Sharks are victims of a flawed format
30 Jul 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day column, says Saturday’s Super Rugby final will be a farce instead of a real contest the tournament deserves.
Can the Sharks win in Hamilton and claim a first Super Rugby title?
Of course they can.
Are they good enough, individually and as a unit, to beat the home team?
Of course they are.
Will they win it?
Never.
The competition structure in Super Rugby finals has always been flawed because of the need to cram as much as possible into the year calendar, make the various administrations as much money as possible and give the broadcaster as much product as is possible.
A final should be about a contest and the definition of a contest is that the winner should not be predetermined.
Finals in which one team travels more than 19,300km and is given one training run before the season climax are finals only in name.
You play at home, you win. You play away, you lose. Occasionally a very good side wins away from home in another country in Super Rugby. In the history of the tournament, this was the exclusive right of a very talented and special Crusaders squad.
Officials argue that this is to reward consistency and the team placing top of the league gets all the play-off advantages. Cool, then why have a final? Win the league and you should be the champions.
The moment a play-off structure was introduced, which guaranteed each of the three Sanzar countries a play-off spot, it nullified any justification of rewarding league form.
Australia is the weakest conference. The Reds would have placed sixth on league strength. They won the Australian conference and got third on the overall league.
It is all a lie. From the outset, league form is not rewarded.
There should be three titles: a trophy and cash for the respective conference winner. It is a reward. It is an achievement. You, for example the Stormers, are the best South African team in the conference.
Then there’s the overall league winner and a very huge cash incentive and a big trophy. You are consistently the best team of the season, for example, the Stormers this year.
Now, your winners get a heads-up in the six-team play-offs, which is another tournament within a tournament. The heads-up is you get to host a play-off match which puts you in a position to play in the final, which is at a neutral venue and whose only purpose is revenue for the two respective teams and the competition organisers.
And there is a fortnight break between the play-off and the final. Then you have a tournament, in which there is merit, there is reward and there is logic.
Why have a climax to a tournament in which the format determines the winner? We play at home, we win. We play away, we lose. Why bother?
I have heard all the crazy arguments that if a team is that good they win anywhere. Crap.
The Crusaders’ campaign a year ago had a Hollywood script but a real ending, not that which sells to a dummy audience.
The same applies this coming Saturday. The Chiefs have to win because they are rested, at home and well prepared. The Sharks, in Brisbane a fortnight ago, in Cape Town last week and in Hamilton this weekend, have spent more time travelling than on the field.
Greed is the only motivator of the current system. There is no reward to any player, team or supporter.
Invariably the losing team in the final is lambasted by a disappointed supporter, and before there is time for proper analysis it all gets repeated in a league format at a national level.
Why no final here? The draw again influences the final standings.
The Sharks have confirmed their class in beating the Stormers. They were good enough. And they got the result. The Stormers, given the class of player, overachieved in winning the league and hosting a semi-final through consistently winning and they did not choke. A choke is when there is no way a team should lose. There was always a chance that they could lose because of the limitations within the available match 22 and the lack of try-scoring potency in the game plan.
The Chiefs, in New Zealand, were deserving winners and a Crusaders’ victory would merely have added to the illusion of the brilliance of a Crusaders team that relies on the extraordinary talents of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter and a historical dominance that has long not been a reflection of their rugby in the tournament.
The seven-times tournament champions have now lost five successive semi-finals and that is more relevant than the seven titles won by another generation.
We play at home, we win. You play at home, you win.
If it works for you, cool, but then add a bit of perspective to the illusion and see the tournament as a money spinner and not a representation of a team’s ability.
Both semi-finals were great value for New Zealand and SA respectively. Both national squads will be strong. Both will teams be extremely difficult to beat at home.
Don’t confuse national with regional and provincial. No bloke in Canterbury wants the Chiefs to beat the Sharks because the latter are South African. On the contrary. The same applies here. Unite behind the Sharks? Tell that to the Bulls and Lions supporters, as just two examples. Unite behind the Boks yes, but the Sharks are not a representation of Cape Town or Johannesburg.
