Sharks Force Live Updates

[tdevil]

The Sharks take on the Western Force at Newlands tonight in a super 14 warm-up game.
Kick-off is at 7pm.

Sharks team:

Stefan Terblanche, Luzuko Vulindlu, Waylon Murray, Riaan Swanepoel, Lwazi Mvovo, Monty Dumond, Rory Kockott, Ryan Kankowski, Jean Deysel, Keegan Daniel, Steven Sykes, Alistair Hargreaves, Jannie du Plessis, Craig Burden, Tendai Mtawarira,

Replacements: Bismarck du Plessism, John Smit, Johann Muller, Jacques Botes, Charl McLeod, Andries Strauss, Odwa Ndungane, Patric Cilliers, Willem Alberts, Gerhard Mostert, Patrick Lambie, Adrian Jacobs, JP Pietersen.

Western Force: 15 James O’Connor 14 Dane Haylett-Petty 13 Ryan Cross 12 Sam Harris 11 Cameron Shepherd 10 Andre Pretorius 9 Brett Sheehan 8 Richard Brown 7 David Pocock 6 Matt Hodgson 5 Nathan Sharpe (C) 4 Sam Wykes 3 Matt Dunning 2 Ryan Tyrell 1 Kieran Longbottom 16 Ben Whittaker 17 Nic Henderson 18 Tom Hockings 19 Ben McCalman 20 Chris O”Young 21 Mitch Inman 22 Mark Bartholomeusz 23 Mark Swanepoel 24 Josh Tatupu 25 Joelin Rapana 26 Tim Fairbrother 27 TBA 28 Richard Stanford[COLOR="Silver"]

---------- Post added at 01:10 ---------- Previous post was at 00:52 ----------

8 min Try by Sam Wykes. 5-0

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23 mins Force steal next lineout & run downfield. Win penalty & kick 4 touch. Easy try 4 Cross under posts after feeble tackling. Force 12-0

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35mins Third try for the Force! Cameron Shepherd. Pretorius converts.
Force 19-0

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half time

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60mins Still no score in second half
Force 19-0

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80min Try Force(don't know who)
Final score - Force 26 - 0 Sharks
That's game

[oxleymoron]

Rabbit got the last try

http://www.super14.com/news/viewarticle.asp?id=24010


This report also provides some info on the style of game, especially as there were 31 penalties awarded.

Force whitewash the Sharks
Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:53


The Western Force bounced back from their drubbing at the weekend to hand the Sharks a 26-0 thrashing in the second match of the tri-series at Newlands on Tuesday.

In a dour, stop-start affair - which produced 31 penalties by referee Jonathan Kaplan - the Force scored four unanswered tries.

The win follows the Force's 12-54 drubbing at the hands of the Stormers in the opening match of the series last Saturday.

More to follow...

Scorers:

For the Sharks:
None

For the Western Force:
Tries: Wykes, Cross, Shepherd, O'Connor
Cons: Pretorius 2, O'Connor

Teams:

The Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Luzuko Vulindlu, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Monty Dumond, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 Alistair Hargreaves, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements - from: Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit, Johann Muller, Jacques Botes, Charl McLeod, Andries Strauss, Odwa Ndungane, Patric Cilliers, Willem Alberts, Gerhard Mostert, Patrick Lambie, Adrian Jacobs, JP Pietersen.

Western Force squad: Mark Bartholomeusz, Richard Brown, Ryan Cross, Matt Dunning, Tim Fairbrother, Sam Harris, Dane Haylett-Petty, Nic Henderson, Tom Hockings, Matthew Hodgson, Mitch Inman, Kieran Longbottom, Ben McCalman, James O'Connor, Chris O'Young, André Pretorius, David Pocock, Nathan Sharpe, Brett Sheehan, Cameron Shepherd, Richard Stanford, Mark Swanepoel, Joshua Tatupu, Ryan Tyrrell, Ben Whittaker, Sam Wykes, Joelin Rapana.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Matt Kemp (South Africa), Quinton Immelman (South Africa)

http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/...ws/2188040.htm

[GIGS20]

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...1445735C228403I guess all the people who said we were going to suck will be telling us we'll win the whole thing now!

