NO TRICKS: Crusaders defence coach Tabai Matson expects Sharks coach Jake White’s game plan to play to their strengths
Tabai Matson would hoot with laughter if a Sharks’ insider offered to sell Jake White’s game plans this week.
Crusaders defence coach Matson expects nothing tricky from Sharks coach White in Saturday night’s Super Rugby semifinal and anyone trying to convince him otherwise risks being dispatched with a sharp tap to the temple.
“His [White] team plays to their strengths and they are very clinical with what they do,” Matson says. “They have a few things on the menu and they cook it very well.”
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“We will expect the same as teams he has prepared before. It will be very, very similar.”
White, who guided the Springboks to World Cup glory in 2007 and last year took the Brumbies to the final against the Chiefs, likes to play the percentages; that’s a low-risk game based around possession, kicking, position and pressure.
Apart from the surprise loss to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein earlier this month, when they launched more from the deep, the Sharks usually prefer to use their brutal forward pack and long kicking game to apply a tourniquet to their opponents before easing them to their knees.
The Highlanders almost succeeded in bowling the Sharks last weekend, speeding up the game with quick penalty taps and throw-ins and stretching their defence by keeping the ball alive.
Ultimately, the Sharks’ mighty scrum and their lineout drives proved insurmountable and no-one in the Crusaders camp expects anything different in the semifinal.
White’s conservative plays don’t come without their risks, something noted by former Sharks director of rugby Brendan Venter in a recent column.
“It should be stressed that White’s aforementioned model for success is not a foolproof plan and, in terms of strategy, is very limited,” Venter, an ex-Springbok midfielder and qualified doctor, wrote.”
“Its success or failure is largely dependent upon the level of intensity the players are able to deliver on a particular match day.”
It wasn’t only the 30-25 scoreline that angered the Crusaders when they lost to the 14-man Sharks team in Christchurch on 17 May.
Their defence statistics were poor, something Matson attributed to a variety of issues – including kicking too much and giving the opposition counter-attacking opportunities.
“We had an 82 per cent tackle accuracy which was way low. We are always looking at 90 per cent and to be 82 – you just can’t play at that level.”
“We coughed up three tries which is a terrible day in our defensive office for us. There’s a lot for us to tidy up from that night.”
First five-eighth Frans Steyn orchestrated the Sharks’ first try to Sibusiso Sithole, gassing through a gaping hole caused by Ryan Crotty rushing up too quickly. Rather than being a fault with the defensive system, Matson said that was an individual error.
“It was more the guy who stepped out of the system that got a massive slap on the hand. Just a schoolboy error, just rushed out of the line and a world-class player will take that, thank you.”
The Crusaders’ strong set pieces and mauling game that proved so effective in their most recent game – the 34-8 win over the Highlanders on July 12 – in conjunction with moving the ball wide to No 8 Kieran Read and wing Nemani Nadolo, could dismantle the visitors.
“If you make a team play their B-game it’s going to make your day a lot easier,” Matson said. “Doing that is a lot more difficult than what you put on paper in a plan.”