Bumbling Brumbies edge Sharks
13 Mar 2010
The Sharks lost their fifth successive match as they went down 24-22 to the Brumbies in Canberra.
The visitors will again rue their poor performance, as just like last week against the Waratahs the match was there for the taking. But once more they have themselves to blame, and if there campaign wasn’t over before this encounter, it has finally been decided as they now have no chance of reaching the play-offs barring an unlikely miracle.
The Sharks had the breeze at their backs in the opening half and raced out to a 6-0 lead after 16 minutes thanks to a couple of Andy Goode penalties. They had the better of the opening exchanges, but they failed to take their chances when opportunities presented themselves.
The Brumbies came into the match with only one loss, but they – just like the Sharks – lacked the confidence to gain any continuity. Both sides made numerous basic mistakes, and after the opening quarter John Plumtree would have been a disappointed man as dropped balls and poor passes littered the visitors’ performance.
The Brumbies awoke from their slumber midway through the half, two Matt Giteau penalties in quick succession drawing them level at 6-6.
Both sides adopted a similar plan as they opted to take the ball through the phases and play close to the rucks as the defenders failed to align quickly around the breakdowns. The Brumbies initially failed to get their famed phase-play game going, but on the half hour mark they struck.
Prop Ben Alexander crashed over after numerous phases as the hosts increased the pace of the match, but the Sharks dominated the final 10 minutes of the half.
Ruan Pienaar sniped around a ruck unopposed to draw the Sharks level, and then another Goode penalty as the half-time hooter sounded handed the Sharks a 16-13 lead at the break.
It was the first time the Sharks have led at half-time this year, and the second stanza was all about closing out the game.
They didn’t start well however, their scrum again the weaklink as the Brumbies dominated territory throughout final 40 minutes. The Sharks and Springbok front-row were again marched back at the set-piece on their 5m line, and from the ensuing ruck, Alexander again drove over around the fringes to secure his brace.
The visitors wisely chose to play for territory, with Goode and Pienaar prominent. Just like in the first half, they had their chances in the Brumbies’ 22 but it was the same old problem as they struggled with their attack, which was too lateral and static.
Goode and Giteau traded penalties as the Sharks held a one-point lead heading into the final quarter, but with nine minutes remaining, the Wallaby pivot edged over the match-winner.
The Sharks now face the Highlanders and the Dunedin fixture is their best chance of a win on the tour from hell.
By Grant Ball
360 Comments
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13 Mar 2010, 13:22 pm
@Robzim: Yeah,he’s on a mission to prove…”Hell have no fury like an ex-alkie ref on a mission to prove..!”….be afraid,be very afraid..!!
13 Mar 2010, 13:24 pm
@fogdog10: Very difficult when your scrum is getting pomped..!
13 Mar 2010, 13:28 pm
@Storm outta hell: yep, Walsh has read this blog for years, and with all the ANZAC accusations, I wonder if he got “the email”
13 Mar 2010, 13:30 pm
@poppa69: If he pulls that winking **** at Newlands he’s likely to get pomped..!!
13 Mar 2010, 13:30 pm
@poppa69:
I am sure he got the email. Its probaly stuck up on the wall in his changing room with big spot lights on it!!!
13 Mar 2010, 13:31 pm
@Storm outta hell:
By the stormer players? Are they that way inclined?
13 Mar 2010, 13:37 pm
@Sonito: so he was making sure he “got the call” right ?
13 Mar 2010, 13:37 pm
Keo.co.za (in this case Grant Ball ), it’s all very well to point out where the Sharks went wrong, how they could have done better, yada yada yada. I don’t think there are many who would disagree with you. BUT … to give a fair and rounded commentary of the game I do feel it only fair that you should also comment on shocking decisions from the match officials, particularly in this case, Marks (AKA Maaahksie). I am not sure why you have omitted to do this? Are you scared of being branded a whining SA supporter? The offsides call against Kankowski, Ashley Cooper’s stepping out, Valentine’s slap to Sykes’s face wasn’t even penalised (and yet, for a similar action Rory Kockett was red-carded last year in the game against the Highlanders and awarded a one week-suspension)and Ben Alexander’s shoulder charge on Swannepoel (a yellow card surely?)are all examples of decision which affected the course of the game, and I am sure played a part in further demoralising the Sharks. If you do not comment on these aspects of the game, then I would suggest that you refrain from commenting at all.
13 Mar 2010, 13:38 pm
@Sonito: By his Pollsmoor roomies..!
13 Mar 2010, 13:41 pm
@poppa69:
Yeah to kind of burn it into his memory. “Get the Yarpies”. I am pretty sure it is standard practice for all ANZAC refs. Probaly in the training manual.
13 Mar 2010, 13:42 pm
@Mfrf: All valid points but all likely to be swept under the “perceived injustices” carpet.!
13 Mar 2010, 13:43 pm
@Sonito: training manual?????? wtf, theres a training manual for ANZAC refs? we just send them out there with the “get the yarpies” mantra brainwashed since childhood, like when we poach all those 2 year old islanders that have all black stamped all over them
lmfao…
13 Mar 2010, 13:44 pm
@poppa69:
Finally, you admit it! I am keeping this post for future references!
