There were some hard words spoken in the Sharks rugby camp after their defeat in the first Currie Cup match of the season against Griquas in Kimberley.
Article by Christo Buchner
A few months later, Stefan Terblanche held the Currie Cup high up into the air to crown a truly remarkable year for the KwaZulu-Natal team.
There was praise from all over for the unique game plan that the Sharks kept up throughout the series.
With a young cub, Patrick Lambie, at flyhalf, their motto was keeping possession and holding back the boot, rather than using it to give away possession pointlessly, like the Springboks did too often this year.
The Sharks’ gameplan was refreshing, and there can be no doubt that they were the dominating team in the Currie Cup series.
Even the bluest of the Blue Bulls and the stripiest of the Western Province will have to concede that the Currie Cup belongs in the Shark Tank.
It was a team effort that got the Durban outfit to the top, although Lambie, Lwazi Mvovo, Adriaan Strauss, Charl McLeod, Bismarck du Plessis, Craig Burden, Keegan Daniel and especially Willem Alberts’s stars shone particularly brightly.
The way in which the Sharks dominated the semi-final and final against respectively the Blue Bulls and the Western Province, was impressive.
Western Province also had a very good season, although the big prize remained out of reach.
Duane Vermeulen was the team’s best player and the Capetonian’s future seems definitely to be looking rosy.
Another team which can be satisfied with their progress in this year’s series are the Lions. With Kiwi John Mitchell at the helm, things started happening again in the City of Gold, and the extraction of a shiny diamond like Elton Jantjies forecasts good things for the Lions’ supporters, who for the first time in years can look forward to a year with much promise.
For the Blue Bulls it was a Currie Cup year which they will want to forget quickly. Apart from their poor performance against the Sharks in the semi, there were also several dips in the season.
They were beaten by the Pumas in Nelspruit, and the Cheetahs were allowed to defeat them in the last moments of the game at Loftus.
The Pretoria reserve team was perhaps not what it should be, especially when, as usual, a large group of players had to be yielded to the national team.
With victories over the Bulls and the Lions in Johannesburg, the Pumas showed they could stay the course although there was finally a battle in the promotion game to beat the Kings.
The Leopards were basically also out of the Currie Cup series in their game against the Southwestern District’s Eagles, but managed to cling to their status.
I dont want to be a party pooper but the biggest problem for the Sharks is how do you play the full competition. In all previous years they either faded badly in the last few weeks or like 2010 they started too late.
2011 is even longer, will they take their dip at the right time? That might be the problem for all teams. No ways will a team keep their top form for 18 weeks. How they manage the season will be the trick.
Just remember earlier this year Plumtree was in deep trouble with the dismal start the Sharks had in the S14.
This article is accurate when it says, “It was a team effort that got the Durban outfit to the top” and also “The Pretoria reserve team was perhaps not what it should be, especially when, as usual, a large group of players had to be yielded to the national team”
Remember one thing, if the Bulls reserves had the same experience that the Sharks team had it might have been a different story.
I dont agree with the view that a team is thrashed if the scores end close. Jy speel net so goed as wat jou opponent you toelaat.
So Currie Cup success means success in Super rugby…
It’s true, just ask the Cheetahs…
Geez like you okes are sour this morning. The Currie Cup Semi was extremely tight game but that was the first time in my life I ever saw the Bulls forwards get bullied. The score line was close but we all know that a win is a win,irrespective of the score. Agreed that we still have a long way to go and the Super 15 is extremely tough but give credit where credit is due.
@gbs as jy vir mnr buchner sien by n game se vir hom hier is n blogger vir wie hy engels gegee het in st 7 en 8 in brakpan in 1987 en 88
WP / Stormers kort ‘n losskakel! HHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP! Enigiemand! Net nie Peter Grant nie!
@ superBul:
If all teams have the same problem of a long season, doesn’t that kind of level the playing field? It rains on both sides?
@ Rugbyprof:
Ons kan maar net hoop dat WP/Stormers dieselfde kan doen met Lionel Cronje as wat Sharks en Lions met Lambie en Jantjies gedoen het. Before the start of the CC, this is pretty much how it stood.
