The Sharks Rugby

May 06

Sharks defeat visiting Highlanders

The Sharks pulled off a wonderfully exciting and certainly moral-boosting 28-16 Vodacom Super Rugby defeat of the visiting Highlanders at Mr Price KINGS PARK on Saturday evening. The Sharks, following their bye, came back a little rusty for this, their 10th game of the campaign, one that resembled more a Test match featuring brutal defense over broken, attacking play. It was no try-scoring spree but it was exciting. The second half in particular. In terms of scoring, it was the Pat Lambie show as he scored every one of his team’s points through a try, conversion and seven penalties in a faultless kicking display, and an overall performance that handed him the Vodacom Man of the Match Award, a decision made without too much difficulty for the adjudicators. The game was played at a furious pace but also physically intimidating with the Highlanders having to make three personnel changes in the opening 15 minutes of the game. But it was, unfortunately, also a very stop-start affair with referee Steve Walsh particularly brutal with any indiscretions at the breakdown, penalizing both sides heavily – The Sharks enjoying the better of that count early on - four penalties to just one as Pat Lambie’s boot gave his side an early lead.

Chiefs 18-12 victory over the Sharks

In a tense Vodacom Super Rugby clash of massive proportions, when both sets of players would have come away knowing they were in battle of attrition, The Chiefs managed to lead from start to finish for a gripping 18-12 victory.

They say defense wins games and for much of the game, it appeared that The Sharks would break through the Chiefs’ defense and force the win. At one stage just one point separated them with The Sharks hammering away, but ultimately, it was not enough and a try at the death just underpinned how dangerous this Chiefs side is proving to be, having not lost since the opening week of the 2012 campaign.

The low score doesn’t do justice to the effort and endeavor from the two sides.

Make no mistake, this game was played at not so much breakneck speed as frenzied close-quarter attack, massive tackles more so than elusive running, although it was spoiled for both sides but some loose handling of the ball with conditions near-perfect, although possibly a bit dewy, something alluded to by captain Keegan Daniel after the game.

Mr Price KINGS PARK The Sharks versus Chiefs

The halfway stage is now over for The Sharks who face one final challenge before their first bye next weekend – the table-topping Chiefs – at Mr Price KINGS PARK on Saturday (5pm kick-off). The Chiefs have lost just once this season – in the opening round – and since then, have picked up six consecutive victories. Their three match overseas tour ends against The Sharks before they return home to play the Hurricanes in Hamilton next weekend, and should they add the scalp of The Sharks to those of the Cheetahs (39-33) and the Western Force (20-12), they will consider this phase of their campaign a right royal success. They boast stalwarts and talent all over the park with one of the most exciting backlines in the tournament, filled with “X-Factor players” as called by Sharks captain Keegan Daniel.

The Sharks

There are new sharks boys in the tank! The Shark magazine

Seeking the complete performance

The Sharks have a 50% success rate in this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby tournament, and consistency is going to be key in the second half of the pool stages if their goals are to be realised. The record stands as lost, lost, won, won, lost, won, lost, won and in order to be a side that can really take their campaign by the scruff of the neck and own it, stringing together a number of successive wins is what is necessary explained coach John Plumtree at his first media briefing at Mr Price KINGS PARK since the team left for their four match overseas tour. “We’ve only strung together two good performances in a row once, so clearly we haven’t established any type of consistency in terms of results and that’s reflecting in our onfield play in terms of our defence and attack,” he pointed out. Winning is a habit and once the ball is rolling, so the victories become ‘easier’ (or teams know how to find ways to win close games). For The Sharks, three of their four losses have been by a heart-breaking seven points or less, suggesting that the bounce of a ball, a missed tackle or an incorrect decision may well have been the difference between one log point and four.