13 Mar 2010, 13:45 pm
@poppa69:
Paul Marks brain washing sessions must of been intense! Star Pupil!
13 Mar 2010, 13:46 pm
MFRF
Great summary of the inconsistencies. The sooner we get rid of Andre Watson the better. Watson is just there for the ride on the gravy train. If that was not the case, how in the world could Marks be an assistant-referee for today’s match?
Let’s put affrimative action to good use and get rid of Watson.
13 Mar 2010, 13:47 pm
@Sonito: hahaha noooooo not another kobus, he brings up something I said 8 months ago to “win” his argument, you I thought were much more clued up then that
13 Mar 2010, 13:50 pm
@Lang Giel: Yeah…gonna be interesting what he’ll have to say about the latest Sharks outcry of injustice..!
13 Mar 2010, 13:54 pm
@Storm outta hell: Yes, it will be… WE WUZ ROBBED
13 Mar 2010, 14:00 pm
If Valentine’s slap doesn’t get cited there really is something wrotten with the system,like only SA players are being made an example of..?
13 Mar 2010, 14:01 pm
@Storm outta hell: Likewise Alexander’s shoulder charge…wtf..?
13 Mar 2010, 14:02 pm
everybody on about Jacobs, he was about the only back making tackles or probing the advantage line, problem with Sharks back line is they so static it needs someone to spark a break through, but hospital pass after hospital pass will not ‘create’ anything.
Jacobs is about only one doing anything worth trying, he’s not succeeding because the entire back line momentum is so flat static it is basically devoid of any go forward whatsoever.
Cheetahs, Stormers, Bull’s are only SA backs doing anything worth watching.
I wouldn’t drop Jacobs, but I’d still look for a play maker at 10 and a solid straight running 12.
Pienaar, Jacobs, Murray, JPP still got enough potential to pose threats to opposition, it is simply in the coaching arena where the dilemmas surface and back line stagnates.
Perhaps try Kockott, Pienaar, JPP, Murray, Jacobs, Mvovo, Terblanche. I say it will work, but its up to the players to make it happen on the field, which won’t unless they develop some inherent self belief about it all again.
13 Mar 2010, 14:05 pm
@skopskiet: Jacobs was as k@k today as Rose was yesterday imo…
13 Mar 2010, 14:05 pm
@skopskiet: Agreed Skop, Jacobs had a solid game. I dont think I saw him miss a single tackle, and he was the only one who looked at all like breaking the line.
13 Mar 2010, 14:13 pm
@jaimie: His passing was atrocious…a number of times the ball bounced between him and his receiver,and that last attacking pass to Kanko just spelled out what a cr@p game he had…
13 Mar 2010, 14:16 pm
and if there campaign wasn’t over ….
Great skills
13 Mar 2010, 14:21 pm
Jacobs and Pienaar were the only backs making ‘effective’ metres. JPP is frustrated, waiting for ball. Kanko flirts dangerously offside throughout the match and when he was onside
gets pinged for offside. They are the only backs worth mentioning.
13 Mar 2010, 14:23 pm
@Storm outta hell: Jacobs was Kak??? LMAO.. Wazzup dude.. did your girlfriend/wife call out his name last night.. or was it you dreaming that he was having a bit of fun with… (sorry, I am being vulgar now.. Not good)
13 Mar 2010, 14:24 pm
Skopskiet – hope that post is intended to create debate and not your honest thoughts! Although i agree we need a play maker at 10 to say Jacobs played ok is madness!
13 Mar 2010, 14:24 pm
@The Almighty Shaun: Jacobs was KAK…’nuff said..!!
13 Mar 2010, 14:27 pm
@Storm outta hell: You are obviously very passionate about your rugby… its the last thing that you can cling onto as a white person?? Is it frustrating to have black players playing YOUR game…lol
13 Mar 2010, 14:28 pm
Geez you guys are hard. The sharks have been playing out-played, out-paced and yes out-reffed but to say Jacobs was kak! If Jacobs was kak what were the rest?
Pienaar & Jacobs were the best out there.
13 Mar 2010, 14:34 pm
@Storm outta hell: 328..At least its only you saying so.. still waiting for Hondo to support you.. is he around?? I am sure that Jacobs is relieved that it is only you talking kak about him.. Now if it was me then it would be different.. because my opinion carries weight.. But we all understand that you are a sore nobody or a soft poep that can’t even stink up a pair of undies
13 Mar 2010, 14:35 pm
Plumtree is having trouble, reading refs, reading the ‘new’ but actually ‘old’ correct interpretations of the laws. This is the reason the Sharks are having so many referee issues.
He is having trouble deciding on who his hooker is and rightly so. Bismark is the young gun who is a **** scrummager and Smit can scrum but getting slow around the park. Kanko is a moble #8 but has to keep his locks in the scrum, else we get the (Grant10) turbo reverse on. Pienaar wants to play 9 but so does Kockett…. arrrg the list goes on and there appears to be no backline coaching going on.
