The Sharks Exposed

[rugby-journo]

Once again the Sharks are being absolutely raved about. People do not stop talking about the brilliant rugby that the Sharks have been playing lately. I'm not saying that this isn't true. I've loved the way the Sharks have been playing rugby lately and they are one of my least favourite teams. But does no one else see the obvious reason? It's because they haven't had their over-rated Boks to drag them down.

I believe that most of the non-Springbok Sharks are better then the Boks. Take Smit for example. John Smit does not deserve to earn money from playing rugby. He should not even be in the Sharks' 30 man squad. I don't think it's a coincedence that the Sharks have started playing better rugby since he hasn't been playing. Look at how much more they are attacking.

John Smit as captain will lead to a completely non-attack performance. John Smit has led the Sharks to scoring the least ammount of tries two Super 14s in a row. Now that a TRUE leader like Terblanche is captain, the Sharks are scoring bonus points almost every game. I've had enough of people saying "Yes, Smit is a poor player but he is a good leader". No no no. He is a poor player AND a poor leader!

JP. Pietersen has got to be one of the least attacking wings I have ever seen. I don't recall ever seeing him break a tackle although I can recall many from a guy like Mvovo or Ludik.

In general, the guys that haven't got Bok caps are actually playing far better rugby then those that are.

Burden = Better then Smit
Cilliers (On CURRENT form) = Better then Mtawarira
McLeod = Better then Pienaar
Lambie = Better then Pienaar was at flyhalf
Mvovo = Better then JPP

And while this may not seem like a very long list, I still believe that not having these guys has benefitted the Sharks tremendously.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Burden = Better then Smit
Cilliers (On CURRENT form) = Better then Mtawarira
McLeod = Better then Pienaar
Lambie = Better then Pienaar was at flyhalf
Mvovo = Better then JPP

- Burden is a better winger than a hooker. If you want to mention a better hooker than Smit, pick Bismarck du Plessis
- Pat Cilliers is definitely not better than Mtawarira. Wiehan Herbst is a good prop and very talented but still not better than the Beast
- McLeod is having a good season and I really love to see him as a scrumhalf in favor of Kockott. He is better than Pienaar because Pienaar is more a fly-half
- Lambie is an exceptional talent. I still think he would do better as a center next to Terblanche. Pienaar is one of the best fly-halfs we've had since 2006
- Lwazi Mvovo is amazing. Twinkletoes is on his feet all the time, runs with the bal and is walking like Alberto Tomba through defenses. However, if you do mention a ******-winger of the Sharks, mention Ndungane. Odwa Ndungane is the winger that I would like to see replaced by JP.

John Smit should retire now. He, Andre Pretorius and Albert van den Berg (luckily retired by now) are players that have been favoured too much because of their past in stead of their current performance. The other Sharkboks of the last couple of years (Kankowski, JP, Pienaar, Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis, Beast and Francois Steyn) are all top notch.

Also I think you should mention players like wingers Botes, Alberts, Deysel and Daniel to get some of the credit for the recent performance.

 

[rugby-journo]

- Burden is a better winger than a hooker. If you want to mention a better hooker than Smit, pick Bismarck du Plessis
- Pat Cilliers is definitely not better than Mtawarira. Wiehan Herbst is a good prop and very talented but still not better than the Beast
- McLeod is having a good season and I really love to see him as a scrumhalf in favor of Kockott. He is better than Pienaar because Pienaar is more a fly-half
- Lambie is an exceptional talent. I still think he would do better as a center next to Terblanche. Pienaar is one of the best fly-halfs we've had since 2006
- Lwazi Mvovo is amazing. Twinkletoes is on his feet all the time, runs with the bal and is walking like Alberto Tomba through defenses. However, if you do mention a ******-winger of the Sharks, mention Ndungane. Odwa Ndungane is the winger that I would like to see replaced by JP.

