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, 16:24 pm
@cane-397:
you can only put so many rowers in a canoe…
but that hasn’t prevented you from calling it a galleon…
3 Aug 2012, 16:25 pm
a song for our Aussie and SA cousins, who appear to be lower on the TRUE medal table (just for you Trans)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz9x9AvCVxM
now who says I dont have a sense of humour?
3 Aug 2012, 16:25 pm
@Dawn-383:
hurri says nz does well against sa in rugby against all expectations even though they are wittle because they always punch above their weight.
but i say his deluded perception is poppycock.
we know very well why nz does well against sa in rugby and its got nothing to do with being wittle or punching above anybodies weight.
i know its a lot to expect kiwis to drag the truth from their unconcious but i am trying to keep them honest all the same.
3 Aug 2012, 16:26 pm
@Transformation-400: .
Me, myself and I.
3 Aug 2012, 16:26 pm
@cane-397:
shhh
Cane , let UFO think he is onto something.:-)
3 Aug 2012, 16:26 pm
@poppa69-402:
I do.
(Say you have no sense of humour)
3 Aug 2012, 16:27 pm
@Hurricane-390: when i said “you” i was referring to the “we” that doesn’t care what i think or say. geddit?
3 Aug 2012, 16:28 pm
@Transformation-387:
Nom nom nom.
3 Aug 2012, 16:31 pm
@Dawn-394:
Rowing and Equestrian.
With more medals to come from Track & Field, Cycling and Yachting.
3 Aug 2012, 16:31 pm
@cane-391: what does population size have to do with sporting prowess?
please explain the links.
are all the nations competing at the olympics on an even keel – investment into sport etc?
3 Aug 2012, 16:31 pm
@Hurricane-405:
i you guys are gonna multiply your medals by whatever to make them count for more…
you have to multiply your cards by the same number…
just basic honesty…
which i know you both have…!!
3 Aug 2012, 16:33 pm
@wait for it, wait for it…-403:
Change the record bakkies.
3 Aug 2012, 16:34 pm
outta here…
enjoy the game tomorrow everyone…
cheers….
3 Aug 2012, 16:36 pm
SA all out
3 Aug 2012, 16:37 pm
@wait for it, wait for it…-403: @wait for it, wait for it…-403:
Well this is the way i look at it.
According to you lot, SA funds NZ rugby. You have more players than NZ by alot.
We have won 10 super rugby compared to your 3.
We have 2 RWC, you have 2 RWCs, we didnt even give away gold watches.
We have won 10 tri nations you guys have won 3
When you guys win i congratulate you guys. When we win you call us scum and cheats.
Difference here is that i am a true fan, respect the opposition, you are a complete sad face and a fans a$$hole. Of course this is my point of view.
3 Aug 2012, 16:38 pm
419 ALL OUT , Barry Richards the master predicted it,
3 Aug 2012, 16:39 pm
@ufo-411:
Does that mean we use this same formula for RWC, tri nations and super rugby?
3 Aug 2012, 16:40 pm
Where’s Filewalker now
3 Aug 2012, 16:41 pm
Who calls himself Filewalker anyway
3 Aug 2012, 16:44 pm
@Transformation-410:
Like Angola has any chance against the USA Dream Team.
Like Liechtenstein could even qualify in the soccer.
Like any South American team could compete in the badminton.
Like Lesotho could win any Swimming relay.
Like South Africans could say to a Minnow………………………………….well done.
The gene pool is huge for some, and shallow for others.
3 Aug 2012, 16:45 pm
@Dawn-419:
At a rough guess……………………………………………….. filewalker.
The rough.
3 Aug 2012, 16:51 pm
@cane-420: “Like Angola has any chance against the USA Dream Team.” is that because Angola has a smaller population or is it because basketball is a billion dollar industry in America rather than a pastime played in dusty courts of luanda?
have you ever seen luanda? pfffft
3 Aug 2012, 17:00 pm
Geez Keo – talk about peeing on a battery. I think we all know this deep down, but we are trying to ignore it.
