Sharks show Bulls the way
29 May 2012
RYAN VREDE writes the Sharks laid down the blueprint on how to beat the Stormers last week.
The 25-20 scoreline flattered the Stormers. The try that got them back into the contest was birthed from a pass that was clearly forward and the Sharks reverted to a holding pattern after establishing a comfortable lead which made them more vulnerable than they had previously been. But overall the Durban franchise comprehensively outplayed their visitors, building their victory on unfailingly accurate defence amplified by brutal physicality at the gainline, and, more importantly, an excellent tactical kicking game.
The Stormers’ attacking challenges have been well documented, but they don’t stem from a lack of momentum at the gainline. Indeed their primary ball-carriers have been efficient and mostly dominant. However, their backline play has been sterile and unimaginative. On Saturday, however, those Stormers strike runners in the heavies were rendered futile for the bulk of the contest, as they were regularly made to launch from deep in their territory as a result of the Sharks’ impressive kicking game.
From there the Sharks’ defence line held firm, forcing the Stormers to kick or run from positions they didn’t favour. Their attacks became increasingly desperate and disjointed as the contest wore on, easing the Sharks’ defensive task. The pressure the Sharks were able to exert on defence accounted for many of their scoring opportunities and they showed a clinical edge in finishing that the Stormers have yet to exhibit.
Furthermore, the Stormers’ lineout was under immense pressure. With the opposition having been astute in their analysis and the heat turned up, yet again Andries Bekker failed to command the lineout with any authority. It is a worrying trend and underlines the reason Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has reservations about Bekker as a Test player, specifically since statistics reveal that the highest percentage of tries in Test rugby in recent seasons have been birthed from attacking lineouts in or just outside the opposition’s 22m. He will start with Bekker in the England series but will have to panel beat his mind for him to realise his full potential.
The strategy employed by the Sharks is not uncommon for the elite sides that have faced the Stormers. The key to its success was of course its accurate execution. Certainly the Bulls attempted to stifle the Stormers in this manner when they met at Newlands in March. A weak first half effort, where they failed to repel the Stormers from their 22m – undermined their cause, Joe Pietersen capitalising on the pressure they created by kicking three penalties and converting Tiaan Liebenberg’s try for a 14-0 half-time lead. The Bulls rebounded well, drawing level before Peter Grant stole the win with a 77th minute penalty.
The Bulls had managed to enforce their will on the Stormers in the second 40, the difference in the result on that evening and the one at Kings Park being the Sharks’ ability to sustain their effort through 80 minutes. This has been the Bulls’ Achilles heel to date, with many of their performances marked by extended periods where they appear to lose concentration. It has been terminal in some cases and in others not so, but one can safely bet the Stormers have the capacity to punish them if this trend continues.
The Bulls have the personnel to replicate the Sharks’ approach, although they will lament the absence of the abrasive Jacques Potgieter. But whether they are accurate in their execution will be critical to their fortunes.
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295 Comments
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29 May 2012, 22:08 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-248: Well you can’t expect anything really. The top three SA teams can beat each other on any day home and away, all things being equal. Having said that, I’ll qualify that by saying; I don’t think I’ll be taking out my wallet for this weeks battle of Loftus. I never bet against my team. Odds are stacked heavily against this bout.
29 May 2012, 22:10 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-243:
You can bet your house that Skoppy will be back with all guns blazing before too long.
To be fair to him he did say at some time last week that it will be a miracle if the Stormers win the match.
Well, the miracle did not happen and we got stuffed indeed- and I am worried that it might happen again this weekend- the 3 weeks break in the tourny might be 2 weeks too late for us i am afraid.
After the break it might be a new ball game though, so lets see.
29 May 2012, 22:14 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-251: the game against the bulls will be a tighter affair imo.
the stormers are looking down the barrel of a gun in terms of having all their hard work and fantastic wins derailed at the business end.
i just hopoe there are no injuries though i fear bekker is playing when he shouldnt be.
is etzebeth going to be fit to play?
