So i prehaps should make a case for them.
A vintage year for them this year in terms of their squad. They have strength in depth , the Coaching set up has been more progressive and they seem to be confident.
I think there will be a more consistant Shark team this season.
As a neutral who grew up in the East Cape and now lives in England, the Sharks to me have the best squad of all the SA sides
Goodman
I am a loyal Sghark supporter living in a small village (Tinley Manor Beach) to the north of Durban.
There previously was extensive comments from me on the Sharks squad and I will repeat some of the things I consider as important hereunder - insofar as the team composition is concerned:
No 15 Ludik did very well last year and I am sure he would repeat his performances - top, but under-rated player.
Wings : Pietersen is a class act and I think Mvovo should be given more opportunities to develop further.
Centers : I rate Jordaan as the best center in any SA franchise in Super 15 last year - he should have been a Springbok already. Am really worried about Francois Steyn - he was not the best of centers in the Challenge tests - in some ways slow and mediocre. Hope Spencer can get some life into him.
Flyhalf : Lambie is the real deal
Scrummie - I like Reinach very much - never been a great McLeod fan.
Loosies - we ghave them all Coetzee, Daniel, Kankowski, Alberts - Deysel I think is a donkey.not comparable with the others.
Locks : Believe that Du Toit is destined for great things in future. The others are solifd and will let no team down
Props - we are well-away there.
Hookers : Missing Bismarck badly - hope he is back soon.
Plumtree made some mistakes in his team selection early in the Super Series in 2012. He for instance moved Pietersen to 13 and the experiment was not a success. Pietersen is a star wing and a very average center. All in all last yuear there were two many early losses last year and do not expect a similar problem this year.
Spencer would be a good thing insofar as improvement in backline play is concerned - I hope he can get Steyn off his backside and teach him how to play attacking rugby.
Jordaan is also high up there, but i believe its a make or break season for him. There will be openings soon in the Boks. He needs to make himself known this season or forever be playing second fiddle to a Bull.
Burden has class and fills the gap that Bismarck leaves. Bismarcks return will be an EPIC day as he will send a message out to all the pretenders.
Goodman
I think Meyer may be over his mania for selecting Bull players. In any event - Engelbrecht is a joke - he ccan never be Springbok material. And Jordaan will prove to be the best no 13 in SA this here as well.
For me the Sharks this is one of the best SuperX squads ever.
Lots of depth in many positions, as well as utility players than can play at SuperX level in different positions.
At looseforward, I think the Sharks have the more depth than any SuperX team in the tournament.
The Stormers probably have the 2nd most depth at looseforward out of the other 14 teams.
- I think history shows with the Sharks that when we have a good inside center, we typically do well playing the expansive brand of rugby the sharks are known for. (Let us not forget the dark ages of Trevor Halstead, and that other monkey now playing for England).
-We have Frans Steyn and Tim White whom are both quality inside centers. Tim White head is creative with good running lines, and a great pass.
Frans Steyn has perhaps reverted to much to crash ball since his return from France, however no one does crash ball as well as Frans Steyn.
It usually takes 2-3 players to pull him down and it can draw in opposing backline players to create an overlap.
Also Frans can also offload in the tackle, as well as pass in traffic.
-
Probablythe biggest concern in the loss of Fred Michalak back to France.
Lambie is good, but in many ways Michalak brings another dimension than most SA flyhalfs.
Although will be good to see Lambie, Frans and Jordaan combine, along with JP on the outside.
- If Lambie gets injured we could be in trouble. Butch "Coffin dodger" James is the back up option
This could be the bok backline come mid year.
- Props we could be a bit thin, with Beasts Heart Palpitation.
- Lock also a bit thin, but we have also got what his name from the Lions who is a quality player ,and apparently looking good in practise.
-
Goodman
I think Meyer may be over his mania for selecting Bull players.
@mikey,
after steenkamps selection on the EOYT, i will only believe that when i see it. gonthros former bulls affiliation is the only logical answer to his selection, o_O
For quite a while the Sharks have been the best balanced SA team. My Stormers remain too defensively orientated. And the Bools haven't been able to make their model work, because the pack is really not dominant, especially in the scrums.
In RSA I think this year will be between the Bulls and the Sharks. I'm looking forward to seeing JdV show up Fransie as he always showed up Fury when they played against each other. But I think Lambie is about to have a huge year at 10, he is at that stage in his career....that could tilt the balance.
Mozart
The Sharks I agree with you - but the Bulls?????? Om what do you base that prediction. I don't believe in miracles - but it will be a miracle if the Bulls is above 10th on the log this year
Can't believe what I am reading. Moz too much debating with ou snapster has driven you mad! Please show some respect to the SA Conference Champs of the last two years - and the Super Log toppers nogal.
Lets be clear about things - the Stormers are the top SA Franchise and have the best squad. Bulle will not get the better of the Mighty Stormers this year Moz - this has to be a misguided wind up.
The attack deficiencies I believe are something in the past but only Super 15 match play can finally prove that.
