Sensational Sharks smash Reds
21 Jul 2012
JON CARDINELLI reports on the Sharks’ 30-17 hammering of the Reds in Saturday’s play-off in Brisbane.
After the Bulls’ dismal effort in Christchurch, the Sharks have turned in a rousing physical performance to not only keep their own title hopes alive, but those of a nation.
The resounding victory in Brisbane has set up a semi-final showdown against the Stormers. What this means is that one South African team will definitely progress to the grand final on 4 August.
The Stormers will be difficult to beat in Cape Town, but the Sharks will fancy their chances given the manner of victory at Suncorp Stadium.
It was a superior forward performance that set the platform for what will go down as one of the great Sharks Super Rugby victories. On the back of that forward dominance, the Sharks piled on the points in the first half, and defended like demons in the second.
Some might say that the Sharks had their fair share of luck in this encounter. Indeed, Reds coach Ewen McKenzie would have felt a strong sense of dejavu as starting flyhalf Ben Lucas was carried off in the 21st minute, an injury that forced star scrmhalf Will Genia to shift to No 10.
Lucas had been ineffective while he was on the park, and it didn’t help that his forwards were copping a hiding at the collisions and breakdowns. The Reds certainly missed Quade Cooper’s decision making in that key position, and after Lucas cried off with injury, the Reds also missed Genia’s impact at No 9.
But while this certainly worked in the Sharks’ favour, the visitors made a great deal of their own luck. Travelling across the world for this fixture was never going to be easy, and doing so without Frans Steyn and Pat Lambie was expected to detract from their performance.
They went into the game as underdogs, but from the first whistle they showed the mongrel, desire and precision to win the key battles and eventually the match.
Apart from the raw power at the collisions (the Sharks pack was superb and the decision to play Willem Alberts at No 4 was vindicated), the decision making by the heavies was a real highlight.
The Sharks forwards would place their counterparts under pressure at the rucks, force the turnover and then produce some dazzling offloads that kept the movement alive.
They converted every early opportunity, racing to a 10-0 lead inside 13 minutes. By the half-hour mark they were 20-3 up, Freddie Michalak nailing a drop goal to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Genia would leave his mark on this match with an important play moments later. Spotting Jannie du Plessis defending on the wing, Genia directed play left and linked up smartly with Scott Higginbotham. The Wallabies loosie delivered the final pass to Genia, and at 20-10 the Reds were still in with a chance.
The period before and after half-time belonged to the Reds, but they were undone by their high-error rate as well as some stunning Sharks defence.
In fact, it was a sharp piece of pressure defence that created the Sharks’ next try, Charl McLeod reading the play beautifully and picking off a Genia pass.
The scrumhalf raced 75m to score, and at 27-10, the whole complexion of the game changed again. Another Sharks score would win the game, and the Reds would resort to some desperate tactics in an attempt to close that massive gap.
They turned down numerous shots at goal in search of a seven-pointer that would bring them closer, but their inability to win the collisions cost them at every turn.
While the Sharks spent almost the entire third quarter defending in their own territory, their ferocity at the point of contact was as rabid as was at the start of the game. They turned the Reds over from five metres out on several occasions, and again it was sharp decision making that cut down the Reds’ attacking space.
The Sharks had a further chance to score when Lwazi Mvovo broke from deep to spark a great period of attacking rugby with the offload in contact again a prominent feature. The ball eventually flew to the hapless Meyer Bosman, who tripped over his own feet and fell agonisingly short of the tryline. Fortunately for the Sharks, it was a gaffe that didn’t cost them on the scoreboard.
The Reds finished strongly in the final five minutes, but by then the result was beyond doubt. Radike Samo crossed the tryline and Genia converted, but all this served to do was lend some respectability to the scoreline.
The Sharks were more dominant that the final scoreline suggested, and that final try will not detract from what was their best defensive performance in 2012.
Scorers:
Reds – Tries: Will Genia, Radike Samo. Conversions: Mike Harris, Genia. Penalty: Harris.
Sharks – Tries: JP Pietersen, Paul Jordaan, Charl McLeod. Conversions: Freddie Michalak (3). Penalties: Michalak (2). Drop goal: Michalak.
