JP to #12 for Chiefs clash

So if Plumtree is such a great tactician, he will know that if he shuts down Chiefs #10 and [particularly  #12 the Sharks chances of winning is vastly improved. Michalak is up to the task in my opinion, but Whitehead will get bulldozed and abused by the off-loading SBW. Pietersen has the size and athletic ability to matchup against SBW and the upgrade over Whitehead is worth the trade-off for him playing out of position. Jordaan at 13, Ludik on the wing and Lambie at fullback.

BTW  - If the Chiefs use the same rush defence against the Sharks as they did against crusaders Michalak will pick them apart.

Going to epic 

@oimatey,

unless ur supporting the chiefs, i dont think its going to be epic. im pretty sure that the chiefs are going to batter them before they are deep fried, lol.

but jp pieterson at 12 is an argument that holds a lot of water. when the blues played the sharks, pieteson was instrumental in cutting down nonu and stopping his runs dead in its tracks, a very great technique where he has a text book like approach.
i do think that SBW is a different kettle of fish though, and despite the big centers we have in the world, theres no one IMO quite like him who can create space with his magent like attraction on defence and make breaks and get over the advantage line with such consistency. to say nothing of other aspects to his game with hsi apssing and offloads, it really is something else.
jp cant stop the SBW express train completely, but he can help neagte its impact. i wouldnt do it though, i think whitehead and jordaan need to be the mid field combo and that will help the sharks in the long run, cos if they take a defensive approach, instead of the attacking style they have been playing as of late, its only going to hurt them more. take a look at what happened to the stormers and their defence first policy.

if anyone that understand rugby will say to really defend against SBW you dont just defend him but you defend his offloading options. our cover defence need to focus on him as the main ball carrier but the other defenders need to attack the other ball offloading options. much like the way how the cheetahs defended against the saders last year. he proved ineffective against a rush defence that stopped him and his running options off him.

he is at his most dangerous when he has that options for offloading. if you mark his running options and cut down on them he is nothing more than a flanker with a lot of speed. our flanks and 8th man just need to mark him on there running lines and then the line just needs to shift on from that to ensure that his offloading does not breach the first tier of defence. toe be fair the best way of defending against the chiefs is to attack them all day long.

@carpetmuncher,

the week leadinginto the cheetahs game, SBW was injured during training and only managed to play in the first half of that game, before being taken off.
that game also a week after the epic stormers clash in newlands and the injury ward of the crusaders who hadnt played a a home game all year, was well and truly dusted.

cheetahs deserved their win, but the stormers helped big time by sapping a lot of energy out of the crusaders. it was the same for the stormers who played the chiefs after the crusaders and also lost NZs bottom conference team in 2011.

IMO, the best way to stop him is to really man up and rush him in a ball and all tackle and trust ur loosies to get their in time and aid u. if u count on the backs to help u (which will happen more often then not) then the) it leaces the backline vulnerable on the great chance that SBW gets the ball, away. this is something that ireland found out the hard way during the june test window.

 I watched the sharks play against the Crusaders last year in London, not the same team but the same player. The Crusader had a fantastic game plan. They knew that if the Sharks marked Williams, they had options out wide. The Crusaders was fantastic at using Williams at the right time. Guildford and Dag loved the space they got of him

The sharks biggest threat is not William alone but Cruden, Cruden has probably more successful offloads than William. So what they need to do is avoid half line breaks and tackle the guys arms and not try to flatten him to the ground. That’s where he will step you all day.

Not sure who is going to play 12 as Whitehead is injured. Would be great if they could call up Steyn but it looks likely to Bosman in the Midfield. Just hope he can stand his ground as he was pathetic last year on defence.

But if the sharks keep up with their attacking play they might be able to pull it off. 

Some of the big men need to tackle sbw hard and often. Alberts, Bresler, Beast, Bissie etc. Daniels  must stay out  of the way and watch for the offload and then instruct Kan kan to vat hom fluffy.

sbw can be manged out of the game.

@beeno1,

lol, yeah cos no one thought of that before. if the sharks are thinking the same thing, chiefs by 30pts.

Let Keegan deal with SBW the same way he made Etsebeth his monkey, that wrestle tackle. It could watch it over and over.  lambie will play 12 with Whitehead out..swoon !! Lambie is also one of the better tacklers , despite his size. SBW with have to contest with more arial stuff so expect him to be rattled early on by marcel and keegan. SBW without confidence is just sonny boy.

 Lambie can't defend SBW like JP could. Lambie's skills are better suited at fullback with Michalak really playing well at flyhalf.

 Pieter Devilliers had a plan for SBW. It never came to fruition as with anything else from Pieter Devilliers. 

Lambie could be a good option at inside center, with Paul Jordaan back at outside center.

Please no Meyer Boesman- he is made everyones monkey. Especially in the game last year in London/Twickenham against the Crusaders

@rocket girl,

not quite that simple im afraid, sharks and daniel have had three occassions to deal with the SBW pehnomena and they have failed miserablly 3 times, once in twickenham, once in nelson, once in durban and after this weekend, it will be once in hamilton.

the best u can hope for is SBW is injured, or trust that the man marking him does a good job of containing him the entire 80mins without having to rely on many to help him, something which hasnt happened to date, cos numbers u commit to SBW, are numbers u dont have any where else defending against the other dangers in the chiefs team.

just to concentrate on one player is not smart at all. i think jp is just moved to counter acted the chiefs midfield channel

we will have to see how things pan out. plums is making every move possible not to choose meyer is seems hahahahaha