Quintet to shape Sharks’ season
21 Feb 2012
RYAN VREDE writes that there is a heavy weight of expectation on certain Sharks players.
Pat Lambie – Sharks coach John Plumtree has maintained from the early days of Lambie’s senior career that he saw him settling at flyhalf. There has been a purposeful plan with the youngster which has culminated in a season where he will be the incumbent pivot. He has impressed when deployed there in the past, exhibiting a complete skills set. He will primarily offer the Sharks a gainline threat but is also adept at a more pragmatic approach if the match situation and/or opposition demands it. He needs support from his pack and centres (a weak point for the Sharks) to realise his potential, though. Morne Steyn has the inside track on Springboks selection with Heyneke Meyer as coach but Lambie can force reconsideration in this regard with a strong season.
Bismarck du Plessis – Forget his respectful media offerings, John Smit became an annoying presence for Du Plessis in the the latter part of his career, particularly with the Springboks, where selection promises where made to Du Plessis and never honoured. Plumtree was less in awe of Smit than Peter de Villiers was, recognising that his side was significantly less potent without Du Plessis in the No 2 shirt. There is no such selection dilemma for Plumtree in 2012. With Smit departed for Saracens, Du Plessis will get an extended run. He is undoubtedly the type of player galvanised by a challenge and spurred on by a sense of injustice. Whether he responds in the absence of those motivating forces remains to be seen. The Sharks need him to consistently deliver the standard of performance he did in 2011.
JP Pietersen – Pietersen has, in recent years, looked an impostor of the once formidable winger he was when he first emerged. Injuries have stifled his efforts to regain that form but that alone cannot mitigate him. He was a passenger for the duration of the 2011 Super Rugby and Test season, benefiting from a lack of competition in the former and misplaced loyalty in the latter. Now it appears that a positional change is on the cards, with Plumtree expected to persist with his pre-season experiment of Pietersen in midfield. It is too early to make an absolute judgement on Pietersen in the position, but he has acquitted himself well enough to warrant a continuation of this trial in Super Rugby. The move has the potential to rejuvenate a player who needs to feel consistently challenged to produce his best form. If he is deployed as a wing Pietersen must escape the maze of mediocrity he has been trapped in if he hopes to add to his Test cap count. There will be no selection favours from Meyer.
Marius Joubert – Joubert was recruited from Clermont last season in the hope that he would be the solution to the Sharks’ now chronic midfield problems. He disappointed in the Currie Cup, with Plumtree citing poor conditioning as central to his struggles. Having had a full pre-season with the Sharks that problem should be alleviated and Joubert must deliver on the Sharks’ expectations.
Frederic Michalak – The Frenchman is a popular figure in the changeroom but his powers have certainly waned. Michalak has always lacked consistency, dynamic match winning performances interjecting ordinary displays. He’ll be used as bench cover for scrumhalf and flyhalf and must maintain a high standard throughout the tournament, as well as use his vast experience to win matches. The Sharks are paying him a mint, and there needs to be a patent return on that investment.
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13 Comments
21 Feb 2012, 09:28 am
The shark Dragons will be “up there” at the end…. imo….
21 Feb 2012, 09:52 am
I doubt Joubert will have much of a role in the Sharks set up this year. Except maybe as tackle bag carrier on the overseas tour. He wasnt even chosen to go on the tour down to the Kings.
Alberts, again, has a massive role to play.
I’m also very interested to see how Daniel goes as captain this year. Didnt impress me much toward the end of last seasons Curre Cup.
From what I’ve seen so far, he is looking extremely sharp this year though.
21 Feb 2012, 09:55 am
Agh what bs some of the annoint action that have been said in this article? Little swipes at pdiv and j.smit like petulant little spoilt children-keo so called journos never fail to display this infantilic trait.Link everything’s to suit their misguided and largely unfounded views as concrete as “open secrets” of yesteryear…blah blah blah
JP has what it takes to be a top class midfielder,may struggle in interim especially with reading of defenses,running lines etc but he is definitely gona be better than the sh*t dished up from the last 12-18 months with likes of Bosman,Terblanche,Joubert!Swanepoel etc rather JP,Whitehead,Jordaan,Mjekevu who are genuinely talented with the inkling to linebreaking than the dour rubbish of playing not to lose in midfield/percentages etc Play the game man!
Joubert is poor,has been poor since,leaving SA shores in 2007-he lost his trademark speed,linebreaking ability.slower and diluted level in France for Clermont diluted a lot of his deficiencies which were fully exposed in currie cup-not bloody conditioning etc oke is 33 and is slow.should have joined De Wet and called it a day.Once a great 13,he ain’t no more.
JP,Jordaan,Mjekevu,Whitehead,Williams,Lindeque….let em play
21 Feb 2012, 10:27 am
Please man. Joubert is not going to be “shaping” the Sharks’ season. I doubt he will even feature that much.
21 Feb 2012, 10:32 am
Did Joubert shake his smoke inhalation since Taute whizzed past him?
21 Feb 2012, 11:10 am
I agree, Joubert is a has been and is only tarnishing his reputation. I am very excited to see what we do this year with the back line, and it can only be a step in the right direction. It would be nice to have something resembling an attacking back line for once…….3 more days……….Pienk Bulletjies, julle beter julle beter julle gesigies verf en julle mooi aantrek want ons gaan julle uitvat!!
21 Feb 2012, 11:22 am
whattaload of kuk.
49 stormers articles and this is the best it gets for the sharks?
seriously keococks, you need to understand that JPP is probably the most underrated player in south africa.
he is an outstanding player and every province in this country would sell their left teste to get him,.
but he is ours, a shark, a braveheart and he is gonna blaze fire at 13 mark these words.
21 Feb 2012, 11:34 am
Not being a great believer in the tralala side of things, I find it hard to take Skoppie-esque ramblings about karma seriously. But seeing how the Sharks’ big Lions poaches have either lost form (Ludik) or suffered injuries (Alberts), while the rejects we picked up from them are excelling (Rhodes & Cilliers), I find myself wondering…
21 Feb 2012, 11:56 am
Bullsh.t article. Just communicate the team sheets.
21 Feb 2012, 12:18 pm
Got my tickets for the game and can’t wait!!!
21 Feb 2012, 12:40 pm
What is the point of this article?
Not much change of Joubert shaping anything on the rugby field, except if he brings on the kicking tee, oh wait, that job is already taken….
21 Feb 2012, 13:05 pm
Hey, I have created an easy to use tool for predicting the outcome of this year’s Super Rugby championship. Just follow the link below to download it.
http://www.mediafire.com/?2dwyvd5thrcek2y
22 Feb 2012, 08:43 am
Joubert has been relegated to Vodacom Cup duty already.
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