1,036 Comments
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22 Jul 2012, 12:11 pm
@spartan-750:
bissy did biatchslap the one oke for that and then they stopped doing that.
22 Jul 2012, 12:12 pm
@spartan-750: oh it was noticed and brought to Kaplan’s attention. If you watched the game sober you will have noticed that Kaplan spoke to the Reds about taking out defenders at the ruck, on several occasions.
22 Jul 2012, 12:13 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19-751: The crack of his flattie on that cheating Reds’ back was heard like a gun shot on the TV. It was naaice.
22 Jul 2012, 12:15 pm
@wooden spoon-753:
ref still tuned the touchie if he saw why this happened.
that maat got hit and stayed hit.
nothingas sweet as the sight and sound of a bissy attitude ajuster.
that was only a practice swing,he is going to bring it from way back on saturday.
22 Jul 2012, 12:18 pm
Bissy is going to tear a new one this Saturday. The tjop (Liebenberg) is going to go red in the face and do a lot of eye balling, finger pointing and mouthing like the good Free State mercenary tjop he is but he will know who his baas is after 80 minutes.
22 Jul 2012, 12:20 pm
Where is that papashanga okey who said the Sharks wouldn’t beat the Reds because they are “not good travellers.”
22 Jul 2012, 12:23 pm
bissy’s flatty is so powerfull it can even cure snoekskiet’s dementia,alzheimers,tourette’s and syphiliss
22 Jul 2012, 12:24 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19-757: Bissy’s flatty will turn even snoeky into an instant Sharks believer.
22 Jul 2012, 12:25 pm
I see adulation of the big meathead enforcer is still a big part of the SAFFA psyche.
22 Jul 2012, 12:26 pm
@wooden spoon-752:
If Im Drunk or Sober
are NZ still the World Champs ?
22 Jul 2012, 12:28 pm
Never in my wildest imagenation could I have thunk way back in the eigthies that the Natal Banana Boys would become such a great team and brand.
All over the world they are either loved or feared.
Feckin
Black
and
White
Dynamite
BOOM!
22 Jul 2012, 12:30 pm
@wooden spoon-755: Liebenberg looks like the kind of kid everyone hit at school.
22 Jul 2012, 12:31 pm
@NZINCHINA-759: Brad Thorn bodyslam much other International captains?
22 Jul 2012, 12:32 pm
sunni bin williams cold do with a flatty from bissy
imagine that
a nz boxing champ ko’ed by a flatty
he should actually challenge
bissy
aj venter
alberts
bakkies
pakslae
fransie botha
to a boxing match to raise money for a charity
22 Jul 2012, 12:35 pm
So many meatheads in that list.
22 Jul 2012, 12:36 pm
@spartan-760: who cares this week is all about the magnificent Sharks vs the defence minded Stormers, we don’t care about your attempts to piss on that parade – we will deal with you next week.
22 Jul 2012, 12:37 pm
Meathead Bulls/Bokke rugby doesnt work anymore, change or collect another wooden spoon in a few months time.
22 Jul 2012, 12:41 pm
@NZINCHINA-767: you didn’t see the Sharks play yesterday, skill and “meathead” combined. Be afraid.
22 Jul 2012, 12:42 pm
@wooden spoon-768:
yip they looked good, nothing to be afraid of though thats how we always play
22 Jul 2012, 12:43 pm
Oh dear. Hondo’s going to be upset that one the Protea quotas has probably retained his place with a few lucky runs.
22 Jul 2012, 12:44 pm
@David-770:
22 Jul 2012, 12:47 pm
The HG Definitive Sharks Ratings:
1. Beast… 8… Played like a loosie… Scrummed like an animal.
2. Bismarck… 8… The Enforcer. Fckwith him at your Reds Peril.
3. Doc/Herbst… 6… Doc looked good when on, but too little time. Herbst did enough.
4. Alberts…7… The Tank was good, but not as good as some other.
5. Bresler… 7… Most improved Shark this season. Getting better.
6. Daniel… 8… The Lionheart. Produced the play of the match with a backflip offload to Jordaan.
7. Coetzee…8… The Wrecking Ball. Nuff said.
8. Kanko… 10… Faultless performance. Playing as a classic, complete 8. From lineout jumping, to lineout steals… to ball pilfering in rucks… to brutal hits on D… To roving at the back helping back 3 cover kicks… to midfield splitting runs… He has added cold steel to his flair… A great contrast to GI Joe Spies as the best 8 in the country bar none.
