Cooper’s absence gives Sharks a gap
17 Jul 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the Reds will miss Quade Cooper’s attacking influence as well as his kicking game when they host the Sharks this Saturday.
Cooper has been suspended for one match following a dangerous tackle on Berrick Barnes, and not for the first time this season Ewen McKenzie will ask a utility player to fill the Reds’ flyhalf void.
A serious knee injury sustained at the 2011 World Cup sidelined Cooper for most of this year’s Super Rugby competition. As a result, the Reds haven’t been as much of a threat on attack, and haven’t been as effective at implementing their kicking game via that imposing Wallabies halfback pairing.
The Reds have looked a better side since Cooper’s return, and scored a bonus-point win over the Waratahs last Saturday to claim the Australian conference title. However, it is Cooper’s transgression and subsequent suspension that could prevent the Reds from advancing any further in this tournament, as they don’t have another player in the same class.
Former Wallabies centre Tim Horan said as much following Cooper’s dangerous tackle. Predictably, McKenzie has responded by pointing to the Reds’ earlier performances when Cooper was still on the sideline. McKenzie cited wins that were achieved without Cooper, and believes that the Reds will cope with the most recent setback and progress to the semi-finals.
McKenzie has also said that the Reds ‘owe the Sharks one’, referring to the Sharks’ win against the Reds in the league phase. It was in this match where the Reds’ flyhalf problem quickly became a nightmare, as further injuries to flyhalves resulted in Will Genia finishing the game at pivot.
Genia will miss having Cooper on his inside this Saturday. The Wallabies halfback pair was integral to the Reds’ success in the 2011 Super Rugby competition as well as the Wallabies’ Tri-Nations victory. Both are outstanding individual players, but that halfback combination is more than the sum of its parts.
Every opponent of the Reds has been on a ‘Get Genia’ campaign this season, and attempts to disrupt the Reds at source is no new tactic. The Sharks will surely aim to bully the Reds up front and deny Genia a platform from which to play, but they should also work to further negate his space.
The fact that Cooper is not on Genia’s outside means there should be more pressure on the scrumhalf to play the role of general, as well as provide the attacking impetus. It’s a lot of responsibility, and the Sharks would do well to use this pressure to their advantage.
The Sharks will be without three key players of their own, as Pat Lambie (ankle injury), Pieter-Steph du Toit (ankle injury) and Frans Steyn (ineligible) will not be available.
However, it is more significant that their heavy hitting Springboks should be back in the starting line-up. The inclusion of Willem Alberts and Bismarck du Plessis will aid the Sharks’ quest for gainline supremacy, as well as the aim to stifle Genia’s influence.
Steyn has made a massive impact since joining the Sharks, and the Durban-side will miss his physical influence as well as his prodigious boot. Coach John Plumtree has the option of moving Tim Whitehead to No 12 and bringing Paul Jordaan in at No 13, but a like-for-like replacement would be more prudent. Meyer Bosman is an imposing physical specimen and has the type of kicking game that is so often the difference in tight play-off matches.
It’s a big ask to travel across the world and win a play-off, and I’m not suggesting that the Sharks will have it easy in Brisbane. But there’s little doubt that the absence of Cooper will effect the Reds’ balance and increase the chances of a Sharks upset.
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827 Comments
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17 Jul 2012, 14:47 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-446:
hehehe…
for those who don’t get it… on the record…
just kidding…
everyone knows i love the stormers like a good speedoqueen washing machine should…!
17 Jul 2012, 14:48 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-441:
Wow! You’re a shrink and an English Teacher?
17 Jul 2012, 14:48 pm
Alright, good night all. Hurricane wrecked, need sleep.
Cyas
17 Jul 2012, 14:50 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-450:
no we wouldn’t… why do you think PG features near the top of the missed tackles list…
with benji in the team we wouldn’t need to defend… we’d just collect more bonus points than any other team…!!
again… JUST KIDDING…
PG’s been tackling much better of late…
17 Jul 2012, 14:50 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-433:
Indeed.
Fuckadilly’s autobiography will read like the script of a seventies porn film.