John Smit should retire now. He, Andre Pretorius and Albert van den Berg (luckily retired by now) are players that have been favoured too much because of their past in stead of their current performance. The other Sharkboks of the last couple of years (Kankowski, JP, Pienaar, Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis, Beast and Francois Steyn) are all top notch.

Also I think you should mention players like wingers Botes, Alberts, Deysel and Daniel to get some of the credit for the recent performance.

First of all, very nice pic

Yeah I didn't mention the loosies because I was only metioning guys with Springbok caps that should be dropped. So the reason why I didn't mention the loosies is because they're ALL playing so well - even Botes who I used to detest.

Basically, with all Boks and no injuries, my Sharks team would be as follows:

1. Cilliers (Currently)
2. Burden
3. Jannie
4. Sykes
5. Skeate
6. Deysel
7. Alberts
8. Kanko
9. McLeod
10. Lambie (I'm not his biggest fan though to be honest. He's good but people seem to think he's the best flyhalf in the history of man kind)
11. Mvovo
12. Swanepoel
13. Strauss
14. Ludik
15. Terblanche
16. Bissie (I'd put him on the bench because personally I do not like dirty players to be in my starting team)
17. Beast
18. Eugene van Staden (Hargreaves SUCKS)
19. Daniel and Botes will have to fight it out
20. Kockott
21. Meyer
22. JPP

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Okay. My favourite team would include Beast, Bismarck and Hargreaves for starters. Why would you prefer Skeate over Hargreaves?

My favourite 15 would be:

Beast, Bismarck, Herbst
Hargreaves, Sykes
Botes, Deysel
Kankowski
Kockott
Dumond
Mvovo, Lambie, Terblanche, JP Pietersen
Ludik


Sorry, I am a big Dumond fan Hopefully he will manage to develop into a top player. I think Terblanche is the best option for the free kicks. Burden, as I said before, is a better winger than a hooker. He can play as a flanker as well

I prefer Kockott over McLeod because I still think he's a more surprising scrumhalf than McLeod.

I am very curious how LH thinks abou this issue and what he thinks of the best line-up

 

[rugby-journo]

Okay. My favourite team would include Beast, Bismarck and Hargreaves for starters. Why would you prefer Skeate over Hargreaves?

My favourite 15 would be:

Beast, Bismarck, Herbst
Hargreaves, Sykes
Botes, Deysel
Kankowski
Kockott
Dumond
Mvovo, Lambie, Terblanche, JP Pietersen
Ludik


Sorry, I am a big Dumond fan Hopefully he will manage to develop into a top player. I think Terblanche is the best option for the free kicks. Burden, as I said before, is a better winger than a hooker. He can play as a flanker as well

I prefer Kockott over McLeod because I still think he's a more surprising scrumhalf than McLeod.

I am very curious how LH thinks abou this issue and what he thinks of the best line-up

I wouldn't put Hargreaves because he is useless and concedes a ridiculous ammount of penalties. I remember against the Western Force he gave away 4 penalties, all of which were kicked over.

I also preffered Kockott over McLeod but Kockott has become too mistake prone. He doesn't spew confidence like he used to.

Dumond? Dude come on! Look, he's a great goal kicker, but that's where it ends!

Botes over Alberts? Come on man have you been watching the Currie Cup? Alberts has been one of the best players in the tournament.

Tendai is so over rated. He can't tackle nor handle the ball properly. All he can do is scrum.

 

[Seaton]

@ rugby-journo

Which team do you support?

@ Ezequiel

I don't think Dumond has long enough in his career to develop further, which is unfortunate as he has been sort of like the Sharks Willem de Waal, and whilst I wouldn't have in the first choice 22, he is a handy (albeit poor distributing) back up fly-half

I agree about Lambie at center, he just doesn't kick enough yet to play as an effective fly-half, still a wee small muscle wise. In the next 2 years he should bulk up considerably.