By the sounds of the last bit, once the changes were wrought (There was no mention of how many fringies the Force put on in the second half) it turned into a Dour affair which probably would have cracked in the Force's favour eventually. If our first team spent any significant time on the field with their first team I would say that's the only indication that anybody could hang their hat on......It wouldn't be a massive hat-hook though because John Smit said Sharks had been focussing on fitness so far and didn't have a lot of structure under their belts yet! Wonder if that'll develop against the Stormers!

[travelling_gerry]

Sharks blown apart by Western Force
January 26 2010 at 09:17PM Get IOL on your
mobile at m.iol.co.za

The visiting Australian Super 14 outfit the Western Force turned in a vastly improved performance to defeat the fancied Sharks side 26-0 in the second Neo Africa Tri-Series match at Newlands on Tuesday evening.

The Force ran up a 19-0 lead after just 29 minutes of play with three unanswered tries, two of which were converted by former Lions flyhalf Andre Pretorius to take a commanding 19-0 lead at the break.

The Sharks took the initiative at the outset but their early efforts were spoilt because the ball carrier was often isolated and a few of their speculative passes went astray.

The Aussie visitors on the other hand were committed to defence with solid first-time tackling and once they saw off the opposition's opening flurry they gradually imposed themselves on the match.

The Sharks did not do their cause any good by trying the run the way out of trouble while their poorly upfield kicks gave the Western Force ample counter-attacking options.

Prop Sam Sykes opened the scoring with a try at the corner flag in the seventh minute and 13 minutes later centre Ryan Cross burst past some sloppy defensive work to score next to the posts.

The visitor's flyhalf Andre Pretorius converted the second try to secure his side a 12-0 lead.

The Force were fielding a far stronger combination than the one, which were thrashed by the Stormers at the same venue last Saturday and they looked a far more composed unit on the field although the Sharks had started out with a number of first-choices on the reserves' bench.

Pretorius was a central figure in the Force build-up sorties and he had a hand in the side's third try ahead of the break. Pretorius added the conversion from the touchline (19-0).

After the break the Sharks side showed 11 changes with many of their "big guns" being thrown into the fray.

They were unable to make their presence felt at once but once they got into the swing of things the Force never managed to break out of their half of the field.

But the Sharks also could not find their way past the Force's stubborn defence and 20 minutes into the second half the men from Durban had nothing to show for their efforts, despite the one-sided play after the break.

Thrice during this passage of time the Sharks were halted less than a metre from Force's tryline.

Their failure to make a breakthrough seemed to have a disruptive effect and as play wound towards the close they looked more-and-more disjointed.

This simplified matters for the Force who were able to transfer play up to the Sharks' 22-metre area, and just when it looked like they would fail to add to their first-half tally, fullback-back James O'Connor streaked past the Sharks defence for his side's solitary second-half try.

He added the conversion to round off his side's 26-0 triumph.

Scorers: Western Force: Tries; Sam Wykes, Ryan Cross, Cameron Shepherd and James O'Connor.

Conversions; Andre .Pretorius (2) and O'Connor. - Sapa

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...&page_number=2

[BDAVEY]

fantastic result for the lads and they well gain belief in themselves as well as momentum I hope to the reds game and on wards........this will be sell out for sure!!!
See Gits is injurged and may not make the opening game!!!! whimp

[AndyS]

Good write-up for the colour

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Force whitewash the Sharks
(http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/...ws/2188040.htm)

The Western Force bounced back from their drubbing at the weekend to hand the Sharks a 26-0 thrashing in the second match of the tri-series at Newlands on Tuesday.

Thank heavens for James O'Connor, the Australian wonderboy. He was the bright star on a drab night. In fact thank heavens for the Western Force, for they played all the rugby.

The visitors from Perth won the tackle hands down and took six line-outs off a ponderous Sharks' side who offered little to the match.

These two matches have been oddly arranged. In each half of both weaker played against stronger. In this match the Force started with their stronger side, the Sharks with their weaker and in the second half the reverse happened. Each side had 12 replacements/substitutes and in some instances replacements came back for no reason that exists in a law book.

The substitutions with several other breaks robbed the match of any possibility of momentum, though it started with so much promise with the Sharks tackling with a purpose and the Force running straight and energetic lines. The Sharks had to tackle as the Force made possession their own.

Bushy-haired Sam Wykes won a line-out on the right deep in Sharks territory. They went left, got quick ball back from a tackle and flyhalf André Pretorius flicked a clever pass back infield to Wykes who steamed over for a try. 5-0 after 6 minutes.

Force domination continued and their second try was also off a switch in direction - a simple one as they went left and Ryan Cross cut back onto a Pretorius pass and cut through the widening Sharks defence to score under the posts. Pretorius converted. 12-0 after 20 minutes. O'Connor apart, they were the best of the match.

The Force carried on attacking and again attacked from a line-out with Wykes doing much of the bashing and then suddenly that went left where Cameron Shepherd was too fast for Steven Sykes. He scored in the left corner and Pretorius swung the conversion over from touch. That happened on 30 minutes. There was no further score for the next 49 minutes.

The Sharks had a chance to attack but with two men outside of him Monty Dumond kicked and in no time the Force were back battering at the Sharks line till Richard Brown was penalised at a tackle.

The Sharks had an attacking line-out after a penalty but Nathan Sharpe stole their ball.

The Sharks started the second half with 11 new players on the field. For the first 20 minutes it was all Sharks, but with no points, not even when Nic Henderson was sent to the sin bin for repeated infringements by his team.

The Sharks had a brief moment when Rory Kockott broke and Ryan Kankowski tried to carry it on, but the spark soon expired - as did Kockott who appeared to lack fitness as he dawdled about the field. The Sharks had four five-metre line-outs and three five-metre scrums and did not really look like scoring.

The two bright moments in the half were provided by O'Connor. First he broke and raced at astonish speed down the left side of the field and the Force nearly scored - astonishing as much of the time he dances.

Then near the end Kockott chipped the ball to the Force and O'Connor raced down the field, suckering Odwa Ndungane with a dummy to score under the posts. O'Connor converted.

There was a minute to play till the siren wailed the end. It was not a match to remember. Add to the numerous substitutions and stoppages, 31 penalties and a mess of scrums, and you have a recipe for tedium.

Of the 31 penalties, 15 were at the tackle as players learn the new emphasis on tackle infringements.

Scorers:
For the Sharks:
None

For the Western Force:
Tries: Wykes, Cross, Shepherd, O'Connor
Cons: Pretorius 2, O'Connor

Yellow card: Nic Henderson (Western Force, repeated infringements)

Teams:
The Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Luzuko Vulindlu, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Monty Dumond, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 Alistair Hargreaves, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements - from: Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit, Johann Muller, Jacques Botes, Charl McLeod, Andries Strauss, Odwa Ndungane, Patric Cilliers, Willem Alberts, Gerhard Mostert, Patrick Lambie, Adrian Jacobs, JP Pietersen.

Western Force: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Sam Harris, 11 Cameron Shepherd, 10 André Pretorius, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matthew Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Ryan Tyrrell, 1 Kieran Longbottom.
Replacements - from: Mark Bartholomeusz, Tim Fairbrother, Nic Henderson, Tom Hockings, Mitch Inman, Ben McCalman, Chris O'Young, Richard Stanford, Mark Swanepoel, Joshua Tatupu, Ben Whittaker, Joelin Rapana.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Matt Kemp (South Africa), Quinton Immelman (South Africa)

[BDAVEY]

great for EWF and the supporters very positive stuff

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:36 ----------

Western Force:
15 James O’Connor
14 Dane Haylett-Petty
13 Ryan Cross
12 Sam Harris
11 Cameron Shepherd
10 Andre Pretorius
9 Brett Sheehan
8 Richard Brown
7 David Pocock
6 Matt Hodgson
5 Nathan Sharpe (C)
4 Sam Wykes
3 Matt Dunning
2 Ryan Tyrell
1 Kieran Longbottom

