The year of the Sharks
16 Jan 2013
MARK KEOHANE is picking the Sharks, Reds and Canes as the 2013 Super Rugby conference winners.
It may appear madness to pick a winner of the tournament in January because this expanded version means so much can change post the June internationals, but my money is on the Sharks to finally win the competition that has taunted and teased their supporters but never pleased them.
My pick is the Sharks to take the South African conference and have the crucial advantage of hosting teams in the play-offs. Home ground advantage is usually the recipe for title success, although the Sharks have proven to be the exception. In 2007 they hosted the Bulls and lost in the last minute. In last year’s Currie Cup final a youthful Western Province thumped the hosts.
That’s history.
John Plumtree’s picked the most balanced squad among South African teams and the Sharks, in squad depth, are the strongest in the competition.
Player management and rotation is the key to success in this tournament, as is starting and finishing well.
The Sharks have a good home draw and they will make it count.
The Stormers will also be in the top six, but the Bulls are going to have to improve dramatically in terms of consistency to make the play-offs. Realistically, and don’t forget they are my favourite team, I think the quality of squad depth and starting player is more a top-eight than a top-four squad. The Cheetahs will always be a favourite to entertain and will always have the capability to knock over a top-four team, especially in Bloemfontein, on a one-off but the player depth has never been there to seriously challenge for the play-offs. The Cheetahs select from Griquas and the Free State Currie Cup Cheetahs, and while Griquas always show promise in the Currie Cup many of those players limitations are exposed over the course of a competition that now is the most demanding in terms of longevity, intensity and travel in the world. The Kings, in their debut season, will do well to win three matches.
The post-World Cup blues suffered by many teams is not a factor this year and 2013 and 2014 are the years in-between World Cups when Super Rugby is a priority. In 2015 it is a preparation to the game’s biggest prize, the World Cup.
Jake White’s Brumbies were an unknown in 2012 and they surprised many. White did a fantastic job in restoring rugby union pride in Canberra, but the second-season syndrome is something he will be all too aware of, especially with the Reds in a healthier position in terms of player availability.
The Tahs can’t be as awful as they were a year ago although they too look a year away from a play-off. I see them more mid-table.
In New Zealand the heat will be on the Chiefs to show last year was not a one-hit wonder. They’re good enough to make the play-offs as defending champions but they don’t command the same presence among the backs with no Sonny Bill Williams to occupy the minds of the opposition. The New Zealand conference is the toughest of the three, but there won’t be a miracle in year one from Blues coach John Kirwan. There will be hope and improved performances but the Blues are a three-year project more than a first season sensation. They will be the worst performing of the New Zealand sides in terms of league points even if they will show enough to be applauded more than condemned.
The Crusaders will be contenders, more so on history than on current strength but Dan Carter alone among the backs and Kieran Read, leader of the pack in Richie McCaw’s absence through a sabbatical, lack the support in numbers to speak of the Crusaders in awe.
The Highlanders will be good, potentially the second best among the Kiwi teams, and the team to beat in New Zealand will be Conrad Smith’s Hurricanes.
345 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 [4] 5 6 7 » Show All
16 Jan 2013, 11:27 am
@Liewe Luiperd-123: goodbye. You are the weakest link .
16 Jan 2013, 11:28 am
@stormer in a teacup-144: Nope, it’s because even a ping pong ‘champ’ (with Herschelle Gibb like agility, grace and flair – by ET’s ‘own’ admission of course…no-one else is buying….) could take a pot luck throw in and count on Eben or Andries to take it, and in the same breath; count on Breslerthebiscuitblikbreker to NOT take it.
16 Jan 2013, 11:31 am
@grant10-147: I think we’re ok in the loosies……even at 8 (if Nizaam is still going to be out a while. I hope he hasn’t lost his speed with that horrific injury) Would like to see Schalk get a run at 8 if required, against opposition with ‘weaker’ loose trios, i.e. Bulls, Sharks.
Forgot about Don Armand…..
16 Jan 2013, 11:31 am
@Heavens Game-142:
I see…yes a slightly easier end of year schedule from last year could do the trick. If they were to win the Conference and top the log they may well get farked in the head.
16 Jan 2013, 11:34 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-145: He farken he… hubble bubble toil and trouble…. cackling bladdy sangoma mhlope
16 Jan 2013, 11:35 am
@Heavens Game-137: there are plenty of trophies you haven’t seen yet.
16 Jan 2013, 11:37 am
@stormer in a teacup-146: Average at best? You farked in the head from the smells of that fish dorpie and all the mountain cabbage…
Not to mention the general predilection for amyl nitrate wafts from places like Newlands and the Stormers change room…
16 Jan 2013, 11:39 am
@stormer in a teacup-155: Here… Tssshhhhh… Ive opened a bottle specially for you…. Have a sip…
BOOM!!!
Now STFU
16 Jan 2013, 11:41 am
@Te Rangatira-153: Yes… am hoping for that exactly…
Let the Brokebacks win the Conference, because it is important to them… and then farken dynamite the knockouts…
A winning formula…
16 Jan 2013, 11:46 am
@wpstormerbok-94:
Good luck with that, it’s only a lazy 20
16 Jan 2013, 11:47 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-143:
Hehe, read my post 58.
16 Jan 2013, 11:50 am
@Heavens Game-158:
The Sharks won’t win a final in NZ so your boys need to top the conference, otherwise it’ll be the same as last year from you, lots of hot air blowing up your own arse.
16 Jan 2013, 11:53 am
@Heavens Game-158: sharks aiming for their much coveted runners up position. Best team to never have won anything etc.
16 Jan 2013, 11:57 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-152: that is an interesting option…schalk at 8…
Not really an advocate of players out of position, but rotation will be key….an absolute neccessity….got to trust the squad….
Sadly schalk has always coveted that 6 jersey….and weakens the balsnce of the loose trio when he trys and competes with the worlds premier pitbulls on the deck.
If D Fourie cannot be convinced to continue his exploits at 6, then I would be inclined to continue with Kolisi there…not schalk
16 Jan 2013, 11:57 am
@stormer in a teacup-162:
Always the bridesmaids in frilly peach frocks and lace socks having to suck on the winners ****’s, Never the bride in white, gold or silver
16 Jan 2013, 11:58 am
@grant10-147: No,he won’t be missed.Koster showed promise but ended up as an extremely average player.Nizaam Carr will be ok after the injury.Looks in good physical condition.
16 Jan 2013, 12:01 pm
@NZINCHINA-161: Yes,and they will play that final without their best player because Keegan Daniel will refuse to go to NZ if they can’t win it.
16 Jan 2013, 12:02 pm
@wnbb-166:
What’s that all about?
16 Jan 2013, 12:03 pm
@grant10-163: Would just like to see him have a go at his current age. (It was tried many many years back if my rapidly fading memory serves me…..). If Nizaam struggles (and of that kid, I am a huge fan…….he has all the flair in the world, and HAD the speed to match, which I hope he manages to regain), it would be good to rotate Duane with Schalk at 8, leaving the 6 berth wide open for Siya.
Schalk is no 6, but he is trickily enough, the captain….. and honestly, I do feel we might be putting ourselves in a Bulls type Spies/Botha position here, which would be KAK KAK KAK.
Siya should always start when fit. But Schalk is the captain…… Don’t even want to think about this now already giving me heart palpitations
Schalk can add value….from the bench, or somewhere else, but not 6.
16 Jan 2013, 12:03 pm
@wnbb-166:
16 Jan 2013, 12:05 pm
@wnbb-165: i know Nizaam….
16 Jan 2013, 12:07 pm
@stormer in a teacup-162:
Yeah agree the best team not to have won the competition.
The irony of you admitting that the Sharks is a better team than the stormers also didn’t pass me by.
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-164:
Same for the stormers
16 Jan 2013, 12:07 pm
If Elstadt is fit he should start at 7. if not then Rhodes.
Duanne should start at 8, with Carr to back him up.
Schalk and Siya to rotate at 6.
Not necessarily my choice but that is how I see it playing out.
Deon will compete on the deck from 2, a-la Bismark.
I’d be inclined to play Deon at 6 often, but he is obviously needed at 2 for the start of the season. He’s likely to stay there too.
16 Jan 2013, 12:08 pm
@NZINCHINA-161: Hot air… Your post has enough of it…
I understand my slinkychinky that your arse is wide open and you are shouting from the Shanghai rooftops…
16 Jan 2013, 12:08 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-168: Nizaam is a brilliant prospect…he still has concerns about the knee hoding up….probably more mental than physical at this stage….
If he comes back strong I have massive expectations of that player, he certainly brings something different to the team….although Duanne will be the main 8 I do hope Nizaam gets a few games to show case his talent.
16 Jan 2013, 12:10 pm
@stormersboy-172: yes….Elstaht at 7 is a very good option, he adds mongrel.
D Fourie wants to play 2 ….only wants to play as a loosie in a crisis….
16 Jan 2013, 12:11 pm
@Mr Black-171: Nah…….. we won the CC.
16 Jan 2013, 12:12 pm
@Mr Black-171: clearly irony is something new to you and you are still learning how it works.
16 Jan 2013, 12:12 pm
@Mr Black-171:
The Sharks often also win the 2nd half.