Lets be fair, give some of the depth a run, chance the academy youngens and from there a team of whales may emerge. Got nothing to lose now.
13 Mar 2010, 14:39 pm
@RugbyRulz: far too sensible a post to be on Keo Mrs Rulz… far too sensible
13 Mar 2010, 14:44 pm
Pienaar and Jacobs, JPP too, behind a decent go forward forwards platform would still be potent attack and also defensively sound back line
Bring Murray into 12 see what he can do to straighten up the line and ask questions of the defense advantage line then release Jacobs, JPP and Mvovo out wide
Jacobs looked for gaps all day, got isolated couple times, but made plenty tackles, why don’t you go check the game again see how many he so called ‘missed’. One bad pass towards the end, but weren’t for a lack of trying, about the only back that really was.
Jacobs and Rose in same breath?, some you pale face palookas are particularly prone to prissy fits of paradigm promoted prejudice of pig headed plighted platitudes.
Jacobs is fine, so too Pienaar and JPP, just need some go forward from front, and some convincing conviction to work off.
If anyone should get dropped out that team it is dead and buried over blown geyser John Smit. Then you see a paradigm shift like a complete new lease of existence, just try it, and see the difference.
I play
Kockott/McCleod
Pienaar
JPP
Murray
Jacobs
Mvovo
Terblanche
Behind
Beast
Bismark
Jannie (god is there no one else?)
Sykes
Mostert
Kankowski
Deysel
Alberts
don’t need Goody Goofy Good-for-nothing Goode
then lets see some action erupt from this dead beat delusional team.
Smit and Muller must go.
13 Mar 2010, 14:50 pm
Hooray for Ms Rulz, if it weren’t for the fairer beauties on the planet these testosterone blinded delinquent male species would be catastrophically blinded by their own dumb *** prejudice.
Keep those eyes wide and shining Ma’am sweetheart, only thing worth savoring round these parts is a little bit of refreshing open eyed objectivity, and from the ‘other’ perspective of all places.
Some males are just good for sperm provision and then sustainable to feed their young offspring, as in the case of female spiders, once she’s had her copulation she eats him up whole to provide sufficient energetic source for the ‘kids’ he’s just fertilized.
13 Mar 2010, 14:52 pm
@skopskiet: “Some males are just good for sperm provision” some are not either Skoppie, Bulls fans for example
13 Mar 2010, 14:59 pm
Interesting that the Sardines are 1 from 10 in S14 (0 from 5 this year) and this was their 7th consecutive defeat (this all started when the Cheetahs trounced them 31-6 last year in Bloem) The only game they’ve won so far was a home game against a just-as-piss-poor Highlanders team last year – overall they are 4 from last 15… Shocking.
13 Mar 2010, 15:25 pm
@panniepeet: Allister Coetzee is starting to wonder if being a S14 coach is such a big deal.. you can lose 11 out of 15 games and still retain your job as coach.. these guys set the bar low.. and then black professionals are told that that is the level that they need to attain to gain acceptance. This is why the country is so Fked.. 4/15 is good enough . PDV has also now been encouraged to stay within the performance band of acceptability.. 60% seems to be the standard.. or should I say C passes
13 Mar 2010, 15:35 pm
stefan terblanche was terrible today, he kept the Tahs in the right field position.
13 Mar 2010, 15:35 pm
@panniepeet: Always happy to “give a hand” to the poachers from Durban!
13 Mar 2010, 15:40 pm
@Transformation: The Sharks played the Brumbies today and not the Tahs
13 Mar 2010, 15:47 pm
@The Almighty Shaun: Well, obviously it isn’t such a big deal seeing that Allister Coetzee actually got a job as S14 coach…
13 Mar 2010, 15:53 pm
@The Almighty Shaun: And the fact that Naka is STILL a S14 coach…
13 Mar 2010, 15:56 pm
@panniepeet: wow, telling statistics! 4 out of 15? and plumtree still has a job? There are a lot of **** coaches in our country, why go fetch a k@k kiwi to mess up one of our franchises? Oh i get it, the Sharks’ contract manager is a known failure Rudolf Straueli! Their backline consultant is Hugh Reece-Edwards, another known failure who was coaching high school rugby…go figure!
13 Mar 2010, 15:57 pm
@Karen: my bad…
13 Mar 2010, 16:03 pm
A better result for the Sharks. They do have a few bonus points
Good luck to the Canes and Landers
13 Mar 2010, 16:08 pm
The SA sides are usually not big bonus point takers but it is all even with NZ and it is Aus who lag behind
A combination of the Bulls winning big and other SA sides not losing easily
13 Mar 2010, 17:26 pm
I am not surprised
It played out to my prediction but the Sharks could have won it.
A good team wins the matches they should win and then win some they shouldn’t, the Sharks aren’t in that category.
They have the players but the selection kills them
13 Mar 2010, 21:44 pm
Eat your heart out idiots, Adi Jacobs can surely handle your critics as he have proven in being the comeback kid time afer time, still climbing the Jacob’s ladder
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