National is national. Provincial is provincial. League is league. Knockout is knockout. Cash is all that motivates the administration. If it was about the contest, they wouldn’t force one team to spend 48 hours travelling across the world and then make them play 48 hours after touchdown.
The Sharks and Chiefs are bloody good sides. There is little between the two. It should be the dream final.
Instead it is a farce. It was when the Chiefs travelled to Pretoria a few years ago.
Can the Sharks win?
Of course they can.
Will they win?
They’ve won already if you are judging their rugby.
469 Comments
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30 Jul 2012, 15:14 pm
@shooter-195: Oh dear. Schadenfreude to Sourgrapes, not in 3 games, but just three posts now
Schweet!
30 Jul 2012, 15:16 pm
@Hondo-196: stormers lost to Saders with NZ ref.. They lost to Sharks with Peyper.. So no they were never handed any victories!!
I am one to really look at refs crucially.. as I believe most refs to have a “fav: team.. Craig Joubert creams his pants at the thought of the Sharks.
Jonker is just a plain Bulls out and out!
The stormers have won 6-8 games with walsh.. ok make that 6-9 after Saturday.. But never did anybody favour the Stormers this year, just as Walsh did not score the two soft tries on Saturday.. that was all sharks baby!!
30 Jul 2012, 15:18 pm
@Provvas-198: Boo Hoo… sniff… snort… choke
Hey punk, I opened a couple cans of something for you right here and right now…
1st Can… Some whoopass (TM Tacitus)
2nd Can… Some STFU (TM Dangerman)
Howzat taste?
30 Jul 2012, 15:19 pm
Enter stage left.
Dusky (dressed in Black and White) spoiling for a fight.
The original kung fu panda.
30 Jul 2012, 15:19 pm
@Heavens Game-201: hohoho. sour grapes here are not mine jockster.
my team have 3 of those you hope win.
30 Jul 2012, 15:20 pm
@David-179: Wrong.Tottenham supporters were totally pissed-off when Chelsea won.Don’t let me start on how Arsenal supporters felt about the blues winning the CL trophy.City supporters hate United with a great passion.The Trafford scum had no choice but to remove that City banner when City won the FA cup.
Football in England is absolutely tribalism at it’s worst buddy.
30 Jul 2012, 15:21 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.-186:
I agree about this unpatriotic BS. As for expecting other supporters to adopt the same hysterical support for the Sharks, that’s just a reflection of the egocentric attitude of a few of their more adolescent supporters.
30 Jul 2012, 15:23 pm
@ufo-184: Correct. Stopping people from actively supporting the Sharks is stupid, as is trying to force people to support them for ‘patriotic reasons’. Unto each their own.
30 Jul 2012, 15:23 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-192:
30 Jul 2012, 15:24 pm
@Hondo-196: you’re losing your touch hondo, with jpp, beast & mvovo starting shouldn’t it be ADVANTAGE chiefs? surely in your mind those three are far more a liabilty to the sharks chances than anything “aussie” steve can cook up
you must’ve been choking on your own kotsch these past weeks as jp has beem RED HOT tl tl tl
30 Jul 2012, 15:24 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.-183: Well fair enough, each to his own I suppose. The thing is though a lot of Stormers supporters seem to be suffering from a bit of paranoia…..I think a lot more Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Cheetah’s fans would support them if they made the final than they think. This whole I am indifferent is indicative of an insular attitude and I personally reserve the right to back any saffa team regardless of whether it is my first choice team or not.
30 Jul 2012, 15:27 pm
@shooter-205: 3 wins… That makes you a Blues or Bulls supporter… Pity I can’t say “see you in the final” THIS year….
And if Sharks just happen to freakishly win, it will undoubtedly be THE best win in the History of Super Rugby…
Damn… Life’s tough this week
30 Jul 2012, 15:29 pm
@Skeppie-211: Good for you Skeppie…..so respect my right to support the Chiefs who i consider as the best attacking team still left in the competition.
30 Jul 2012, 15:29 pm
@nama1-200:
I’ve seen it happening in the Gilluly Park, Bedfordview some 25 years ago already,
30 Jul 2012, 15:30 pm
@Heavens Game-212: like I said. I hope you win it.
here’s an idea to help on your quest for a virgin achievement –
Virgin Galactic Reveals Privately Funded Satellite Launcher and Confirms SpaceShipTwo Poised for Powered Flight.
Airline offering suborbital spaceflights with a new version of SpaceShipOne. Provides description of flights, the vehicle and offers bookings starting 2005.
30 Jul 2012, 15:30 pm
@stormerforlife1-185: Dude you have broken my heart….really I do not care who you support, you have all the rights to support who you want. It’s just sad how some people feel the need to support another countries team because they have sour grapes…sad really.
30 Jul 2012, 15:31 pm
@Transformation-210:
He has not said anything about Beast manhandling Brock either.
30 Jul 2012, 15:31 pm
@shooter-215: Lol
30 Jul 2012, 15:32 pm
@Heavens Game-212: Well done on your teams win.
30 Jul 2012, 15:33 pm
@Heavens Game-212: Are you questioning their ability to win now?Come on,don’t be a coward now!Don’t come with this ‘just happen to freakishly win’ bullshite!
30 Jul 2012, 15:34 pm
@Heavens Game-212: Although your prediction of the Stormers popping was a bit off by a few months.
I am still deciding if I am supporting your team on saturday, will decide by friday.
30 Jul 2012, 15:34 pm
@>^..^< katman-199: Well put….this is exactly the point!
30 Jul 2012, 15:35 pm
@nama1-217:
His world is falling apart right now.
Next thing somebody is going to let slip that Knight Rider was dubbed.
And that contrary to popular opinion the Die Hof is not in fact Afrikaans.
30 Jul 2012, 15:36 pm
@stormerforlife1-213: Did you see the one banner in the stands/ crowd on Saturday –
‘what da hell is a Stormer anyway?’
still funnier if you think about it.
30 Jul 2012, 15:36 pm
@Sasuke-221:
Is he offering money?
30 Jul 2012, 15:38 pm
@Hondo-214:
You just saw it…you did not take part in it???
.
.
.
.
.
.
Just joking.
30 Jul 2012, 15:39 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-223: sy favourite was altyd “Wolwedans in die Skeerroom”
30 Jul 2012, 15:39 pm
@Skeppie-216: No sour grapes buddy,but just supporting the team who will be deserved winners due to the style of rugby they have played all season.As a team without many internationals the Chiefs have really exceeded expectations.In terms of experience they are really not favourites here.
30 Jul 2012, 15:39 pm
@nama1-217: Manhandle is a bit mediocre….hy het hom opgedonner.
30 Jul 2012, 15:40 pm
The Sharks can do it! If they can beat the Stormers they can beat anyone.
30 Jul 2012, 15:41 pm
@Sasuke-219: Good man… Not “fully” my doing though even though I fight the good fight …
More down to Plum, Keegan and the belief all the Sharks players have right now…
Much to the dismay of some fairweather Sharks supporters, their FB petitions and calls for firing Plum… and replacing him with none other than Pumas (Not Argies) “Legendary” Coach… Jimmy Stonehouse….
Yup, these young-dumb-and-fullof… Sharks reckon they can win this whole thing… Crazy…
But they’ve done the impossible two weeks in a row… One more week? It shouldn’t happen, but don’t bet your house against them…
30 Jul 2012, 15:41 pm
@David-225: lol
30 Jul 2012, 15:42 pm
@nama1-200: We dont want to stop people from having ***. In fact, we should encourage it.
If I was in the KZN government, I would build some ‘*** rooms’ for couples.
