Currie Cup: Blue Bulls - Natal Sharks (03-09-2011, 17:00)

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (03-09-2011, 17:00 GMT)

The Vodacom Blue Bulls are still set on reaching the Absa Currie Cup semi-finals, even though they are in sixth place at the half-way mark of the competition.

The Sharks, who slipped down to third last weekend, travel to Pretoria this weekend for a match at Loftus Versfeld that could set the tone for the home team in the second round.

Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar realises his team have not achieved anything yet and while they welcome back experienced players in Bjorn Basson, Dewald Potgieter and Juandré Kruger this weekend, the task at hand is still a huge one against the defending champions.

“We might have won three in a row now, but it means nothing until we have moved into the play-off positions,†said Pienaar.

“Our aim remains to win the Absa Currie Cup this year and to put ourselves in that position we will have to keep on winning and beat the Sharks on the weekend.

“It is great for a coach to be able to recall players like Dewald, Bjorn and Juandré, but it is still no guarantee for success. We will still need to bring our absolute A-game if we want to beat a very good side.

Sharks coach John Plumtree was disappointed after his team’s defeat to the MTN Golden Lions last week, where Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies kicked seven penalty goals and a conversion to steer the Gauteng side to a convincing victory.

“Discipline is a real problem for us at the moment and we have to make sure we tidy it up, that’s been one of the messages for the boys this week,†said Plumtree,

Vodacom Blue Bulls vs The Sharks
Date: Saturday, 3 September
Kick-off: 17:00
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Last four meetings in Absa Currie Cup:
• 17 July 2010: The Sharks won34-28 in Durban
• 4 September 2010: Vodacom Blue Bulls won 40-34 in Pretoria
• 16 October 2010: The Sharks won 16-12 in Durban (Absa Currie Cup semi-final)
• 16 July 2011: The Sharks won 35-16 in Durban

 

[Seaton]

Need a really big performance from the boys, we are on a rather slippery slope at this point, with a series of disappointing performances we have been sucked in to the general melee for semi-final spots, as opposed to being serious contenders for the top spot and home semi.

We have picked up far too few BP this campaign, and by the end of the league phase at this rate other teams will have 5-8 points from BPs, whilst we will have 2 or 3. Its the new round, put all of the crap of the last one behind, and go out and start this part half as you should've the first. If we lose this game, we are going to be manning the panic stations.

The season starts NOW!

Bulls

Team: 15. Jurgen Visser, 14. Akona Ndungane, 13. Zane Kirchner, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Louis Fouche, 9. Jano Vermaak, 8. CJ Stander, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Warwick Tecklenburg, 5. Fudge Mabeta, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Gary Botha (Captain), 1. Dean Greyling

Replacements: 16. Willie Wepener, 17. Rossouw de Klerk, 18. Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19. Arno Botha, 20. Dustin Jinka, 21. Francois Brummer, 22. Francois Venter

Sharks

Team: 15. Louis Ludik, 14. Sibusiso Sithole, 13. Stefan Terblanche, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Frederic Michalak, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Jean Deysel, 7. Marcell Coetzee, 6. Keegan Daniel (Captain), 5. Ross Skeate, 4. Jandre Marais, 3. Eugene van Staden, 2. Craig Burden, 1. Dale Chadwick

Replacements: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Anton Bresler, 19. Alistair Hargreaves, 20. Jacques Botes, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Adrian Jacobs

 

[Draggs]

Sharks lead 3-0. Meyer Bosman with a 58m goal, pen against van der Merwe (surprise).

-9 mins, Bosman again, pen against Kruger.
-Stef with a stupid reverse pass into touch, Sharks playing advantage. Bosman kicks from just inside the Bulls half; 9-0.

 

[Seaton]

The penalty in the first minute had me fuming, silly stuff from Chadwick.

Bowman should have been given these kicks earlier in the year, would have done wonders for his confidence. At last we are playing as we should be, nice physical stuff. Oupa up to his tricks again, this time trying Cooper-esque passes. Jy het nie die skillz nie Oupa, moenie probeer om dit te doen nie!

9-0 lead, with a pen to come


Ludik you beauty!!!

YYYYAAAAAASSSSSS!!!!!
Where the hell have you guys been!?! Sithole try, good work from McLeod

 

[Draggs]

Meyer just missing a kick, 5m from touch.
Why did we persist with JLP kicking earlier this year when Bosman was playing? Would have been a closer match at Twickenham.

-TRY! Sithole, from a Sharks scrum on the Bulls 22.

 

[Seaton]

Boo Bulls try, Tecklenberg

Personally, I thought the off-load was forward.

Knew it was too good to be true, Bulls try straight from the kick-off, Basson

16-12 now... ****

 

[Draggs]

Try Basson.
Bosman knocks on at the Bulls 22, normal service is resumed.

 

[Seaton]

McLeod off injured, shoulder injury

Everything was so good, Sharks smashing the Bulls, Scotland beating Czech Republic in footy.

Now we only lead by one, and the Czechs have equalized


YYYYAAASSSS!!!!!! Burden try!