In terms of McLeod, I don't know. At the start of the CC his distribution was crisp and he seemed to find the gaps, but then half-way through he suddenly tried to run from everywhere, and rarely found the gaps (where as Kockett would). But now he seems to have gone back to a little more reserved approach. Maybe (not blaming though) it was this 'erracticness' that has meant the Lambiedoesn't seemed to have settled. I think it is unfair on Lambie to have him to do the kicking duties, Kockett seems a better kicker, and is more experienced, so it would not plague him as much. Kockett also seems that better tactical kicker, most of the time.

On a side note, I am get of Terblanche kicking for touch, it seems like every 1 in 4 doesn't go out

Okay, I will do two teams, one for this Currie Cup final in Durban (fingers crossed), and another for next year

2010:

15 Louis Ludik
14 Lwazi Mvovo
13 Stefan Terblanch
12 Riaan Swanepoel
11 JP Pietersen
10 Patrick Lambie
9 Rory Kockett

8 Ryan Kankoski
7 Willem Alberts
6 Keegan Daniel
5 Allistair Hargreaves
4 Steven Sykes
3 Jannie du Plessis
2 Bismark du Plessis
1 Tendai "Beast" Mtwarira

16 John Smit
17 Eugene van Staden/ Pat Cilliers
18 Ross Skeate (Gerhad Mostert)
19 Jacques Botes
20 Charl McLeod
21 Monty Dumond (Andre Pretorius if he gets some game time, might do against Leopards next week)
22 Craig Burden/ Odwa Ndungane

Experience is key for a final, and if the final is against the Bulls/WP, trreat Burden as a forward (flank/hooker)
Gerhad Moster is getting some club time under his belt, and he might play against Leopards next week.

 

[Seaton]

Super 15

15 Louis Ludik
14 Lwazi Mvovo
13 Stefan Terblanche (Lionel Mapoe)
12 Meyer Bosman (Patrick Lambie)
11 JP Pietersen
10 Patrick Lambie (Jacque Louis Potgieter
9 Rory Kockett/ Conrad Hoffman/ Ross Cronje (Kocket re-signing and Hoffman signing yet to be confirmed)

8 Ryan Kankowsi
7 Jean Deysel (Willem Alberts)
6 Keegan Daniel (Jacques Botes if Daniel doesn't improve his fetching abilities)
5 Allistair Hargreaves
4 Steven Sykes
3 Jannie du Plessis
2 John Smit/ Bismark du Plessis (depending on opposition, I wouldn't start Smit on tour matches)
1 Beast Mtwarira

16 Bismark du Plessis/ John Smit
17 Pat Cilliers (Eugen van Staden)
18 Gerhad Moster/ Ross Skeate
19 Jacques Botes
20 Willem Alberts
21 Kockett/Hoffman/Charl McLeod
22 Jacque Louis Potgeiter

If the Sharks win the Mapoe case, which has once again to Arbitration, I would start with him, and have Terblanche covering FB/Wing/Center, with Alberts or Daniel dropping out of the 22

The Sharks face a scrum-half crisis, but if u21 action is to go by Ross Cronje (or is it Guy?) would be a nice bench cover, but having him with Lambie is a disaster waiting to happen.

Should Lambie not look comfortable enough, I would put him at inside center, with either Bosman or JL Potgeiter going to fly-half

I think people are being a wee bit harsh on Smit, whom has actually covered more ground for the Boks in the Tri-Nations than all other forwards bar Burger, (either Spies or Guthro, can't remember) and Matfield.
Every player has his off season, last year he had to put on weight to cover prop, but ended up losing muscle mass rather than gaining weight (which as a prop myself I find very understandable )

All in all, the Sharks at the moment have a much greater, experienced depth heading into the Super 15

 

[rugby-journo]

@ Lordhope I live in Durbs but I support the Bulls

 

[Seaton]

@ Lordhope I live in Durbs but I support the Bulls

Traitor!

 

[rugby-journo]

Traitor!