29 May 2012, 22:15 pm
Sharks actually think they fck’d Stormers up into a pulp.. Stormers handed that game to them on a gilt edged plate.. missing kick offs, letting high bombs bounce, and missing line outs..
Sharks got three pisseasy tries against the run of play.. now they think they the glory singing bees f’ng knees.
One little showdown that was bound to go their way with all the cards stacked in their favor and they think they’ve arrived all of a sardine as the glory hallelujahs chorus of choruses..
wait till they get fck’d out the comp again..
See how glory f’ng hallelujah they be singing then.
29 May 2012, 22:15 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-252: i thought this louis schropenol chap was snoeky?
29 May 2012, 22:17 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-255:
Snoeky, lol– you mean the one with the skop.
29 May 2012, 22:17 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-252: @louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-254: bwaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa see, i smoked him out like a skunk
fckn bounce fkn canuck cant catch coulda woulda fkn shoulda brudda mudda pisswilly fkn fokfuckface fkn hell!
29 May 2012, 22:18 pm
So many names these days its hard to keep up with who is who in this place.
29 May 2012, 22:18 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-249: Skoppie I’m calling in my retainer as our district PR. You’re attracting a power of unwanted flack from the enemy.
29 May 2012, 22:19 pm
I see someone let Joel out of the loony asylum…
He’s still smarting from the moerse snotklap issued to his team.
*whataplonkerheis*
29 May 2012, 22:19 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-256: ja, snoeky.
because you can smell when he joins a thread and he is pap this week after the sharks win
29 May 2012, 22:22 pm
also, i call him snoeky because i metaphorically shove my speargun somewhere he dont like every time i see his thirtieth identical post.
this week he has been repeating things at least 90 times so he has unknowingly been metaphorically culled three times
wait for it……..waaaait……wait til you can see the pink in his gills……………haha
29 May 2012, 22:23 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-253: apparently yes. But word on the ground is; the guys are buggared. Been over-played and the focus on defense has left some riding on reserve. We’ll see soon enough.
29 May 2012, 22:26 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-263: its a really tough gameplan tassies, really tough.
the defensive system is undoubtedy world class but it sure takes a toll.
29 May 2012, 22:26 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-262: evening Ranger. I sometimes think you come on here specifically to go fishing. Correction. Most times.
29 May 2012, 22:27 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-259:
these little sharkifarki rent a queens actually still believe they fck’d Stormers up on Saturday.. the other little bambi banana face was so embittered not too long ago that they hadn’t sacked Plumtree and Daniel yet .. now he wanna sing their hallucinatory hallelujahs to the heavens how they fck’d the Stormers up into a pulp..
meanwhile if you check that game out properly Stormers had the better possession and territory well into first half and most of second half and Sharks got 3 lucky breaks and scored from them
Stormers got two lucky breaks of their own.. but the 3 that Sharks got were early enough for them to actually think they walk on water all of a sardine.. and now their sharkshit smells like fanny apple strudel in downtown marine parade.
29 May 2012, 22:27 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-262:
It is getting dangerous here with all the speargun pointing and so on
let me rather go and repair a ding in my surfboard, tjorts.
29 May 2012, 22:28 pm
Robzim @100
AS i said on p previous post supporters see what they want to see
to re-inforce their.prejudices
RE.Vermeulen,speed.
1.you implied he got up from a ferocious tackle and ran in Mvovo.
I saw that the period between the tackle made on him and his tackle on Mvovo
some time span apart.
I saw Mvovo conscious of touch line so not running flat out.
I saw a despairing ankle tap from Vermeulen.
If we take power x speed(velocity.) then how many tries has Vermeulen
scored from short distances in big games)?.How many Alberts?
Regards
29 May 2012, 22:29 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-265: its true tassies, there is certain fish species round here that i enjoy catching.
but i do also try to intersperse it with a bit of rugby chat with the bloggers who are worth chatting with.
for instance i will chat with you, Rob, Dawn, WPTID, ufo and a host of other stormers fans any time, any place.
but for woof, peewee, skyewalker and their ilk, i have no mercy
29 May 2012, 22:29 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-266:
Do you even watch the games you comment on? Have you ever played rugby?
