy ten times the player Smit is….no matter how you slice and dice it….
And dont start with the great leadership harp playing cry me a river nonsense. Smit has not won a meaningful game for how many now??
2 sides to a story, its the useless saffa journalists crucifying the du plessis brothers….
16 Mar 2010, 09:09 am
@BESTER: No please! We don’t want them in the Cape. My sources in the Freestate tell me that they were the same disruptive force there before their move east. Bismarck has become too big for his boots and should be replaced by Gary Botha and Tiaan Liebenberg in the Bok setup. Jannie can be replaced by Lawrence Sephaka or Brian Mujati for all I care – he is useless
16 Mar 2010, 09:12 am
@rossoneri: Do you support AC Milan?
16 Mar 2010, 09:12 am
@grant10:
Welcome back – it appears you have been redeemed, almost nobody disagrees with your (once very unpopular!) point of view any longer that there are problems with the Bok front row at the Sharks
16 Mar 2010, 09:17 am
@WP Till I Die: A blind man saw what was happenning before Grant.
Obvious is not the word…
16 Mar 2010, 09:19 am
@WP_:
You seem to forget how many people thought he was smoking his socks? How he was lambasted for his opinion?
16 Mar 2010, 09:22 am
@WP Till I Die: hi….
well it was plain to see a year ago…..appears sentimentality and blindness a sickness closely linked.
I am petrified PDV is lead by the nose here WPTID….seriously scared of that…..the french will be a massive teat 12 june…we need to sort out that front row….if we do i will bet my car we retain WC….Spies will be a massive factor and a kingpin, but we need to give him a platform. We can be unstoppable come 2011…but need to be ruthless in our search for 1 st phase perfection.
Sharks dilemma and malaise is caused by a weak front row….that cancer has spread throughout….no backline will prosper with the pressure …and Kanko is suffering as a result….no wonder he plays at wing most the game.
Everyone looking for blame, Kockitt, ruan, adi, kanko, all getting nailed. Bissy i see also taking flack, Bissy and his boet now being branded as the cancer in the team….
Its all nonsense my man….there scrums are a mess….and no one will convince me that this is not the primary cause of the demise of the great team.
My frustration is i saw this coming like a train down the tracks….but everyone wants to accomodate Smit….and now my 2 nd best team suffering the consequences…..
said it before…..this is not tiddlywinks.
16 Mar 2010, 09:24 am
@WP_: 34
Maybe you saw it….but how many times didnt you call me names for saying it?
Seems we all clever after the fact hey?
16 Mar 2010, 09:25 am
@WP Till I Die: He’s only ever had a go at Smit not the “problems with the Bok front row” like you said.
From the beggining it was clear that Smit is not as comfortable at three, and that his best position is 2. That is clear to see.
“people thought he was smoking his socks” and some still do by the way he goes on about how “kak” Smit is and how he should retire and how useless he is. When really he’s just playing out of position…
16 Mar 2010, 09:28 am
@grant10: Depends what you call “it”…
Seems you want to seem clever after the fact…
I’ve said Smit’s best position is 2 all along and you know that.
It’s just you that spews all this drivel about Smit being kak and how he should have retired already. Your personal vendetta against Smit has driven your criticsm the whole way..
16 Mar 2010, 09:33 am
@grant10: here we go again grant10 shouting his mouth over the same **** after the blod has been reasonably peaceful this last week…
one question grant…Schalk should definately be out the stormers team? has been, waste of time…
and my reference was after the highlanders game
16 Mar 2010, 09:34 am
@grant10: Just to confirm your point. Derick Kuun played no 2 for Bulls and G Steenkamp got screwed. The latter looks a different player since Gary Botha’s return to the Bulls. WP frontrow looks ten times better since Liebenberg’s move to the Cape. Kuun, Schalk Britz and Bismarck are great players – they are extra loose forwards, but they lack the bulk at scrum time. It has become increasingly clear to me that you need a hooker who can scrum and do his thing in the loose. Gary Botha and Tiaan Liebenberg can do this and when you add Strauss of the Cheetahs you have three hookers who will never take a backward step in any phase of play. I say select the three of them, make Matfield skipper and get it over and done with – the sooner the better. There is no place for Chilliboy in this set-up because he does not deserve to be there. He has not played a full rugby match at a decent level for years and has become a liability. He has to prove himself through the ranks and if he is the kind of player that everyone says he is, he will undoubtedly prove it
16 Mar 2010, 09:36 am
@Seven: schalk has been very impressive….no doubt the new law interpratation has suited him….he has been playing very well…i am very happy for his turnaround….he seems to have embraced the captaincy as well….
i would be careful of selecting him at openside….i feel steggmann should have that role in Brussows absence….but as a squad bok player…i feel Schalk is right back in the mix…on merit.
16 Mar 2010, 09:38 am
Seems like the du plessis bros are more trouble than they are worth maybe we can swap them for grand steyn, I’ll throw in my loslyf collection to sweeten the deal…
16 Mar 2010, 09:38 am
@grant10: Sharks backline wouldn’t propser if they were guaranteed the ball for 15 phases…the centres are kak, jacobs included and ndgugane has the pase of a donkey
16 Mar 2010, 09:40 am
@GI POT: 41
You make sense. Problem with the sharks and bok front row is that Beat is a good loosehead, but not a great scrummager….
Bissy has often been criticised for a poor upright scrumming technique….
now throw in a obviously weak 3 in smit and the problems are exponentially exposed.
Boks must decide asap….currently i would still lean towards Bissy at2….but Liebenberg and Botha are right up there imo….
16 Mar 2010, 09:42 am
@grant10: Thats cause Dissy is a weak scrummager. Not the strongest around by far
16 Mar 2010, 09:42 am
@Seven: 44
Yes….but i promise you….they will not come right on the back foot….and as long as the sharks concede this phase they will continue to struggle at the back….
This nonsense that the scrums are any less important is such drivel….the physcho effect of turbo reverse ball is hugely negative.
16 Mar 2010, 09:44 am
@WP_: 46
See my 45
But that is why you cannot have a weak 3 with Bissy and beast in the mix….its just not going to work.
16 Mar 2010, 09:44 am
anyway….cheers all
outta here
16 Mar 2010, 09:44 am
@WP_: Bissy
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