The Sharks are ninth on the log, on 21 points after their four successive wins; the Blues are seventh (25 points) but they have a far easier closing month to their campaign.
While only the most optimistic Sharks supporters still cling to the forlorn hope that their team can somehow advance to the Super 14 play-offs, the Auckland Blues, their opponents at King’s Park this Saturday, still feel a semi-final spot is in their grasp.
The Sharks have to beat – with bonus points – the Blues on Saturday and then the Bulls (at Loftus), Stormers and Western Force (both in Durban) and reach 40 log points to have a mathematical chance of reaching the last four.
The Blues are up against three teams in the last five on the table after their Durban visit.
They travel to Bloemfontein next week to play the 13th-placed Cheetahs, then meet bottom-of-the-log Lions before returning home to host the Chiefs (10th) in Auckland.
Victory in all four of their remaining games, with just one bonus point on the way, would take them up to 42 points and that would have earned them a semi-final berth every year since the competition was extended to 14 teams in 2006.
Saturday’s game at King’s Park is, then, make-or-break for both teams – “another cup final,” in the words of Sharks captain John Smit.
The Blues flew out to South Africa at the weekend without injured All Blacks lock Anthony Boric. The second-row forward has an ankle injury and he missed the Blues’ 38-17 win over the Force on Saturday.
While the Sharks have gone from bad to good with five successive defeats followed by four victories on the trot, the Blues have fluctuated from one week to the next. Their win over the champion Bulls was followed by a bad loss to the Stormers but they were up again against the Force at the weekend.
It has been a particularly frustrating time for coach Pat Lam.
“We have to work as a team not individuals,” he said before leaving New Zealand. “If we do that we can be a very damaging team, but if we don’t then we can be pretty average.”
He is convinced the Blues are stronger now than last year but emphasised the importance of a win over the Sharks.
“This is it. We have to look after ourselves well and recover properly from the trip because this Sharks match is a massive test match for us.”
All Black wing Joe Rokocoko, who scored a hat-trick of tries against the Force, said the players were concerned about their see-sawing form but are determined to stay on a winning high in Durban.
“We have always felt confident in our game plan,” he said. “Even with our defeats we feel we are going the right way.”
Saturday’s match kicks off at 17:05.
Blues touring squad:
Anthony Tuitavake, Paul Williams, Isaia Toeava, Rudi Wulf, Rene Ranger, Benson Stanley, Luke McAlister, Joe Rokocoko, Dan Kirkpatrick, Stephen Brett, Chris Smylie, Alby Mathewson, Viliami Ma’afu, Tom Chamberlain, Serge Lilo, Peter Saili, Jerome Kaino, Andrew van der Heijden, Kurtis Haiu, Filo Paulo, Tom McCartney, Keven Mealamu, Charlie Faumuina, Tevita Mailau, John Afoa, Tony Woodcock.
* It was confirmed on Monday that Griquas, the defending champions, will meet the Sharks XV in the quarter-final of the Vodacom Cup at King’s Park on Saturday. The match (at 14:00) will be played as a curtain-raiser to the Super 14 game.
Fok hulle op, Sharkies…. skakel hulle uit!
gbs @ 1
hmmmm, dit is die ideaal
maar
dié blues team het alreeds gewys dat hulle ñ gevaarlike spulletjie is
Nog n kans vir Ruan om sy klas te wys.
Sharks kan die een vat as hulle 80 minute speel en nie so met rukke en stote nie.
2@ Asbak – Ja, dis ‘n moeilike game, vra maar vir ons Bulls, ons weet hoe sterk die Blues kan wees… maar dis “Last Chance Saloon” vir die Tjarks en hulle kan beide die Bulls en Stormpoppies ‘n moooosa guns doen om die Blues uit te skakel, en so hulleself in die running hou.
Een van die Tahs of Brumbies kak ook hierdie naweek… dis nog ene uit…
Die Australiese aanslag kan nogal n groot knou toegedien word as die Stormers en die Brumbies wen. n gelykop game tussen die Tahs en Brumbies kan ook nogal handig wees vir SA
Morning Rugby Talkers 😀
Don’t think the Sharks will make a semi. That wont happen. What we need to do though is to beat the Blues to help out the two top saffa teams.
If Blues beat the Sharks with 5 points, they no doubt will beat the Cheetahs, Lions and Chiefs with 5 points. That would give them 20 points and Blues would land up with 45. That would give them a semi. So Sharks need to do their work on Saturday and beat the Blues.
Think for once the whole of SA will be behind my Sharkies…..hehehehehe 😯
Sharks kan die een wen, en ek sou ‘n Sharks verloor as ‘n upset sien. Weet nie of ons ‘n bonus punt sal verdien nie, maar nou ja, ons is eintlik al klaar uit die “running”.
5@ SuperBul – Ek sal bly wees as die Brumbies wen sonder ‘n bonuspunt maar met meer as 7
6@ Puma – Crucial match for SA, this one between the Sharks & Blues
Hi Puma
What’s up with these narrow wins of the Sharks? My nerves are shattered when we play.
And glad about Lamby’s consistent form. Looks like a star of the future.
gbs @ 8
ek sal nogal verkies om die brumbies te sien verloor … tussen die tahs en brumbies in ñ semi, sien ek die brumbies as die gevaarlike een!!
