Masuku with a terrible clearance, Lyon counters, gets tackled into touch 10 out.
Masuku with a terrible clearance, Lyon counters, gets tackled into touch 10 out.
Opportunity gone for the Sharks as Bester knocks a favorable bounce with the tryline beckoning and one to beat.
Kunene now drops a high ball, Lyon on attack.
Masuku can't tackle for shit. Lyon score. 8-7
Lyon 4 picks up at the ruck and runs through a barn door of a gap to score. Sharks look fast asleep out there. 15-7
Good pressure defense by the Sharks gains them some meters and a lineout.
Masuku gets put into space down the line and makes some yards but gets penalized.
Lyon 5m out after a little surge.
Okay Pakie I’ll join you. Looks a bit grim at the moment but I’m golfed out.
Try Lyon 2.
Hello Moz. Doubt I'll make it to the second half if it continues like this. 22-7
Hatton at 8 looks handy, he's had a few good runs.
Nothing kick on the attack loses the Sharks 50m and now they concede a penalty.
Ref is very strict on immediate release by the tackled player.
Esterhuizen snatches at a pass and drops it. Sharks momentum gone again.
Lyon 13 slices through. So simple.
27-7 halftime. Doubt I'm going to waste more time on this.
Nice looking stadium….great food in Lyon. A company I was once with supplied commercial kitchen equipment and we did a trip to Lyon which has 21 Michelin star restaurants. Each establishment we visited, about 5 in all, insisted on giving us a free meal….spectacular but hard work
The Sharks look like they'd rather be sampling some fine cuisine than playing rugby.
I'll check the start of the second while having dinner, maybe something happens.
Esterhuizen's pass to Masuku goes astray. The Sharks backs aren't finding each other, either on attack or defense.
Masuku almost completed a tackle. Wow.
Esterhuizen now getting some go forward and the Sharks kick it out 5 out.
Another stupid little grubber into the defense, then a knock.
Nothing Yet…these process games are more like training runs
Now Kunene drops the kick collect.
Good net gain off Masuku's clearance down the middle.
If this goes on I’m going to be forced to do my exercises…Lyon pick and go almost breaks through.
Pointless kick off attacking ball. Fortunately the clearance is terrible from Lyon. Sharks still in the 22.
Another knock as the Sharks backline drift laterally.
Are you getting English feed Pakie?
Yeah go do your exercises, I'm going to finish up some work before tomorrow. This is somewhat of a shit show.
No sound on my feeds.
The guys who have Masuku as a future Bok must be smoking some good shit. Bloke's as average as they come and he can't tackle. At all.
I have the French commentary…. We spill the ball and the French make 4 passes in the in goal area!
Masuku and Johannes are Manie like defenders.
lol what am I watching!?
The only French I know is oui and sacre bleu (if that's even a thing in French).
Anyhoo, I'm off, let's hope the Sharks avoid the fiddy (not sure why but I'm trying to be nice). Lucky for them Lyon is not looking too sharp in the second either.
Ah Plum, thanks for taking over my shift, you're a champ. Haha, I'm outta here.
You could regret this Pakie
Okay maybe I'll watch a bit more while having my tea.
Man the score is still the same even, what are you talking about? Juju is on is he? Shit's gonna get real now.
This far, I'm seeing the same lack of respect for ball retention.
Sharks get the ball and then throw mad passes and lose it again.
I'm gonna start calling it the Galant effect.
That looked very forward from Kunene to Masuku.
Sharks lose their own lineout.
It sounds more official if you call it the Gelant syndrome….and Lyon scores. Last pass looked forward
Bester has looked industrious at 11. Not flawless but at least like he gives a shit.
And a nice try for Lyon.
Man Moz, I dunno, the regret isn't coming yet.
Patience Julius could turn this around
My tea is almost done but I guess since there's only 10 minutes left I might as well see it out. Finish one thing in my life, you know. Apart from my tea.
Another good carry from Hatton.
Yes…stick with moz!
Juju brings the behind the back flip. Bester at 16 with a good run and Rahl scores.
Yes…stick with moz!
Hehe, called it
Lyon 13 through half the Sharks team but he manages to stop himself in time.
Three converted Julius tries could win this…
Lyon with the knock. Handling has been poor all round.
One every 2 minutes, no sweat for the Juju.
Sharks now fancy themselves a bit of scrumming too. Aaand they botch the lineout. Juju can't work under these conditions, man.
Shrewd tactics…we blow the lineout so we can go for another scrum penalty
The tackling is truly pathetic
What a shambles.
I like the chunky girl in 18 for Lyon.
