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Sharks must avoid Cup becoming Poisoned Chalice

rugby14 February 2019 07:43| © Cycle Lab
By:JJ Harmse
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SÕbusiso Nkosi © Gallo Images
Winning the Currie Cup last year was a welcome boost for the Cell C Sharks and will hopefully sweep away some of the apathy towards a trip to Jonnson Kings Park for the Durban faithful.

Top level sport in Kwa-Zulu/Natal has been in the doldrums a bit of late when it comes to crowds coming to watch, with the first day of the cricket test being played currently at Kingsmead being a stark reminder of this phenomenon. There is one thing that can be done to turn the trend around, however, and that is to create an atmosphere around the team by picking up momentum playing an exciting, vibrant style of rugby.

It is tempting to use the word “winning” in place of exciting and vibrant, but of course that goes without saying. Ever since the 1990s, when Natal first turned the corner from their former Cinderella status to become a top player on the local rugby firmament, rule No 1 at their home ground is not just that you win, but that you win in style.

It’s been a while since that has happened, certainly on a consistent basis. The Sharks did top the South African conference when Jake White coached them in 2014, but the loss of Patrick Lambie early in that campaign robbed White of the material to employ an all-embracing game. The Sharks won a lot that year, but the playing style employed - strangulation built around the kicking game and defence - didn’t create a vibe at Kings Park.

Had the Sharks won Super Rugby for the first time, the end might have justified the means, but they fell short and the season as a whole was seen as a failure.

REINVIGORATING INTEREST

After not having their name inscribed on the famous gold trophy since 2013, the Sharks would have reinvigorated the interest of Durbanites with their brave win over the heavily favoured Western Province team in last year’s Currie Cup final at Newlands. It is incumbent on skipper Louis Schreuder and his charges though to insure that they make that win count by picking up early momentum in the far tougher Super Rugby competition.

Of course, recognising the huge chasm between Super Rugby and Currie Cup would be the first necessary step for the Sharks. The league phase of the last domestic season comprised just seven matches. International call-ups and the Cheetahs’ participation in the GuinnessPRO14 meant that there were only really two unions that had the depth to compete for the trophy, so it was always going to come down to a final between the Sharks and WP, and it would depend who was better on the day.

Super Rugby is different. There are 15 league matches, all the teams are strong and the Sharks know only too well from past experience that even the weakest of those sides can upset you if you have a bad day. It’s a long and arduous competition, the attrition rate will inevitably come into it and test their depth and level of experience in the back-up players. Just making it to the play-off phase, as they have done in the past few seasons, will be an achievement in itself.

THE POISONED CHALICE

It may seem all this is stating the obvious, but the trend is for the Currie Cup trophy to be a Poisoned Chalice for teams competing in the following year’s Super Rugby. It is a trend that goes way back, and even in New Zealand, in all the years of Super Rugby dominance by the Crusaders, it was rare for Canterbury, the main feeder union to the Christchurch based franchise, to win what was then the NPC.

In the South African context there have been some particularly stark lessons. The year after they won the Currie Cup for the first time in several seasons, 2012, WP bombed spectacularly when they donned the Stormers kit for Super Rugby. After being feted as a Currie Cup winning coach just months before, Allister Coetzee found himself under pressure, and effectively was demoted when his bosses brought in Gert Smal as the WP director of rugby.

Coetzee’s experience was far from unique, although there is a separation between the coaching teams at some unions, which is why it was Robbie Fleck who was under pressure when the Stormers finished 11th last year following on from a Currie Cup success under John Dobson in 2017.

The big exception to the rule that teams struggle after Currie Cup success was the Lions, who built on the momentum of their Currie Cup title in 2015 when they made it all the way to the Super Rugby final in 2016. But there was a unique set of circumstances working for the Lions back then, the main one being that the national coach of the time was ignoring Lions players, and the trend of Super Rugby success and Currie Cup success not synchronising has been re-established by the Lions subsequently. Since 2016 they have played in three Super Rugby finals, they haven’t played in a Currie Cup decider in that time.

