Sharks ‘want to play, not tackle’
THE Sharks will not have a better opportunity to once and for all confirm whether they are the real Super Rugby deal or “wannabes” when they face the Chiefs, the form side in the competition in New Plymouth this morning.
The Sharks, over the preceding nine rounds, have both flattered and deceived, only to also batter their way to unlikely wins in Cape Town and Dunedin; and ever since that Joe Pietersen fluffed penalty in front of the Loftus poles left the result against the Bulls up in the air, so too have been the feelings of their supporters.
Nobody quite knows what to say or expect from the Sharks.
They have been brilliant on defence and had the best disciplinary record in the competition until the two yellow cards last week against the Highlanders.
On both those counts, there has been a marked improvement on last year’s position at this point.
But the one thing that has not improved is the Sharks’ ability to score tries.
Director of Rugby Gary Gold has grown to the point of exasperation each time the inevitable query has been put to him about his team’s lingering failure to score tries.
“We are told that we are making more than 100 successful tackles every game. There are two ways of looking at that ...” he said with a facetious chuckle.
“Either we are getting bloody good at tackling or we are doing too much tackling!
“Okay, let’s say it is a bit of both. The stats on how much and how well we tackle are compliments to us, but also an indication that our balance between attack and defence is lop-sided,” Gold said.
“I keep telling everybody that we would prefer to be tackled rather than do the tackling, but it has not worked out that way. Against the Highlanders I thought it was obvious that we were trying to use the ball, and we will continue to do so against the Chiefs (this morning).
“It stands to reason that the longer the likes of (flyhalf) Aaron Cruden and (fullback) Damian Mackenzie have the ball this morning, the more dangerous the Chiefs will be.
“Those are just two of a number of brilliant ball-players. The Chiefs can hurt you from 80 metres out with a wonderful counter-attack through those guys, just as they can be very clinical from 10m out through those same players.”
Gold said that it was not a case of talking up the opposition by describing the Chiefs as the “form team in the competition”.
“They are. Their 28-27 win over the Hurricanes was the best game of rugby I have seen in a long time,” Gold said.
“What an awesome opportunity for our players to state their case. We are trying to attack more, we have an exceptional defence, and we are up against the best attacking side in Super Rugby.
“Our guys can’t wait. There is huge excitement. I am certain this will be a game to remember,” Gold added.
Gold said that the selection of Garth April at flyhalf instead of the dependable Joe Pietersen was as much about continued rotation (it is April’s second successive match) as about backing positivity on attack.
“Garth’s game management was outstanding against the Highlanders. Now that he has a bit more confidence under the belt, we are giving him licence to attack as he sees fit,” Gold said.
“We want to play rugby, not just tackle.”