This was probably one of the most boring games I have watched for years. However, the Sharks surprisingly did end up winning the game.
I said before the game that Francois Steyn would not be missed and that was proven comprehensively tonight. There were three players playing at center tonight - so lets look at the issue of center play:-
* JP Pietersen is way too slow to play either at 13 or at 14. That effort when he had a serious advantage when chasing the ball with an open tryline - and he knocked on the ball - was a typical example of why I have consistently queried his pace and said there is a serious problem with that. Pietersen's tackles are also extremely questionable - he missed two tackles in a row when the Rebels were attacking in the Sharks 22.
* Why did I say that the Sharks would not miss Steyn was clear as daylight today. Steyn has one consistent record - he routinely miss 1 tackle in every 4 attempts. Williams and Esterhuizen together made 18 tackles with only two misses. Based on his performance history Steyn would have missed at least 5 of the tackles. However, what made this even clearer is that try scored by Williams - which in the end was the matchwinner. That try would never have been scored if Steyn was at inside center. First of all he does not have the pace to score a try like that - secondly he would have run straight at the first defender and got tackled losing momentum and destroying the attacking opportunity.
