An OK performance - first two tries were very lucky and we owe that win to some much improved defence and some luck on our part. However after last week's game we seemed to come out in
complete defensive mode in the first half. That's not how you win a game, let alone the S14. Come on boys - you have the talent to walk out with winning confidence on every occasion.
I must admit though, not sure what game Bryce Lawrence was watching but that really was some pathetic refereeing. I haven't sworn that much at a tv since Andre Watson cost us the Currie Cup in the mid 90s (can't remember the year
) His performance was abysmal and it is further reason why there needs to be a referee citing commission. It can only serve to improve the level of refereeing across the globe. Much the same way as players are now wary of playing dirty or recklessly, the refs should be held to the same level of accountability considering the influence they can have over the outcome of a game. Some of his calls were just bizarre, to put it nicely.
A few issues I picked up on though:
Why is Steyn not the preferred touch finder? As much respect as I have for Terblanche, Steyn has a much bigger boot and is still a consistent touch finder when the situation calls for it.
We play the best rugby when we're securing the ball at the breakdown, and we are not doing so very well at all this season. The turnovers against us were unacceptable at the level expected of The Sharks.
If we were able to secure the ball at the breakdown better, we'd be able to draw more defenders in to the ruck situation which opens up the space for the backline, who today proved themselves to be the fastest in S14 imo. Holy schmoley - Ndungane and Pietersen left the Force's defence in tatters with the first two tries.
Once and for all now, either play John at prop or hooker and make your minds up. We have a supreme hooker in the form of Bismarck and we know that the tight forward trio of John, Bimarck and Beast is a formidable one. We then have sufficient backup in Carstens and Du Plessis for when the boys get tired in the second half or for injuries. I don't see why they need to swap and change all the time.
Lastly, Stefan Terblanche must be most wanted fullback in SA at the moment. He is consistently efficient at every thing he does and some of his defensive tackles helped save us that game. As much as the scoreline reflects a fairly easy win (considering their try was a late second half one), we could very easily have found ourselves on the back foot again, chasing points and making errors in the process. Stefan was our saving grace on many an occasion when first time tackles weren't made and we need to tighten up that aspect of our game.
All in all though, they are issues that we all know The Sharks are capable of rectifying very easily and we haven't even begun to fire on all cylinders. When that moment comes, we will be unstoppable and I reckon the first game back home will see the start of a new invincible kind of form. Overall I reckon the trip down under can be considered a success and we have now built the platform to make 2009 a black and white season!!!
