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For the 1st time this year I didn't watch a Sharks game from start to finish, I just couldn't watch my team implode like that.
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I think John Smit has left a big hole, as has Butch. Theres no direction in the backline and there didnt seem to be any kind of plan whatsoever. [/b][/quote]
I feel the same. Butch and Smit are both 29 and at the peak of their careers when they left. We built for so long, and the team was bulit around them. I mean, Smit, Butchie and Percy were even vital in the Bok WC campaign too.
Did you hear the commentator mention Pienaar being unhappy or something? Whats happening there? [/b]
I don't know but i've noticed Pienaar and Steyn tend to sulk when they don't get their way. Pienaar came back from injury about 3 games ago, and with Kockett in-form, I don't see how he thinks he should be 1st pick at the moment.
Although he had a bad game at flyhalf today, I see what Eddie Jones was talking about, he has HUGE potential there. His kicks were a bit over cooked (could be because it was an away game), but he had the vision to pick his spots out like that.
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Yeah, absolutely. John Smit was a fantastic leader and i think he was underrated by a lot of people, including many South Africans.
Pienaar on form is just magic and i've always thought he would be better suited to 10 with his handy kicking game, great distribution skills and evasive running style! I hope that he gets to play there more!! While Fred is classy, he can be a bit bloody......... French ie. running around in circles with the ball on his own try line and then making a 20m break!!
The backline could be amazing, scoring left right and centre if they got their act together!
It just seems that everything gets tied up in the forwards where they don't seem to dominate the opposition as they did last year.
I agree with what you say about squad rotation. Similar situation to the All Blacks where certain players like Steyn, Pienaar, Murray dont seem to know where they fit in and can't settle on a position
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Well I was watching Super Sport this morning and Michalak tore a ligament in his knee when he hyper extended it, and is expected to be out for 6 months. His Sharks contract finishes in June this year. So the flyhalf position is vacant, and if the coaching staff has been watching the same games we have Steyn won't be filling it.
I hope Pienaar can channel his frustration in the right way, and accept the challenge of playing at flyhalf. That all depends on Muir's line of thinking though, however whatever he decides to do :wall: .
