Sharks set for slaughter
3 Aug 2012
MARK KEOHANE writes the Chiefs will win in Hamilton on Saturday and win easily.
If they don’t it will be the biggest final’s implosion in the history of the competition.
I haven’t read a South African who isn’t backing the Sharks to take the title. It is written in the stars say some. It is meant to be say others. Forget the travel, it isn’t a factor. The Sharks are operating on adrenalin, momentum and a belief they can’t be beaten.
I don’t buy the emotion of it all. I reckon the Chiefs will win by at least 15, which is what the New Zealand bookies have as a handicap on the final.
How different my thinking would be if the Sharks actually had a week to settle, prepared with more conviction than hope and did not have to negotiate the fatigue that comes with travelling overseas three times in three weeks.
The Sharks were brilliant against the Reds. I picked that win. Historically they play well in Brisbane and the Reds were poor this season. I also picked them to beat the Stormers, because I felt they had the physicality to match the Stormers and the Stormers were never going to be a try-scoring threat. But the way the Sharks hit the wall with seven minutes to play was an indicator that they won’t get through 80 minutes in Hamilton on emotion, passion and belief. They will be huffing and puffing by half time and on the hour the reality of the travel will have set in.
The Sharks are as good a side as the Chiefs, but they are not significantly better. To win this competition, playing the final in another country, requires a squad with few weaknesses and for all the heroics of the last three weeks the Sharks are not the complete package. The Chiefs aren’t either but they had the advantage of playing their semi-final last Friday, they have been at home all week and the only thing that can beat them is a spectacular implosion.
I can’t see it happening because under Dave Rennnie and Wayne Smith they play pragmatic, percentages rugby and they are a team whose focus on defence is never at the expense of attack.
Sonny Bill Williams will be influential. He always is against the Sharks and I can’t see French flyhalf Fred Michalak taking too much contact in Hamilton. Michalak has enjoyed his best month of Super Rugby but he has never been one to mix it with the Kiwis and I don’t see that changing on Saturday.
The first 30 minutes will be intense as both teams have individuals who thrive on physicality, but the Chiefs at 9, 10 and 12 will ask more questions in attack from structured play and they will target Michalak defensively.
There will be individual heroics from the Sharks and world class players like Bismarck du Plessis will front the challenge, but science says the Sharks will be running on empty on the hour.
John Plumtree and Grant Bashford are the best South African coaching combination in the tournament and they are up against the most balanced coaching duo in New Zealand. The Sharks, despite finishing out of the top four, have played the best rugby among South African teams and the Chiefs have been the stand out team in the competition.
Why could there not be a fortnight between semi-final and final? Not just for the Sharks but every year.
South African players who have made the trek to New Zealand previously for semi-finals and the odd final have admitted afterwards that they were just making up the numbers. The same applies to those Kiwi or Aussie teams going to the Republic. The exception has always been the Crusaders, but even they took a beating whenever a semi-final meant travelling to Pretoria.
The Sharks, as I keep on getting reminded, have travelled to Australia and beaten the Aussie Conference Champs. They then travelled to Cape Town and beat the South African Conference Champs. It apparently is written somewhere up above that they will travel to New Zealand and beat the New Zealand Conference Champs. Well I haven’t seen the writing and if the Sharks do succeed it will be the greatest play-offs success in the history of the competition.
Home teams win finals in Super Rugby. History shows that and as is often quoted the only thing man can learn from history is that he never learns from history.
It is fantastic how emphatic the support is for the Sharks but I’ve seen it all before. The blind loyalty in the build-up and then the absolute disbelief when they get pumped.
In 2011 when Peter de Villiers took a second team to play the All Blacks I heard similar talk of a win and when the Boks took a 40-7 hammering there was way too much surprise among the supporters.
Be loyal to your team. Be South African in your support but also know that this final is weighted heavily in favour of the hosts – as is every Super Rugby final.
