‘Eleven Boks no fast-track to victory’
THERE has been a lot of huff and puff from the Sharks camp this season, but the bottom line for the Durbanites is that they have mustered just six log points from a possible 20 in four fixtures.
They are in fourth place on the SA Conference and in a serious confidence crisis before this week’s away game to the Cheetahs.
The Sharks were humiliated to the tune of 29-13 by the Stormers in Cape Town at the weekend, and by their own admission it is time for some serious introspection as to why their season is nosediving.
“We have to be really honest with each other about how we are going to turn things around,” director of rugby Gary Gold said after the disappointing performance at Newlands.
“We must stand together and not stab each other in the back, and above all we must not panic because we have lost three games of rugby,” he said.
“But we have to be honest about the things we should not be getting wrong, and we must realise that having 11 Springboks in the starting line-up is not going to win us a game, because the opposition see that we have 11 Boks and raise their game.”
What Gold is also alluding to is that not all of the 11 Boks are playing to their potential.
A number of big names are playing on reputation and behind closed change room doors, Gold is surely going to read the riot act.
Not even the most oneeyed Sharks fans can ignore the fact that their team is under-performing.
“A handful of guys performed well in contrast to the ones that did not perform,” the coach said.
“We have to temper the positive with being open and honest with the areas that are not functioning well for us, the obvious signs of a side not performing well.
“With the team we have, we need to be honest about our level of performance.”
Any observer of the Newlands debacle will know that the set pieces were a disaster, for a start, notably the set scrums.
“But I am excited about the challenge ahead of us because we have a good bunch of guys, and we are going to stick together through the tough times, and it will gel us until the table turns, and I have no doubt it will.“
The Sharks had obvious problems at tighthead prop, where former England cap Matt Stevens started, with veteran Bok Jannie du Plessis being rested in accordance with the Saru agreement with the franchises ahead of the approaching World Cup.
“It was a risk to rest Jannie for such a big game, but his wife also had a baby this week, his mind was with his family, plus he had time off due to him,” Gold said.
“We thought about these permutations, and a man of his experience would have made a difference.
“But credit to the Stormers’ scrum, they have improved hugely.”
Gold was also magnanimous about the penalty try awarded against his team after Cobus Reinach was adjudged to have dotted the ball down from an offside position in the Sharks’ in-goal area.
“It was a technical call but it was correct,” the coach said. “From my understanding, it is offside from a knock-on anywhere on the field.”