Sharks and Rebels without a cause
EVERYTHING unedifying about Super Rugby was showcased in all its glory here last night.
Beamed across 17 time zones and seven host countries, the Sharks and the Rebels were at each other’s throats like French maids with feather dusters.
Competence, but perhaps more alarmingly conviction, were in short supply making for a match of fluffed lines, bungled opportunity and botched effort.
Imprecision, most notably poor handling whether with the benefit of space and time or with the mitigation of the collision, was delivered with similar alacrity.
Poor discipline also served to apply the brakes to both sides with red cards to Sharks centre Andre Esterhuizen and Rebels captain Nic Stirzaker.
This season the Sharks have been competent, combative and for the large part competitive. They took a step back here last night when poor discipline again undermined their endeavour.
Nobody has bossed them, but by the same token the Sharks haven’t stirred the component parts of their game for a compelling performance over 80 minutes. Their straps, as a result, remain untouched.
The Sharks suffered a blow before kickoff when wing Kobus van Wyk did himself a mischief in the warm-up. As the stadium announcer put it, Van Wyk “tweaked a quad”. Van Wyk’s abrupt absence meant a reshuffle which saw Jeremy Ward elevated to the starting lineup at outside-centre, while Lukhanyo Am shifted to the wing.
Understandably things were further complicated after Esterhuizen’s banishment. Esterhuizen’s tip tackle on Sefa Naivalu in the 17th minute cast a distinct pall on the Sharks’ prospects.
There were a few boos once Marius van der Westhuizen brandished the red card but the loyal few did so more out of obligation and questionable habit.
As is frequently the case when teams go a member down, those who remain are energised. For a little while the Sharks were.
Their toil earned them two penalties within seven minutes of Esterhuizen’s departure. Curwin Bosch, curiously off the boil last night, narrowly missed a longrange effort but succeeded in the 24th minute to level the score.
A man down, the Sharks’ every decision became more accentuated. Rolling with the punches and not inviting more pressure through poor decision-making became crucial. It helped that the Sharks’ pack fronted up, while pressure-relieving kicks from Bosch and fullback Rhyno Smith kept the tourists at bay.
The Rebels, although proficient at the ruck, didn’t always capitalise when they found themselves in positions of promise. Indeed, there were times when the Rebels resembled cubs, not entirely sure what to do with their prone prey.
It meant the Sharks continued to have a foothold, but that they only salvaged a draw after Stirzaker was sent off will come as cold comfort.
If the Rebels wondered why urgent tinkering was required with Super Rugby’s current clunky structure, they need only look at their own performance last night.
They would have arrived here with a cause but they failed to advance it.
This match was a draw, sadly not of the High Noon variety.