592 Comments
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3 Aug 2012, 13:04 pm
alviro making finn his bunny
3 Aug 2012, 13:04 pm
@rangerman-98:
148 and 9.
is the mercury one of those free community newspapers?
3 Aug 2012, 13:06 pm
@rangerman-100: Exactly my feeling, would rather watch a scrap to the end than 1 team half-dead on their feet getting butchered in the last 20…
3 Aug 2012, 13:09 pm
the sharks have already thrown the comp and history of away playoffs on its head havent they?
but your reasoning is that because the chiefs came second on the combined log, it is only fair that their competition are rightly hamstrung by a woefully inadequate amount of prep before the final and a punishing travel schedule?
i thought home advantage was the real reward and that everyone wants to see two teams at top fitness playing the game we all love to the best of their abilities?
or maybe not?
no man, an extra week between the semis and the final isnt an unfair advantage for the sharks or any other team who make a final, its assurance that we get the best product for our consumer dollar/rand/kwacha.
personally i wouldnt pay top dollar (if any dollar at all) for a salad that had to do a round the world trip in borats campervan.
that said, there are no excuses, it is what it is and the sharks must climb the mountain they built. i would simply prefer a spectacle unhindered by poor planning and naked greed.
go sharks (quiet one)
3 Aug 2012, 13:11 pm
@Atreides-103: precisely and its got fokkol to do with which teams are playing imo.
but i know this will not be believed by many
@the artist formerly known as gunther-102: thanks.
no, its the paper mike greenway used to gloat about his experience in the press box at newlands last weekend.
apparently the levels of arrogance before and disbelief after the game were very dear experiences for mike
3 Aug 2012, 13:13 pm
wouldnt it be great if alviro could get…..scratch that, no point in jinxing anything but i hope everyone knows what i am alluding to.
go alviro you cracker!
3 Aug 2012, 13:14 pm
@NZINCHINA-63:
come now china old chum, we’re both adults and know that life aint all that simple.
but ja, will do my best to enjoy the game either way.
@the artist formerly known as gunther-64:
kinda my feeling too
struck by a very sudden and short lived episode of blindness
saw a movie with that as the premise
very interesting
3 Aug 2012, 13:15 pm
keo probably wasnt in the press box at newlands.
nobody wants to see a silver lining on keos nostrils after a game he actually predicted correctly.
3 Aug 2012, 13:15 pm
@rangerman-100: I don’t dispute the efects of travel, and yes I am hoping for an awesome final (which I think it will be). But nobody could have known before the S15 started that one team would have to travel so much. It sounds like most people are allready making excuses for a Sharks loss. If the Stormers had won the semi (like most people thought) nobody would have complained this much about travel fatigue for the Chiefs, about a flawed format.
3 Aug 2012, 13:16 pm
@rangerman-105: \
naaaice.
3 Aug 2012, 13:19 pm
@halfgk-109: Nonsense. The same thinking would apply if the Chiefs had to travel here for a playoff, back for a semi and back here for a final. As a fan I want the team i support to beat the best, at their best.
If you’re happy for your side to beat a depleted weakened side you don’t understand the ethos of sport.
3 Aug 2012, 13:21 pm
@halfgk-94: That is spot on. The reality is that in a competition spread over such a vast geographical area travel is going to be a penalty. The Chiefs finished second and don’t have to travel. The Sharks finished sixth and do. Until someone figures out how to move the continents closer we just have suck it up. Sure the Sharks have a huge disadvantage, but they made that bed in the regular season. They have gone superbly to travel and win the way they have and I personally am backing them to go all the way. But there is no point in lamenting the format. It is the reality of geography.
3 Aug 2012, 13:22 pm
@Atreides-111: What do you suggest be done about it?
3 Aug 2012, 13:24 pm
@halfgk-109: haha, your post simply confirms what i thought.
its not about the contest for you.
its about the fact that we are talking about the sharks.
believe what you want bud, i am sorry but i just dont think this conversation is worthwhile.
enjoy the rugby.
