Ackermann: Lions will have to be at their best Down Under
It’s time Sharks walked the walk about try-scoring game
THERE is a lot more to the Sharks’ match tomorrow night against the Jaguares than first meets the eye, and it could be season-defining for the Durban team.
Coach Robert du Preez has made eight changes (six unenforced) to the side that was so poor against the Rebels last week and while the coach was quick to say earlier in the week that “there would be changes but not performance-related ones”, we can take that with a pinch of salt.
The Sharks have been hot and cold all season and there have been highs such as the performance against the Lions at Ellis Park (where they should have won), but then curiously poor displays at home against the Kings and Rebels. More than anybody, Du Preez wants the real Sharks to stand up.
They have talked the talk about playing an attacking game but after the halfway mark they have scored just 17 tries. Of the 18 teams in the competition, only the Rebels have scored less tries than the Sharks and Force, while the Hurricanes have scored 56 in the same number of games. JOHAN Ackermann, says it is unrealistic to think the Lions will simply bag all 15 points on offer from their three matches in Australia.
Ackermann’s men are well placed in the Super Rugby standings, having won seven of eight matches, and will be the favourites against the Force, Rebels and Brumbies, but the Lions boss says his team will have to work very hard in the coming weeks if they’re to return home with a bag full of points.
“It would be extremely dangerous for us to think too far ahead, to believe we’re just going to pick up 15 points on tour,” said Ackermann this week.
“The reality is it is still a tour where we are out of our comfort zone, the weather and fields are different, and we’re playing in other teams’ backyards… they’re going to make things extremely hard for us.
“We’re also not the side we were a year ago… there are eight different players in the match-day squad (compared to the squad) that played in the final last year. You just can’t underestimate anyone in this competition. No one just rocks up and wins. Look at what the Kings did a week ago (against the Waratahs), and two of the teams we’re up against on tour are fighting for their survival in the competition.
“We’ll have a target on our backs and they’ll be
Something with the Sharks is just not adding up ... It is time they walked the walk about this try-scoring game they keep banging on about. Tomorrow night’s game for the Sharks is as important for the log points they need to stay in playoff contention as it is to how they play the game.
The Sharks must rather stick to their attacking guns and lose than disintegrate into a shambles as they did last week when nobody seemed to know what to do. desperate to put up a good show against last year’s finalists.”
The Force, who the Lions meet tomorrow, are in danger of being chopped from Super Rugby next year, and so, too, are the Rebels, who the Lions face next weekend.
Ackermann will be keen to see his team start the tour well and show an improvement after their close call against the Jaguares last weekend. He has made some changes to his side, recalling Ruan Dreyer and Jacques van Rooyen to the front row, while Kwagga Smith starts ahead of the injured Jaco Kriel. At the back, Faf de Klerk rotates with Ross Cronjé, who sits out because of a leg injury, while Sylvian Mahuza replaces Madosh Tambwe on the right wing.
“The Force have been in many of their contests until late in many of their games, but a few mistakes have cost them dearly,” he explained. “So, if we can keep the pressure on until the end and be in it, hopefully our bench will be able to play a big role.” The ball was kicked away aimlessly, passes were made directly into touch and there were drop-goal attempts from the halfway line.
One comment from Du Preez after the game stood out more than his other remarks: “The senior players did not stand up and take control.”
I don’t think it is a co-incidence that there are six changes, including a new captain, together with the change necessitated by the suspension of Andre Esterhuizen and the injury to Kobus van Wyk.
Tendai Mtawarira has been “rested” at loosehead prop and youngster Thomas du Toit comes in at hooker. Chiliboy Ralepelle gets a shot ahead of Franco Marais, who had a nightmare against the Rebels, while completing the new front row is Lourens Adriaanse, replacing Coenie Oosthuizen.
The captain against the Rebels, Tera Mtembu, has been dropped to the bench, as much due to his culpability for the performance against the Rebels as to the need to get Philip van der Walt starting. The former Cheetah is also the new captain.
It is a beefy loose trio now that the Du Preez twins are back in tandem.