Sharks dare not wave White flag

BURLY loose-forward Fotu Auelua, who flourished under Jake White’s short but influential stay at the Brumbies, is back to haunt his old mentor.

The Samoan, who is the only change from the Brumbies’ 40-20 drubbing against the Crusaders last week, will make his first start of the season when the Sharks visit Canberra tomorrow morning.

In last year’s 29-10 humbling of the Sharks in Durban, Auelua’s acute deftness with ball in hand, which belied his 120kg frame, caused defensive havoc, creating two of the four first-half Brumbies’ tries.

Former Sharks and now Eastern Province Kings lock Steven Sykes said Auelua’s influence can be easily countered if the Sharks rock up with the required physicality and isolate the strong ball-carrier.

“You can pick any player to do the job against any team but if he is not there mentally on matchday then that’s it. In Durban last year, it was his day and the Sharks did not handle him very well,” he said.

“In Canberra last year when we drew, we assigned Cornell du Preez to take care of him and he dominated Auelua in the first 10 minutes. After that he did not look like he wanted to carry the ball up again. The Sharks will have to chop him and not tackle him high.”

Canberra, which Sykes compared to Bloemfontein because of its freezing night-time mercury and thin air, has not been a happy hunting ground for South African teams, especially for the Sharks, who have only won twice there since 1996. Sykes, who lost twice with the Sharks before surprising the home side with a sprightly 29-26 win two years ago, their first since the 41-23 triumph in 1998, said the Sharks needed to play the full 80 minutes before entertaining thoughts of a win.

“When the Sharks finally won there, we just did well on the day and did not do anything differently. The occasions when we lost there, it was a case of us losing concentration at crucial times. In one game we had a comfortable half- time lead and we let it slip,” said Sykes.

“If you can’t concentrate for 80-plus minutes in Super Rugby then you are in deep trouble, even if you are 20 or more points up. It will be a case of the Sharks maintaining their intensity throughout the game and making sure they don’t give the Brumbies a look in.”

Is White, who took the Brumbies from the bottom to finalists in the space of two seasons, set for a hostile reception at one of Australia’s smaller but more vibrant grounds?

Not according to Sykes. The Marlow Agricultural High School product said the Canberra folk will always be grateful to the 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning coach for the impact he had on Australia’s most successful Super Rugby franchise.

“They are grateful for what he did for them in his time there and their excellence last year. They could give him nonsense for ditching them like he did, but I don’t think Jake will worry about that much,” said Sykes.

“It’s not every day that you get a World Cup-winning coach to help salvage your team but Jake’s knowledge of the Brumbies should work for the Sharks. He knows what makes them tick as he was with them for three years. It’s a massive advantage that the Sharks have.”