One win could turn it

Before the Bulls began their inexorable rise to the top of southern hemisphere regional rugby, it was the Sharks who were recognised as the most consistent and respected South African challenger in Super rugby.

So it is unsurprising that it is not just South Africans who are asking “What has happened to the Sharks?”

There are some Durbanites who are still daring to dream. But after five defeats in five Super 14 starts, most have probably now accepted the reality that while one day the Sharks might shake off the memory of 2007, when they had the competition wrapped up before giving it away to Bryan Habana, it won’t happen in 2010.

Not that even the most optimistic Sharks fan should have anticipated this would be their year. There hasn’t been as much change in 2010 as there was in 2000 and 2002, when the Sharks also struggled as they are now. But if you look at the players who have been lost to the province since 2007 – Brad Barritt, Frans Steyn, Bob Skinstad, Johann Ackermann, Percy Montgomery, AJ Venter, Butch James – the void left by the loss of experience and talent should be obvious.

Losing James to Bath was a massive setback. Although Frederic Michalak and Juan Hernandez have played out of Durban since James’ departure, neither of them were long term solutions at pivot. And while Ruan Pienaar would appear an obvious salve to the wound, his obvious antipathy towards flyhalf only serves to further complicate the issue for the Sharks.

Complicated is a good word to describe some of the arrangements at the Sharks. The Sharks have denied reports of a rift in the camp, but it is hard to imagine the players involved in the selection musical chairs being enacted in the front-row to accommodate John Smit and at the same time satisfy the ambitions of the Du Plessis brothers would be doing cartwheels of joy.

But regardless of the veracity or otherwise of these reports, it maybe needs to be recognised that this was probably always going to be a year where there would be a blip. There just isn’t the backline depth there used to be, the outflow of players has not matched the inflow. The confusion over flyhalf has certainly not been helped by the loss of two class inside centres in Steyn and Barritt.

It might also be that the Sharks are paying now for an over-reaction to their failure last year to make the semi-finals. At the time they felt they had fallen short because they never picked up enough four try bonus points.

This saw them change their game in the Currie Cup season to one that was less rigid about where it was okay to “have a go” from. The Sharks went to the top of the log with their less conservative approach, but they floundered when the Springboks returned from the Tri-Nations.

In recent matches it appears the Sharks have made the decision to go back to their old style. They seem to be returning to the basics, and they were not far away from winning both their last two games.

Indeed, they would have turned the corner against the Waratahs in Sydney were it not for the refereeing mistakes that cost Paul Marks his place on the panel. The Sharks have been unlucky with referees as they also had reason to complain about the officiating in the opening match against the Chiefs, which they lost on the full-time hooter.

It will not help the Sharks though if they just blamed the referees. There is much truth in that old saying you make your own luck and the Sharks have been making a noose for themselves with their high error-rate.

Kicks that go out on the full and passes that either don’t go to hand or are spilled are symptomatic of a team that lacks confidence. And therein might lie the rub for the Sharks – confidence.

It is true that the mistakes being made are ones you might expect from a team at odds with itself. But they are also the mistakes you expect from a team that lacks confidence.

And if the Sharks do lack confidence, there is good reason for it – their losing sequence doesn’t just extend now over five games, but over eight. You need to factor in the two pre-season friendlies, which were both played as full matches, and the Currie Cup semi-final defeat to the Cheetahs.

That equates to a losing habit, and it goes a long way to explaining the jitters and mistakes. It is what happens when you have forgotten how to win. There is though a silver-lining, for if confidence is the problem, then regardless of the root cause of the current malaise, the solution could be a simple one – they just need a win, any win.

It is amazing how quickly the negativity can be swept away by one confidence boosting win. Coach John Plumtree and his management probably know it, which is why regardless of their parlous position on the log, they will be hunting a win in their next match as if the trophy was at stake and it was a final.