Lambie: SA U/20
Jantjies: SA U/20
Cronje: SA U/20
So WHY THE HELL NOT???
Greenpoint-Gunner wrote:
Agree, but would you think the more experienced team has the better chance? And would a settled team with fewer changes through the year not be the favorites?
Look i excepted the result in the semi, it was also well deserved by the Sharks but taking this CC as a barometer is pushing the limits a bit.
But next year the ageing Bulls team will have their last chance with this highly experienced team, lets see if they can keep the “young lions” of their backs.
It is still 58 days before the first Super match.
… as long as the Sharks supporters don’t become like Stormers / WP supporters, and think they’ve won the Super Rugby Series, before it’s started or just after it’s started, it’s fine to be optimistic.
Regarding the Bulls, like every season I support them and start out worried… not happy with their depth in a few positions yet…
Loosehead props are fine
Hookers are fine
Tighthead props are fine
Locks are excellent
Openside flankers… with Stegmann & Kuun there I suppose we’re fine
Blindside flankers are fine with Dewald Potgieter and young CJ Stander in the mix
No 8’s… a bit light, Pierre Spies of course is fine but Van Velze is maybe a bit iffy
Scrummies are excellent
Flyhalves are fine, with Morné Steyn excellent and Brummer ok’ish
Inside centers are fine with Meisiekind excelent and cover sufficient
Outside centers is a worry… Jaco Pretorius is not the best there is and cover there is also iffy
Left wingers are OK.. Bjorn Basson is fine (hope he does not get banned long) but after that there is a problem, luckily Hougie could still fill in there
Right wingers are OK… Gerhard van den Heever just better buck up a bit after a very average Currie Cup and Akona should be ready again sometime.
Fullbacks are fine… with Zane there and Moses van der Westhuyzen as backup
Agree with Winston. You guys are really sour today. Why? Damn that semi was a close fought battle against Sharks and it was a full strength Bulls team we played against. Also remember all the Shark supporters here cheered and supported the Bulls in the S14 final. Something for you Bulls supporters to think about hey!!!
Anyhow GOOD LUCK TO MY SHARKIES for next year.
Fair point Gbs,of course its going to be a difficult competition and I think we will do well to make the Semi Finals but it would be nice to have a bit of recognition for winning the Currie Cup against a full strength Wee Pee and Bulls side. Personally I think the Bulls have a chance of winning it again but after 2011 they will have to rebuild for a year or two.
Yeah Puma I dont know who pissed on their battery this morning 🙂
@ Winston:12 – For sure Winne, Also near the end of the Currie Cup all teams were full strength. Full strength SA teams in the CC are the same as they were in S14.
Anyhow proud of our Sharks for winning the CC. We had to beat Bulls in the semi and WP in the final. Not easy but we done it.
11@ Winston:
The Sharks sure played well to top the Log in the Currie Cup and of course they played well in the semi and in the final…. deserved Currie Cup winners, by a mile.
I think what most supposed sour okes are intimating though is that to measure a team on the Currie Cup alone is dodgy at best, due to the fact that the Currie Cup was largely played with weakened sides, bar the end bit.
The Sharks in my view had a strong second half of the Super 14 as well… and what impresses me about the Sharks is their awesome depth in most positions.
It does indeed bode well for them in the Super Rugby Series of 2011… but I’d rather be carefully optimistic if I was a Shark… spit, spit, spit…. it is a long and arduous journey in Super Rugby and one’s planning and performances needs to be great for 18 weeks running.
The new Super Series will test completely new aspects of our play and a team’s longevity, the Conference System in mind, home and away… and what worries me is that the domestic teams who regularly do well in the Currie Cup, but not in the Super Seris (Lions and Cheetahs), they go full-out for the Bulls and top-dogs in the local derbies, so how much steam will a team have left when the time comes for the knock-outs.
Australian teams probably have it easiest in this regard, whereas the New Zealand derbies should be as gruelling as our derbies.
A smart coach will win the Super Series….