16 Ben Whittaker 17 Nic Henderson 18 Tom Hockings 19 Ben McCalman 20 Chris O”Young 21 Mitch Inman 22 Mark Bartholomeusz 23 Mark Swanepoel 24 Josh Tatupu 25 Joelin Rapana 26 Tim Fairbrother 27 TBA 28 Richard Stanford[color="Silver"]


No room for Sare here........ Cummins to slot straight back in.... Wykes had a blinder looks like he will start in front of Hockings ???? Tim, Kieren Cowan or Nic ??? for prop.

Still would like to see JOC at 12 sounds like Andres has a few tricks up his sleeve sitting up a few trys and gaps for his runners

[GIGS20]

I'm not sure about Wykesey Bill. Tommy seemed to be given the call into the linout against the Stormers, I would think that is a pretty big deal and (at least on last year's form) he was well ahead of Sam (who makes an ideal bench man given that he can play a genuine jumping #6 role as well)

Reports have been sketchy so You might be right, but Sam would have to have trained the house down to make up the difference IMHO. Next Friday will be the litmus test. I think Mitch is looking to approach the trial pretty much like he would a competition game, Barring injury (and major stuff ups in selection) I'd expect the 22 to be identical for the Brums (at least that's the impression I gain from the press)

It'll be good to get an early start on the triple crown this year!

[Burgs]

Yeah, I think Wykes will be lined up on #6 and #8 this year, not #4.
Likewise, as mentioned often I guess, it would be #11 Cummins, #12 JO'C, #14 DHP and #15 Shepherd once Nick is fit for mine.
That is accepting that JO'C will "have to be" selected in the XV, personally I would still super sub him in with a heavier option at #12.

[pieter blackie]

Appart from JOC that was superb I say we have a game winner in the Five eight position and a new star in the loose forwards

Bushy-haired Sam Wykes won a line-out on the right deep in Sharks territory. They went left, got quick ball back from a tackle and flyhalf André Pretorius flicked a clever pass back infield to Wykes who steamed over for a try. 5-0 after 6 minutes.

Force domination continued and their second try was also off a switch in direction - a simple one as they went left and Ryan Cross cut back onto a Pretorius pass and cut through the widening Sharks defence to score under the posts. Pretorius converted. 12-0 after 20 minutes. O'Connor apart, they were the best of the match.

The Force carried on attacking and again attacked from a line-out with Wykes doing much of the bashing and then suddenly that went left where Cameron Shepherd was too fast for Steven Sykes. He scored in the left corner and Pretorius swung the conversion over from touch. That happened on 30 minutes. There was no further score for the next 49 minutes.

[Lee Grant]

That's a great win for the Force and you should be proud of them. It's not that the Sharks had a lot of wannabies in their side either. All their guns got on the park.

The Sharks people are saying they are in big trouble at flyhalf this year unless Pienaar is available but one position doesn't explain the comprehensive loss.

The best news is that Shep is back and running around and that is good for Oz rugby too, though I'd rather see him at fullback and Rabbit at 12.

I always said that Wykes would be only a 6 at the Super 14 level because he was always so skinny as a junior player and didn't have enough physical presence, but it looks like he had a blinder in the 2nd row. If he keep this up there will be a contest between Hockings and him for a spot and that is a great thing.

Well done lads. Surprised me. The Force backs are always good, give or take, but you don't have a result like that without the forwards dominating.

Another good performance in the RSA, then. Now if RSA form can be displayed at home, who knows?

Looks like Peetors was in fine form. Pray for his good health.

---------- Post added at 09:56 ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 ----------

Plumtree interview

By Grant Ball, at Newlands

John Plumtree says a poor performance wasn’t unexpected in the Sharks’ hit-out with the Force.

The Sharks used all 27 players in their group, apart from Adi Jacobs who was withdrawn from the bench. Aside from some individuals, the group as a whole lacked cohesion. In the aftermath, Plumtree said he wasn’t surprised with their showing as he believes this was typical of early season hit-outs.

