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Gavin Rich - SuperSport
Johannesburg - There has been some hard talking and self-analysis but there is unlikely to be any panic from a selection viewpoint from the Sharks as they head towards their next Vodacom Super Rugby challenge against the Brumbies at Mr Price Kings Park on Saturday.
The Sharks are bruised and hurting, both physically and mentally, after they were brutally out-muscled by the DHL Stormers in their 32-12 defeat at Newlands last week. While the team as a whole fell well short, inside centre Meyer Bosman in particular took a pounding from the critics for the role he played in two of the tries scored by the Stormers in the first half (Patrick Lambie was the guilty party in the other as he was the man who should have tackled Francois Louw before the off-load that sent in Jaque Fourie).
However, while Bosman has yet to really vindicate the decision to bring him to Durban effectively as a replacement for Andries Strauss, one of the heroes of last year’s Currie Cup who has subsequently moved to Bloemfontein, the Sharks are retaining faith. According to observers at the training session on Tuesday, the Sharks team that ran was not much changed from the one that lost in Cape Town, and Bosman was at inside centre.
If there is going to be a change it is likely to come in the front-row, where the talismanic Bismarck du Plessis is set to start after playing off the bench last week because he was coming back from injury.
Although down in the dumps, the Sharks have not given up hope, though assistant coach Grant Bashford acknowledges that his men are going to have to aim for an almost perfect record from here if they want to pip the Stormers in the battle for top spot in the South African conference.
“We have to move on now. Every week has almost become a must win situation for us because although our log position hasn’t changed (the Sharks are still second in the conference) we have moved further behind the Stormers and blew a great chance to go top and to take control of the race,” said Bashford.
“But the Stormers still have to go on tour and have some tough games coming up, so all is not lost. We could just have been sitting pretty had we won at Newlands.”
Bashford said the Sharks' effort in Cape Town had been a huge disappointment as they had been dominated at the collisions and the breakdowns and this had prevented them from getting into the game.
Sharks head coach John Plumtree was in an angry mood after the game on Saturday but was more sober in his assessment of the way forward when he addressed a press conference in Durban on Tuesday afternoon.
“We were in this position not long ago and responded really well after our successive defeats to the Chiefs, Crusaders and Stormers before rallying to thump the Lions in Durban in the match before the first bye,” said Plumtree.
“Now our goal is to take maximum points off the Brumbies before our second bye. This is not new territory for us. We have lost before, done our introspection and turned it around, and we can do that again. We are hurting from the manner of the defeat to the Stormers and must respond accordingly.”
The Stormers play the Crusaders this coming week before going to Hamilton for their game against the Chiefs so with the Sharks guaranteed the four points for the bye, the next two weeks could still see a turn-around in the conference battle should the Stormers come unstuck against the Crusaders and then start their tour on a poor note.
But the imperative for the Sharks is that they get five log points from the Brumbies game.
Johannesburg - There has been some hard talking and self-analysis but there is unlikely to be any panic from a selection viewpoint from the Sharks as they head towards their next Vodacom Super Rugby challenge against the Brumbies at Mr Price Kings Park on Saturday.
The Sharks are bruised and hurting, both physically and mentally, after they were brutally out-muscled by the DHL Stormers in their 32-12 defeat at Newlands last week. While the team as a whole fell well short, inside centre Meyer Bosman in particular took a pounding from the critics for the role he played in two of the tries scored by the Stormers in the first half (Patrick Lambie was the guilty party in the other as he was the man who should have tackled Francois Louw before the off-load that sent in Jaque Fourie).
However, while Bosman has yet to really vindicate the decision to bring him to Durban effectively as a replacement for Andries Strauss, one of the heroes of last year’s Currie Cup who has subsequently moved to Bloemfontein, the Sharks are retaining faith. According to observers at the training session on Tuesday, the Sharks team that ran was not much changed from the one that lost in Cape Town, and Bosman was at inside centre.
If there is going to be a change it is likely to come in the front-row, where the talismanic Bismarck du Plessis is set to start after playing off the bench last week because he was coming back from injury.
Although down in the dumps, the Sharks have not given up hope, though assistant coach Grant Bashford acknowledges that his men are going to have to aim for an almost perfect record from here if they want to pip the Stormers in the battle for top spot in the South African conference.
“We have to move on now. Every week has almost become a must win situation for us because although our log position hasn’t changed (the Sharks are still second in the conference) we have moved further behind the Stormers and blew a great chance to go top and to take control of the race,” said Bashford.
“But the Stormers still have to go on tour and have some tough games coming up, so all is not lost. We could just have been sitting pretty had we won at Newlands.”
Bashford said the Sharks' effort in Cape Town had been a huge disappointment as they had been dominated at the collisions and the breakdowns and this had prevented them from getting into the game.
Sharks head coach John Plumtree was in an angry mood after the game on Saturday but was more sober in his assessment of the way forward when he addressed a press conference in Durban on Tuesday afternoon.
“We were in this position not long ago and responded really well after our successive defeats to the Chiefs, Crusaders and Stormers before rallying to thump the Lions in Durban in the match before the first bye,” said Plumtree.
“Now our goal is to take maximum points off the Brumbies before our second bye. This is not new territory for us. We have lost before, done our introspection and turned it around, and we can do that again. We are hurting from the manner of the defeat to the Stormers and must respond accordingly.”
The Stormers play the Crusaders this coming week before going to Hamilton for their game against the Chiefs so with the Sharks guaranteed the four points for the bye, the next two weeks could still see a turn-around in the conference battle should the Stormers come unstuck against the Crusaders and then start their tour on a poor note.
But the imperative for the Sharks is that they get five log points from the Brumbies game.