Of course,that goes without saying,but I do believe we have the players and coaches to go all the way. I dont think we will win the tournament,that will go to the Bulls or Crusaders but I do think that we have a chance.. Sharks are no longer the Chokers,Wee Pee have taken that tag from us 🙂
@ Puma:
10
miskien moet ek maar wegbly van die Engels, ek kan nie iets suur sien in my observasies nie. Net so vriendelike waarskuwing dat die Sharks nie moet weghol met die storie nie.
@ superBul:16 – Super, not just you boeta, but the article saying a “Bulls Reserve Team” Maybe during the tourney but in the semi it was a full strength Bulls Team. Tha is being sour and not giving credit where it is due. Also read post 3 is that not being sour? I think very much so. Remember ALL the Shark supporters here supported the Bulls during the whole of the S14 when not playing the Sharks. Never ever remember us being so sour when we went out of the CC last year in the semi.
Anyhow still proud of my Sharks for winning the CC even if some here think it was a nothing tourney. Eish!!! the arrogance of some is mind blowing.. 🙄 And that is not you Super. Only one post here that is really arrogant and you know which one it is cause it stands out.
17@ Puma:
Look closely… the Article was written by Christo Buchner, a seasoned journalist for whatever that’s worth, not by SuperBees or any Bulls supporter on RT.
So, if one Blogger is supposedly sour, name hime and shame him, don’t ascribe bitterness to a group of Bulls.
Stop being so sensitive man…
Damn, wish the rugby could start so that we could stop to knitpick over trivialities!
Luckily there’s Christmas to worry about and then 5 days of cricket again
@ grootblousmile:18 – Gbs, I know it was written by Buchner, but Super also commented on the “Bulls RESERVE Team” But not too worried about that, check out BLOUSTE’S POST THAT gbs, is total mind blowing arrogance. If you don’t agree you need to sit on jou brille..lol. Cause it damn well is arrogant. Give credit where it is due. We shark supporters here have always given the Bulls credit for their great wins.
@ Puma:19 – Did I spell (glasses) correct in afrikaans up there? Probably not 😀
Could not agree more with you Puma,we have always supported the Bulls supporters through the Super 14 semi and those comments are poor form. Thanks for calling them on it.
Anyhow I am off gbs,
Merry Christmas to all Rugby-Talk bloggers, and all the very best for the New Year to all the bloggers here. Have a blast this festive season. Enjoy it all.
Cheers catch up in the New Year.
Go Proteas.
@ Winston:21 – Winnie, Thanks for standing with me on this. Really it is in poor taste to read a particular post here after we won the CC. Making our CC to be a trash tourney. Well that is the way I read it. Shame that really.
Yes the Shark Supporters here stood side by side with the Bulls supporting them all the way in the semi and final of the S14. Actually I supported the Bulls all the time WHEN they were not playing against the Sharks. So to read some posts here is very, very disappointing.
@ Winston:21 – Winston, Merry Christmas to you and your family and have yourself a brilliant New Year buddy. Enjoy the festive season and just have a jol.
Cheers Winnie. Catch up in the New Year.
Thanks Puma. I’m spending the day with my girlfriends family and will see my brother in the afternoon. Have a good one. Take Care.
Winston wrote:
over sensitive , really sad that you expect us to be jumping with joy about the Sharks achievements. Guys we have some much bigger to celebrate, winning the Super 14 the most times ever. We still have the bragging rights.
And come on , just come on , your house is not skweeky clean.
Puma my dear friend i dont have to feel bad, i was bemoaning the Bulls game the whole season. We could not build any continuity with the constant changes in the team. We gave a hell of a lot of players exposure at a higher level, and we might bear fruits from that later. But for a team to play together first time in the semi, we were not well enough prepared. Not you teams fault, and i congratulated you enough for it.
What Blouste said is not so bad, come on.
Blouste wrote:
That is a fact , if you look at the CC success of the Cheetahs and what they achieved in Super rugby in cant find anything wrong in his comment.
I am sure he congratulated you back then.