 

[Draggs]

Great try from Burden, 23-15.
Forward from Vermaak?

27-39 to the Sharks, fulltime.
Bulls with two late tried to get a try bonus point.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

And another BP-less win... Why can we not score 4 tries anymore???

What really put a smile on my face was Mark Lawrence's refereeing. He was absolutely superb. He was on top of everything, is communicating very well with the players and understands the game.

It's a shame he is not at the World Cup but come 2015, he will be there. Let's hope he gets awarded the Currie Cup final.

Of course we won, but did we really have to concede those final minute tries???

 

[Draggs]

And another BP-less win... Why can we not score 4 tries anymore???

What really put a smile on my face was Mark Lawrence's refereeing. He was absolutely superb. He was on top of everything, is communicating very well with the players and understands the game.

It's a shame he is not at the World Cup but come 2015, he will be there. Let's hope he gets awarded the Currie Cup final.

Of course we won, but did we really have to concede those final minute tries???

Yep, top officiating from Mark Lawrence. Better than his namesake Bryce!
That strip by Bosman was class. First actual damage he has done as a Shark save for the pens and a few easier run ins.

 

[Seaton]

I think Hoffman is going to get a lashing from Plumtree. His daft decision to try and take the quick tap by our 22, with 8 minutes remaining not only cost us the BP, but gave the Bulls one and seriously hampered our points difference.

Yes, the refereeing in both broadcasted games yesterday was a breath of fresh air, so much so I think I wouldn't have even been angry if we lost. Only kept half an eye on the Cheetahs game, so can't comment. Now please, lets maintain this standard, and not have people like Legoete blowing for forward passes, when in fact there wasn't any pass at all.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

The only thing that needs to be changed still, is the guys commentating and the guy pushing the buttons at SuperSport haha.

In the first half, Mark Lawrence blew the whistle for "not entering through the gate" which means a side-entry to the ruck.

- The commentator was calling it "Off his feet at the breakdown"
- The n00b at SuperSport pushed the button which gave us the message "Offisde"

Hahahaha


I am seriously happy with the win but this lack of BP's is getting to me. Man o man. Why not push those final minutes for a 4th try? I am not that disappointed in Hoffmann. Yes, he made an error, but in the end he was much more dangerous on attack than Knock-on McLeod and in the long run I see Hoffmann getting a start over him. We do have 4 scrum-halves in our squad with Michalak and Ross Cronje added to the mix, so enough competition for that 1 position. The latter 2 + Hoffmann can also play fly-half, so for McLeod the half-back position is the only card to play.

I think the distribution of the ball in our back-line was good but still needs some improvement. I noticed far to often than the ball was played out wide before we even got to the Bulls defensive line. That way, you make defence to easy for them. You should run up to a player and right before impact, you offload.

But hey, we won! So why am I so negative? We still have 6 matches to go, of which 4(!) at home. These 4 matches at home are against the Griquas, Pumas, Lions and WP while we still have to travel to play Cheetahs and Leopards.

We might only be 3rd on the log, but we still get the nr. 1 AND 2 who have to travel to Durban. We can still top the log!!!

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I uploaded the 3 tries of last night on Youtube. The first video includes the brilliant play by Louis Ludik!!!

 

[Seaton]

I agree that Hoffman was good on the night, just that the coaches, and probably he himself with time, will be a little cheesed off that he opted for the quick tap, as our line-out was functioning brilliantly, and Oupa was kicking pretty well and far. It was just impatience that lead to us making the mistakes in those last few minutes, IIRC we had more knock-ons in those frantic last few minutes than in the rest of the second half, those are the times where we need strong leaders to tell the team to calm down, Keegan is all action, and Oupa is too far out in the backline and away from the ruck to get messages across. (Not that he would have, of course)

Not saying that Daniel isn't a good captain, just that his style of play and attitude doesn't suite what is needed to effectively slow the game down in those circumstances. Had a decent game yesterday as well, as did Deysel (with that awesome tackle in the first half), Ludik and Jan-Andre Marais (I wish the Sharks would put more effort into the programmes/ website, some matchday programmes have it as Jandre, others Jan-Andre and ditto for articles/ line-ups on the website)

Bah!, far too many positives to go through, so will just say that yesterday was a great day for the Sharks, except for the youth teams, and a horrible day for Scotland, due to that gullible chunt of a ref and Rezek the diving cheating Czech (won't mention the refs nationality)

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Let me give some points to the players:


1. Dale Chadwick (6/10)
Chadwick was average yesterday. Not bad, not specifically good. His scrummaging was on and off. Had some good ball carries.
2. Craig Burden (8/10)
Burden has waited long enough to actually get a chance and despite him being better suited as a loose forward, he did quite well as a hooker. Despite the penalised tackle on Vermaak in the first half, nothing negative to his game. Good try too
3. Eugene van Staden (5/10)
For his age he really has not picked up on his intelligence. Too many errors in the scrums and almost invisible during the attacking play.
4. Jan-Andre Marais (7/10)
Wow... This guy really poses a threat to the other candidates for the lock-positions. Was average on the line-outs but defensively he was pretty damn good. I think we have some amazing options for the future with this guy and Anton Bresler
5. Ross Skeate (6/10)
What can I say? Why did we actually acquired his services last year? Of all the locks these last few years, he is the least impressive. Sykes, Muller, Mostert, Hargreaves, Bresler... All played better than Skeate in his Natal matches
6. Keegan Daniel (7/10)
Keegan Daniel is our captain and I was happy with that at first, but recently he does not look like the best in making decisions and leading the pack. He was decent on attack with some good ball-carrying. Just wish he would step up and show the leadership Johann Muller has
7. Marcell Coetzee (8/10)
Man, this guy came out of nowhere a couple of months and blew everyone away. His matches against WP and the Bulls in the first round were something even Willem Alberts couldn't dream of. This match he was pretty damn good once again. Had some good ball carries and reads the game perfectly. This is a definite future Bok
8. Jean Deysel (8/10)
A bit disappointed for not being in the RWC squad for the Boks, but we can see why he was so close to being selected. His tackling is superb and he knows how to break through the line. The way he drove some Bulls back in the tackle shows his strength and it's a shame we missed him for almost a year due to an ankle injury.
9. Charl McLeod (6/10)
Was pretty average. Not good, not bad. He went off injured quite quickly
10. Freddy Michalak (9/10)
The fact that he played World Cup rugby really shows. Despite the fact that he is only 29, he shows experience of a 35-year old. He won the Currie Cup in 2008 with us and he would be dying to repeat that this year. He sees what is possible and has the ability to change the direction of play in a fraction of a second. The calm way of ball handling is something to cherish
11. Lwazi Mvovo (6/10)
Apart from the try he didn't get a lot of opportunities to show his skill. I do feel he should have been picked over Odwa Ndungane to join the Boks.
12. Meyer Bosman (7/10)
His 3 penalties gave us a 9 point lead without ever getting over the 10m. line of the Bulls. He was also good on defence and for the first time since his arrival I was positive about his 80 minutes. Good game by Mr. Double Surname.
13. Stefan Terblanche (7/10)
His kicking really helped us. Finally it gave us something positive. The kicking for touch by him sometimes even gave us 40 to 50 metres. His place-kicking especially in the second half showed he can still read the game. Decent match by Oupa
14. Sibusiso Sithole (9/10)
Man, what a crush do I have on this guy. He is the best thing that came out of this Currie Cup season together with Marcell Coetzee. Not just his try was good, also his defence. He stole a couple of balls pretty damn quick and his run across the side-line in the second half deserved better than a line-out for the Bulls. Sithole is what Mvovo was to us last year. Definitely Man of the Match for me
15. Louis Ludik (9/10)
The way he changed a Bulls 22 drop out into a Sharks scrum by stretching showed skill I've only seen with Fourie du Preez last year in the Super14 final. He ran with the ball a lot and made a lot of progress. I am not saying he is the best option for the Bok full-back position but he certainly deserves a chance.

16.Kyle Cooper (n/a)
Played too short
17.Wiehahn Herbst (n/a)
Played too short
18.Anton Bresler (6/10)
Came on as a sub for Marais and did pretty decent. Is from Namibia but would he be considered for the Bok squad
19.Alistair Hargreaves (n/a)
Played too short
20.Jacques Botes (n/a)
Played too short
21.Conrad Hoffmann (8/10)
Came on in the first half for McLeod and did wonderful. Good decisions (despite the quick tap in the dying minutes) and was quick with recycling.
22.Adrian Jacobs (n/a)
Played too short

 

[Seaton]

Spot on with those ratings, however I must admit that Skeate has been much better in this campaign compared to what he dished up previously (which isn't much of an achievement). He didn't do anything he did wrong, but didn't do anything note-worthy either, but he isn't a first choice lock, and has done this season what I suspect he was brought in to do- provide some experience and solidity whilst the Boks (Hargreaves/ Mostert) are away.

The best thing about Sithole, is that when Mvovo first appeared in 2009, he (Mvovo) was 23 and the only muscle he had was in his legs. Sithole is what? 20/21? Few years advantage of Mvovo, and as you said already looks strong and well conditioned to play in top flight rugby.

Does anyone else think that when Ludik did that thing with the ball in-goal, that the ball had actually stopped moving forward?

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Well, it stopped moving forward, but that's not the issue. The rule is that the ball needs to be still in motion, which was the case. Whether it moves forward, bounces back or wiggles a bit, doesn't matter. As long as the ball is still moving, it's valid to pick it up while touching the sideline with your leg/foot.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Ohw, and Sithole just turned 21. He has so much more than Mvovo in 2009 (When he was 2 years older than Sithole now).

I think it helps that Sithole played a prominent role in the Blitzbokke in the matches he played in Sevens Rugby. You see he actually manages to find gaps better than Mvovo and he is much much stronger

 

[Seaton]

Aye thought so, so basically he pulled it off on a technicality.

I just think Lawrence was too far away, and not at a sufficient angle to have said whether the ball was still in motion. Based his decision on trusting Ludik not to be a cheating ****.

Unlike a certain Rezek :dry: