Sharks just manage to avoid injuries

THE eventual cost of a titanic defensive performances like the one the Sharks put up against the Stormers on Saturday often reveals itself on the Monday when the team prepares for its next duel.

Fortunately for director of rugby Gary Gold, the Sharks miraculously came through their epic 18-13 win at Newlands unscathed.

The most significant injury may have occurred on Friday afternoon when loose-forward Lubabalo “Tera ” Mtembu injured his knee during a training match against the Griquas.

Mtembu, who missed most of last season with the same knee problem, faces another uphill battle to re-establish himself in the Sharks loose-forward pecking order.

Sharks spokesman Novashni Chetty was guarded about the nature of Mtembu’s injury and said they would only have further news later in the week.

“Tera has undergone a scan to determine the severity of the injury. He has injured the same knee but I don’t think it’s that bad,” said a hopeful Chetty.

The Super Rugby tournament is only three rounds into its 17-lap round robin marathon, but the last thing teams need is to lose bench strength.

However, such is the efficiency of the Sharks’ young loose trio, experienced heads like Keegan Daniel and Jean Deysel have been relegated to sideline duties while Phillip van der Walt has started each game off the bench.

The key to the Sharks’ brutal defensive display on the weekend lies in how many tackles they made. Of the 164 attempts, only 16 tackles were missed, or 9.7%, with the Stormers having dominated possession.

Compare this to the 23 tackles missed of the 90 attempted in last year’s 29-13 hammering in the corresponding fixture.

While their defensive duties in Cape Town were aided by some pedestrian attacking by the hosts, Coetzee’s three turnovers were just an inkling of his domination against a side without a specialist openside flanker. His ability will again be put to the test on Friday by a well rested Bulls side who often field a fetcher.