The Sharks are probably the team in World Rugby that made the most of the game going professional, for one thing with the help of Mr. Price they sure sell a hell of a lot of T-Shirts.
But looking deeper, the Natal province is not a place that exactly bursts with rugby talent to prove my point, only 6 of the 20 Springboks that the Sharks produced from 2000 onwards, originated in the Natal province. In fact, Natal produced less Springboks than any other of the 4 major provinces, 60 Springboks against the 231 from WP, 184 from the Lions and 84 from the Bulls (From 1970), which explains why the Cheetahs always moan about the Sharks poaching their stars if you look at the numbers of Boks playing in the Sharks team, as opposed to those who come from the province.

But in professional sport, that is the way the cookie crumbles, if a union cannot identify & contract players in their own ranks, and those players get poached, then a pox on them, and a golden star to the recruitment services of Sharks Rugby.

Unfortunately for the Sharks, one cannot buy trophies…
But hey this is the Sharks, they don’t need to buy trophies do they?

ABSA Park is one of the best attended stadia in the whole competition, and the Sharks draw big crowds no matter where they play. Unlike some local franchises ABSA Park never suffers from the echo effect, the fans are very active, and a healthy supporters culture exists in Durban. Even though half of the supporters have no clue about rugby, and merely joins in because of the party atmosphere, it still means a lot of noise, and more importantly, a lot of feet through the gate.

The team is also quite impressive, if you look past the hair products, quick tan lotions and manicures, the sharks have some players that, on paper at least, can rock the joint (not that joint). They possess a tight five capable of mangling anything put before them, a loose trio that can dominate in the loose as well as on defence, and a backline boasting at least 7 internationals, all capable of turning a game on its head.

The coaches can hardly be faulted (except maybe Kevin ‘brainfart’ Putt), Ian Macintosh, Rudolph ‘Staaldraad’ Streauli, and Dick Muir al went on to Springbok duty, while John Plumtree is highly rated in SA as well as his native NZ. The structures within the organization saw the creation of the Sharks Academy where promising talent is honed and perfected, so you have homegrown youngsters coming through at regular intervals.

Now it’s open for discussion, if you have the fans, the players and the coaches, where are all the cups? (And I am not referring to B and C cups of the Shark Flashing Girls, who probably boast a few fans of their own)

I fear that the success of the Sharks franchise might indirectly be the downfall of the team. Think about it, when last did the Sharks play a game where they were the underdogs? I cannot recall even one game from recent memory. But why?????? There are no trophies or super achievements to support this view, yet they enter every game as favorites, I’d even go so far as to say, overwhelming favorites, even when facing the Bulls? The Sharks media partners and the printed press, sell the Sharks way better than actual achievement ever could. Everyone believes the hype, even the players, but the sad reality is, at most times hype is all it is.

The Sharks, talented as the individuals in their team might be, have never, and I want to repeat this for some major dramatic effect, NEVER, reached even 70% of their written potential. That is a major statement to make, but I challenge anyone to contradict me.

Should the Sharks have played to merely 75% of what they are capable of, the Super 14 would not have eluded them for as long as it has been doing.

In my honest opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Sharks game plan, their use of forwards and backs and their strategies seem impeccable, they know what to do when, and they are well prepared beforehand, for any situation that might occur during the game. All they need to do, is stop believing everything they hear about themselves, stop believing how awesome they are, and get down to playing some rugby!

Commitment and balls of brass is something that needs to be instilled in the Sharks team, they sorely lack both urgently, and neither of the above can be bought…sorry Rudolph. They should do away with the relaxed, laid back Durban lifestyle, and actually come to the game.

The Great White Shark also has a fearsome reputation, but unlike the Natal Sharks, it will cost you an arm and a leg if you piss in its pool. Maybe there is a lesson in there.

The Team
Their tight five might just be the most impressive part of this team, in the Beast, Deon Carstens, Jannie Du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit, Craig Burden, Pat Cilliers, Johan Muller, Steven Sykes, Gerhard Mostert, and Alistair Hargreaves they have quite a number of different options for different scenarios. A question might be where John Smit fits into the picture, as he cannot really compete for a place as prop or hooker. However, I feel that should the Sharks want to win this Super 14, Smit must get quite a bit of game time. Nothing against Johan Muller, but there are a few hotheads in the squad who needs some control, and I doubt whether Muller has the true aptitude for captaincy.

In between the loose forwards the same applies, Jaques Botes, Jean Deysel, Ryan Kankowski, Willem Alberts and Keegan Daniel are all proven players, the cover at loose-forward is a bit thin though and relatively unknown, which is a problem, as loosies are usually prime injury candidates, add to that Daniels’ Red Card that he is bound to receive somewhere during the group stages, and the Sharks might just applaud Streauli’s acquisition of Alberts as an act of clarity!

At scrumhalve there should be no problem in Sharkland, Kockott & McLeod probably getting the bulk of the work, and Cronje filling the gaps. Where is Pienaar you might ask? Well, as a late shock Hernandez has picked up a serious injury, and will be out for the competition, leaving Guy Cronje and Pienaar to fill in. However, Pienaar and Cronje are now also injured, albeit short-termish, meaning that Monty Dumond’s transfer to the Cheetahs, is now also something of the past, as he is now candidate number 1. With the only guy you can now rely on, being the one that knows the coaches thought he was originally not good enough, I foresee a struggle at 10, something that might just scuttle the whole ship.
Centre is, if anything adequate, with Riaan Swanepoel, Adrian Jacobs, Waylon Murray and Andries Strauss the main contenders, I believe they should be enough to keep the midfield secure, even if Strauss is greatly overrated, Jacobs’ experience could be telling, but work is needed on defence.

The back three might be more powerful than originally thought, the vastly impressive Terblanche should remain at 15, meaning that Ludik might be playing at most an impact role, or even cover at wing where he will share the spotlight with Ndungane, Pietersen, Vulindlu and Mvovo, all in all no problems here in the foreseeable future.

If I was the coach, Terblanche might even get the nod as captain ahead of Muller, but behind Smit, as the only Sharks player, apart from Smit who in my mind has true leadership abilities. I know I will probably be crucified for this, but apart from flyhalve where there is a true crisis, Johan Muller could be equally detrimental to the Sharks’ cause because of his inability to stamp his authority on the team and control the unruly (read Bismarck, Kockott and Daniels especially) in his ranks.

All in all this could be a good year, I expect at least a top 6 finish, but again no silverware.

Forwards
Beast Mtawarira, Deon Carstens, Pat Cilliers, Jannie du Plessis, John Smit, Wiehahn Herbst, Bismarck du Plessis, Craig Burden, Kyle Cooper, Johann Muller, Steven Sykes, Gerhard Mostert, Alistair Hargreaves, Jacques Botes, Keegan Daniel, Skholiwe Ndlovu, Jean Deysel, Ryan Kankowski, Willem Alberts, Michael Rhodes, Luvuyiso Lusaseni

Backs
Ruan Pienaar, Rory Kockott, Charl McLeod, Ross Cronjé, Juan Martin Hernández, Monty Dumond, Guy Cronjé, Riaan Swanepoel, Adrian Jacobs, Waylon Murray, Andries Strauss, Jean Stemmet, Jerome Pretorius, Patrick Lambie, Odwa Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Lwazi Mvovo, Luzuko Vulindlu, Chris Jordaan, Stefan Terblanche, Louis Ludik