30 Jul 2012, 15:42 pm
@stormerforlife1-206: Again it’s a bad example, those teams have mainly international players and not much bearing on a sport whose focus is club before country….maybe that’s one of our problems, too many people with inter provincial hang-ups as opposed to backing their country
30 Jul 2012, 15:43 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-223:
30 Jul 2012, 15:43 pm
@Heavens Game-231: They have the belief to win, as well as the forward pack to trouble the chiefs.
30 Jul 2012, 15:44 pm
Nouja die tafeldwerg het sy sê gesê. Hoop net die bloggers hier kan vrede maak daarmee.
cheers vir eers >>
30 Jul 2012, 15:44 pm
@stormerforlife1-228: I fear it will be a case of around the world in 18 days for the Sharkies and the legs will feel it come second half this weekend.
Sterling effort by the them and I really feel for them having surpassed all expectation but this weekend might be one step to far.
Will support them though and hoping for their sake.
30 Jul 2012, 15:44 pm
@nama1-226:
Used to be an expensive, Posh area then, it became a no go area now
30 Jul 2012, 15:45 pm
@Sasuke-236: they will have a chance, for sure >
30 Jul 2012, 15:46 pm
@stormerforlife1-220: No question of the ABILITY of the Sharks to win… Just one or two natural laws of physiology and jet lag that have to be defied for them to do it…
But if any team can do it – it is MY team…
And I am happy they are in the Finals Proper, playing proper “finals” rugby in order to attempt to do so… Not stuck here in SA with no game to play…
30 Jul 2012, 15:47 pm
@stormerforlife1-213: I do…..enjoy the game and support whoever you want to support. I am not calling you unpatriotic or any other name…I dont agree and personally cannot understand the mindset but I will respect it.
30 Jul 2012, 15:49 pm
@shooter-227:
“As die nagvuil roep”
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE-229:
Iemand moet gereeld vir Beast kwaad maak in die kleedkamer voordat hulle opdraf. Partykeer is hy soos ‘n teddiebeer op die veld en lyk dit of hy bang is om nie die opponent kwaad te maak nie.
Ek wonder watter Beast gaan Saterdag opdraf: Die teddiebeer of die Beasssst.
30 Jul 2012, 15:49 pm
@shooter-227:
Die Man van Staal.
30 Jul 2012, 15:50 pm
@nama1-217: geez, i didn’t like Beast shoving & vloeking Brok afterwards, it was uncalled for!
against which team did the stormers start “yoo hoo-ing & air punching”?
30 Jul 2012, 15:50 pm
@stormerforlife1-228: Ok all good…just one question…if playing style is high up in your judging of a team did you find it difficult in supporting the Stormers this year due to their engative playing style?
30 Jul 2012, 15:52 pm
@Transformation-245: Bob actually got it wrong in his commentary….when Estbeth flattened Bissie he said all the Stormers players were concerned for Bissie and came up to check if he was ok and that is was great sportsmanship, while this is partly true (JDV again showing his class) old Brokkie was laughing/having a go at Bissie while we was layed out. While I also don’t like Beast’s histironics I think Brok got what he deserved.
30 Jul 2012, 15:53 pm
if you watch ESPN you’l see that the NFL has a fortnight break between the semi finals and finals, i know its not popular to reference American Football (and i dont find it particularly entertaining) but give credit where its due, they allow for this break to ensure both teams 100% for the final, which is at a neutral venue. though i dont mind giving the final to the highest placed league team so much. but no team should have to travel the amount the sharks have in such a short space of time. a nuetral venue final would be cool though, as it would ensure revenue sharing an would most likely sell out anywhere, it could be rotated to a different SA, NZ, Aus stadium and city every year
30 Jul 2012, 15:54 pm
@Transformation-245:
Brok is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
He deserves to get abused.
I thought Beast was going to castrate him and use his ballsack as a change purse.
30 Jul 2012, 15:56 pm
@Hondo-239:
OK! But you know how these things work.
Rich people doing it in the veld, it is fun/kinky etc.
Poor people doing it in the veld, they have no morals.
Rich people drinks whiskey, they love to relax and have a good time.
Poor guy drinks papsak, he’s an alcoholic.
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