Currie Cup latest (Mon)
23 Aug 2010
Keo.co.za brings you the news from the Currie Cup.
Coetzee calls for bigger effort
Allister Coetzee says WP’s loss to the Sharks was a much-needed wake-up call ahead of the round two of the Currie Cup.
Province lost their unbeaten record as they slumped to a 27-16 defeat against the Sharks in Durban last Saturday. Coetzee believed his side was too overconfident before the match.
‘We messed this one up properly and will have to pick ourselves up for the second round,’ said Coetzee. ‘We were poor. Our set phases, in particular, were not good. We were beaten in the scrums and our lineout was also disrupted for the first time this year. You can’t build phases if you are unable to hold onto the ball.’
Coetzee believes the returns of his Boks, like Juan de Jongh, Gio Aplon and Francois Louw, and home advantage will strengthen their chances of a first-place finish on the log.
‘I’m still happy with where we find ourselves in the tournament. We have four home games in the second round and will get some of our Boks back. We will just concentrate on the next game and that is against the Cheetahs.’
Meanwhile, there are two injury concerns for WP ahead of their clash against the Cheetahs as flankers Rynhardt Elstadt (dislocated thumb) and Pieter Louw (rib) were replaced in the first half against the Sharks.
15 Comments
23 Aug 2010, 08:25 am
losing dragons
23 Aug 2010, 09:09 am
Well. The Cheetahs now have a good chance to bleed WP a little more. Although, without Juan the Cheetahs will probably lose in the last 10 minutes like in their previous losses. *sigh*
23 Aug 2010, 09:27 am
was very disappointed with WP on Saturday. Really didn’t help my mood!!! Excepted much more from this team… They need to fix their errors! I would also like to see more of Hoffmann at 9 for WP… Why are we not giving him a chance there, especially when Duvenage is playing k@k?
23 Aug 2010, 09:42 am
congratulations to the sharks…
looking like a real championship team…
charo, puma and the other sharks fans… enjoy it…
the sharks are easily the best team in this year’s CC… i can’t see anyone stopping them unless they play well above themselves…
as the season has progressed they’ve just got better and better and their self-belief has just grown…
province looked short on ideas and stategy…
23 Aug 2010, 09:47 am
As an ardent Province supporter it pains me to say this, but the Sharks have become our bogey side, good and proper. There is no excuse, I am really starting to believe that we don’t have the self-belief that we can take them.
23 Aug 2010, 09:58 am
Thanks UFO and all those WP supporters that acknowledge the Sharks win.
WP will get better with their Springboks back, and so will the Bulls so I am not making any predictions yet.
Last year, the struggle for the Nr 1 position on the log was between the same two teams on top of the log now, but neither of those teams played in the final or won the trophy. So – still a long road ahead. When the Bulls add their Springboks, they become a formidable opponent but perhaps things will be different this year.
For me though – there is something different about the Sharks this year. And I think they will be a much better team come Super 15 as well.
For all the comments about poor player management etc. after their poor start to this years Super 14, somehow, by luck perhaps – it seems they will end up with a fairly decent end product.
Sharks have a good front row, pretty good second row, excellent back row (with options), and their backline isnt looking as frail as many might have hoped. Its all coming together quite nicely.
Plus, many had a go at the Sharks after their Super 14 start, but conveniently forget that for 4 of their 5 opening losses (the only one the Sharks lost convincingly was vs. Crusaders), the TOTAL points difference was only – 11. Less than 2 converted tries separated the Sharks from winning 4 of those 5 encounters and without too much brains anyone can work out that would have placed them top of the log. And this without the flyhalf they trained the entire off season with.
So – poor ? Yes – the Sharks aren’t a team that would have been happy with 10th position – but, to be completely fair, it was actually pretty close.
Sharks will be back in the Super 15 next year. For sure !
23 Aug 2010, 10:07 am
@Craven(Craven)-5: No – in the last 11 games, its 6 to the Sharks and 5 to Province. Thats fairly even.
Plus, WP won both their games against the Sharks last year in the Currie Cup, so in the last 3 games its WP 2 – Sharks 1.
The Stormers loss was something different. There was a massive over emphasis on the Sharks having a ‘poor’ season, whereas if you look at my post above, it was much closer than many were prepared to acknowledge so the Stormers didnt lose to a bad side. In reality, the Sharks should have been top 4 contenders.
It’s the rugby media in this country that like to create drama where there is none, and that is what leads us to believe certain teams should win easily and certain should not. In reality, it is a much closer affair and comparing the teams without bias – the Sharks should have won that game in Durban. To me not a surprise result.
23 Aug 2010, 10:09 am
@Craven(Craven)-5: Tell you what – how would you like this record ?
Out of the last 12 CURRIE CUP games played;
Sharks 10
Bulls 2
If anything, the Sharks are a much bigger bogey side for the Bulls than almost any other Currie Cup team !
Nothing wrong with WP – they lost to a good side away from home. No reason to panic.
23 Aug 2010, 10:24 am
@Dusky(Dusky)-6:
Nice one Dusky. Good to see you gracious in a well deserved victory for your Sharkies.
It’s a bit disconcerting to see AC talk about over confidence from WP when it is his job to keep the feet on the ground. But none the less, Province still don’t seem to have the mettle to go the distance this season.
The mental edge that grinds out a result against top sides away from home must be foremeost in a championship winning season. To not play well, or even be outplayed and still get a result, even a bonus point, is vital for real contenders.
I fear the sharks will go all the way now, and really, they deserve to with the way they have gone about their business.
Maybe a few Boks here and there will make a difference for WP, and Flo, Aplon and JdJ might just give the edge come the later stages.
23 Aug 2010, 10:26 am
Well played by the Sharks and congratulations. We didn’t look like we really had the measure the whole game. Lost it upfront mostly. Exposed at lock and in the tight exchanges. We’ll have to pull up out socks if we want to win a final, which given the way the sharks are currently playing, will in all likelyhood be at the Shark Tank.
23 Aug 2010, 10:37 am
oh yes…
congratulations too, to the lions, cheetahs and bulls…
@Dusky(Dusky)-6:
you’re welcome…
sorry for leaving your name out… after chatting last week i knew there was someone esle i had to congratulate…!!
23 Aug 2010, 10:51 am
@JockBok(JockBok)-9: I think WPs Springboks will make a massive difference to be honest. If you look at the quality of players they have in reserve, it would be short sighted of anyone that calls themselves a true appreciater of the game.
I dont know what the status of injuries etc. will be, and I also dont know who Pieter De Villiers will hold back from Currie Cup duty, but;
Andries Bekker, Jacques Fourie, Bryan Habana, Juan De Jongh, Ricky Januarie, Gio Aplon, Schalk Burger, Francois Louw, Jean De Villiers, CJ Van der Linde….
Sharks supporters can and should enjoy their victory, but there are bigger tasks ahead – much bigger tasks !
Plus – we all know the Sharks record when it comes to playoffs
23 Aug 2010, 11:28 am
@Dusky(Dusky)-12:
If you look at the names you mentioned, I think JdJ, Flo and Gio will be the only ones available if PdV rests the ‘senior’ Boks. And we saw the difference they made in the couple of games they played mid season there. So yes, could be the difference between success and faure in these 3.
Of course, the big stumbling block could be no fresh blood in the tight 5, and those guys were looking a bit dishevelled on Sat already.
Anyway, should all add up to an exciting 2nd half of the season. But wait until we get you down in CT my fishy friend. Who said the Currie Cup was dying
23 Aug 2010, 11:32 am
@JockBok(JockBok)-13:
Oops, ‘faure’ = failure, not the composer.
23 Aug 2010, 12:19 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-14: Most entertaining game of the weekend was Pumas vs. Lions. I dont support either teams, so I had no favourites going into this game but I felt gutted for the Pumas.
Damn – this game is cruel sometimes. Pumas deserved to win that game. For sure. What character from them, and I lift my hat to the Pumas because they definitely did themselves proud. When they went 13 – 0 down I thought it would cascade into a thrashing, but they showed the character to fight back – and that must be the closest to winning you can come in a game. Over the line for the match winner, but TMO cant see the grounding…dammit !
Now the Sharks have Griquas in Durban. And who knows what Griquas will bring on the day. Its a bit of a lucky packet (or maybe unlucky packet) what you get from them.
Then its on to Loftus – and I feel a big thrashing coming that might make the sky here in Pretoria a little less blue….
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