Hi Puma,
That Lanbie is certainly rewarding the faith you were showing in him a month or so ago. I remember well that you were pushing for his inclusion. I hear that Stransky was initially worried about his lack of pace but I certainly have not noticed that.
Can’t say the same about the Bulls centres who couldn’t catch Reds voorspeler last Saturday though….
11@ Asbak – Het jy gesien wie speel nog teen die Tahs en Brumbies onderskeidelik… sal beter wees as die Brumbies HIERDIE naweek wen… en in die laaste week verloor teen die Saders (ek dink hulle speel hulle in die laaste week)… daai laaste ene kan maak of breek wees vir of die Saders of die Brumbies….
More Ash, moet nettie vi my se jy glo ook dattie Brumbies een of anner evil spell oppie Stormers gooi nie….? 😉
10 – Snoek, Think they like giving us almost heart failure each week…..hehehe. Far too close for me. The Canes, Reds and now the Lions game. Phew!!!! Heart almost beating out my chest in those games….hahaha.
This week we play like that against the Blues we are bye bye. Need to just do the basics right and maybe, we can win. WIN all our lineouts, first time tackles and for goodness sake when a try is on don’t drop the damn ball.
Stefan and JPP were terrible on Saturday. Lambie has future BOK written all over him. A magnificent talent to come out of this S14. He is just superb. Ruan was too.
Start with Hargreaves as well. He made a huge difference to our lineout when he came on.
12 – Fender, Morning mate, Agree our Lambie is making us Sharkies proud. Only 19 years old!!!!!!! How well is that younster playing? He is a huge talent and a great find from this S14. Hope PdV has taken notice. Think after 2011 Lambie will be a Bok. Then Frans Steyn was playing at the World Cup 2007 at 19 and turned 20 that year.
Just hope we can beat the Blues this week. That would not only be great for the Sharks but for the two top teams. We lose to them, marke my words the Blues going to knock someone out of the top 4 for a semi. After they play Sharks they will pick up bonus points from the next 3 teams they play.
16 – marke = mark
9 – gbs, For sure. Now Sharks will have all of the Bulls and Stormers supporting them this weekend…….hehehe 😆
This is how i see things happen this weekend.
Chiefs v Vodacom Cheetahs / Chiefs to pick up 5 log points, cheetahs 0
Reds v Vodacom Stormers / Reds to pick up 4 log points, Stormers 1
Western Force v Crusaders / Force to pick up 0 log points, Crusaders 5
Highlanders v Hurricanes / Highlanders to pick up 1 log point, hurricanes 5
Waratahs v Brumbies / Waratahs to pick up 4 log points, brumbies 1.
Vodacom Bulls v Auto & General Lions / Bulls to pick up 5 log points, Lions 0.
The Sharks v Blues / Sharks to pick up 4 log points, blues 1.
Superbul see you are wearing the yellow cap in the IPL bru pool. Congrats.
See Kolkata beat the Mumbai Indians. Never thought they would.
#16 Puma
Ja, your team needs to beat them this weekend and they are more than capable of doing it.
I’m still wating for the Sharks to fire this season. Surely they can’t keep up with this splutter-stutter antics the whole S14 season. They remind me of an old Peugeot on a cold and wintery Cape Town morning!
19 – Snoek as long as the Sharks win that all that matters.
Think the Stormers will win. See the Reds Lock is out with injury. Their lineout was not bad last week but with him out not so sure. Stormers have a very good lineout. Also Stormers will keep possession. You give the Reds no ball they will struggle.
So the log according to me should look like this on monday.
1. Crusaders / 39
2. Bulls / 39
3. Stormers / 34
4. Reds / 34
5. Waratahs / 33
6. Brumbies / 27
7. Hurricanes / 27
8. Blues / 26
9. Chiefs / 26
10. Sharks / 25
11. Highlanders / 12
12. Force / 10
13. Cheetahs / 9
14. Lions / 5
21 – Fender, Without decent centres and FH. WE going to splutter and stutter until the end of this comp. If we win we will not run away with a win. Will be close.
Just hope JPP can find form. He has not been really good this S14 except in the Canes game.
23 – Don’t seem fair we win and go back to 10th!! Then would like us to win with a bonus point….hehehe. Don’t think that will happen against this Blues side. Then you never know we just might.
Hope the Tank is fullhouse.
#23 Hey Snoek, I’m not taking your bait! 😉
22 @ Puma
I honestly hope the Stormers will win, but it has to be said that the Reds are playing well at the moment, they are at home, and they have been the only team to beat the log leading Crusaders.
And the Stormers have lost 2/3 games against Australian opposition.
It looks like everything is pointing towards a Reds win.
Hope i’m wrong though.
#21 Agh Puma, decent centres are not that important. Take the Bulls for example…..
26 – Fender
See my post at 27.
My honest opinion.
Hope i’m wrong.
No bait from this Snoek 😆
20
bliksem that poor showing by the Mumbai team stopped me dead in my tracks. I hoped for a extra bonus point by having all right.
Now with 4 games to go and being 11 points adrift my charge is as late as the Sharks, still hope but the guys on top must have a blowout.
Bewer is good with the predictions, his margins is near.
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