29 May 2012, 22:31 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-267: all metaphorical Robbo cheers mate.
man sometime i will tell you about the natal snoek i missed on sunday, the biggest i have ever seen.
29 May 2012, 22:33 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-266: ag and it was all going so well?
you grew up in springs right?
so when did you stop supporting the lions or bulls and become a rent a fan for the stormers
me? born sharks, will die a shark.
29 May 2012, 22:38 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-266: I watched the game twice Skop. Certainly we dominated possession/territory. Its in the stats. But on the field we never looked like winning this one. We were comprehensively outplayed and the scoreline flattered us. Take another look at the game if you get the opportunity. We were nailed in the scrums. Turned over line-outs. Lost the battle on the ground and relied on opportunist tries for our points. Contrast that with the Sharks’ performance. Sorry, we’ll have to agree to disagree.
29 May 2012, 22:40 pm
@lightie(lightie)-270: you just a pissarse little lightie that dunno your pathetic little lightie arse from your little lightie elbow.. like these other little sharkifarki queens that think Sharks obliterated Stormers out their sharkshit tank on Saturday…
Stormers were pretty much on top of those queenies till Michalak started bombarding the skies with high bombs.. and putting deep kicks into Stormers territory and that’s where Sharkifarkies got their tails up and got 3 pisseasy tries against the run of play…
up until first runaway try against run of play.. and after half time.. Sharks were in the game once when Van den Heever gifted the ball to a turnover for Coetsee to put Mvovo away.. First 15 minutes of second half was all Stormers who crossed Sharks try line twice but didn’t dot ball down..
and then Stormers scored 2 tries late in the game..
Firsat 20 minutes was Stormers till the first miss field that went to Lambie which resulted in Michalaks try..
2nd Sharks try came from miss line outs gifted by Stormers and more territorial gains by Sharks against run of play.. and 3rd Sharks try came from a gimme turnover in Stormers territory..
Bulk of possession and territory was with Stormers through first quarter and definitely second half.
Sharks hit a purple patch 2nd quarter and a 3rd runaway try.. from a gimme turnover.
Stormers were poor.. Sharks capitalized on the gifts handed them
and 25-20 was the final result. 3 gimme tries to 2.
29 May 2012, 22:41 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-273: see, thats why i dont go on the whole “all stormers fans are a s s es trip”.
your team are deservedly on top of the conference for now but i fear the injuries may undo them sadly.
sharks and stormers will hopefully have epic encounters for years to come.
29 May 2012, 22:43 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-274: sing snoekybudgie sing
29 May 2012, 22:49 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-273:
we were well and truly soundly beaten.. I actually didn’t expect much better from our boys they went into that game fired up psychologically but physically drained..
We lost the game in the tight phases and in the aerial assault which worked against our guys who let easy kicks bounce into sharks hands.. and Michalak and Mcleod played the high bomb percentage game which turned us around and put pressure on us.
They hurt us badly in the scrums and Bekker and Liebenberg couldn’t put 2 line outs together in a row.. we lost about 4 on our own throw.
But we were on top first quarter and entire 2nd half but for ONE lapse when Van den Heever gave them their third try against run of play..
Their first try was also completely counter to run of pay till that point it was a ding dong affair with Stormers occupying Sharks territory by at least a 60/40 margin maybe more.
Once we let them capitalize on that first bomb that went straight to Lambie and then to Alberts thta was where the kick came in and Stormers didn’t get out of shock mode till second half.. When we put up quite a fight and Fourie almost scored on their line twice after consistent pressure in their red zone for at least 10 minutes solid.
Our tight five were out played and we lacked the grunt at the collisions due to only one enforcer on the park against 4 or 5 of theirs.
In spite of this we came within 1 try of a win.. we gave them 3 they gave us 2.. and Fourie’s near misses almost made it evens.
29 May 2012, 22:49 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-274:
Why are you such a keyboard gangster? And unlettered to boot. They got smacked in the collisions and weren’t consistent. Apart from Fourie’s knock-on and the phases preceding it they never threatened the line. Stop looking at the stats and look at the game. And ******* relax a little, it’s only rugby.
29 May 2012, 22:50 pm
okay outta here . Gunite girls. Chill Skop. Tiss but a game. A serious one but a game never the less.
29 May 2012, 22:52 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-277:
Much better post but I disagree about a few things. Why can’t all you’re posts be like that?
29 May 2012, 22:54 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-277: so you happy to count a forward pass as a try?
desperation knows no bounds i see snoeky?
29 May 2012, 22:55 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-279: cheers bud.
29 May 2012, 22:59 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-277: ja, before I go…..you right, we did put up a decent fight and certainly did come back in the second half but by then we were always chasing the game. Michelak had a blinder and some of our guys had shockers. Overall, we were beaten fair and square. No disgrace IMO. It did after all take place in the Tank and who the hell wins there with a South African accent sans a winter suntan.
29 May 2012, 23:02 pm
now chaars. Enjoyed.
29 May 2012, 23:09 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-283:
correct.. so why don’t these little guppieyuppie poeftas rather hail queen Mary for her gifts of grandiose generosity than befuddle their brains with some bullshit baffling bravado that they fck’d us up to kingdom come and beyond
they were so shitting their little pompous pom pom pantaloons after Aplon’s second try I could hear Queens Park choking up in one more delirious death defying ch..ch..ch..choke from here in False Bay.
29 May 2012, 23:10 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-284: so long .. out too
30 May 2012, 00:03 am
@ryecatcher(ryecatcher)-268:
The basic message that i wanted to convey is that Vermeulen is not as slow as some people are making him out to be and i think that clip illustrated it. Everybody in his or her right mind knows that he cannot catch Mvovo if it is a straight race between the two of them- the same as Lambie who will not get near to Aplon in a straight race between them. It was not really necessary for you to have timed the period between the two tackles, lol.
I have no idea how many times Vermeulen scored from “short distances” in comparison to Alberts . Such comparisons are meaningless (too many other variables) and therefore the statisticians do not bother to even keep it I suppose..
30 May 2012, 03:00 am
Time Keo introduced a word quota per blogger. Skop and HG will have used theirs up (repeating the same old crappola) within a few minutes and clear the airways for something other than mindnumbingly dull repetitive drivel. The best bloggers to read on this site are to the point, often genuinely witty, and don’t have minds as closed as a camels arhse in a sandstorm.
30 May 2012, 05:58 am
243 @ Wooden Spoon
Me moan afterward? Where? I back my team to the hilt. Win or lose. Unlike some if the Sharks fans who crept into their shells when the going got tough………….hello HG lol! I review the game, I never let emotion get to me, then move on.
30 May 2012, 06:06 am
So I see the Sharks could, by some mathematical miracle, still overtake the Stormers after Saturdays game according to some genius from the province who will always live in the shadow of the Cape. You guys believe anything is possible I see. Probably that you’ll go on to win the comp too from here onward!
30 May 2012, 10:53 am
ROBZIM @ 287
Thank you.All clear now.Just noticed that there was quite a lot of
play between the 2 incidents.(certainly no stop watch)
Think that where DJ is better is in his anticipation.Vital for an 8th man.
Good luck to your team this weekend.
Regardsl
30 May 2012, 10:54 am
ROBZIM.Sorry.DJ should be DV
30 May 2012, 11:04 am
Congratulations to most Stormers bloggers who have been gracious in defeat.
(2 notable exceptions)
To we Sharkies.lets cut out the triumphalism.But lets enjoy the win..
30 May 2012, 16:35 pm
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-221:
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-224:
30 May 2012, 17:27 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-222:
excuse my manners…
that second
was for your comment
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