Pressure builds on errant Sharks
6 Mar 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the Sharks will need to be more disciplined and clinical if they hope to record their first win of the 2012 tournament on Saturday.
It was always going to be difficult to come away from Loftus Versfeld and Newlands with the winning points, but the Sharks will know that they let themselves down badly. They lacked aggression, or ‘attitude’ as John Plumtree described it, in that performance against the Bulls. They produced an improved showing against the Stormers, but lacked the ability to finish the Cape franchise off.
The Sharks were manhandled in Pretoria but the game in Cape Town was there for the taking. Stormers fullback Joe Pietersen did miss four attempts at goal, which would suggest that the hosts should have won by a more comfortable margin than 15-12. But considering Pat Lambie also fluffed two kicks at goal and that the Sharks were stronger in other facets, Plumtree and his charges should be more than a little disappointed that they didn’t walk away with the spoils.
They had 58% of the territory and 52% of the possession, stats that indicate there were a fair number of opportunities to strike at a Stormers defensive line that was not at its best. While the hosts were better in the second stanza, they slipped 12 tackles in the first half. They were fortunate that the Sharks didn’t capitalise on this attacking momentum and establish more than a 9-6 advantage by half-time.
The Stormers scrum enjoyed a good evening, but neither side was particularly dominant at the lineout and breakdowns. There was plenty of intent, but not much accuracy and this impacted on the Sharks’ ball retention.
There were 21 lost possessions when they faced the Bulls (a stat that includes breakdown turnovers and handling errors among others) and 21 lost possessions against the Stormers. In that second match, they were guilty of nine handling errors.
They also battled to string many phases together, only managing to take the ball through seven or more phases on five occasions. And when they did keep the ball for long enough to stretch the opposition defence, they failed to translate this possession into points.
They looked underdone in that match against the Bulls, and there were still signs of rust in the fixture against the Stormers. But there will be no margin for error come Saturday.
They’ve now lost two from two, and are desperate to record their first win. They’re back in Durban to host the Lions, and must settle quickly in this fixture if they’re to end this losing streak.
It’s a game you’d expect the Sharks to win, given their record against the Lions at Kings Park in recent years. Minimising handling errors and penalties at the breakdown will be crucial in their drive to retain more possession. Achieving that, they will need to be more clinical than they were in Cape Town and they will need to translate sustained periods of pressure into points.
There have been complaints about the weather in Durban at this time of year, as the heat and humidity can make handling difficult. Nevertheless, the Sharks will need to produce a more controlled showing. The Lions are a dangerous side on the counter-attack, and so spilled ball will not only rob the Sharks of possession and potential scoring chances but also create scoring opportunities for the Lions’ excellent broken-field players.
The discipline at the breakdown will also be under scrutiny. The Lions have some talented players in this area, and while the Sharks shouldn’t be lacking in attitude, they will need to be more accurate and mindful of the referee’s law interpretations. It’s been a problem in the past two matches where they’ve conceded 12 and 14 penalties respectively. Twelve of those 30 penalties have been at the ruck.
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112 Comments
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6 Mar 2012, 06:01 am
Sharks need to have their leaders on the field set an example – and as everyone predicted, so far Bismarck and Daniel have been found wanting when it comes to discipline. Skeate’s yellow ended up leaving their lineouts and scrums in a disarray they never recovered from.
The Stormers were profligate with the penalties, but when given that many opportunities a side will eventually punish their opponents.
From watching the Sharks opening games I do feel that Michalak’s rather ponderous use of the ball from rucks is contributing detrimentally to what is quite a static attack, it’s all too easy for teams to form defensive lines.
6 Mar 2012, 06:50 am
hmmmm……no tries conceded in two aay games and yes, the sharks should have punished wp by halfime but i am not too upset yet.
the poor discpine must stop though, right now.
6 Mar 2012, 06:51 am
Be interresting to see how many of those 12 penalties came from Bismark.
6 Mar 2012, 07:00 am
These days when rugby matches are just a endless succession of penalties, why Plum uses his 3rd best kicker, is mind blogging. Even Naas had to wait a few years before being allowed to kick for posts. The Bulls fullback at the time had more range and accuracy.
6 Mar 2012, 07:07 am
Mark Lawrence disgraceful refereeing must have caught the Sharks by surprise, they didn’t expect it, they probably thought that SARU will not deal them any of the Cheetahs’ ‘preferential’, sadly they were wrong.