Anyway – even if the Sharks lose they still pinched off the Stormers like a **** and flushed them out of the Super 15. That was enough satisfaction for me. The trophy would be a bonus.
I have no issue with the Chiefs, so wouldn’t mind seeing them win. Whoever wins, it will be a first for that team. Great stuff !
3 Aug 2012, 17:03 pm
@Transformation-422: Keep sport in mind buddy….try to keep sport in mind. Whether you are talking about Angola’s bananaball team or the Kings.
We are not concerned with what is happening in the background – fact is, whether they were born with a pair of tits on their forehead which block their eyesight or not, they will see their backsides against the USA. Thats sport – not politics.
Same as EP Kings. No matter how hard done by they have been and no matter how the Lions have been favoured and are a disgrace to SA rugby – you know as well as I do that the Kings will still see their rear end from the front if they played a promotion/relegation series against the Lions.
Stop taking the victim approach. This is part of whats wrong with Africa.
3 Aug 2012, 17:04 pm
@cane-420: “Like Lesotho could win any Swimming relay.”
you reckon Nigeria with 162 million people should be cake walking in swimming just based on the size of their population?
deluded kiwi…
3 Aug 2012, 17:07 pm
@cane-420: Dude – are you a Kiwi ?
If you are – dont even try to understand Transformation’s reasoning. Its the ‘pity the victim’ sense of entitlement stance and it especially doesn’t belong in sport.
On this blog you would hear this a lot from South Africans. Its always ‘we are not good enough because of something else’ – no sense of accountability.
3 Aug 2012, 17:08 pm
@Transformation-425: Nigerians dont have time for swimming. They spend all their time plotting 419 scams.
3 Aug 2012, 17:14 pm
@cane-420:
You wont get anywhere with trans.
Trans is one of those people that just dont get it.
3 Aug 2012, 17:14 pm
@Dusky-424: in your warped mind sport is played in a vaccum?
compare the budgets the US, Australia, GB, China spent on preparations to what say Angola or SA spent and the tell me it is all about population
a well resourced private school will beat a bursting at the seams township school reliant on government funds, this is not rock science nic stealer
3 Aug 2012, 17:19 pm
@Transformation-429: You wouldn’t understand what I am saying. It would take a complete paradigm shift for you.
3 Aug 2012, 17:21 pm
@Transformation-429: On the one hand you’re saying population has nothing to do with sporting prowess and on the other you say it’s all about investment. Surely both are an issue? No doubt a wealthy country will do better than a poor county but a large country will have more athletes than a small one. I hate to admit it but Australia will almost always do better at the Olympics than NZ – they have 5-10 times the talent pool to choose from in most sports (except rugby and that’s the way we like it
).
3 Aug 2012, 17:22 pm
@Hurricane-428: Yep. The only thing you will hear from him is what has been preached to him since childhood and that is the victim stance.
Its like if you told your kid that red was green since a baby, they would believe red was green and it would be very difficult to fix. This mentality is one of deserving something because of some difficulty you may have been subjected to – not one of earning something through merit. That’s the African way.
3 Aug 2012, 17:46 pm
@gonzo-431: South Africa should be more talented than New Zealand based on population, however we had a *** growing out of our forehead, cancer of the gooch and foreskin, our dog ran away after it shat on our pillow, we lost both our legs and broke our neck and our father left us when we were born.
So – if you subtract all that – South Africa is WAY more talented than New Zealand at rugby. In fact, any sport.
Please feel sorry for us – we have been up against it all our lives. Pity us…..
3 Aug 2012, 17:48 pm
@Hurricane-428: oh yeah when you have no leg to stand in except “we is a wee little country” then i’m the one not getting it hehehe
how about you kiwis post a medal tally table based on each country’s investment into sport?
Dusky: i’m off to gym don’t steal my nic arsewipe
3 Aug 2012, 17:53 pm
@gonzo-431: our kiwi friends are obsessed with justifying EVERYTHING on the size of their population otherwise why would for the past 2 days be posting their “own” version of the medals tally that conviniently ONLY factors in their hobbyhorse?
is population size the ONLY factor that should determine a country’s sporting prowess?
