Sharks must embrace tactical sphere
6 Apr 2011
JON CARDINELLI writes that a meeting with the Lions demands a less adventurous approach from the overly-ambitious Sharks.
The Sharks can’t afford to lose to the Lions. They’ve lost three on the trot, two of which they would have expected to win against the Chiefs and Stormers. They’re no longer setting the standard in the South African conference. They’re scrapping for second place.
A win against the Lions will provide some respite as they head into a bye week. While they’re unlikely to make up ground against the Stormers, they do have an opportunity to surpass the Bulls. The Sharks should expect at least eight points (one for a win and one for a bye) in the next two weeks, while the Bulls will be lucky to win one of their next two encounters against the Crusaders and Reds.
The Sharks should expect to win this weekend, but there are no guarantees. They lost to the Lions in the pre-season, and will know that John Mitchell’s charges are more dangerous than their record suggests.
The Lions went down to the Reds last Saturday, but produced a first half-showing that highlighted some potential in the forwards. Andre Pretorius controlled the game cleverly during that opening half-hour, and if he had kicked for goal more accurately, the Lions may have indeed sneaked an upset.
The Lions’ struggle for composure and their inability to finish is costing them. Defence is another ongoing problem, and the better teams have exposed them in this area.
Where they have got it right, in patches, is on attack. The first 30 minutes against the Reds was characterised by good ball control and impressive physicality at the collisions. They took the Reds forwards on in this department, and successfully limited the space available to the free-running backs.
The Sharks are similar to the Reds in that they depend on the momentum of their forwards. It’s the reason they’ve lost three in a row, as when their forwards haven’t dominated, they have failed to control possession and win territory via other means.
They will need to lift their physicality when they host the Lions, but they will also need to vary their attack. This involves unleashing their monstrous ball-carriers from within opposition territory rather than building the attacking pressure from within their own half.
The Lions’ loose approach will provide them with counter-attacking opportunities, and the Sharks are a side that can take advantage of those chances. But when they have possession, they have to appreciate that controlling possession sometimes means kicking for the touchline and then pressuring the opposition at the subsequent lineout and ruck.
They were handed a lesson by the Stormers last week, and it’s one they need to take to heart. The Sharks’ early results overshadowed some deficiencies in their game, as poor ball control and the unwillingness to vary their attack often led to greater periods on defence, and thus a higher count of missed tackles.
The Lions match represents an opportunity to end on a high before enjoying a bye, but it also represents a chance to embrace a more accurate and complete game. They have the personnel to implement this approach, and with the return of Pat Lambie in Round 10, that approach will become more potent. For now, it’s about striking a better balance.
345 Comments
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6 Apr 2011, 05:43 am
Bounce back Dragons
6 Apr 2011, 05:44 am
If the Shorks lose to the Lions, their season is OVAH.
6 Apr 2011, 05:46 am
And if the Lions lose to the Shorks then their season is over too.
6 Apr 2011, 05:57 am
And if it is a draw then it is all even…
6 Apr 2011, 06:04 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-2:
..or as the Kiwis say…Shaaaks.
6 Apr 2011, 06:07 am
Good to know that keo and Jon support The Sharks. There are people with taste out there.
Sharks were expected to beat the Chiefs and Stormers…shame man..there was a time when the Stormers were one of the mightiest unions in South Africa.
6 Apr 2011, 06:25 am
Sorry Sharks fans, get ready to drink your draughts mixed with some tears (we know the the taste). After the weekend it will be 3 in a row, also Stormers run of wins will also end in 2 weeks time.
6 Apr 2011, 06:41 am
cardinelli, are you suggesting that the Sharks ditch their IRANZ inspired ball-in-hand approach for a more consevartive skop ‘n jag approach?
6 Apr 2011, 07:02 am
be wary sharks….
I attended the preseason game at newlands….
it was a snotklap of note.
and with smit probably starting i expect lions to win the forward exchanhes
then it is a 50….50…
6 Apr 2011, 07:07 am
The Sharks are in a mess around the midfield area. Shite I hope they sort themselves out there before this game.
6 Apr 2011, 07:21 am
@Hop Hop Spinnekop(Hop Hop Spinnekop)-7: Make that 4 in a row. Now with Discovery on board our forwards can be extra physical in the contact area
(which is a problem atm). Should be a good game of rugby.
6 Apr 2011, 07:25 am
lions are racking up the sponsors huh?
6 Apr 2011, 07:28 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-12: Walking billboards.
I see Braam is our kicking coach. Not a bad choice.