Welcome to the ‘New’ SARU
A self respected team would have probably protested to the Super Rugby referees committee with ample video clips to support their case, I don’t expect the Sharks to do any of it though.
6 Mar 2012, 07:08 am
What’s wrong wth losing to the Bulls and then the Stormers in the first 2 games? (Both away)
No pressure.
The Super 15 format is bunch of rubbish anyway, for the tournament to be fair enough (and more entertaining) each team has to play the other. Some draws in the fixtures are looking very easy for certain teams.
Super 12 please. Merge the Lions, Cheetahs and Kings
“Southern Pussycat Dolls”
6 Mar 2012, 07:10 am
Naas Botha kicked for posts from the first minute of his first provincial game.
6 Mar 2012, 07:14 am
@BULLET(BULLET)-3:
Bismarck gave away 2 penalties that I can remember. Couple that with the vital penalty being given away by Daniel and the Shark’s captaincy accounts for at least 1/4 of the penalties against their team.
6 Mar 2012, 07:18 am
What I find strange is how a number of normally astute posters on this site – they know who they are – as part of their argument for picking your team first and then your captain (a principle which has a lot of merit by the way) were rather embarrassingly for them pusshing Bismark as a viable candidate for Bok captain.
Now, while I don’t believe in a captain getting a free ride in the team, you must be either totally bonkers or waaay up **** creek without a paddle in order to even consider that hot head as captaincy material.
Really guys, what were you thinking?
6 Mar 2012, 07:18 am
The difference between the Bulls and the Sharks you will find what they did last year in the Currie Cup.
The Bulls got rid of their unwanted players early during the CC season.
The Sharks only got rid of their unwanted players after the CC. (remember the grandpa, Adi Jacobs etc)
Thus at this point in time the Bulls plays more as a team than the Sharks.
6 Mar 2012, 07:22 am
i can only surmise its mostly downhill from here for the sharks. too bad though, they had that one good season and that was it.
6 Mar 2012, 07:24 am
Wow I never knew the Super 15 was won after the first 2 games…
6 Mar 2012, 07:30 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-9:
hehehe
it amazed to no end.
some okes just skeem they are ‘the fukkern bizniz’ i suppose…
6 Mar 2012, 07:45 am
The Bulls didn’t have an overwhelming control of their forwards against the Sharks, far from that, considering the altitude effect on the coastal team, the Sharks were not a push over at Loftus
And they missed Albert and Deysel too,
In the retrospective, the Sharks haven’t recovered from the loss of Styen, Butch, Pienaar and Barritt, while Lambi is ineffective with the service of Michalak.
6 Mar 2012, 07:52 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-9: There aren’t any outstanding candidates for Springbok captaincy at the moment, so there will always be one or 2 “out there” suggestions from passionate fans! Who is the back up captain for the Bulls? I don’t think its Kruger, but to me he seems like the real leader of the Bulls in terms of his actions on the pitch right now. He’s had a great start to the season.
6 Mar 2012, 07:53 am
Sharks will bounce back no problem… And yes Stormers missed 4… But Sharks missed 3 if I am correct? So a bigger win? Haha!
6 Mar 2012, 08:01 am
@Hondo(Hondo)-5:
sure mark lawrence didn’t have the best game… but to blame him for the sharks loss is laughable…
they were far more undisciplined and got justifiably pinged for it…
he actually could and should have penalised them for more… bismarck got away with several hands in the ruck and playing the ball on the ground at the bottom of the ruck… as did marcel coetzee… also dale chadwick hardly competed one scrum without trying or doing something illegal… scrumming in mostly, but also lining up head to head and not going brok or frans space to engage… for which he was only called once.. before the engagement and thus not penalised…
so the sharks have only themselves to blame really…
but they will be back i have no doubt… with alberts and co back… i still believe the sharks will join the bulls as the two saffa sides at the top of the conference…
but here’s hoping stormers manage to hang in there… somehow…
6 Mar 2012, 08:14 am
2 bonus points and zero tries against in 2 away games with a side lacking a few big names.
Small amount of pressure building yes but I think the Stormers, if anyone, will be scratching their heads and wondering how the Sharks ran them so close.
I’d love to see the Stormers handlling errors and turnover stats. I thought they were rank average for a side that full of experience.
6 Mar 2012, 08:19 am
Good morning all.
Yip, as said above by Fern.
Let’s remember this is only week 2. Bulls have started well but Stormers have also won both games.
Sharks will be there at the end.. imo.
