The following article from Supersport - Rugby:-
"The Cell C Sharks are set to be boosted by much needed front-row reinforcements for Saturday’s must win Vodacom Super Rugby derby against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
There was rightly a wave of consternation running through the ranks of Sharks rugby supporters at the weekend when the Sharks scrum was shown up by the DHL Stormers at Newlands, but the panic might have been misplaced if you consider how understrength the visitors were.
While the scrum has been a much vaunted part of the Sharks game in recent times, it is an area where they have occasionally struggled when not at full strength. And they weren’t at full strength in Cape Town as Jannie du Plessis was being rested as per a SARU request while at the same time enjoying paternity leave, and Beast Mtawarira has been out since the opening game against the Cheetahs with a calf injury.
According to the Sharks medical staff, both will return to the mix for Saturday’s game, and it should make a big difference to both the stability of the Sharks scrum as well as the confidence levels of the team as a whole to have the all Bok front-row – captain Bismarck du Plessis of course slots in between those two – back on the field.
With JP Pietersen, Willem Alberts and Frans Steyn all showing individual signs of promise and return to their best form against the Stormers, the return of the Bok front-row adds staunchness to a team that is heading back towards full strength and which perhaps just needs a bit of luck in order to turn the corner."
Everything is fine until you read the last paragraph. I have not seen any "signs of promise" from any of Francois Steyn, JP Pietersen and Willem Alberts. Matter of fact i did not see any improvement in performances of those three players compared to what they did last year:-
* Francois Steyn seems to be in better physical condition than he was ever since his return from France in 2012 - but like last year he had no ability to break tackles and there is clearly no sign of improvement in ball sense that would make him any better than the "killer" of backline play he was last year.
* JP Pietersen - did he in fact play on Saturday - I believe I saw him once or twice - but for the rest he did bugger-all. He was as slow as a slow and old carthorse - no speed and nothing else. Promising signs? None whatsoever.
* Willem Alberts - the day he shows that he can protect and recover balls in breakdown situations and players do not run past him like he is not at all in the game - ie he picks up some pace and become faster than a slow prop forward - that is the day I would say he shows signs that he is in fact a loosie.
One can only hope against hope that the three players will improve as the season goes on - but I have been so disappointed so many times in the past that Francois Steyn would start playing reasonable rugby and Willem Alberts will start playing a comprehensive loosie game - my levels of hope for that is very low. Pieteresen in two months time may have recovered 50% of the pace he lost during his latest Japanese excursion