9. McLeod… 7… Up and down. Saved from a 6 by his intercept try… Sharks weak link at the moment. Needs consistency and just a bit more composure.
10. Fred… 9… Nearly faultless… A French Magician yesterday on attack and a terrier on defence.
11. Mvovo…8… Positioning slightly suspect but had Kanko to help. Clutch player extraordinaire however… When needed, produced the goods and his pin ball breakout that sparked a length of the field charge to the line deserved to end in a try by Bossie.
12. Whitehead… 7… Did his job well enough to fill Frankies boots admirably. A couple missed tackles blighting the copybook.
13. Jordaan…8… When on field excellent. Makes you wonder why he didnt play for baby Boks at 13. Bosman…5… Excellent on D when he came on… but hellsteeth an embarrassing fall with tryline in reach takes him down from 7
14. JPP…10… Is there a better 14 in World Rugby at the moment. He is Complete.
15. Ludik…9… Has Rapidly become Sharks Mr Dependable. Did nothing wrong on D, positioning great and ran some very good lines. Open field tackle of the night, facing down dangerous Digby on a linebreak, where more illustrious names at 15 have been reduced to mere Traffic wardens. Will be hard for SuperPat to displace him.
22 Jul 2012, 12:49 pm
@wooden spoon-755: the tjop Liebenberg and Duane Vermeulen are rumored to be leaving Cape Town.
AC must be kak in his pants cause Faurie has a skew eye and Koster be a show pony.
22 Jul 2012, 12:50 pm
@David-770: @David-770: I don’t think he has sobered up yet.
22 Jul 2012, 12:51 pm
@wooden spoon-766:
Well I backed the Sharks over the Reds
for the simple fact that the Aus conference sucks
As for this weekend
I look forward to what will be the two brutal encounters up front
Lets just say
its gonna be rough real rough
22 Jul 2012, 12:53 pm
Team guppies wankathon it seems? With a meathead loving (lamb?) keewee thrown in for a messy marinade, beauuuutiful!!
22 Jul 2012, 12:55 pm
@spartan-775: are you from NZ? North or South island? How do you see the Chiefs/Crusaders game going?
22 Jul 2012, 12:56 pm
That bit when the clumsy Shark ‘athlete’ tripped over himself with the open line at his mercy falling flat on his bewildered piehole
was my favourite.
22 Jul 2012, 12:57 pm
The Sharks need to stick with the Team that started against the Reds next week at “Fortress” Newlands against the Conference “Title Holders”… Super Pat can play from the bench and cover 15, 12 and 10 as a tactical option against the “Top” team…
22 Jul 2012, 12:58 pm
@The Donkeys Egg-778: it was pretty funny, wasn’t it?
I didn’t see a knock on though and it looked as though Bresler scored a legitimate try. Did I miss something obvious?
22 Jul 2012, 12:59 pm
@stormer in a teacup-774:
Probably started celebrating when Petersen went for a duck and continued in despair as Amla kept piling on the runs.
22 Jul 2012, 13:03 pm
@Heavens Game-779:
imagine if Fransie could play…
yesterday was naais
I reckon the Sharks are going to pop the stormers bubble on saturday.
22 Jul 2012, 13:03 pm
Free state mercenaries? Hahaha, spooner u out did yourself! The guppies got none of them hey? Doos!
22 Jul 2012, 13:04 pm
@wooden spoon-777:
North
If the Saders click the Chiefs haven’t got a chance
but if its tight with 20 mins to go its anyones game
I will say, I was surprised by the Bulls
It almost seemed like they didn’t believe they could win
and they appeared to just be going through the motions
22 Jul 2012, 13:05 pm
3 little Sharkshit groupies all wankingmuchbetter as their hormones are in ecstatic rapture at the Sharkshits lucky breakout from obscurity…
Now they already wankingin crowing crowning glory as if they already been hailed as the ultimate team in heaven as it is on earth
What happened to the fucknut that wanted his coach axed just a few measly weeks ago.. he’s the one at the head of the wankathon extravaganza…
22 Jul 2012, 13:07 pm
@fitz1ella-785:
julle k ak is gebook saterdag.
go and chow a veg briyani at a romanticsetting with your boyfriend.