6 Apr 2011, 07:29 am
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-10:
The should reinstate Jacobs in their starting line up, shhouldn’t they?
And they must give the Beast and Ndungane a raise!
6 Apr 2011, 07:33 am
@Hondo(Hondo)-14: to you i ‘raise ‘ the middle finger!
6 Apr 2011, 07:38 am
MTN Discovery Coca Cola Gimja Lions.
So much of sponsors so little of talent.
Quite honestly I’m suprised at Discovery, they don’t usually get involved in terminal cases.
6 Apr 2011, 07:48 am
A game the Sharks should win at the Tank, Hargreaves loss will be felt , don’t think that Mostert and later Skeate are anywhere near match fit or at the required intensity levels of a S15 campaign already going into its 8th week !!
Lambies loss will further compound matters ,talk of Bosman moving to FH, this means a change in midfield and untested combinations, never good in a must win game !!!!
Not sure if Deysel will be starting or on the bench, I look forward to seeing how he goes.
If Smit starts at LH I foresee the Lions dominating the scrums like they did pre season, giving them front foot ball which will make them very dangerous, expect Andre Pretorius to control the game if his forwards dominate, Sharks simply cannot allow this to happen, Plum must select wisely !!
I still expect the Sharks to edge a close one !!
6 Apr 2011, 07:49 am
Bulls will be ‘lucky’ to win one of their next two games?
Really JC?
Crusaders are coming off a bye and if they indeed lose Carter the Bulls have a very real chance of upsetting them.
The Reds will also be returning from a South African tour the week after, never easy…
As for the Stormers, they are traditionally poor against Aussie teams and lately have not done well at Ellis Park in JHB against the Lions…
A 9 point lead on the log where you get 4 points for a bye means little at this stage and can look very different 14 days from now.
6 Apr 2011, 07:51 am
I think the Sharks need to put Adi in at outside centre. Where is the attacking threat coming from in the backs at the moment?
6 Apr 2011, 07:51 am
I am also very concerned about the trip t Ellis Park….that is a banana skin game for stormers…..
Not sure why but I have a feeling Stormers will do well this weekend though!
6 Apr 2011, 07:52 am
Adi should be starting…..
6 Apr 2011, 08:06 am
ffs jc. not another sharks article. there are 4 other franchises in sa, you know.
6 Apr 2011, 08:07 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-16:
Discovery also promise much but deliver little !!!!
Good combination !!
6 Apr 2011, 08:10 am
Huge drama in Lions set up ….see IOL…Gumede and the Board at loggerheads!
6 Apr 2011, 08:18 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-18: We dont need a home ground , just teams to slaughter …. SADERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6 Apr 2011, 08:21 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-18: Remember PA. Reds returned from an SA excursion last year as well when playing us. They still clobbered us.
6 Apr 2011, 08:24 am
Here’s a quote from Quade Cooper, for those who think Habana has lost pace !!!
“The Stormers are also a good attacking side. Bryan Habana is probably the fastest guy in world rugby, Gio can run from anywhere if you kick the ball aimlessly down field, and Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie are big guys with good skill,” said Cooper.
6 Apr 2011, 08:26 am
@stew(stew)-25:
And currently you are, but this weekend is not a given.
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-26:
Not really a clobbering but I get your point. It was also the worst game the Bulls played in 2010. This year they will be a lot more circumspect I would think playing more of their own brand of rugby and not try and beat the Reds by scoring tries.
6 Apr 2011, 08:26 am
Meaning trying to beat them at their own game… expansive.
6 Apr 2011, 08:29 am
@justrugby(justrugby)-27: Tell that to the guy who rounded Habana in the WC 2007. Try of the tourney is was. Also I think that Davies from the Reds will his heels. But Habana still has the wheels. He is getting back to form.
6 Apr 2011, 08:31 am
brisbane is a burial ground for sa teams….ask Jake White
6 Apr 2011, 08:31 am
@Hop Hop Spinnekop(Hop Hop Spinnekop)-30: ** Deletes auto correct program from PC **
FFS
6 Apr 2011, 08:31 am
From the Cheetahs website!! Despite their horrendous injury list, the Cheetah team still earns respect in the land of the long white cloud, with their fighting spirit and their grounding!! Go Cheetahs!!
“Tony Johnson
(New Zealand kommentator) uittreksel van artikel op Super Rugby blad
Despite the calibre of the players they have out of action, the Toyota Cheetahs made a contest of a game many thought would be a cakewalk for the Blues.
