Individual brilliance v team ethos
by Ken Borland 26 October 2011, 19:05
Come Saturday night, either the individual brilliance of the Sharks' seven current Springboks or the hard-working, team ethos of the Lions will have prevailed in the Absa Currie Cup final at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg.
The MTN Golden Lions will be the romantic choice of all neutrals to win and thus end the dark years that the Gauteng union has stumbled through - 12 of them since their last Currie Cup title.
There are just two current Springboks - loosehead prop CJ van der Linde and replacement back Butch James - in the Lions squad, but coach John Mitchell's emphasis on team cohesion and unity has proven inspirational and the side topped the Currie Cup log before comfortably disposing with a Springbok-laden Western Province side in the semifinals.
Mitchell has full faith in his no-name-brand team, and especially a pack that a year ago would have been considered journeyman.
“I’m constantly vigilant against individuality, I guess it’s my strength as a coach and a key part of my philosophy,” he said. “The Sharks may have a lot of Springboks in their side, but national jumpers don't matter in the final, they're playing in different jerseys.”
The Sharks have four members of the Springbok World Cup squad in their pack and that is where their strength undoubtedly lies. Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis and Willem Alberts had barely landed back in South Africa when they came off the bench to complete the Sharks' crushing 53-9 victory over the Lions two weeks ago in Durban. The Lions will start with a stronger pack on Saturday, while the Sharks will also have The Beast - Tendai Mtawarira - back in harness.
Much of the Lions' success this season has been down to their accuracy, physicality and cohesion at the breakdown, where the likes of Wikus van Heerden, Franco van der Merwe, Derick Minnie and Joshua Strauss have been outstanding. But if the Sharks dominate the Lions up front, especially in the set-pieces and in the collisions, then there won't be too much roving around the field for their loose trio, in which Michael Rhodes has also impressed.
Scrums and lineouts - as ever in finals - will be absolutely crucial then, and it is the scrums that will be particularly interesting.
The Sharks have an all-Springbok front row in the Du Plessis brothers and Mtawarira, with strong men on the bench in Craig Burden and Eugene van Staden. The Lions have a capable front row in Pat Cilliers, Bandise Maku and Van der Linde, and the battle between the two experienced old bulls, Van der Linde and Jannie du Plessis, will be mouthwatering.
“The advantage line will be pretty important both on attack and defence. So the accuracy at the set-piece is very critical, a team has the ability to create pressure there. It starts with the tight five, we need to feed off their platform,” Mitchell said.
SQUEAKY-BUM TIME
When Freddie Michalak initially returned to the Sharks at the end of May - having helped steer them to the 2008 Currie Cup title - it was as scrumhalf cover in an injury-hit Super Rugby campaign. But the experienced Frenchman has since made his mark at flyhalf - making the kicks that mattered (he is the leading scorer in this year's competition) and generally adding some verve toa backline that has otherwise often looked hesitant.
The 29-year-old Michalak has 50 test caps and Sharks coach John Plumtree knows that went squeaky-bum time arrives in the final, he is going to look to his flyhalf to take control. But he needs a solid platform from his forwards in order to do that.
“Freddie’s been great. He’s been a match-winner for the whole year really. He’s had one or two games when he hasn’t been at his best but at times he didn’t play behind the strongest forward pack that the Sharks have ever put out.
“If we can provide a good platform for him on the weekend, then he has all the range of skills that are needed and he’s been around for a while, so that experience will certainly help,” Plumtree said.
Michalak's clash with the precocious Elton Jantjies - both are nominees for the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Player of the Year - will be a fascinating contest between youth and experience, but it is a relative nobody on the inside of Jantjies who could also have a massive bearing on the final.
Alwyn Hollenbach came to the Lions two years ago having played bit parts for the Cheetahs and Griquas. This year, the 26-year-old defensive dynamo has become an integral part of the Lions' success, conquering a series of opponents in the number 12 jersey, most notably Jean de Villiers last weekend.
His opposite number on Saturday could be former Springbok Marius Joubert, who is attempting a comeback but will arrive in Johannesburg carrying an injury niggle and little confidence. The Sharks backline has operated in fits and starts this season and they could run aground on Hollenbach rock on Saturday.
For the defending champion Sharks, the critical factor will be whether they can play with some sort of cohesion and unity, given that half their team has been away for six weeks. They will be hoping for a repeat of the second half of their semifinal against the Cheetahs, when they overturned a 13-point deficit to win 20-13.
“When we won the trophy last year, we were lucky enough to have the same team take us through the Currie Cup right to the end. It was a really cohesive unit that we had last year," Plumtree said this week.
“This year we always had one eye on the Springboks coming back. They’ve all had great attitudes, they want to retain this trophy, they are totally committed.
“Last week we didn’t gel right from the start, but we saw a change, particularly after half-time. What we saw after half-time will happen from the first minute in the final and that’s what’s important.
“John Mitchell hasn’t had those sort of challenges. The challenge for us is that we have got to gel as a team right from the first whistle. That’s something that we’ve talked about. The Lions have been playing well with that group all year,” Plumtree admitted.
Outmuscling them up front and matching them at the breakdowns - Keegan Daniel and Bismarck du Plessis are crucial in this regard - will be the Sharks' best way of disrupting the Lions' tight-knit game plan. With the dual human battering rams of Alberts and Jean Deysel also available to provide front-foot ball, the Sharks have the individual match-winners to settle the contest.
Pat Lambie was the hero of last year's final, there is the dangerous running of eighthman Ryan Kankowski, and the finishing prowess of JP Pietersen, Odwa Ndungane and Lwazi Mvovo.
On paper, the Lions are the underdogs, but that's just the way they like it.
TEAMS
Lions - 15-Jaco Taute, 14-Deon van Rensburg, 13-Doppies la Grange, 12-Alwyn Hollenbach, 11-Michael Killian, 10-Elton Jantjies, 9-Michael Bondesio, 8-Joshua Strauss, 7-Michael Rhodes, 6-Derick Minnie, 5-Franco van der Merwe, 4-Wikus van Heerden, 3-Pat Cilliers, 2-Bandise Maku, 1-CJ van der Linde.
Reserves: 16-Martin Bezuidenhout, 17-Jacobie Adriaanse/JC Janse van Rensburg, 18-Warren Whiteley, 19-Cobus Grobbelaar, 20-Butch James, 21-Dyan des Fountain, 22-James Kamana.
Sharks (probable - to be announced Thursday) - 15-Pat Lambie, 14-Odwa Ndungane, 13-Stefan Terblanche, 12-Marius Joubert, 11-JP Pietersen, 10-Freddie Michalak, 9-Conrad Hoffmann, 8-Ryan Kankowski, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Keegan Daniel, 5-Ross Skeate, 4-Jean Deysel, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Bismarck du Plessis, 1-Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16-Craig Burden, 17-Eugene van Staden, 18-Marcel Coetzee, 19-Jacques Botes, 20-Ross Cronje, 21-Adrian Jacobs, 22-Lwazi Mvovo.