3 Aug 2012, 13:27 pm
@stormer in a teacup-113:
nothing.
just a storm in a tea cup really.
3 Aug 2012, 13:28 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-110: funnily enough i think that mike probably used that precise word.
naaice
@stormer in a teacup-113: how about a week in between the semis and the final?
or would that just be unfair to the team finishing top?
the reasoning seems to be that because phelps won the 100m butterfly semi, it would be quite fine if chad had to do a return trip to sa in 24 hours because phelps deserves to be in top form but chad doesnt.
sorry but, but atreides is spot on. sporting contests are meant to be exactly that.
forget which teams are involved and debate the principle.
3 Aug 2012, 13:30 pm
@stormer in a teacup-112: ag the format is fine, but a weeks break between semis and final doesnt punish the chiefs surely?
they get home advantage.
isnt that enough?
3 Aug 2012, 13:31 pm
what would be awesome would be a rotating final like in the champions league.
with a break between semis and final of a week.
because rugby will be the winner then
3 Aug 2012, 13:33 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-115: Trouble brewing?
3 Aug 2012, 13:33 pm
@Atreides-111:
In the context of this competition I do not agree with you.
What you are saying is that if the Stormers have beaten the sharks last weekend the Stormer supporters would not have had any reason to feel good about it as the sharks were the more “tired” team and not at their best..
One can then take the argument further by saying that the Stormers were also not at their best last weekend as they were without 4 loose forwards / or the sharks could have said they were without Lambie / etc..etc.. There will always be an excuse for one team.
IMO it is all about winning on the day and whether the one team is tired or depleted or whatever should not be used as an excuse to devaluate the worth of the victory of the winning team.
3 Aug 2012, 13:33 pm
anyway, i have my opinion and you guys have yours.
thats fine.
its all academic anyway as the game is going ahead tomorrow.
the sharks must suck it up and go out there and deliver.
i am hoping for a jordaan shimmy leaving sbw gasping like a fish and snatching at thin air.
because the sharks midfield has more gas by miles than that of the chiefs.
3 Aug 2012, 13:34 pm
@halfgk-109:
@Atreides-111:
bear in mind that east – west travel is a lot worse regarding the effects of jetlag.
if the chiefs were to come to sa (west to east) it would not have been as bad as it is for the sharks going east to west.
3 Aug 2012, 13:35 pm
I work in a building where people vote to watch rubbish like fencing and volleyball between countries like Macedonia and Uzbekistan ahead of the cricket.
And speaking of volleyball, since when do the women wear full length leggings? Or have I accidentally landed up at the Amish Games again?
3 Aug 2012, 13:35 pm
@rangerman-118:
I’d like to play all the knockouts in one country.
change it every year.
like the rugby championship.
rotate it between Arg Nz Oz and SA.
play every one once and then have a final.
maybe even have a barbarian tea made up of promising players from all four nations.
coached by wayne smith.
3 Aug 2012, 13:36 pm
@rangerman-116: Where does this week come from and would we want it if we had another all SA final?
3 Aug 2012, 13:36 pm
@Robzim-120: ag nobody is devalueing anything robbo.
we are simply saying that the finals of the worlds premier club comp would be best suited by a break to allow both teams to arrive in top form and deliver a spectacle worthy of the fans of the game who pay for the whole shebang.
you are looking at it from a stormers point of view and not from a rugby perspective imo.
either way, we sharkies thank you for your support tomorrow
3 Aug 2012, 13:37 pm
@>^..^< katman-123:
Iran vs the Saudi’s?
beach Mullahball.
3 Aug 2012, 13:38 pm
Walka time
3 Aug 2012, 13:38 pm
88@Rangerman…….. Nice post
3 Aug 2012, 13:38 pm
@rangerman-114: YES. It is because its the Sharks. Its because its THESE Sharks. Have you watched these guys play the last couple of weeks? They are better than this. They can beat the Chiefs and I think they will. I expect better from Sharks supporters. I expect better from SA supporters. It is about the contest, but I also don’t forget that this is a very long competition. Its not just one game.