THE YOUTH PIPELINE OFFERING HOPE

Unlike in some previous seasons, the Sharks haven’t made many additions to the playing group heading into the new season. At least not from outside the province. But the Currie Cup was not the only success story for the Sharks as a union last year, and the improved form of the age-group teams has set up a succession planning approach that could work for them.

Several young players who were playing age-group level last year were tried in the pre-season, and the rate at which some of them develop could have a telling impact on how the Sharks fare in Super Rugby.

Certainly at full-strength, and that means when all the Du Preez brothers are present, the Sharks have a team that can compete with anyone on its day. The first choice Sharks team should see the irrepressible Akker van der Merwe flanked by two fellow Springboks Thomas du Toit and Coenie Oosthuizen, who is back from injury, in the front-row. There isn’t great depth at lock, and the Sharks might end up regretting the loss of Stephan Lewies to the Lions, but last year’s captain Ruan Botha is an underrated lock, while the Sharks have a large well of talent available to them in the back row - certainly once Jean-Luc du Preez has recovered from injury.

New skipper Louis Schreuder - he captained the Sharks in the Currie Cup but he is a new leader at Super Rugby level - is a capable scrumhalf who is on Rassie Erasmus’ radar, while Robert du Preez and Curwin Bosch can both do the business at flyhalf. Andre Esterhuizen and Lukhanyo Am were both capped at Springbok level last year, so there is nothing wrong with the midfield, particularly if you factor in Marius Louw and Jeremy Ward.

LOTS OF PACE AND EXPLOSIVENESS OUT WIDE

What is particularly exciting for the Sharks is the depth of pace and skill they have available out wide and at fullback - newcomer Aphelele Fassi enjoyed an explosive introduction to top rugby in the Currie Cup, Sbu Nkosi is now a Springbok and a good one, veteran Lwazi Mvovo still has his old Mojo, Makazole Mapimpi is one of the quickest wings on the circuit and alert to any half opportunity, and then there is also former WP Leolin Zas. When Zas was released by his former union the thought was that the injury he suffered in a Stormers warm-up game at the start of 2017 would rob him of his pace, but that was not evident in his cameo appearances for the Sharks as a replacement in the Currie Cup.

Ultimately though it is the forwards and to an extent the halfback combinations that ensure competition success, and a glance at their personnel would suggest they can’t afford too many injuries if they want to sustain any kind of challenge.

What will be particularly interesting to watch out for is the impact of new attack coach Dave Williams, who has arrived in Durban after building his reputation in that role working with Deon Davids at the Southern Kings in 2017. That was the year that the Kings shocked friends and foe with their attacking game. If the Sharks can bleed some of that into their DNA, they will have gone some way towards getting the Kings Park faithful back into the seats that have been too long empty.

THE YEAR OF NO EXCUSES

This year is the culmination of coach Robert du Preez’s three year plan, so it is the year of no excuses. Time will tell whether the learning experience of the past few years, and the experience of winning a major final, will culminate in the Sharks returning to where they were as major challengers in the competition under the coaching of John Plumtree.

Those who have followed them in recent seasons should be unanimous with their verdict of what the Sharks need to get right in order to do that - they need to lose their habit of being inconsistent. Too often in the past, just like Liverpool used to be in the Premier League, they were prone to slipping up against the smaller teams.

The Sharks were excellent against New Zealand opposition last year. If they can carry that form into the games against other teams, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be up with the front-runners. But that is a big if, which is why money says they will finish where they did last season - middle of the table on the overall log and an away quarterfinal.

CELL C SHARKS' 2019 SUPER RUGBY FIXTURE LIST

16 February: Sunwolves (away)
23 Feburary: Blues (home)
2 March: DHL Stormers (home)
9 March: Vodacom Bulls (away)
23 March: Rebels (home)
30 March: Vodacom Bulls (home)
5 April: Emirates Lions (away)
13 April: Jaguares (home)
19 April: Reds (home)
27 April: Waratahs (away)
3 May: Crusaders (away)
11 May: Chiefs (away)
25 May: Emirates Lions (home)
1 June: Hurricanes (home)
8 June: Jaguares (away)
15 June: Stormers (away)

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