ExSupersport
They may have to rely on the Brumbies knocking over the Waratahs in the later semifinal to have a realistic chance of winning the title, but the Cell C Sharks’ mission in Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby eliminator in Christchurch is by no means an impossible one.
While some critics have couched it as mission impossible and there seems to be general negativity about the Sharks’ chances against the Crusaders, their coach Jake White can’t be faulted for his positive line and claim that “we have the firepower to win in New Zealand”.
Yes, the Crusaders must start as favourites to win on their home ground. It has been a while since they’ve played a semifinal in Christchurch and this is the stage of the season when the multiple champions, who haven’t won since 2008, usually put it together. And after winning the league match there a few months ago, the Sharks also don’t have a surprise element.
The Crusaders know what they’re up against, they have a score to settle, and what would be a surprise is if they spat the dummy and failed to pitch like they did in their last encounter. They are a stronger team now too, with Kieran Read, such an influential presence when he plays, back at No 8, while neither Dan Carter nor Israel Dagg was part of the team that lost in May.
But the Sharks are stronger too. Much will depend on how Patrick Lambie copes with his first start since March, but he is a big game player and White is justified in taking the gamble of giving him the No 10. He is a much better fit at flyhalf than Frans Steyn is, with the latter much better suited to inside centre. White was not wrong when he said last week that the linking between backs and forwards when Lambie was on in the last quarter against the Highlanders was better than it has been in ages. (Disappointing news for the good Dr Moz. But given his lack of pace is center okay)
The recall of Lambie not only means Steyn gets to play in his best position (outside possibly of fullback), it also means Paul Jordaan moves to the position where he has played most of his rugby for the Sharks, and ditto for Springbok JP Pietersen. It may well be that Pietersen prefers centre, but there were defensive issues that the Highlanders exploited last week and White would have been wary of the Crusaders’ ability to do the same.
It has been suggested that the Crusaders backs have the edge over their counterparts, but if you look at how the two units line up on paper, you would want to argue that point. The Sharks haven’t played a style of rugby that has highlighted the talent out wide, but they do have pace to burn and in the last game in Christchurch the Sharks did show great adeptness at striking off the counterattack and grabbing the opportunities that came their way.S’bura Sithole was at the heart of much that went right that day and he won’t be in the starting team, but he is on the bench, ready to play a role late in the game, as is the equally pacey Tonderai Chavhanga. So the Sharks have strength on their bench, they have in starting scrumhalf Cobus Reinach a player who created a try from nothing in the May match, and they have better decision making and linking ability in the key flyhalf/inside centre axis.
It is though at forward that the game will be won and lost, and here the Sharks do have enough strength to make the Crusaders extremely wary of them. There are starting Springboks in the Du Plessis brothers, Bismarck and Jannie, as well as Willem Alberts, plus possibly South Africa’s form loose-forward of the moment, Marcell Coetzee.
Coetzee and skipper Bismarck du Plessis will be vested with a particularly important task on Saturday, that of trying to shut down the Crusaders at the breakdown. It is when they can’t get quick ball and have their momentum halted there by penalties that the Crusaders have appeared to have suspect temperament this season, and even in the second half against the Highlanders, when they were well on top, the whistle of Craig Joubert and the attention of the opposition spoilers got under their skin.
It was by shutting down the Crusaders at the breakdown that the Sharks won last time, and remember Coetzee didn’t even start in that game and for most of it they were down to 14 men. The man sent off on that occasion, Jean Deysel, is starting on Saturday and after his strong performance against the Highlanders he looks determined to make amends. If the Sharks are to win, he will play a strong part in it with his big hits and presence on the drive.
Ryan Kankowski also looks like he is back in his best form at No 8, while Stephan Lewies has excellent lineout stats from his first season of Super Rugby and will back himself to compete with All Black Sam Whitelock. The only forward without some sort of Bok experience is loosehead Thomas du Toit, who plays ahead of the injured Beast Mtawarira, but he has made a strong start to his senior career and will be well looked after by the old beards of the team.
Whichever way you look at it, the Sharks do have both the class and the experience to win a one-off game against any opponent and at any venue on the planet. It is why, even though the return of Carter and the lengthier kicking game the Crusaders boast now makes them a different proposition to last time, the Sharks should not be written off.
I am not expecting them to win, but would be a lot less surprised than many if they did. They have the players, they have the determination and they have the necessary self-belief. They’re also at their most dangerous when written off.
Goooo Sharkies lets havea final between the two best sides - Sharks and Warts. I am sure secretly its what even the kbbs want to see
