THE Sharks have an opportunity to emulate the Stormers’ feat of three wins on an Australasian tour in the conference era should they topple the unpredictable Blues in Albany today.
Whether the Sharks win or not, their tour will be remembered as the most significant one because of their slaying of the Crusaders last week. That has now been consigned to the history pages and a new challenge awaits them.
Victory will put further daylight between them and the chasing pack even though the Brumbies and Chiefs, the respective Australian and New Zealand conference leaders, will be action later today and tomorrow.
Until 2011, two South African teams were required to play five tour games every alternate year. Winning two was often viewed as an excellent achievement and anything else was considered as a bonus.
In their 2007 championship winning campaign the Bulls won three from five, laying the platform for the late season charge that saw them upstage the Sharks at King’s Park. The Stormers used their tour wins as a launch-pad for their successive playoff charges and the Sharks should do the same.
The Sharks have generally travelled well but their record has been magnified by other South African side’s inability to win in Australasia this term.
Tactical naivety, inexplicable selections and home-town officiating have been at the heart of those performances, but the Sharks did not do anything different against the Crusaders.
As they did against the Brumbies, they kicked the majority of their possession away but did so smartly to nullify the Crusaders’ counter-attack.
During their South African tour, the Blues’ weak kicking game was exposed by the Lions and the Bulls. Their running game, based on equally wayward tactical kicking, was on full display and they went back with two losses from two.
Their back three may be explosive but if the creative genius of Ma’a Nonu is shackled, they will be redundant.
Sibusiso Sithole and Paul Jordaan may not be the most experienced midfield pairing but have proved to be defensively solid. The Sharks are a far better unit than the Bulls and the Lions combined and it will be question of whether the Blues can stand up to the physicality of the Sharks.
The Highlanders and the Brumbies proved the Sharks have no answer, like most South African teams, when their physical threat is blunted.
On paper, they have picked a unit that is capable of dealing with the Durbanites but as the Sharks proved last week, reputations count for nothing if not backed up with deeds.
It applies with the history between the sides, as the Blues have not beaten the Sharks since their 36-13 win at Eden Park in 2005. The Sharks’ last visit to Albany in 2007 was a 32-25 win and they carry four survivors from that game in Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira, Jacques Botes and JP Pietersen.
But the Blues are unbeaten at home and have played their best rugby in the comforts of their homeground. Like the Sharks, they have also toppled the Crusaders this season.
Sharks look to end Australasia tour on a high
Whether the Sharks win or not, their tour will be remembered as the most significant one because of their slaying of the Crusaders last week. That has now been consigned to the history pages and a new challenge awaits them.
Victory will put further daylight between them and the chasing pack even though the Brumbies and Chiefs, the respective Australian and New Zealand conference leaders, will be action later today and tomorrow.
Until 2011, two South African teams were required to play five tour games every alternate year. Winning two was often viewed as an excellent achievement and anything else was considered as a bonus.
In their 2007 championship winning campaign the Bulls won three from five, laying the platform for the late season charge that saw them upstage the Sharks at King’s Park. The Stormers used their tour wins as a launch-pad for their successive playoff charges and the Sharks should do the same.
The Sharks have generally travelled well but their record has been magnified by other South African side’s inability to win in Australasia this term.
Tactical naivety, inexplicable selections and home-town officiating have been at the heart of those performances, but the Sharks did not do anything different against the Crusaders.
As they did against the Brumbies, they kicked the majority of their possession away but did so smartly to nullify the Crusaders’ counter-attack.
During their South African tour, the Blues’ weak kicking game was exposed by the Lions and the Bulls. Their running game, based on equally wayward tactical kicking, was on full display and they went back with two losses from two.
Their back three may be explosive but if the creative genius of Ma’a Nonu is shackled, they will be redundant.
Sibusiso Sithole and Paul Jordaan may not be the most experienced midfield pairing but have proved to be defensively solid. The Sharks are a far better unit than the Bulls and the Lions combined and it will be question of whether the Blues can stand up to the physicality of the Sharks.
The Highlanders and the Brumbies proved the Sharks have no answer, like most South African teams, when their physical threat is blunted.
On paper, they have picked a unit that is capable of dealing with the Durbanites but as the Sharks proved last week, reputations count for nothing if not backed up with deeds.
It applies with the history between the sides, as the Blues have not beaten the Sharks since their 36-13 win at Eden Park in 2005. The Sharks’ last visit to Albany in 2007 was a 32-25 win and they carry four survivors from that game in Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira, Jacques Botes and JP Pietersen.
But the Blues are unbeaten at home and have played their best rugby in the comforts of their homeground. Like the Sharks, they have also toppled the Crusaders this season.
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