17 Jul 2012, 14:50 pm
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-453:
Ciao
17 Jul 2012, 14:50 pm
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-453:
cheers bud…
next time…
17 Jul 2012, 14:50 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-450: 16 of them shoulder first (evilfuckingsmiley) Bliss…..
17 Jul 2012, 14:50 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-448:
Skopshyte revealed to us that she’s having her veg and two meatballs surgically removed to complete the tranny to full woman stage. Surgeons admitted that they have given up with the face.
17 Jul 2012, 14:51 pm
@TooMuchRugby(TooMuchRugby)-409: Not really….just had the “unlucky speech” from him a couple of times being on the losing team.
17 Jul 2012, 14:51 pm
@ufo(ufo)-451:
What’s that saying: The truth always comes out in a joke.
17 Jul 2012, 14:52 pm
Absolutely Toomuch.It’s farken irritating to hear these Pretorian Rockspider use the word ‘God’ twenty times in a two-minute interview.
17 Jul 2012, 14:52 pm
@Skeppie(Skeppie)-460: You played for SWD?
17 Jul 2012, 14:53 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-461:
hehehe…
17 Jul 2012, 14:53 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-438: You’re absolutely right, of course. You shouldn’t just take my word for it. The best chance of determining whether you are fake or genuine, or whether you are sane or fcked in the head, is to determine the general consensus here. With enough votes, the truth will always out.
Is there anyone who can put this up as a keo poll?
17 Jul 2012, 14:53 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-438: Dude you use the high faluting phrase quite a lot.
17 Jul 2012, 14:53 pm
@TooMuchRugby(TooMuchRugby)-452:
Why do you think I’m an English teacher?
Just because I speak it better than you?
To be fair that would make 90% of keo readers English teachers.
That’s no really realistic is it?
As for the shrink part, well done, the first step is realising you have a problem.
17 Jul 2012, 14:54 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-463:
Are you a lawyer? Just get to the point!
Did HM coach you? hehehe
17 Jul 2012, 14:54 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-463: Nope.
17 Jul 2012, 14:54 pm
@Sharks fans are genuine Bok supporters(Predawn)-459: Well for your sake I hope he is an organ donor…(as I reckon you could do with a pair)
17 Jul 2012, 14:56 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-461:
I would be happy to re-post your buddy Sharks Lovers’ disgusting drivel that started the brawl in the first place.
You two always hiayssing each other.
17 Jul 2012, 14:56 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-470:
Bwahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
17 Jul 2012, 14:56 pm
For my sake?
17 Jul 2012, 14:57 pm
@Skeppie(Skeppie)-469:
Griquas?
17 Jul 2012, 14:57 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-471:
Sharing the love the Dawn…
17 Jul 2012, 14:57 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-468:
I actually wanted to ask him if he played for the Bulls 
As there were many “unlucky loser’ speeches from coach Meyer for about 5 years…..
@Skeppie(Skeppie)-469: You got the unlucky loser speech after the 2007 final. You are an ex Shark (which meant you had the best seats in the house for Jaco’s pole dance.)
17 Jul 2012, 14:58 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-470:
I think Captain Cunteye’s wobbly bits are out of Motorplan.
17 Jul 2012, 14:58 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-471:
Is it gonna make you happy? To what end? Will he be prosecuted by the keo tribunal and get a prison sentence?
17 Jul 2012, 14:59 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-462:
Did they win though?
Not entirely concerned with what they holler if they bring home the silverware.
Unless you’re a half black and watching the Boks beat the ABs was too much for you?
Yes, thats probably it.
17 Jul 2012, 15:00 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-475:
If you cant see through that man’s filth and are happy to be “sharing the love” with him, then there’s no hope for you.
I’m gonna post his tripe and you can see the way he addresses certain women around here.
17 Jul 2012, 15:01 pm
good news from NSRI…
whale washed up near JBay turned out to be a ‘cylindrical container’…
person who reported it apparently did so from quite a distance…
17 Jul 2012, 15:02 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-471:
Why you angry with me then? I didn’t start it. I Hiyas everyone!
I don’t hold grudges. Do you even know what he has called me before? Oh don’t ask I’ve forgotton already…
Gonna spend 67 minutes of my time forgiving everyone tomorrow… I was going to say pray but I don’t think this is the right forum right now…
17 Jul 2012, 15:04 pm
@ufo(ufo)-481: Where is drunk Fern at the moment?
17 Jul 2012, 15:05 pm
Doggy style has a crush on a blogger.
17 Jul 2012, 15:06 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-408: you are a realfck aren’t you .. and I’m phony.. so once again fakefck.. prove it !
Prove who’s for real and who’s a fake you little ignorant self aggrandized highfalutin little fake farce arrogant clever little dickybird dandy..
17 Jul 2012, 15:08 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-483:
huh…?
no clue… you’re asking the wrong multinic…
17 Jul 2012, 15:08 pm
This guy is actually quite funny. Always enjoy reading his column. He’s not a rugby journo by the way.
3 stumbling blocks to Stormers’ success
By David Mosely.
I’m a fan. A big fan. Every time I swear that I’ll never return to Newlands, I’m back in the bleak stands of that decrepit stadium the following week. I can’t stay away.
But this year has been a challenge. For the first time since the Stormers brand was created I can quite honestly say that I have not enjoyed watching the team progress.
There are those that will cry “winning rugby” in their defence. Yes. Of course. Winning rugby. And their tactics may well work over the course of the semi-final and the final of the Super Rugby tournament.
The Stormers could be champions playing the worst kind of rugby imaginable. And well done to them if they pull it off. But if they are to succeed, there are three stumbling blocks they need to overcome…
(Please note: every time I back my beloved team, they fold hopelessly. This, therefore, is an extreme attempt to reverse the trend).
1 No plan B
The Stormers seem to be operating along the lines of X-man Wolverine’s famous motto – “I’m the best at what I do. But I do isn’t very nice”. The Stormers are top. Statistically, they are the best. But it hasn’t been very nice.
They’ve lost just twice, albeit rather ominously to the two sides that they could face in the next two weeks, the Crusaders and the Sharks, and although they’ve defeated all other comers, every game has been a scratchy, nerve-wracking, fingernail-chewing affair. Why? Because there is no plan B.
If plan A works (defend, defend, defend, hack ahead, hope for intercept) no one can get past the Stormers. But if it goes awry, as it did against the Crusaders, the Stormers are in trouble.
They don’t appear to have the ability to create something out of nothing (Juan de Jongh’s sexy, swaying hips aside). They’ve been playing finals rugby all season, the kind of rugby that wins World Cups. Unfortunately, in the final they’ll be playing the Crusaders (the Bulls don’t have a hope), a team as comfortable with finals stress as John Mitchell is with daggers in his back, or the Chiefs, a side with more than one avenue of attack.
That’s if the Stormers make the final, of course.
2 The Sharks
There’s a lot of ‘if’ here, but it’s food for thought as we go into the play-off weekend. As a Stormers fan, the Sharks scare me. At Newlands the home side eked out a narrow victory in league play. In Durban, despite only losing 25-20, the Stormers were never in it. The Sharks will beat the Reds this weekend, of that I’m certain. Even without Frans Steyn (aka World’s Angriest Rugby Player) and Patrick Lambie, the Sharks are playing the kind of rope-a-dope rugby that baffles the hell out of opposing teams.
First half, they hang off the ropes, looking all the world like a jelly-chinned prize fighter on his last legs and then, miraculously, they appear after halftime and play like world beaters. JP Pietersen is the best wing in business at present, while Bismarck and Willem Alberts are terrifying.
In fact, right now in Queensland, 15 men are crying themselves to sleep, some waking in the middle of the night, screaming “mommy” into the darkness. But it’s not darkness, it’s Alberts’ giant mitt shading the sun and pummeling an Aussie face.
Simply, the Sharks can play thrilling rugby from nowhere. The Stormers can’t. In a tense South African derby, they’ll be the team to come out tops.
3 Expectation
Never have I been more gutted than the day the ‘old’ Men in Black Stormers made a home semifinal against the Highlanders, started with a bang as Breytie dived over, and proceeded to choke like stuffed roasting pigs for the rest of the game. If ever there was a year that was theirs, it was 1999. I’ve never recovered.
Now let’s give credit where it’s due. What this side has achieved is nothing short of remarkable. They are a team packed with youngsters, fielding a hooker at eight, missing wily veterans like Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen and Pieter Rossouw, held together by their Elastoplast captain and hindered by a game plan that takes its toll on the body like no other. Finishing the regular season top of the log is an amazing victory already. But should they reach a home final, things could fall apart.
There are cool heads in Peter Grant and Jean de Villiers, but not much finals experience elsewhere. If their tactics start to unravel in a final against the Crusaders or Chiefs, moments of brilliance will be required, moments that have been few and far between all season.
The expectation from the press, fans and the match day crowd could prove the biggest stumbling block of them all. Finishing top, losing just twice, any side they play in the final will have traveled extensively to get there. The trophy is basically the Stormers, bar the engraving, right?
Either way, Stormers fans, we’re in for a squeaky bum two weeks
17 Jul 2012, 15:08 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-480:
I complained earlier about the filth spewed here and the way that some people speak to woman.
I never go out of my way to insult or harm anyone. Sometimes it comes out the wrong way I know, but I have never meant any harm to anyone. Jeez i’m bad at this…
17 Jul 2012, 15:09 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-474: Nope…played quite a bit but not anyone of importance….although clearly I am an awesome blogger!
17 Jul 2012, 15:09 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-483:
duh…
swissair moment…
you too sharp for me…!!
17 Jul 2012, 15:09 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-465:
You must put your face right up against your screen cos any minute now you’re gonna be called out to face him and ‘say it to his face’.
17 Jul 2012, 15:09 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-482:
Obviously I’m angry.
You hiyas with this:
————————————————————-
“• 108.sharks_lover:
17 Jul 2012, 10:12 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-103: yes and you are who you are, no wonder no deceent man would even look at you
always having to interfere and say you instigating 2 cents worth, keep drinking its what you are, ________ _________ read between the lines, it explains a lot
• 118.sharks_lover:
17 Jul 2012, 10:17 am
@ufo(ufo)-112: Well of course they do UFO, just take a look at this thread and tell me how HG or MYself or any other sharks supporter started this?? 99% of this is started by stormer supporters
HG was not like this in the begining, the likes of capo, skop, grant 10 etc started him off, and clowns like capo, dawn, this dog food Munkey are the ones that keep the **** going
• 119.sharks_lover:
17 Jul 2012, 10:18 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-117: go dousche, or put a tampon in that trap of yours , you keep spewing ****,
• 140.sharks_lover:
17 Jul 2012, 10:32 am
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-134: and you call her classy?? come now dude , you also think i care wtf you have to say???
typically you Stormer clowns start the insults and when it backfires you wanna cry clas and boohoooohoo fU*king hoooo
go play with yourself man, i couldnt give a rats *** what you think or say, that thing aint a lady, her rubbish on here proves it”
17 Jul 2012, 15:10 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-476: No no no, I was there but in the stands in 2007, stopped playing in 2005 an although I played for the union I reckon only my wife would remember who I was in Sharks rugby!
17 Jul 2012, 15:11 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-488:
Start nailing your colours to the wall and stop hiyas with the likes of him.
17 Jul 2012, 15:13 pm
@Skeppie(Skeppie)-493:
hey bud…
you can’t leave us hanging like that…
17 Jul 2012, 15:15 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-492:
And…..where is the problem?
Silly old goat.
17 Jul 2012, 15:15 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-485: You still crappin’ on ’bout this Willis? Let’s all just agree you are the most genuine phony ever to post on this site. Trophy in the mail.
17 Jul 2012, 15:16 pm
@ufo(ufo)-486:
I thought might have been the fellow who called the NSRI about the ‘whale’…..
good news from NSRI… whale washed up near JBay turned out to be a ‘cylindrical container’… person who reported it apparently did so from quite a distance…or hammered as all h e l l.
17 Jul 2012, 15:16 pm
@fitz1ella(fitz1ella)-485: Isn’t there a snag list as long as your wrinkly scrotum on some flimsy, half-arsed longdrop enclosure somewhere that demands your urgent attention?
17 Jul 2012, 15:18 pm
And now all imagine five little kiddies all saying “you little ignorant self aggrandized highfalutin little fake farce arrogant clever little dickybird dandy”.
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