Puma wrote:
if so then you stood up against any WP supporter. Not nice to them. But that is your choice , you can pick your own 2nd favorite. Does that mean that Blouste MUST support the Sharks unconditionally? Maybe he would have loved the WP to win? :LOL: :LOL:
@ superBul:28 – Super, You don’t have to jump for joy about a Sharks win, I don’t expect that of you, cause you a Bull supporter, but we can have some respect for winning the CC tourney don’t you think?
Look go back and read what Blouste says, he is actually mocking our CC as if it is a rubbish tourney, by ridiculing the Cheetahs cause they have won the CC the most in the past few years and not the S14. I am appalled by Bloustes remark. Not just cause I am a Shark supporter, but if I was a Cheetah supporter I would have felt even more disgust at his post. As a South African that loves the CC I feel totally appalled at his remark. He basically was looking down at the CC. So yes, there was plenty wrong in Bloustes post.
Sure you Bulls have every reason to be proud winning the S14 3 times. The one though you should never had won was 2007. Had it not been for the very bad mistake Walsh made in the very end giving Bulls a penalty which Bulls should never have got. Sharks would have won that S14. Think everyone watching that final knows that very well, even the Bull supporters that were my neighbours in Joburg admit that totally, and the guys I do business with in Centurion who are Bulls supporters admit that had it not been for Walsh mistake giving Bulls a penalty they should never have got, Sharks would have won it. Sharks too made a mistake of taking off Percy before end, but we should still have won it had it not been for Walsh’s mistake in the final minutes of that game.
Walsh had admitted a year or so later he made a mistake there. But anyhow that is done and dusted in the past. The other two S14 Bulls won they deserved it totally. I have always come out and said congrats and well done to Bulls.
Super in the past I have always been neutrual when two South African teams play each other, only cause I and a few Shark supporters have been blogging here with mostly Bull supporters this past year, that I supported Bulls in the final and against all teams, but not against my Sharks or against Lions cause Lions are my 2nd side.
From next year I will be neutral again when two SA teams play. Will only support the Sharks totally and when Lions are not playing against the Sharks will support them. Will always thought support all South African teams playing against overseas teams though.
Anyhow that is my last gripe on this issue.
Merry Christmas to you and your family Super and all the very best for the New Year. May it be the best New Year ever.
Enjoy the cricket too. Good luck to our Proteas hope they win this test and that will be us with a series win. But not going to be that easy I feel.
Cheers Super. Catch up again when the Rugby starts.
Hey, het julle dit ook gesien en gelees?
Ek sweer ek het dit iewers gesien, ek sal die kommentare weer mooi moet lees, dit moet daar wees!
Nou wag ek net dat julle vra, waaroor gaan jy nou so aan?
@ grootblousmile:
Dont make the mistake about generalising about Natal supporters. The supporters that are fair weather supporters and there for the beer or family are testimony to the fine job the franchise has done of selling “entertainment”. There are knowledgable die hard supporters and there are plenty of them. I think every team in South Africa has more than its fair share of arrogance amongst the supporters and one only has to look at how other rugby playing nations supporters in LOndon regard Saffas to understand this. As a group we are quite arrogant. I was once asked by an Englishman “but why must South Africans win ALL the time”, my reply “whats the point of playing if you cant win”. What we have to learn is to be gracious in defeat and I have learned that lesson living here in the UK…..I dont like to lose, but I accept it more graciously than I would in the past.
What the Sharks proved this year in the Currie Cup is that the mental game is the most important aspect of any sport. If they hold that attitude going through the Super 15 and the Currie Cup in 2011 then they will be a force to be reckoned with.
looking at the Sharks going into this year my summation is that at lock we are a bit iffy and 2nd centre is a problem area. Terblanche should go back to fullback, he is better there and his Captaincy wont be needed (unless he carries on when Barney gets back), then its a hassle your Captain shouldnt be at fullback really.
The rest of the departments we are more than competitive and the backups are good.
Predictions…I think WP will be the best of the SA teams in the S15 (for various reasons) but it is possible we can end up with 4 in the playoffs. Tri Nations we will throw away and be ready for the world cup. I just hope and pray the Boks get the “head doctors” to work on the guys before that. We also need to get the Bok team together early…..will we go Natals way and play running rugby or will we revert to the previous world cups method….watch this space.
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