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Jake White © Gallo Images
Sharks start the season aiming highby Gavin Rich 24 January 2014, 09:15
The Sharks begin the 2014 rugby year with a warm-up match against Saracens in London (kick-off 4.30pm) under no illusions about what needs to be done to satisfy their new director of rugby Jake White – they need to win the Vodacom Super Rugby for the first time, and nothing less than that.
White has never been reluctant to speak his mind and state what he thinks. The certainty which he brings to his coaching is one of his big strengths. And while some Sharks officials were understood to be uncomfortable with the boldness with which he pronounced recently that the Sharks will win Super Rugby, they should be assuaged by the knowledge that he did a similar thing when he took over the Springboks in 2004 and his prediction of a Tri-Nations triumph that year and World Cup in 2007 proved correct.
Some coaches are scared of the pressure that can be created by publicly aiming high, but not White. His mission in Durban is a simple one, and it is understood that he is not shy to tell it to anyone who is prepared to listen – he will win Super Rugby and that will make it hard for the South African rugby administration to ignore his claims to succeed Heyneke Meyer as Bok coach in 2016.
Players do respond to White’s ambition, his record as a coach reflects that, so you can’t fault his approach, or his confidence if you consider the material he will get to work with in Durban this year in comparison to where he started with the Brumbies two seasons ago. At a press conference at Growthpoint Kings Park last week, White made no attempt to hide his admiration for the ability of some of the players who now experienced members of the group but made their international debuts when he was in charge of the Boks.
“He is a freak”, was the phrase used to describe both his new captain, Bismarck du Plessis, and the prodigiously talented Steyn.
His willingness to make the big call and change the captaincy was another example of the White hallmark in directness.
“It will be understandable if he is disappointed but it is not about the individual, the decision was made for the team,” said White of the deposed skipper Keegan Daniel.
There is no pussy-footing about with White, and he displayed the trait again in the way he dealt at the press conference with questions related to what positions Pat Lambie and Steyn will play this season.
“I am telling you that Lambie will play flyhalf for 80 minutes of every game,” said White.
So no beating about the bush with that subject, and the same held when Steyn became the topic of discussion. White did once say that he thought Steyn would make a great fullback, which is where he played in some of the matches on his first tour as a Bok back in 2006, when White was the national coach.
“Frans will play No12. In doing so he will give Lambie a massive amount of confidence, but apart from us playing those two players together at flyhalf and inside centre (the key backline decision-making axis) fits into the philosophy of the team,” said White.
But it isn’t just the players who he has worked with in the past that White is excited about, and it was the talent of the players he worked with while the Springboks were unavailable to take part in the pre-season preparations that prompted him to predict a Super Rugby triumph for the Sharks in 2014.
“In a way it was a good thing that the Boks weren’t with us for the duration of the pre-season as the period they were absent did give the other guys a chance to push their claims and I can state unequivocally that I have been tremendously impressed with some of them. We don’t lack depth,” he said.
One of the players that has impressed White is Tyler Fisher, a young product of Westville Boys High who gets his chance in the last line of defence against Saracens in the absence of SP Marais. The latter is one of just two players at this stage struggling to make the start of the season as he recovers from injury, and fullback, if Steyn and Lambie are not going to be looked at as potential wearers of the No15, is potentially one area of weakness following the departure of Louis Ludik.
“Apart from Fisher we do have Odwa Ndungane and a few other players who can fill in at fullback if need be,” said White but that won’t necessarily inspire a massive amount of confidence ahead of a long Super Rugby season where injuries are bound to be a factor. So White will breathe easier if Fisher does come through his London baptism.
Elsewhere there are few areas of weakness, with the improved depth at centre being advertised by the fact that Tim Whitehead wasn’t selected into the initial squad for London, with Heimar Williams having done enough in his debut Currie Cup season to join Steyn and a fit again Paul Jordaan in the midfield mix.
With Lambie as the recognised first choice, it is left to the talented young duo of Tim Swiel, who has recently moved up from Western Province, and Fred Zeilinga, so impressive in his debut Currie Cup season, to fight it out for the right to back the Springbok up. It is a big season for Lambie as he needs to back up the confidence of his new coach is he wants to answer those who still doubt his ability to challenge for the right to be a regular starter at Springbok level.
Veteran Charl MacLeod will no doubt have had his confidence boosted by his excellent Currie Cup final performance while Cobus Reinach, after taking a slight step backwards last season, will be hoping to put the second year jitters behind him and start moving his career forward again. He is certainly an exciting prospect if he can get that right.
With Ryan Kankowski, rumoured to have been on White’s radar as a potential captain, set to return from Japan shortly, there is no shortage of depth in the loose-forwards, particularly if Willem Alberts for once plays something approaching a full Super Rugby season. With Jean Deysel named as one of the vice-captains, and understood to be rated highly by White, it is going to be interesting to see how the back row is put together, and indeed if there is any place for the former captain, Daniel.
The loose-forward led the Sharks to a notable triumph in the Currie Cup final in Cape Town just a few months ago, but if you understand the White philosophy the move makes sense. White will put the biggest pack that he will find it possible to assemble onto the field in the important games, and when all the top players are available, Daniel might find it hard to find a place in the first choice back row.
Du Plessis, as one of the finest players on the planet, will have influence with his teammates and hopefully also in his new role with the referees, and his selection as vice-captain of the Springboks was an indication that Meyer also sees the value of the strongly built product of the Eastern Free State town of Bethlehem leading from the front.
SHARKS IN A NUTSHELL
Captain: Bismarck du Plessis.
MVP: Bismarck du Plessis/Willem Alberts.
Young players to watch: Tyler Fisher, Fred Zeilinga, Tim Swiel.
Notable acquisitions since last year: Ettienne Oosthuizen (Brumbies), Lourens Adriaanse (Griquas), Tim Swiel (WP).
Departed since last year: Meyer Bosman (Stade Francais), Craig Burden (Toulon), Jandre Marais (Bordeaux), Derrick Minnie (Lions), Franco van der Merwe (Lions), Riaan Viljoen (Japan), Louis Ludik (Agen, France).
Strength: Jake White loves big players and he will be in position to choose a monster pack when all players are fit.
Area requiring possible scrutiny: Anton Bresler is back in the game and should make a difference and Ettienne Oosthuizen has been acquired from the Brumbies but you fancy that Pieter-Steph du Toit is going to have to stay fit if the second row is not to be a potential weakness.
Big question: Will Ryan Kankowski return from Japan in top condition and thus put the problems of last season behind him? JP Pietersen was rusty when he returned from Japan for the Springboks on the last end of year tour but he started gathering momentum quickly after the first game so he shouldn’t be a problem.
Changed culture: Since White has been in charge he has changed a lot of things at the Durban franchise, and one of the things he has been pushing hard is work ethic and discipline, with players and coaches working from 7am to 6pm on week days during the off-season.
The draw: The Sharks only travel overseas late in April, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on how seriously you take the concern that the humid conditions in Durban in late summer may actually be a hindrance to the Sharks in that they sap energy in training. The Sharks have struggled to come out of the blocks in some games in recent seasons and this year might tell us whether that was an attitude problem or whether it was simply down to lack of energy.