I don’t have time for bad losers, especially if your team have not even lost yet!
3 Aug 2012, 13:39 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-127: Very at home on the sand.
3 Aug 2012, 13:40 pm
@>^..^< katman-131:
Maybe you’re watching the men.
3 Aug 2012, 13:41 pm
Watching Olympics. NZ 2 golds tonight, wow doing good.
3 Aug 2012, 13:41 pm
Petersen seems to be giving the Poms a bit of a pillaging. As one guy on Cricinfo put it, “England won the toss and elected to fetch”.
3 Aug 2012, 13:41 pm
The Sharks heroics last week may not repeatm itself
The odds against them are 3:1 now, the schedule is insane and the Cheifs are a team that mostly won on merit this season -except last week under the watch of gusess whom? – as opposed the Stormers, a week break due to these extraordinasry circumstances would be reasonable?
And then Steve Walsh who gifted the Stormers 14 points last week is back again,
Ag, Shame
3 Aug 2012, 13:42 pm
@Dawn-132: No, before them.
3 Aug 2012, 13:42 pm
@stormer in a teacup-113: An extra week before the final….the Chiefs would also benefit, so no unfair advantage there.
And then the Sharks could sort out their travel fatigue, Chiefs would still have the homeground advantage, nothing changes other than bot sides being at full strength
3 Aug 2012, 13:42 pm
@wait for it, wait for it…-122: you have your east and west mixed up but we get your point.
(the chiefs would fly east to west to reach us and vice versa).
@the artist formerly known as gunther-124: not sure the broadcasters will buy it at present but i am sure we can arrange it when kiwi spectator numbers dip below 1200 per game.
say 2014?
@stormer in a teacup-125: its precisely because the comp is plated over such a huge geographic area that we need to take these things into account and not moan when the scenarios, that make finals less competitive than they should be, arise.
surely?
becasue once again i say, it doesnt matter who plays, its the principle i am alluding to.
as for the extra week, leave out the bottom dwellers from each country or expand and play each team only once.
either way, the quality of rugby on offer should improve.
3 Aug 2012, 13:43 pm
@rangerman-118:
well, have the entire knockout stages rotate between the three countries each year? all qualifiers fly in to the host country and get a week or so to shake of travel fatigue and then play each other all the way through to the final.
that or as you say a rotating final with the stipulation being that both of the finals qualifiers should be obliged to travel to the finals’ destination. of course that could just mean TWO tired teams dishing up a **** display of rugby as opposed to just the one.
3 Aug 2012, 13:43 pm
@Hurricane-133: One in Caddying, what was the other one in?
3 Aug 2012, 13:43 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-124: Unfortunately things like tv revenue, time zones for viewing numbers and gate receipts would negate that. Besides, how cr ap would a final between Sharks and Chiefs be in Brisbane with no home fans at the game?
3 Aug 2012, 13:43 pm
Rudolph out, to that expat trash.
3 Aug 2012, 13:44 pm
hahahahhah
Kpenis on.
this is not looking good for the sweaty poms.
oh c.ock.
3 Aug 2012, 13:45 pm
322 / 6
3 Aug 2012, 13:45 pm
@halfgk-130: bad losers?
what are you on about?
@>^..^< katman-134:
whats alviro on?
3 Aug 2012, 13:46 pm
And Dominee starts the sermon with a four.
3 Aug 2012, 13:46 pm
@stormer in a teacup-141:
its more for the championship.
tv revenue is the big one ad I dont see how that would change.
3 Aug 2012, 13:47 pm
@rangerman-145: Cocaine, by the sounds of things.
3 Aug 2012, 13:47 pm
@rangerman-145: 163 runs.
3 Aug 2012, 13:47 pm
@>^..^< katman-140:
wasnt talking to you, was addressing the adults
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