Must say though… Bulls were kopping seriaaaaas flack by bloggers here about the kicking & boring rugby only to find out that the Stormers kick more!.
Bulls need to improve a lot but hell they are carrying some sieriaaaaaas confidence at this moment.
Regarding the Stormers, i think they will definately improve and every team will struggle against them at Newlands.
Sharkies? Maby the coach must stop playing people out of possition.. i mean the frenchie @ 9, aggenee man.
6 Mar 2012, 08:20 am
sorry spelling
6 Mar 2012, 08:28 am
@John Galt(John Galt)-18:
and yet they still beat the sharks…who were wildly penetrative in their midfield attack at times too. no man, plumtree should be a lot more worried than ac right now.
two games, two losses.
next they have the lions who will be hurting from their loss this weekend and who have beaten this sharks side convincingly in a final.
then the reds…
then the waratahs away…
before they might catch a lucky break against the brumbies.
i certainly wont be betting on the sharks any time soon.
6 Mar 2012, 08:28 am
@John Galt(John Galt)-18:
Full of experience? The average age for the Stormers starting 15 was 23 years old, with 5 of those guys being 21 or younger.
Hardly an experienced outfit.
6 Mar 2012, 08:38 am
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-22:
And just a quick comparison, Sharks average age was 24 with only 2 players 21 years old or younger.
6 Mar 2012, 08:40 am
@Staal(Staal)-19:
You are right, it’s only week 2. But the Sharks have a pretty horrible early run of fixtures and won’t want to make things more difficult for themselves in these matches by giving their opponents 12+ pts a game through the boot.
They’ll surely improve game to game with players coming back and shaking off rust and their defence is looking steady enough already, but the discipline is a killer no matter what stage of the season.
As for Michalak – he’s not really out of position, he’s just trying to play no9 in an almost hybrid SH-French style and it isn’t working at all. He was a fairly good scrummie when he was younger.
6 Mar 2012, 08:43 am
@welcome to my life, hugh…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-21: That’s a pretty frightening start, considering they have lost the first two. Lions will definitely be targeting the Sharks and will be looking at the fixture more as equals, rather then underdogs. Its a must win match, because starting the season with 5 straight losses would mean the season is over after 1 month!
6 Mar 2012, 08:46 am
As a Sharks supporter I am not in the slightest bit concerned. Week 1 was a bit of a let down but to get a bonus point away from home against the Bulls who in hindsight are playing some great rugby was fair enough. Week 2 was a let down because sitting down to watch the rugga on a Saturday evening, the last thing I wanted to watch was Mark “I’m from Mpumalanga and still think highlights in my hair are cool” Lawrence dominate proceedings. News flash Mark – nobody watches rugby to see you except your mother, maybe. In truth with another ref that game could have gone either way. Again a bonus point away from home. If the sharks pick up a five point win this weekend then they have three BPs which is only one shy of elliminating the loss against Mark, sorry the Stormers. And yes, to everyone who says ah blame the ref, I do. And not because I think the Sharks were unfairly penalized, may one or two were 50:50 calls but wtf as Saffas we accept those. It was the numerous infringements that the Stormers seemed to get away with that grinds me. That ranga prop could stay on his feet at a ruck after the 20th minute but never got blown once – another ref would have binned him by halftime.
6 Mar 2012, 08:50 am
Sharks need to sort out their set piece. You cannot build pressure if you loose your own line-outs almost every time you get into the opposition 25 on your own ball. Secondly discipline, discipline.
Back line play has already improved a lot since last year – they just need more patience
6 Mar 2012, 08:50 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-25: Ok so let me get this right – the lions scraped a win at home with 9 penalties against the Cheetahs while the Bulls beat the Sharks by 6 points at Loftus. The self same Bulls proceed to anialate the Cheetahs a week later and all of sudden the Lions and Sharks are peers. Betting man? The bookies must love you.
6 Mar 2012, 08:52 am
@LarryNkomo(LarryNkomo)-26: not stay on his feet
6 Mar 2012, 08:54 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-25:
even if they lose the first five (which i doubt)… the sharks season will not be over by a long shot…
this is a VERY long season… and the last couple of seasons the sharks have rallied late in the season putting together winning streaks that have seen them improve their log position almost every game…
people are being premature writing the sharks off…
they will get their mojo back…!!
6 Mar 2012, 08:54 am
@LarryNkomo(LarryNkomo)-26:
Boo hoo…sniff sniff.
The Sharks were very poorly disciplined, that’s the bottom line. Lawrence wasn’t great, but it went both ways. He missed a lot for the Stormers and the Sharks. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. The Sharks were far more undisciplined than the Stormers.
