The mighty ‘never seem to leave home’ Sharks take on the ‘what the?’ Hurricanes at surprisingly ‘home’. Last week the Sharks beat the Cheetahs and the Hurricanes went down in a close on to the Force. The Canes will be without power house Ma'a Nonu for this tour due to injury and are definitely missing their 4 All Blacks. Although players have stepped up, missing a crew like Jerry Collins and Rodney So'oialo is going to cause issues (very hard shoes to fill). The Sharks (like the Blues) are true class at the moment and should take this one without raising a sweet BUT with the Canes – you never can tell.
A couple of the Sharks young guns are really starting to come to the fore at the moment, and as Dumbo rightly points out, together with the Blues, the Sharks have been the class of the field in 2007. Their confidence at home is huge at the moment, and the Canes will still be a bit ring-rusty after the long trek to the African coast. Also, the humidity factor in Durbs in March should not be underestimated- I reckon that the Sharks should come out on top, but not by much more than 5 points.
The Canes has really been disappointing. People should quit saying that they're losing because they're without their ABs....I say Bullshit. Look at the Highlanders, they've got no big game breakers yet they are 5th on the table and playing well. :ranting: :ranting: The Canes skill level against the Stormers and the Force were pathetic to say the least. Balls not goind to hands, fumbles, knock-ons, forward passes, missed tackles, etc... I would expect this from a School 2nd XV but not from a group of 'Professional' players playing top level competition. [Rant Over] ---------------------------- The Sharks should win this easily as they have been playing tremendously well with a bunch of upcoming talents. Watchout for Barritt at 12. He is going places this guy. Sharks by 10.
Head to Head: SHARKS: 15 Francois Steyn, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Butch James, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Jacques Botes, 7 AJ Venter ©, 6 Warren Britz, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Johan Ackermann, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Deon Carstens. Reserves: 16 John Smit, 17 Tendai Mtariwara, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Bob Skinstad/Ryan Kankowski, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Adrian Jacobs. HURRICANES: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Hosea Gear, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Tana Umaga ©, 11 David Smith, 10 Blair Stewart, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Luke Andrews, 5 Bernie Upton, 4 Paul Tito, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Tone Kopelani, 1 Neemia Tialata. Reserves: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 John Schwalger, 18 Brad Mika, 19 Hayden Hopgood, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Jimmy Goppert, 22 Tamati Ellison. Looking forward to this one. I'm going against the grain and am backing the Hurricanes (not just due to there week in week out winning policey) but mainly due to they would have had a major kick in the arse by going down last week to the Force and will rise for this game no end. They know that the Sharks are right up there on the ladder and as I said will be pulling finger to knock them off
Strangely enough I'm going for the hurricanes myself. I have to say they have looked incredibly lazy out there and it seems like they have a very poor defensive pattern and they always seem to be scrambling after their line is broken over and over. Both their flyhalves have been pretty underwhelming and I've got to say that many of the problems with the 'canes feel like coaching problems i.e. lack of organisation, poor basic skills, stupid game plans and worst of all some incredibly shitty selections, particularly in key positions. I mean Nili Latu, come on, even I could have told Cooper this guy was crap and lo and behold he almost never features in the team anymore. The only positions where they made good selections were in positions where they already had a wealth of talent, i.e. wing and fullback. Hmm I've just about managed to talk myself out of backing them, but some misguided sense of loyalty means I just have to back them, for no particular reason. They are just that kind of team
Agree with ozzy, Latu was a stupid selection - the guy is out of place in this leauge. Also it's obvious that there has been no control over the backline in defence with more often than not the forward pack having to tidy up for the backs (last week was a shocker though, what the f&*k was Tito doing on the wing and where the f&*k was the full back, I'll tell you... he was hanging around the fringe for f&*ks sake - not happy). Tana should add the control required for the backline and young Blair Stewart in 10 will change the dynamic of the Canes due to having a 10 thats prepared to run at the line (fingers crossed he's improved on his kicking game). Plus more importantly the Canes will be trying to beat the big boys.
i disagree with you juggenaut..f*** the highlanders,theyve always had that grind game without super duper stars..that has always been otago..hurricanes are the worst with out there allblacks.. look at last season..only one looseforward trio taught everyone else a thing or two and that was the combo of collins,rodney and masoe...THEY COMPLETELY DOMINATE THE FRINGES OF THE RUCK..DEFENCE AND OFFENCE!..they are mechanical animals on solar power and they feed off smacking people around.. now you look at this team and one place that they surely lose on is that very ruck area which isnt patrolled aswell.and if it isnt patrolled then ya get rolled!..golden rule around the rucks..protect it!..when that trio comes back as strong as they are..we will sill some stability and a chance for thier backs to do their jobs..the hurrican way DAVID SMITH!!!..DAVID SMITH!!!
Another win for the Sharks and their perfect start to the season continues. http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,18259,3...1997721,00.html
It was definately set up by the Sharks fatties up front, with the whole front row superb, but for me the standout in the pack was Deon Carstens at loosehead, with BJ Botha and AJ Venter close behind. And them youngsters in the backline- Murray, Pietersen, Barritt and especially 19-year-old Frans Steyn, playing fullback and kicking the 1st time in about the 35th minute- absolutely magnificent. We`re not used to a fullback running everything over here, and it`s certainly a huge improvement on the perennial Bulls-style kick and charge approach from the back. I also think that the yellow card to Umanga was a joke in terms of refereeing, what exactly did Tana do wrong? Go for the ball in the air? The Sharks once again scored 75% of their tries from 1st-phase possession, certainly putting paid to the notion that you can only score from phase-play and broken play. I hope that Jake White took note.
goodstuff to the sharks!..cant wait to see them clash with the blues! should be an even event!.. and meh reckons they have done enough to confirm their play off birth..couple more victories and depending on form in the latter stages of the season..we might see them in a home grand final....who knows...goodstuff to them though
