Early momentum key to Sharks success
22 May 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes that a superior first-half performance will set the platform for a Sharks victory against a Stormers side that tends to fade in the dying stages.
The Sharks haven’t beaten the Stormers since 2010, but will have more than a good chance of doing so this weekend. Apart from home ground advantage, they will come into this clash with all the momentum. While the Stormers have churned out good results, they have begun to tire in recent clashes and may well be due a loss.
The Sharks must seize on what is a great opportunity. A win against the log leaders will be a powerful statement regarding their resurgence. It will also close the gap between the Sharks and those two South African superpowers, the Stormers and Bulls, at the top of the local conference.
A look at the respective campaigns of the Sharks and Stormers makes for interesting reading. The Stormers have been consistent as far as winning is concerned with a record of 10 from 11, while the Sharks have a less flattering seven from 12 return. But what that record won’t indicate is how the Sharks have started to hit form in recent weeks and how the Stormers have eked their way to some narrow wins.
It requires a more thorough analysis to reveal that the Stormers have been less consistent than the Sharks in terms of point-scoring this season. Last week’s match against the Waratahs was a case in point, as the Stormers scored 16 points in the first half but only three in the second.
A look at their campaign as a whole will confirm that on average, the Stormers do the bulk of their scoring in the first 40 minutes and tend to tail off as the game draws to a close. The Stormers have scored 245 points over 11 games with 162 scored in the first half and 83 in the second.
On nine occasions they have led at half-time, and while they might point to their win record in an attempt to deflect criticism, the statistics confirm that they are indeed less prolific in the second stanza.
In fact, if you break down every match this season into two halves, you will find that the Stormers have been outscored in the second half a total of seven times.
It would suggest that if a team manages to lead the Stormers at half-time, they have a good chance of taking the final spoils. The only loss the Stormers have suffered this season is to the Crusaders, and they did trail the Cantabrians 19-13 at the break.
It becomes interesting if you hold up these statistics to those of the Sharks. The Sharks don’t have as good a win-record, but what they have managed to do consistently is win the second half. They have outscored their opponents in the second stanza on eight out of 12 matches.
The Stormers have the best defensive record in the competition, but again a comparison of their first- and second-half stats confirms their inconsistency. While they have conceded a total of just 69 points in the first half of games played this season, they’ve leaked substantially more (102 points) after half-time.
You don’t need pages of stats to tell you that the Stormers aren’t as effective in the second period as they are in the first. It’s been most evident in their last two games, as they scored zero against the Cheetahs and then just three against the Waratahs. The coach and captain have spoken at length about consistency, and how it continues to elude them.
The stats of the most recent game between the Sharks and Stormers goes against all of these trends. The Sharks led that match 9-6 at half-time, but were outscored and ultimately beaten by the Stormers in the second.
What should be taken into account, however, is that particular game was played in the second round of the competition, some three months ago. From that point until present, the trends have been consistent with the Sharks presenting more of a threat in the second period and the Stormers tailing off towards the end of a game.
It should also be remembered that the Sharks played that game without a number of key forwards. This coming Saturday, the situation is set to be reversed. John Plumtree has welcomed back a host of Springbok heavies in recent weeks while Allister Coetzee has had to scour the globe in search of like-for-like loose forward replacements. The Sharks pack will be at full strength.
The men who have toiled for the navy blue jersey are starting to look tired, and the Sharks will feel confident that they can outplay this Stormers side in the second half of Saturday’s game.
A strong start by the Sharks will make life more difficult for the Stormers. If the Sharks enjoy a good lead at the break and the Stormers are forced to play catch up, the form book and statistics suggest the hosts will emerge victorious.
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844 Comments
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23 May 2012, 10:39 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-795: you guys going to the match??
23 May 2012, 10:40 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-799: pssst Kwagga sy is n pragtige dame ook
23 May 2012, 10:43 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-794: “, I do get ‘fc uked’ whenever I please……..and whenever I’m in the mood…….” my my thou dost protest too much, shame surely Pretoria has some willing ladies
23 May 2012, 10:43 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-795: and i agree 100%, if the stormers play a foreign team in the final or semi’s, of course that is if they make it, i will support them, the team is not responsible for their clown supporters( the good ones aside)
23 May 2012, 10:44 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-803:
23 May 2012, 10:44 am
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-802: Aaah I see. Clever and looks to match. Something in the KZN water?
23 May 2012, 10:45 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-795:Some of the predictions by Sharks supporters on this tread are totally unrealistic when you consider the way the Stormers have played in the competition this year. I support my team but will never on public forum like this; deride the other team and/or its players. I am realistic when it comes to my team’s chances although there is always the hope for my team to improve and perform better.
23 May 2012, 10:46 am
Right I’m outta here. Play nice.
23 May 2012, 10:46 am
Sharks/ Natal rugby- no rugby history,pedigree,tradition,class.They are the modern day SA rugby mercenaries.
23 May 2012, 10:46 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-799: Why thank you sir
23 May 2012, 10:48 am
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-782:
was referring more to fern, gws and skoppie.
hg and that dogfood creature at least put a little humour into their posts
23 May 2012, 10:49 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-803: Pretoria? Not quite…..(I find it similar to Dirtbin… – both suck in equal measure) I have never met such a bunch of wet and simpering smudges in my life. I honestly thought my mate was kidding when he said, ‘visit Keo and check out the Sharks contingent – it will horrify you’. I am not disappointed……Absolute jelly babies who take the moral high ground, then dive back down into the gutters, then back up to the high ground – just like the team you support, you are all most inconsistent in executing your game-plan.
23 May 2012, 10:49 am
@John1976(John1976)-807: I am using the term “supporters” very loosely given that they turn on team, players and coach fairly quickly if the results are not going their way.
23 May 2012, 10:51 am
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-801: you betcha!!!! Fortunately the youngest doesn’t have a match and my Maritzburg College boy plays at Westville so should give us enough time to get to the game. You will not believe how his school rugby has interfered with my attending matches. But he is doing so well that it almost makes up for it!
23 May 2012, 10:54 am
@John1976(John1976)-768:
Exactly.
But some people think they should not be allowed to and should only play with players from their region conveniently forgetting that the franchises they support go into the market every year despite having all these rugby academies in existence for years now.
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-782:
Returning serve, huh.
23 May 2012, 10:55 am
@John1976(John1976)-813: And leave the stadium in droves before the end of the game when it’s obvious their team is going to lose.Also prone to booing their own out of form players.
23 May 2012, 10:56 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-795:
The main reason why it appears that bull supporters (on this site) are so decent is because a very good proportion of them either live, studied or lived in the Cape and therefore had some exposure to class and culture.
Some prime examples are Tacitus and Gunther…
23 May 2012, 10:59 am
right, picks are in:
Chiefs
canes
Landers
Brumbies
Farce
Tahs, the cheating ones
Sharks
23 May 2012, 11:00 am
@Superbru(Superbru)-816:
think you might be confusing weepee with sharks here.
the weepee ground hasn’t been called boolands for nothing.
and the mood is dark when they lose – unless you’re too young to remember those days.
at least the kp gang still have a jol afterwards regardless of the result.
23 May 2012, 11:00 am
@John1976(John1976)-807: Look I agree HG I know most of the time he is talking with his tongue firmly in between his cheecks but makes me, as a Sharks supporter, cringe, but then every team has its detractors like the Stormers have Skoppie and this dog guy.
23 May 2012, 11:04 am
@Superbru(Superbru)-816: Empty stadiums are very endemic of Bulls and Sharks rugby.If their teams win than the stadiums are normally packed, but totally the opposite when their teams are on a losing run . It sometimes reflects on keo as well where bloggers like Tacitus and sharkslover disappear for months.When the sharks lose on Saturday,as expected,you will see how things will return to normal on keo from next week.
23 May 2012, 11:05 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-817:
23 May 2012, 11:08 am
So, within two day this Doggy Dog guy makes such a big splash that every Shark supporter is talking about him.
What happened to “scroll past” “return serve”, “ignore” and all the other advice that were given to some people when they complained about HG vile utterences?
23 May 2012, 11:11 am
There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling Skop he got to beware
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Strange people speaking their minds
With so much insistence they must be blind
I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
What a fine day for the game
thousands of people going insane
Shouting threats and flipping signs
Most of them are way outta line
It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
Instead of building up you gotta degrade
We better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
23 May 2012, 11:12 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-817: lol rob, hey i have you in the decent wp catagory, dont make me change my mind
23 May 2012, 11:13 am
In all honesty,the guy with the dog nick got it spot on …. the sharks rugby pedigree can really be compressed to fit into a dog food can.Mind you,in a 430g can their might be still space left.I now sharks supporters might not be happy about this,but I truly believes that 90 percent of saffa rugby supporters would be in agreement although they would not openly admit it on a forum like this.
23 May 2012, 11:15 am
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-826: know
23 May 2012, 11:18 am
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-809: yeah keep on telling yourself that you may actually come to believe it at some stage. and just maybe if you can, look at your own team and be honest: Habana, Vermeulen, Grant (Maritzburg College no less), the Cannuk; now Clever, Kolisi, Van den Heever, Liebenberg… .
23 May 2012, 11:19 am
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-826: can’t say much for the pedigree of the Boolands crowd, at least the supporters at the tank don’t support the other team.
Just WP jealousy if you ask me. Hell, I know so many WP supporters who have kids that, from birth to school, have never seen any WP team with a major trophy. They must think WP titles are as real as Santa Claus
23 May 2012, 11:19 am
@nama1(nama1)-823: Oh so true, guilty as charged
23 May 2012, 11:20 am
@nama1(nama1)-823: Wrong,hg’s utterances are not vile but tongue in cheek according to the doggie supporters.
23 May 2012, 11:21 am
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-831: and Skopshyte’s?
23 May 2012, 11:22 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-820: I agree
23 May 2012, 11:26 am
There are only 4 fundamental truths in religion:
1. Muslims don’t recognise Jews as the chosen people
2. Jews don’t recognise Jeesus as the Messiah
3. Protestants don’t recognise the Pope
4. Dutch Reformed members don’t recognise each other in Teasers
23 May 2012, 11:30 am
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-831: His tongue in that hideous bathroom plant’s butt cheek yes….Shark fans version of ‘Dining in’.
23 May 2012, 11:31 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-834: hahahahahaaaaaa
23 May 2012, 11:35 am
@trupisero(trupisero)-829: @trupisero(trupisero)-829: I was in church on Sunday where the preacher preached about going to a graveyard and seeing or realising the thousands of people that died without fulfilling their potential.Well,if you go to kzn graveyards you will also see hundreds of thousands natal supporters who died in the 100 years before 1990 to have never seen their team lift a trophy.
23 May 2012, 11:52 am
Katman @ 834.LOL.
Thanks
23 May 2012, 11:52 am
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-837: That’s ancient history, not current affairs…
23 May 2012, 12:00 pm
You would love to erase 100 years of your rugby history and create the impression that Natal/sharks rugby started in 1990 I reckon now…surely not?
23 May 2012, 12:12 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-831:
@>^..^< katman(katman)-834:
Good one.
23 May 2012, 13:10 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-834:
katman good one boet
23 May 2012, 14:16 pm
This is a strange old world when the ppl telling other ppl to build them houses don’t have one iota of their intelligence. Just goes to show money can buy you houses but it can’t buy you anything upstairs or inside.
23 May 2012, 18:29 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-826:
Why not? It’s the perfect forum to say what you like. The Sharks may only have come to the fore in 1990 but they have been a powerhouse in South African rugby ever since.
The Force are a young team but gaining some respectibility as they progress and the Rebels are fast getting a reputation in Super Rugby.
The Sharks have very little to be ashamed of.
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