When topping the log might be meaningless

It says something about both how close the South African conference and how poor it is that the Cell C Sharks look likely to be the leaders again come Friday evening.

Okay, so that’s only because the Vodacom Bulls are taking a bye this week, and so are the Jaguares. Whatever the Sharks end up with after their game against the Reds on Saturday, the Bulls will still be within touching distance, and will have a game in hand.

That the game in hand is in Cape Town next week against the DHL Stormers, a venue where the Bulls haven't won in a while, won't be helpful to the Sharks if they think of what is next for them - a trip to Australasia that features matches against the Waratahs, Crusaders and Chiefs.

A lot depends for the Sharks on how they respond to the humiliation they suffered against the Jaguares, as well as the fall-out.

The Durban rugby media tends to be more sanguine than the rugby media in other centres, and has been known to turn the odd blind eye to Sharks failings, but it does appear that this past week was the tipping point for both those Durbanites who write about the game professionally and those who do it on social media.

The inconsistency of the Sharks performances is no longer just being written off as one of those things that happen, an oddity that no-one can understand, and the calls for coach Robert du Preez to take a hard look in the mirror in doing his assessments are not just coming from one source.

Can you be both a father and a coach? Many thought that it was a difficult mix even when Du Preez had just two of his sons, the loose-forward twins Jean-Luc and Dan, playing for him. But when he recruited Robert junior back from Western Province to come and play flyhalf for him there were concerns expressed.

Robert junior will go into the Reds game at King's Park under massive pressure to deliver his best performance after all the scrutiny that has been sparked by Curwin Bosch's excellent performances upon returning to the starting side at fullback.

He should deliver at home against the Reds, who were woeful against the Bulls in Pretoria last week. But if the Sharks blow the Reds away and Du Preez junior plays well, what will it prove?

The individual performance might be meaningful from a confidence viewpoint, and that appears to be the reason he has been retained, but from a team viewpoint this movie has been seen so many times now that it is impossible to not ask another question: How meaningful will a Sharks win be?

Given their Jekyll and Hyde performance personality, we'd only be able to answer that question after they'd played a few more games.

No-one denies the Sharks are capable of blowing anyone away on their day. The problem is they don't appear switched onto that task often enough.

It is in their nature to respond to humiliation with a big performance, and the smart money suggests they will do so again on Friday.

But after this, starting with next week in Sydney, they are on the road. That is when they will need to show they have left the emotional spikes that tend to drive their performance behind them and become more consistent.

The Sharks should win. They will go top of the conference. They will still have it all to do though in terms of trying to get their supporters to believe in them again.

MAKE HOME GROUND ADVANTAGE COUNT

Talking of believing in a team again, that appears to be happening in the Cape, where the Stormers have won back many of their supporters with their committed and brave win in Melbourne.

There hasn't been the same question mark over the Stormers - the one focused on whether the camp is united and harmonious and completely behind the coach - as there has been over the Sharks, but they did desperately need the AAMI Stadium win over the Rebels to keep the wolves from their coach's door.

Now the objective must surely be to make the home ground advantage they will enjoy for most of the remainder of the season count for something.

You'd expect them to beat the Brumbies, but then as coach Robbie Fleck put it, this year’s competition has delivered some freaky results. If the Brumbies were to win in Cape Town, it wouldn't be the freakiest thing ever.

A year ago you wouldn't have said so, but a freaky result is probably what is required now in Hamilton if South Africans are to start regaining proper confidence in their Super Rugby challenge.

From memory, it was against the Chiefs that the Lions made their first big statement of the current era in New Zealand, and they need to do it again, for if they don't, and they travel to Crusaders next week having lost two overseas, then their season could be close to over.

WEEKEND PREVIEWS AND PREDICTIONS

SOUTH AFRICAN CONFERENCE

CHIEFS v EMIRATES LIONS (Hamilton, Friday 9:35am)

Warren Whiteley is back to lead and he could make a big difference to the Lions, as could the return of Kwagga Smith. The caveat of course is that both have been out for some time, so might be rusty, while coach Swys de Bruin has made some interesting changes elsewhere.

The Lions didn't do enough against the Brumbies in Canberra last week to erase the memory of the unexpected magnitude of their reverse to the Sharks in Johannesburg. They'll have to be very good to manage to do that in Hamilton.

Prediction: Chiefs by 12

CELL C SHARKS v REDS (Durban, Friday 3:05pm)

There might have been some raised eyebrows at Robert du Preez's decision to select Kobus van Wyk at outside centre. Of course, Van Wyk has played most of his senior rugby on the wing.

However, the concern at Van Wyk wearing the No 13 wouldn't be shared by those who remember how well he did with that number on his back for the Junior Springboks when they last won the World Junior tournament in Cape Town in 2012.

He was retreaded to wing by the Stormers, but Robbie Fleck, when he was the Stormers backline coach, always spoke of wanting to see him back in his best position at some point.

When the then coach Gary Gold (actually, he was director of rugby), first met with Van Wyk to discuss a move up the coast a few years back, the understanding was that he would double as a centre. He could surprise in that position on Friday.

With Beast, Coenie Oosthuizen and Jacques Vermeulen back, and the Reds not exactly the most frightening opposition to visit King's Park this autumn, the Sharks should win easily.

Prediction: Cell C Sharks by 18

DHL STORMERS v BRUMBIES (Cape Town, Saturday 3:05pm)

A first glance at the Stormers team chosen for this game might elicit a double take - there are still star players missing.

But coach Robbie Fleck did owe the side that played well last week another go, and Fleck will probably lean more heavily on the experienced players, if they come back into the selection mix, for next week's eagerly awaited return derby against the Vodacom Bulls.

The pressure is on the Stormers in the sense that they can't afford to lose at home and do have some ground to make up.

They also have tougher games ahead of them. But if they play half as well as they did against the Rebels their shouldn't be any problems, particularly with David Pocock missing from the opposition team.

Prediction: Stormers by 13

AUSTRALASIAN CONFERENCE

SUNWOLVES v HURRICANES (Tokyo, Friday 12pm)

Prediction: Hurricanes by 10

HIGHLANDERS v BLUES (Dunedin, Saturday 9:35am)

Prediction: Highlanders by 5

WARATAHS v REBELS (Sydney, Saturday 11:45am)

Prediction: Rebels by 5