Hahaha losing to the Cheetahs in the CC Semi last year was just too much for me

 

[Seaton]

Hahaha losing to the Cheetahs in the CC Semi last year was just too much for me

Well, on the bright side you get to watch the CC final here in Durban. Against Western Province, of course

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

dondontdon't know which talents are on the verge of breakthrough but I do know Terblanche is q burn out waiting to happen at his age unfortunately. I really love him in the backrow but I would not want him to go through a Smit season. @ LH: How do you see the chances of James still returning for the Super 15 next year? A good kicker is what we need after the departure of Pienaar and Lambie being better as a centre.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Sorry if my messages are a bit messy but I'm on my new phone and I have to get used to it still

 

[Seaton]

Tis fine, with regards to the phone


The Sharks tried to get James earlier in the year, and were told the transfer fee was 2,5 million rand

They are willing to go to court instead of hiking their Mapoe offer from R750 000 to 1,5 million.

So while they might want to get, I don't think they have that kind of cash lying about.
Oh, and they have sign JL Potgieter, who was up until this season a good kicker, still is a decent kicker though.

I doubt Lambie would get shifted to center though by Plumtree, with Meyer Bosman coming and what not

 

[rugby-journo]

Oh, and they have sign JL Potgieter, who was up until this season a good kicker, still is a decent kicker though.

I doubt Lambie would get shifted to center though by Plumtree, with Meyer Bosman coming and what not

Eish I don't rate JLP's kicking in the slightest

 

[Seaton]

Eish I don't rate JLP's kicking in the slightest

Still better than Lambie


I swear I regret the day that I never broke Andries Strauss's nose when I had the chance

Charl McLeod GTF!

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

JLP's kicking has to be better than Lambie's. Lambie is an amazing centre, not a fly-half. I would not take the risk of putting Lambie in the 10 position in the final because I am to afraid a missed kick will cost us the Cup

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I am very curious about the new Super Rugby season. Man o man. The team we are going to have. Mapoe, JLP, Kanko, Deysel, Burden, Lambie, Terblanche, Mvovo, JPP, Bismarck and Jannie, Ludik, Alberts, Botes, Sykes, Skeate... We don't just have a good starting 15 but we have an amazing back-up for each position.

 

[User1245]

Once again the Sharks are being absolutely raved about. People do not stop talking about the brilliant rugby that the Sharks have been playing lately. I'm not saying that this isn't true. I've loved the way the Sharks have been playing rugby lately and they are one of my least favourite teams. But does no one else see the obvious reason? It's because they haven't had their over-rated Boks to drag them down.

I believe that most of the non-Springbok Sharks are better then the Boks. Take Smit for example. John Smit does not deserve to earn money from playing rugby. He should not even be in the Sharks' 30 man squad. I don't think it's a coincedence that the Sharks have started playing better rugby since he hasn't been playing. Look at how much more they are attacking.

John Smit as captain will lead to a completely non-attack performance. John Smit has led the Sharks to scoring the least ammount of tries two Super 14s in a row. Now that a TRUE leader like Terblanche is captain, the Sharks are scoring bonus points almost every game. I've had enough of people saying "Yes, Smit is a poor player but he is a good leader". No no no. He is a poor player AND a poor leader!

JP. Pietersen has got to be one of the least attacking wings I have ever seen. I don't recall ever seeing him break a tackle although I can recall many from a guy like Mvovo or Ludik.

In general, the guys that haven't got Bok caps are actually playing far better rugby then those that are.

Burden = Better then Smit
Cilliers (On CURRENT form) = Better then Mtawarira
McLeod = Better then Pienaar
Lambie = Better then Pienaar was at flyhalf
Mvovo = Better then JPP

And while this may not seem like a very long list, I still believe that not having these guys has benefitted the Sharks tremendously.

Is your name Joel Stransky?

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Just watched the game and 2 missed conversions cost us the game like I said. A good kicker is so important and Lambie isn't a fly half. Let him play centre and please tell John Plumtree not having a decent kicker is going to cost us later on