22 Jul 2012, 13:10 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19-786: get fucked kunthead… Stormers gonna stuff your overrated guppies back into their sardine can Saturday…
22 Jul 2012, 13:10 pm
So Kankowski gets a 10 ? It must be the Olympics, Nadia Comaneci is in town.
At one defensive scrum, he picked up at the base and immediately went wide and got isolated. He went wide because he has no power or ballast, meaning he shirks the hard yards. The result was he got bent like a choirboy and broke, coughing up an easy turnover to the Reds. Directly under the posts. Against better teams than the Reds, thats game over.
He’s not a no8s arse. He makes Pierre Spies look like Keiran Read.
22 Jul 2012, 13:11 pm
Have any of these rabid Stompies who keep repeating the same thing (run out of ideas?) stopped to think that perhaps Plumtree was so stung by the (correct) criticisms of 5 losses from the first 9 that he was motivated to get his act in order, hence we have since seen a run of 7 wins from 8?
22 Jul 2012, 13:12 pm
@fitz1ella-787:
if the Sharks win you will be weeping and crestfallen in the arms of your boyfriend.
22 Jul 2012, 13:12 pm
@The Donkeys Egg-788: hello. what nick/s did you previously post under on here?
22 Jul 2012, 13:15 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19-790:
your charachickie feed you boerie breyani’s.. if that the case she ain’t a true charrachickie.. just a 2 face fraud like you..
@The Donkeys Egg-788: touche
22 Jul 2012, 13:16 pm
Kanko is the best number 8 in SA at the moment.
22 Jul 2012, 13:17 pm
@wooden spoon-789: Plumtree fucked your grandiose underhanded insurrection up your grandiose little sharkshit fck’d up arse….piffle arse little pandemonium pandering poefta who turns coward and retrograde all in one neat little fucknut pirouette…
22 Jul 2012, 13:18 pm
Comparisons… Tale of the Tape
Frontrows: Farken Larf out loud Sharks (Adv Sharks)
Second Row: Adv the “Top” team
Loosies: Kolisi gonna be crying by the end of the game… Hopefully he doesn’t get hurt trying to do all the work (Adv Sharks)
Halfbacks: Freds magic the difference over the “Top” teams distinct lack of imagination (Adv Sharks)
Midfield: Evens at least for Sharks
Back 3: Just edged by Sharks by virtue of JPP being the best backline player on the planet at the moment. Others fairly even stevens. (Adv Sharks)
Homeground: Adv the “Top” Team
Ref: If Saffa, Adv the “Top” team by 2… If foreign then adv by 1
Sharks 4 vs “Top” Team’s 3-4.
Close… I suspect it may be determined by the Maninthemiddle. But even this may not be enough for the “Top” team as the Defending Champs found out yesterday….
22 Jul 2012, 13:18 pm
Let Kankalowitz come to Cape Town we see what a grand spanking pirouetting No.8 he has become…
22 Jul 2012, 13:19 pm
@whatever-783: just pointing out the hypocrisy…. Vermeulen is also a “Free State mercenary”… did you know that?….. Glad to have educated you if you did not.
@fitz1ella-794: and boy am I happy about it! Winning Sharks = happy me and if the Sharks win this coming weekend you aint seen nothing yet! It will be beyootiful!
22 Jul 2012, 13:20 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19-782: Frans would be good… But I like the team just as it is. The Dynamite Dynamic good just as it is.
22 Jul 2012, 13:21 pm
@fitz1ella-792:
love is a great thing
stop stereotyping as to how people should act
you wont know
your wife found out you are bent and left you
you say your enlightened yet you are so bitter and angry
your truth is sad,no one is interested
your mystery is not worth being solved,the dogs have been called off yonks ago
you are just a bitter lonely bent old man
die kaplyne het jou lekker bossies gemaak…
22 Jul 2012, 13:22 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19-799: Ai. Snoekie is bitter and angry. A tormented soul. Shame.
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