Here it simply explains what we all seem to know, but fail to ackowlegde as and when it suits us thus not being very understanding to the situation. I made a posting in keo ealier today saying in as much and if one takes the team the Sharks could and would have had , had management just kept what we had and taken the players that approached them like  J Fourie, Brussow.

With these players plus what they lost the quality and combinations of this team would have been extremely potent and near unstoppable. Talk about spilt milk >????

80. sharks_lover :
March 17th, 2010 at 1:24 pm @JL1: Hi JLI as much as I agree I also dont

We had the depth and talent , we sold it and kept only a few talents; Lets take this same side and make a few changes. Bring back a Butch , F Steyn, Barritt , Bj Botha and that side would be totally different.

Then take the fact that a Jfourie had approached the Sharks and they did not snap him up and Imagine this team had they just kept their stars

15 Ludick
14 Mvovo
13 J fourie
12 F Steyn
11 JPP
10 Butch
09 Ruan
08 Kanko
07 Alberts
06 Deysel
05 Muller/Mostert
04 Sykes
03 BJ
02 Smit/Bissy
01 Beast

16 Bissy/Smit
17 Herbst/Cilliers
18 Hargreaves/Mostert
19 Botes/Daniel
20 Cockott
21 Adi/Murray
22 Odwa/Stefan

I doubt this team would have struggled , all the Sharks had to do was keep what they had and add a Fourie that approched them
Of course they also lost Hernandez to injury, but to lose what they lost and not to replace with the same kind of quality , is not the way to go

At the same time the up and comming youngsters like lambie should be blooded more , thus this year should be taken as a failure, thus they should now blood the good youngsters and plan ahead.

Fact is they dont have the Stars they had and the rebuilding phase should start A.S.A.P

Sharks paying heavy price for unsettled combinations

WHEN asked to put his finger on what has led to the Sharks’ disappointing start to the Super 14, coach John Plumtree pointed to their unsettled 9-10-12 combination as one of the main contributing factors.

Indeed, at this stage of the competition last year, the Sharks had won four games out of five, and in all matches had started with Rory Kockott, Ruan Pienaar and Frans Steyn in that all important channel. In addition, outside of them was an inform Adi Jacobs, hot off the back of a brilliant 2008 season with the Springboks.

Compare that to this season when injuries at the time of the opening weekend meant the Sharks started their campaign with Kockott, Monty Dumond and Andries Strauss in the 9-10-12 axis. For the next two matches, Kockott remained at scrumhalf, with Pienaar starting at flyhalf and Jacobs slotting into the more unfamiliar inside centre position.

Then, over the last fortnight, the arrival of English flyhalf Andy Goode allowed Pienaar to replace Kockott at scrumhalf on the basis of his superior passing game, while Riaan Swanepoel returned to replace Jacobs in the No 12 jersey, who in turn shifted to outside centre in place of Murray.

It is also important not to forget the disruptions of the preseason, with star flyhalf Juan Hernandez – whom the Sharks had hoped to build their backline around – returning to Argentina for back surgery.

Ex-Kearsney College pupil Steve Meyer was then signed up and was set to start the opening Super 14 game – but then, out of the blue, he retired.

Furthermore, Lions recruit Louis Ludik, who was considered as an option at centre, has failed to recover from a knee injury.

So, when put into perspective, it is no wonder the Sharks have failed to fire on attack, scoring just four tries.

“The 9–10-12 combination is obviously absolutely crucial,” Plumtree commented. “If you look at the top sides at the moment, they all have outstanding combinations in those positions. Ours has been very disrupted and disjointed and we have not been able to get our game going. Although that’s not solely the reason for that, it’s certainly one of the big ones.”

When looking at the log-leading Bulls, we see they have a settled Springbok trio in Fourie du Preez, Morne Steyn and Wynand Olivier operating together – playing no small part in helping the side rack up more than 45 points in every match this season – and, similarly, the other table-topping teams all have stars in the important halfback and centre channels.

In light of this, the loss of Steyn to Racing Metro has been brought into sharp perspective for the Sharks. The youngster’s extravagance was not always everyone’s cup of tea, but it is undeniable that a powerful playmaker such as him is just what the Sharks could do with at the moment.

They have to work with what they’ve got, though, and Pienaar and Goode were much improved in their second start together at the weekend. However, there are still some doubts as to whether the paperwork will be sorted out to enable the Englishman to remain with the Sharks after the overseas tour. If not, it could land the team in a world of trouble all over again.

Worryingly, there also seems to be no answer for the Sharks at centre, with Jacobs battling inconsistency, Murray far from top form and Swanepoel making little impact.

Both Jacobs and Swanepoel are also battling with injury niggles at the moment, but if they recover in time and are selected to face the Highlanders on Saturday, they need to step up and prove they can do the job. In fact, so does the entire team.