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Articles: Sharks join semifinal hunt

Posted by admin on Monday, April 03, 2006 - 07:58 AM

THE Sharks added their name to SA’s list of Super 14 semifinal hopefuls on Saturday by beating the Reds 36-28 in Durban. A bonus point reduced the points difference between them and the top seven teams on the log significantly.
Zeena Isaacs

There is no doubt that it will be tough for any of SA’s top Super 14 teams — the Bulls, Cheetahs and Sharks — to secure places in the top four, especially given the dominance by log-leaders the Waratahs, Crusaders, Hurricanes and Brumbies in the competition up to now. However, SA’s representatives can keep their hopes of a place in the top four alive if they win their games and get bonus points, thereby preventing the top four teams from increasing the points difference between themselves and teams five to nine. Should one of the top four slip up in the next few weeks, one of SA’s teams could move up into the top four. The Sharks entered their round-eight game on Saturday ninth on the log with only 12 points — seven points behind the fifth-placed Bulls — but their win not only catapulted them into eighth place, it also reduced the gap between the two teams to only two points. While the Bulls and Cheetahs have a game in hand over the Sharks, those teams are currently on the overseas leg of their campaigns where SA’s teams have not had great success in the past. The Sharks have the luxury of playing in SA until the end of the series. Three of their games are at home, which should count in their favour. On Friday, the Blues beat the Bulls 30-17 in Auckland, the Waratahs thumped the Cheetahs 26-3 in Sydney and the Stormers held off Western Force by a narrow 26-25 in Perth. In other games on Saturday, the Crusaders beat the Hurricanes 20-11 in Wellington and the Chiefs beat the Highlanders 16-13 in Hamilton. Sharks coach Dick Muir was delighted with his team and praised the forwards for their brave effort, which laid the foundation for the victory. “Jet lag affected the team slightly, forcing the guys to grind out a win,” said Muir. “But they never gave up. I felt we allowed the Reds to score soft points after we scored tries. But the forwards did well in the set phases and the looseforwards were exceptional. “The hard work was done up front and it was supported by solid defence at the back.” Muir also had a word of praise for the work done by former Springbok prop Balie Swart and Sharks assistant coach Theo Oosthuizen with the forwards before the game and Springbok strength coach Mark Steele for improving conditioning after the long trek back from New Zealand a week before the game. Bulls assistant coach Mike Bayly was understandably dis- appointed with the defeat against the Blues on Friday, blaming the poor performance on a combination of bad one-on-one defence and a failure to run the correct lines after the ball was kicked. He said flyhalf Derick Hougaard’s two failed attempts to kick at goal and centre Dries Scholtz’s inability to hold on to the ball over the tryline in the dying minutes had also cost them. “We dominated the lineouts, stealing six of theirs,” said Bayly. “But we did not scrum as well as we can. We also lost the ball in contact situations so we have a few things to work on before our next game (against the Chiefs).” Bayly hoped Hougaard would be fit for the Chiefs game after suffering an ankle injury. Should he be ruled out, Morné Steyn will wear the No10 jersey.

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