I know Fourie du Preez is a kingpin, but South Africa has in Dewaldt Duvenage and Sarel Pretorius a couple of cracking halfbacks on the rise. Pretorius didn’t start to run until late in the game, but when he did, he made real inroads.
It was, I suspect, a tougher game than it looked – that’s certainly the impression I got walking through the players’ tunnel afterwards. There were some tired and battered bodies, a reminder of how tough this expanded competition is going to be, and how careful coaches have to be in handling their troops.
Just one footnote on that game. I was told afterwards how one of the Toyota Cheetahs who’d been subbed, Corne Uys I believe, was standing in front of some young fans who’d gathered on the perimeter fence to get a closer look at the players.
He struck up a conversation with them, asking them about their own teams, what position they played etc, and finished by wishing them well and encouraging them to keep playing rugby.
I’m told those kids went away with big smiles that are probably still on their faces.
Professional rugby players are expected to fulfil many obligations, but something like that is beyond the call of duty and did him and his team the utmost credit.”
6 Apr 2011, 08:32 am
@justrugby(justrugby)-27: Were you really holding your breath for him to tweet:
“This is gonna be a walk in the park. Habana is a shadow of his former self, only slower. Gio is suspect under the high ball as he has a lot of heart but not the required height to compete. Jean de Villiers has turned into a crashball specialist, probably trying to emulate the self-proclaimed “best 13 in the world” outside of him. Looking forward to dancing my way through these hapless hobos”
6 Apr 2011, 08:34 am
@Hop Hop Spinnekop(Hop Hop Spinnekop)-30:
Don’t remind me of that try, it was very impressive !!!
Agree habana seems to be getting into some sort of form, still a way to go but he is progressing which is great, for him, the Stormers and the Boks !!!
6 Apr 2011, 08:36 am
personally i rate bulls chances better this weekend than against reds….
especially if carter not available….as seems likely
6 Apr 2011, 08:37 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-34:
Was not a tweet , it was part of an interview !!!
And your take on the players you mention , way off the mark, but then you know that !!
6 Apr 2011, 08:41 am
@justrugby(justrugby)-37: Lol. Its not my take, just saying that its unlikely for Quade or anyone else to speak disparagingly of opposition players. Well anyone except Jake that is.
6 Apr 2011, 08:44 am
pissant: just a thought, the Reds were coming from a tour last year & WALLOPED the blue bulls with anthony fainga’a proving wynand is a joke & scott higginbotham showing meisiekind & ‘mullet rat’ dippenaar a clean pair of heels.
6 Apr 2011, 08:45 am
The wheels on the Golden Gumedes magic bus starting to come off?
Let’s face it the action in the Lions boardroom is more interesting than the action on the pitch.
6 Apr 2011, 08:46 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-38:
6 Apr 2011, 08:50 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-40: Touche
6 Apr 2011, 08:51 am
Is a tactical sphere a crystal ball?
6 Apr 2011, 08:53 am
why is no one mentioning the real reason my precious sharks are battling?!?!
our centres are well below adequate and jlp is absolutely not a super rugby flyhalf…
we even looked better with meyer bosman at flyhalf?!?! and adi looked by far the sharpest centre we have and things happen when he is on…
i believe stefan should go to fullback and adi should come in on centre
6 Apr 2011, 08:56 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-38:
@justrugby(justrugby)-41:
Best in this regard I ever read was by the great ******** Ali before his fight against Sonny Liston when he said :
“Liston is nothing, he can’t talk, he can’t fight, he needs talking lessons, he needs boxing lessons, And since he is gonna fight me he needs falling lessons”
And Sonny did fall.
6 Apr 2011, 08:58 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-45:
LOL, Brilliant !!!!!
6 Apr 2011, 08:59 am
I woo say this though, if the shorks lose to the Golden Gumedes it will feel like a kick in the tactical spheres.
6 Apr 2011, 09:01 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-45:
Would love to see that kind of trash talk in rugby!
Imagine Smit about the Lions: Those BEE sponsored pu-ssies are gonna get a pounding of note. At the Sharks we dont discriminate, we fu-ck BEE and non-BEE pu-ssies with equal vigour.
Now that would be entertaining!
6 Apr 2011, 09:13 am
Embrace the tactical sphere?
WTFF Cardinelli? Sometimes your headlines are so far up your own bum, they get lost for days.
6 Apr 2011, 09:17 am
HHP: braam van straaten did well with lambie pre-season, seeing as lambie’s kicking has improved. Hopefully he produces results with elton’s kicking too. So what is carlos spencer going to do now, cos he was the kicking mentor?
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