And your captain (I use that term loosely) is the biggest culprit of them all. Not too mention an irritating little man.
6 Mar 2012, 08:56 am
I will say again.
From a Bulls perspective the Sharks loss to the Stormers was very important, because the Sharks are gonna get MUCH better, while the Stormers will not.
Also, the Stormers may have 8 points, but they’ve had two home games so far – and one against the weakest team in the NZ conference.
The Sharks in contrast have had two away games, and both against their strongest competitors in the SA conference. And they got 2 bonus points to show for it.
If the Sharks just go and beat the Bulls and Stormers at Kings Park, then all’s square again, and they might even be leading the SA conference.
The Sharks will challenge for the top position in the SA conference, I am pretty sure. The Stormers? Nah.
6 Mar 2012, 08:57 am
Its still early days!!!! Last season everyone came out blazing and how many teams burnt out near the end?? Yes the sharks are not up to par but they are not looking that bad either!!!
reffing isn’t to great either, some one said that Bismark was playing the ball on the ground? what about koster at their try line? he was rolling around on the floor with his hands on the ball and even got it out!! no whistle???
Give the Sharks time to settle down, new captain, new-ish back line and some key players still out, like i said its early days…just have to see what happens.
what they really need is that hunger to win!!!!
6 Mar 2012, 08:58 am
@LarryNkomo(LarryNkomo)-28:
Ah yes, the old “team A beat team B who in turn beat team C so team A will beat team C etc etc.” logic. Flawless…
6 Mar 2012, 09:05 am
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-34:
6 Mar 2012, 09:09 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-25:
my feelings too.
@ufo(ufo)-30:
ja, but its certainly not the best of ways to go about winning a competition.
6 Mar 2012, 09:10 am
not so sure about freddie and lambie as a 9-10 combo.
when the sharks beat the bulls at loftus last season, in my opinion, it had a lot to do with freddie playing 10 and lambie 15. The difference at the end of that game was freddies drop goal.
Lambie does not know how to keep a scoreboard ticking.
6 Mar 2012, 09:11 am
@LarryNkomo(LarryNkomo)-28: If you keep giving the Lions penalties like you’ve given everyone else, then Jantjies is going to kick them. Sharks aren’t going to score loads of trys either. Lions can easily take them if they don’t sort their problems out fast.
6 Mar 2012, 09:12 am
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-34:
Works perfectly so long as team C is the Rebels
(Guess who the Sharks don’t play this year)
6 Mar 2012, 09:15 am
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-34:
aristotle would be proud.
6 Mar 2012, 09:15 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-32:
I do believe that is a hattrick of “Nahs” oh wise one
2010 – “Nah”
2011 – “Nah”
2012 – “Nah”
Stick to your day time job and cut the voyeur thing out….
6 Mar 2012, 09:17 am
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-31: You crying or got a cold. You assumption that the Sharks were more ill disciplined than the Stormers is probably correct – they had more of the ball. 90% more – I fcuked doubt it…
6 Mar 2012, 09:17 am
31 Dazzler booho! That same Captain who was one of the best players on the Field!! He may be irritating but he played well!
6 Mar 2012, 09:19 am
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-34: Logic in sport – nope. Common sense – a fair amount.
6 Mar 2012, 09:20 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-32:
i am going to save this one for posterity, tac.
6 Mar 2012, 09:21 am
@Bod(bod)-41:
We’ll see, won’t we..
6 Mar 2012, 09:22 am
@welcome to my life, hugh…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-36:
hehehe…
for sure…
that’s why… even though stormers didn’t play that great… i’d rather take the win and log points…
hopefully we will improve too and find more cohesion amongst our backs…
6 Mar 2012, 09:24 am
@LarryNkomo(LarryNkomo)-42:
so you’re drawing a direct correlation between the amount of ball a team has and it’s discipline…??
the two are (or should not be) in any way connected…
6 Mar 2012, 09:27 am
@THE MAULER(THE MAULER)-43:
He played so well that he gifted the Stormers the game at the end!
6 Mar 2012, 09:27 am
@welcome to my life, hugh…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-45:
Feel free.
Is it a crime to not rate the Stormers?
You guys make it sound like I committed sacrilege.
I already stated the Stormers are a decent team, and will contend for the play-offs (top 6).
I just don’t think they are title contenders, and a full strength Sharks outfit are the better team, in my view.
So sue me.
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