Both the Sharks and Province’s Directors of Coaching – Rudolf Straeuli (Sharks) and Rassie Erasmus (WP) have a history of employing ‘cat-and-mouse’ tactics in the run-in to crucial matches, and it could well be the case this week.
In an unusual sequence of match preparation, Province decided on a rest day on Monday and will resume preparations for the Sharks clash on Tuesday at their training headquarters in Bellville.
Province have made some interesting adjustments to the routine this week and instead of their usual Wednesday team announcement it will happen on Thursday only. This change of routine may allow Province to establish what team the Sharks will be fielding at Newlands on Saturday before they make their own selections known.
And instead of doing all their training for the week in Bellville, their final training session on Thursday will take place at Newlands.
The WP have improved considerably this year, but they remaing merely capable of holding their own against the best opposition… and are still not in a position to dominate with telling effect.
The result of this match will be of academic interest to the Sharks as, regardless of the outcome, they will advance through to the semis for a home fixture.
The second-placed Province, on the other hand, will be looking for a win – with or without a bonus point – to secure a home semifinal. If they were to be held to a draw, they would need one bonus point to nail down the home semifinal.
Defeat or a draw without a bonus point would see Province drop down to an eventual fourth place as the third and fourth-placed sides, Cheetahs and Bulls respectively, should win their remaining matches this weekend and, in so doing, finish in the same positions on the final log.
Given this scenario, the Sharks are in a position where they could basically decide their ideal outcome at Newlands on Saturday. If they beat Province the chances are they will avoid the Bulls, the Currie Cup’s most feared team.
In the past eight seasons (since 2002), the Bulls have played in seven finals and have lost only twice.
For the Sharks, Province might seem like an easier semifinal option as the Newlands team have not reached a final since 2001 – when, ironically, they beat the Sharks in the final.
Against this background, the brainstrust in the Shark Tank might want to avoid a semifinal clash against the Bulls, who have a vastly superior Currie Cup pedigree. It would be easy to ‘manage’ this possibility by doing what the Bulls did in the final round of Super 14 matches a few months ago.
On that occasion the outcome was of no consequence to the Bulls and they fielded a second-string XV which lost to the Stormers at Newlands.
From Rugby365