And Mavesere decides Juju is taking too long and runs through on his own.
Sharks 6 scores a great try ….that lad is quick
Cheers Pakie….miserable game, but what the hell.
Fitting that the game ends with a knock on.
Thanks for the company Moz and to a lesser extent Plum.
The Sharks are in a desperate need o a fi nctional backline and tha include Masuku amd total failure a 12. Esterhuizen needs ball skills, Today he knocked on a ball - got stripped of a ball and that was typical During the match the Lyon 13 ran at angle into the gap between Esterhuizen and Jueies and bpth just stand looking
The Sharks are in a desperate need o a fi nctional backline and tha include Masuku amd total failure a 12. Esterhuizen needs ball skills, Today he knocked on a ball - got stripped of a ball and that was typical During the match the Lyon 13 ran at angle into the gap between Esterhuizen and Jueies and bpth just stand looking
A fictional or functional backline?
Not a good game for Esterhuizen, not a good game for most of the Sharks in this makeshift side except a few of the B players like Bester and Hatton who looked like they wanted to prove something. The team still look uncoached.
Score asb.
34-21 Blobbie.
The Bulls managed to play a miserable game but at leas was able to beat a weak team in a Challenge cup Match - the Sharks and Lions were ultra shit, It is also noticeable that the Englisj teams wer not eally up to standard in the European Cup with the winners goin g through to the enxt Round being the followingL-
Toulon
Castres
Munster
Leinster
Glasgow
Nothampton
Bordeaux
Toulouse
4 French teams
2 Irish teams
1 Scottish team
1 English team.
With their win the Bulls is now in the quarterfinals of the European Challenge Cup,
As someone who always thought the SA could be more adventurous in attack, I'd like to reconsider.
They simply can't.
Between the Stormers and the Sharks, it doesn't appear that the have slightest respect for the ball. The amount of times these teams lose possession through simply being braindead and chucking crazy passes and offloads.
I'm not sure if the coaches are egging them on or if they just don't have enough sway over their teams to cause them to respect possession.
It's all at to erratic, frantic and chaotic. Horrible to watch.
I do not blame the cocches other than for shit selections. If players lack ball skills play amd umthinking actions and dcisionmaking during matches the coaches can be blamed for it, The fact is that looking at the Shks and even Bulls matches this weekend - sa tos ay shit selections plays a massive role in selections but the fact is that top level lack of ball skills and thinking ability they should not be in teams.
Cases where coaches can be blamed are multiple - for example Dobbs insists on playing LIbbock at flyhalf and kicking at goal and fuck around with hie best flyhal to play out of position to ensure Libbok plays at flyhalf, The same type of selections take place at the Bulls and Sharks as well. The Sharks are playing ping pong with their backline selecions and their backline coaching is what one calls birdbrain selecions.
Ball skilles require ball sense and other than Sacha and Willie the backline players playing for SA franchises are total incompetence in those two asppects of the game. I see schoolboys with better ball skilles and sense than our backline players on fanchise leve have - but then their supportes claim Erasmus is a rugby idiot who does not select rugby idiots to play for the Springboks.
So lets go back to 2014 when Ackerman managed to coach a team with less physicality and plenty of ball skills and sense into the top Super Rugby SA team competitor, but Meyer dcided not to iclude any Lions players in teh 2015 RWC Difference - Ackerman was a real rugby coach - Meyer never was one. In the case of White we have anothr deficient coach, White still consider traditional SA rugby as forward dominance only and backline play is never a consideration of his. I will rather put Ackerman in charge of the Stormers and the team selection and performances will show amssive improvement - because Ackerman is a real coach with brains to get the best out of players - while the oher coaches does not come anwhere near to that,
Sharks 6 is a Zimbabwean
Pakie - I know 3 French words that describe the Sharks performance on Saturday perfectly, The word is "merde de serpent",
"Ackerman is a real coach with brains to get the best out of players"
I love how you overlook Swys.
Mike, Swys was obviously the brains of that duo.
Man that team was good. None of our franchises have even come close to reaching that level. They'd put 40 points on any of the current SA sides. It was a true pleasure watching them operate.
And truly disgusting seeing the Bok side lose to Argentina while the Leeus were thumping the very same side.
I still remember some here saying "The Argies are a different side when they put on the test jersey."
Funny stuff.
Swys oprobem as coach or assustant was nervous stress that had a series impact on hs usage a a coach oe even assistant coach, Erasmus brought im on board in 2018 and had to let him go on he advice of his doctors, He is back as an advisor.
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I'm not very invested but will give it a look. 7-3 Sharks 10th minute.