@Heavens Game-173:
I’m a Blues fan, 3 time champs hot air backed by some silverware, Shanghai you should get there sometime you’d go we’ll there.
16 Jan 2013, 12:12 pm
i reckon for the bulls game stormers will go with schalk at 6…elstabt 7 and vermeulen at 8
With etsebeth…Bekker
and Kisthoff…D Fourie and P Cilliers
They will want to try and bully the bullies…
16 Jan 2013, 12:13 pm
@grant10-175: sad though, I think last year he was the best “proper” 6 in SA for a time there.
As an aside, I was at gym a week or 2 ago and Gerhard V/d Heever was there.
Saw him “clean” bench 170 kg’s. No assistance.
That is proper strong. especially for a backline player.
16 Jan 2013, 12:14 pm
@NZINCHINA-167: He apparently said that he won’t go down to Cape Town to attend SARU’s end of year function if there was no trophy for him.He was nominated for one.Typical guppy mentality.
16 Jan 2013, 12:15 pm
@grant10-179:
that’s a strong pack.
the bulls better hope that fouries lineout throwing is up to its usual standard.
16 Jan 2013, 12:15 pm
@wnbb-181:
Good attitude
16 Jan 2013, 12:17 pm
@stormersboy-180:
hola!
Sadly for him he’ll be cleaning the bench for the rest of the year.
16 Jan 2013, 12:19 pm
@grant10-174: I always adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude when it comes to cruciate ligament injuries…..
Often affected are: speed, rotation, speed off the mark, gait etc etc. As a package deal, very few players return from this injury 100% as they were before. In Nizaam’s case, his age certainly counts in his favour. Schalks age…..not so much…..
If Nizaam is fit, he needs more than just a few games, as there is opposition out there where we would benefit more from his set of skills than from Duane’s set of skills (his physicality and turnover winning ways).
If Nizaam’s knee gives any trouble, Schalk should back up at 8 in my ‘dream world’ of course (that’s if his knee doesn’t give any trouble….)
Kolisi and Fourie 6.
Elstadt, Rhodes, even Duane at a push at 7 (like him there)……
Scarra, Liebenberg at 2 (Fourie IF needed)
Armand floater.
I’m missing someone…..
16 Jan 2013, 12:19 pm
Elstadt needs to go to four and play off the bench this year.It’s important for Eben to be managed properly this year by AC .Elstadt needs to tone down his excitement as well.We don’t want another Bakkies running loose on a rugby field.
16 Jan 2013, 12:20 pm
@gunther-184: hey fella.
True on the Van der Heever front.
Nice bench player to have though.
16 Jan 2013, 12:21 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-185: “Armand floater”??
Sounds like an accident in the change rooms……..
16 Jan 2013, 12:21 pm
@stormersboy-180: He is a big fella as well (as in bulk). Not sure if you noticed, but he has lost his ‘magie’; the additional weight he was carrying in the middle and in the face….
Definitely been doing his thing in the off season.
16 Jan 2013, 12:22 pm
@gunther-182: Steggmann will have a field day at the breakdown though
16 Jan 2013, 12:24 pm
@wnbb-186: agree on Elstaht at 4….
16 Jan 2013, 12:24 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-189: To be honest, he looks bigger on the field than I experienced him in the gym. Maybe it’s because he often trains with Rynard.
But he’s no pygmy that’s for sure.
16 Jan 2013, 12:24 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-185: And in this post I mean Duane’s skills: physicality and turnover winning ways. Before someone questions me…
Nizaam’s possesses a different skill set: a set we need desperately at times.
16 Jan 2013, 12:24 pm
The Stormers will recover from the loss of their best player Marius Jonker
SARU found them a worthy replacement in Jason Jafta, things look bright!
16 Jan 2013, 12:25 pm
Groom….Jantjes….JDV….JDJ….habana….Aplon….Taute…
Seen worst backlines in my time…
16 Jan 2013, 12:26 pm
@stormersboy-192: It’s because he is next to Elstadt, who if I must be honest has ‘grown’ in leaps and bounds and SIZE since 2011 Jan/Feb.
Gerhard has definitely lost his padding though, that I could see clear as day.
16 Jan 2013, 12:27 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-193: between Duanne, Siya and Deon they turn over more balls than Errol Arendse at a men’s fashion show fitting.
16 Jan 2013, 12:27 pm
@stormersboy-172:
yeah… agree… see it that way myself…
16 Jan 2013, 12:28 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-196: Yes he’s losing his baby fat. How old is he, like 22 or something??
He’s played a lot of top flight rugby for his age.
Pages: « 1 2 3 [4] 5 6 7 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.