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Comment: Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Disregard for a moment that they mixed the good with the bad in Melbourne on Friday ... the Sharks have taken a handy little grip for the time being on the South African conference of Super Rugby.
Perhaps they had subconsciously suspected that the fledgling Rebels outfit would be easy-beats, particularly considering the Durban franchise’s own sprightly form leading into the encounter.
It turned out that they were anything but, in a strangely topsy-turvy but up-tempo affair involving four tries apiece: this was an occasion where the Sharks’ hitherto impressive defensive alignment went rather AWOL and will doubtless get a rigorous post mortem from John Plumtree and company.
But otherwise there wasn’t too much else in the way of “death” in the tourists’ ranks, as they showed enough composure and fleet-footedness of their own to not only nick it 34-32 but happily earn a second consecutive full house of five log points.
And that, you might be able to argue with conviction, was the satisfying bottom line as they stretched their win record to four from four and no hiccup yet.
There was a time, let’s not forget, when any South African outfit going abroad in the old Super 14 would be delighted to return with a 50 percent record.
The Sharks are already assured of at least that figure, with a 10-out-of-10 points haul in Australia and two matches still to play in New Zealand – admittedly those shape up as potentially harsher tests of their mettle on the road.
First up will be the Chiefs, losing finalists in 2009, in Hamilton next Friday before the ominously awakening Crusaders lie in wait in Nelson a week later.
Yet victory in just one of those games would represent a very productive Antipodean adventure by the Sharks, and leave them in an excellent position -- even if there is plenty of activity left -- to top the South African table.
At the time of writing, the Stormers remained unbeaten after two less-than-convincing home wins over the Lions and Cheetahs, without bonus points, but they are also the first opponents the Sharks will face when they return to South Africa – and it is in Durban.
The Bulls, remember, have already unexpectedly surrendered a home match in early-season, so the other SA sides may have to play catch-up for a good while if they are to overhaul the Sharks.
And getting the overseas tour out of the way as swiftly as possible, with a healthy return, can be a nice little psychological tool.
For the record, when the Stormers travel to Australasia their opponents, in order, will be the Chiefs, Blues, Brumbies and Rebels, whilst the defending champion Bulls’ overseas leg involves the Hurricanes, Crusaders, Reds and Force.
The Sharks’ deficiencies in Melbourne included not only their first-time tackling but also their set-pieces – especially the scrums, which was a wee surprise.
But the pluses included Patrick Lambie’s deadeye place-kicking and another irresistible showing as a forward unit in the tight-loose, where big Willem Alberts again made storming yardage and hooker Bismarck du Plessis retained his blistering 2011 form.
But look at the league table for the best indication of their overall health, eh?
Cape Town – Disregard for a moment that they mixed the good with the bad in Melbourne on Friday ... the Sharks have taken a handy little grip for the time being on the South African conference of Super Rugby.
Perhaps they had subconsciously suspected that the fledgling Rebels outfit would be easy-beats, particularly considering the Durban franchise’s own sprightly form leading into the encounter.
It turned out that they were anything but, in a strangely topsy-turvy but up-tempo affair involving four tries apiece: this was an occasion where the Sharks’ hitherto impressive defensive alignment went rather AWOL and will doubtless get a rigorous post mortem from John Plumtree and company.
But otherwise there wasn’t too much else in the way of “death” in the tourists’ ranks, as they showed enough composure and fleet-footedness of their own to not only nick it 34-32 but happily earn a second consecutive full house of five log points.
And that, you might be able to argue with conviction, was the satisfying bottom line as they stretched their win record to four from four and no hiccup yet.
There was a time, let’s not forget, when any South African outfit going abroad in the old Super 14 would be delighted to return with a 50 percent record.
The Sharks are already assured of at least that figure, with a 10-out-of-10 points haul in Australia and two matches still to play in New Zealand – admittedly those shape up as potentially harsher tests of their mettle on the road.
First up will be the Chiefs, losing finalists in 2009, in Hamilton next Friday before the ominously awakening Crusaders lie in wait in Nelson a week later.
Yet victory in just one of those games would represent a very productive Antipodean adventure by the Sharks, and leave them in an excellent position -- even if there is plenty of activity left -- to top the South African table.
At the time of writing, the Stormers remained unbeaten after two less-than-convincing home wins over the Lions and Cheetahs, without bonus points, but they are also the first opponents the Sharks will face when they return to South Africa – and it is in Durban.
The Bulls, remember, have already unexpectedly surrendered a home match in early-season, so the other SA sides may have to play catch-up for a good while if they are to overhaul the Sharks.
And getting the overseas tour out of the way as swiftly as possible, with a healthy return, can be a nice little psychological tool.
For the record, when the Stormers travel to Australasia their opponents, in order, will be the Chiefs, Blues, Brumbies and Rebels, whilst the defending champion Bulls’ overseas leg involves the Hurricanes, Crusaders, Reds and Force.
The Sharks’ deficiencies in Melbourne included not only their first-time tackling but also their set-pieces – especially the scrums, which was a wee surprise.
But the pluses included Patrick Lambie’s deadeye place-kicking and another irresistible showing as a forward unit in the tight-loose, where big Willem Alberts again made storming yardage and hooker Bismarck du Plessis retained his blistering 2011 form.
But look at the league table for the best indication of their overall health, eh?