3 Aug 2012, 17:57 pm
@Dusky-430: hackneyed to a fault…not every black person falls into the little indoctrinated categories that are stuck in your mind.
3 Aug 2012, 18:02 pm
@Transformation-436: You seriously believe a sports team deserves promotion based on the ‘hard done by’ argument dont you ? Isn’t that what you have been advocating all along ?
You have it ingrained in your head – you cant help it. And it has nothing to do with skin color. I know lots of white South Africans that live with a sense of entitlement all their lives too.
3 Aug 2012, 18:19 pm
@Transformation-435: The medals per capita table is just a lighthearted way of seeing how we stack up on a more level playing field. We know the field isn’t level and we aren’t as good. Nobody in NZ believes our country is better than China, USA, France, Russia, etc. I don’t think anyone takes the olympics too seriously – we want to do well but don’t expect to win the whole thing because we are too small. No way around it.
Feel free to come up with a table that compensates for GDP per capita, crime rate, investment…we’ll give you a pat on the back if you come out on top
3 Aug 2012, 18:21 pm
Transformation comes from the school of “you all owe me”.
It’s the new South African war cry. Don’t forget the upturned cap waiting for the obligatory hand-out.
3 Aug 2012, 18:21 pm
Dusky. You ever take a break from brawling
3 Aug 2012, 18:22 pm
Its not ‘I deserve to wear Armani and drive a C63 Mercedes because I built a successful business’ or ‘I deserve to wear a Breitling watch and live in a R 13 Million house because I earned a good degree and have worked my way up the corporate ladder through good performance’….
Its ‘I deserve all this because my mom was a maid that cleaned toilets in rich people’s houses’
Its not ‘They deserve to play super rugby because they are one of the top 5 Currie Cup teams’ or ‘They deserve to play super rugby because they won a promotion/relegation playoff’…..
It’s ‘They deserve to play super rugby because it’s a previously disadvantaged region’
International people will never understand this and South Africans will only see the error of their ways when they work in an international business environment outside of Africa. Being a representative of an African business team in an international business environment and based in first world Europe myself – the African way of thinking has become clearer to me than it ever was.
Hence the reason for the dust basketball courts of Luanda……..it’s truly a vicious, self limiting circle. Kind of like a virus.
3 Aug 2012, 18:25 pm
@Dawn-440: Did any activist ever take a break from brawling ? My purpose is to sow seeds…..and yes it will be called ‘racist’ because in South Africa, ‘racism’ is defined as anything that gets said that a black person doesn’t like. And they will not like what I have to say.
Truth is Africa will never be truly first world…..until we change our way of thinking. Banish the word ‘deserve’ from our vocabulary and start using the word ‘earned’ more often.
3 Aug 2012, 18:27 pm
I feel a thesis coming on.
Like a virus
3 Aug 2012, 18:29 pm
@Dawn-443: Go have a dop.
3 Aug 2012, 18:36 pm
Clearly she’s taken your advice.
3 Aug 2012, 18:36 pm
Out of here – good luck Sharks !
3 Aug 2012, 18:49 pm
Looks like Benjamin Button has been drinking Superman’s pisss.
Little fella is so strong now a days
3 Aug 2012, 19:01 pm
Can the Sharks win? Well it is unlikely isn’t it?
But this team has been all about defying odds in the last 4 weeks haven’t they?
I back them for one of the most extraordinary Super Rugby victories you will ever hope to see.
Go Sharks.
3 Aug 2012, 19:04 pm
@PissAnt-448: Eish Morne truelly hope you are right, This is gonna be one very hard match to say the least, everything is against them, accept the fact they are in the final, and being there means they have a chance, even though it a very slight chance.
Gooooooo Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrksssssssssssss
3 Aug 2012, 19:11 pm
Sharks have only two chances of winning this game.
Niks en fokkol!
People are making predictions purely on emotion. I agree with Keo, they’re in for long afternoon.
That said, I’m hoping the sharks can snatch this win from those filthy hobbits
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