I trust I do not have to give a player by player comparison to show you the Stormers Squad is the best.
Just rember how a young and depleted WP outfit whipped the hapless sharkies at home in the Currie Cup final and that will help get you sharkie blowhards and Moz get on the right track. Recall how the Stormers dominated the sharkies in the second half and had their scrum going backwards. Kitshof nd Malherbe will be even better this year so watch out.
The Chiefies of course got all the glory from some misguided rugby fans but the Stormers topped the log which over the longer term of the competition is is hugely impressive given the injury situation.
The chieifes unfortunately for brycy and sitting bull will in all likelihood be disappointed this year. However, I will be here to console them!
A south African side will most likely win the Comp and that side most likley will be the Stormers.(Remember the story - was it of Robert the Bruce and his watching that spider?) Three SA sides in top six is my prediction.
Further the most likely side to win the RugbyChampionship will be the Mighty Boks laden with Stormer MEN.
Now I do hope this clarifies matters for guppy blowhards and nz dreamers!
All this hower has of course to be qualified by the injuries issue and bent refs - mostly nz as we well know but wee craig joubert is fatal when we play the bulle. Who can forget poor Schalk Burger's protests about craig coaching the bulle loosies in the final and blowing ours! It was a blemish on our fine reffing -as was craigs performance in the recent WC final where h ehanded to cup to the outclssed abs on a plate (Beeno objective as ever)
So given a good run re injuries and fair refs those are my predictions and I stand by them.
A warm welcome to Goodman - I do trust he is not another mole.
LMAO!
The Hapless Stompies are the Sharks Super Rugby BUNNIES and that's not going to change this season.
How did you enjoy the semifinal at Newlands last year, Baboon-ou? Waaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Hi beeno1. Another mole. ? Is that a reference to my vision and choice of team ? I have read your rugby input and I would say your the short sighted one. The season has not even started I think you should be making calls as to who will win much later. How's your hooker scenario in Cape Town, that's not a reference to street walkers, just to your squad balance. I think it's not as good as you think. Thanks for the welcome.
My good man the hooker position is okay provided Tiaan lasts the season. Deon Fourie is better than Burden so as a back up you have nothing to much to shout about yourselves. Then we have Bezuidenhout and Sccurra. I am also pretty sure there are some local hookers available. Also just remember it was with wee scurra in the front row that we had you sharkies going backwards at a rate of knotts. Bwahhahahahaha
Ou rooitwit you need to consider context (please consult dictionary!). You clearly were in pretence reading mode re the article I posted which correctly mentioned how depleted the Stormers squad was by the end of the Super campaighn. Basically ou Alistair played his guys into the ground. The oak has realised the error of his ways and also has great squad depth so rotation should be much better and hopefully injuries fewer. In which case the sharkies are in for a long afternoon as they were in the currie cup final.
good man all predictions are only that. We are predicting on factors currently know. Given the current facts the Stormers are the side to beat.
End of story.
Sharkie blowhards must accept they have a good team and be satisfied with that. Stormers rule and sharkies drool stuff.
Ou rooitwit has fastened his hopes on having to play a second string Stormers outfit. Hopefully that will not be the case.
Sorry I don't do this name calling thing. It's not very , how best do I say this , constructive. I will try and stick to rugby you and your friends can stick to rubbing each other up. It's just a game after all. And it's meant to be an honourable sport. Sorry Beeno1. Not my cup of tea.
Prehaps , for all sharks fans, you guys could share your ideas on what our focus should be this season, what aspect needs the most work ? I think we will need to work harder at our set pieces.
@ Dogmore........care to explain the S15 semi final loss last year?
@goodman,
while the sharks have one of the best team in the comps, the one thing i find they lack big time is a real leader. keegan daniels is good, but the void that smit left has never trully been filled, despite the number of class players they have in their ranks.
when ur backs to the wall and no ones stepping up and the clock is ticking, u need to have a player who says the right things to get the boys focused and then leads them into battle, i cant think of one player who can do that in the sharks.
that coupled with the mental hardness side of things is a weakness that IMO will hurt them down the tracks, but other wise a pretty mean team.
Sasu I would say Bismark is a good leader.
@shezza,
i disagree, bismarck is a great palyer, the worlds best hooker IMO, but he dosent give of the same vibe with inspiration that he does with performance.
u need only look at the CC and spXV to see evidence of this in every game.
Actually looking back now I can see where you're right, I maybe be spitballing here but Willem Alberts maybe?
Sasue
I do not agree with you on the Daniel issue. My contention is that a captain must fulfil two requirements and those are -
* he must be an automatic selection as a team member;
* he must have the respect of the players and show leadership qualities.
Daniel sets a wonderful personal example to the players - boith on and off the field. A sober and religious guy.
In essence Daniel meet both requirements. My problem is that if not Daniel - who else in the Sharks team can be the captain. Maybe in the longer term they can look at Lambie - but he is still very young. I am not sure about Bismarck either - he is a rough diamond and may just not meet all requirements.