‘We didn’t do much,’ Plumtree said with a shake of the head. ‘We were inaccurate at most things, but at least we blew a few cobwebs out the system.

‘To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from our perspective. We had quite a few injuries during the pre-season, which affected our teamwork. We also brought our Springboks back late into training, which also didn’t help, so were nervous about quite a few areas before hand.

‘Historically our first match of the year is against a smaller union in Witbank or Brakpan, and you don’t get as exposed as we did [on this occasion].’

Plumtree acknowledged the Force outplayed them in most areas. The Force forwards bullied the Sharks at times, but Plumtree expects his highly-rated heavies to improve ahead of their match against the Stormers on Friday.

‘They were a lot better than us in a few areas. We were under-committed at the breakdown. You can only guarantee quick ball when you have numbers, and we were light at the contact points. They showed us counter-rucking is still a major aspect of the game.

‘Our lineout also didn’t function. We had six or seven times to launch from, but the throws went awry. The scrum to a lesser extent also struggled, and without a platform, we had a lot of tackling to do.’

There were more questions than answers for the Sharks, but Plumtree praised two of their recruits from the Lions, Willem Alberts and Gerhard Mostert, ‘who did some pretty good things after a year or so out’.

Force mentor John Mitchell was understandably pleased. He had witnessed his second-stringers handed a hiding from the Stormers, but the areas he had asked them to work on, they did.

‘We wanted to improve our physical methods and habits,’ said Mitchell, ‘and that’s what we got out of it. The boys responded quickly in that area. We don’t usually get hard football like this back home so early in the year, so this was great for us.’

Captain Nathan Sharpe was also complimentary of debutant Andre Pretorius.

‘He’s a fantastic footballer in his own right. He brought composure and organisation, and his style suits us perfectly.’

***************

It's all good.

---------- Post added at 10:03 ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 ----------

From Stuff - NZ

John Mitchell's Western Force have bounced back from their opening Super 14 pre-season defeat to the Stormers with a confidence boosting 26-0 win against the Sharks at Newlands Stadium.

Tries to Sam Wykes, Ryan Cross and Cameron Shepherd in the opening half set up the win for the Force while a great run in the final minute by James O'Connor capped off a fine all-round performance.

The defensive effort against a physical Sharks side was particularly impressive. Even a yellow card in the second half which left the visitors a man short for 10 minutes couldn't disrupt their strong line.

While Mitchell was happy to register the win, it was the response to areas that fell short in their opening defeat last Saturday night that pleased him the most.

''Over the few days since the last game we looked to get some growth in our physical methods and habits and we improved in that tonight,'' said Mitchell. ''As a result we were able to get a little bit more momentum and dominate the game.''

The Force included 12 changes in their starting XV, with experienced campaigners Nathan Sharpe, Ryan Cross, Brett Sheehan and Andre Pretorius making a good fist of their first starts of 2010. They also suffered no serious injuries.

For Sharpe it was another big step in his return from off-season shoulder surgery and the skipper was delighted to get through the full 80 minutes. His efforts in the lineouts grabbed momentum for the visitors from the set-piece.

''It was good to be back in the saddle,'' Sharpe said. ''Our organisation was much better and if you're well organised then that allows you to become more physical in the tackle. We created a lot of turnovers and played with some good width at times.

''It certainly is very encouraging. I think that first half against the Stormers was a real eye-opener and we took a lot out of that. They brought a lot of intensity into that game and we learnt and replicated that in own performance.

''It was a quality Sharks outfit across the board. They're a strong team and we got a quality hitout. That's exactly what we wanted to achieve in this trip to South Africa.''

Mitchell echoed the sentiments of his captain.

''It's a new group this season for us. People perhaps don't appreciate that when you bring 12 new players into the system it takes time to get continuity. Already we can see some uniformity starting to show which is pleasing,'' he said.

''This has been the toughest pre-season trial period we've had. The learning from the Stormers performance is huge for a lot our younger guys. For them to experience this kind of environment has been invaluable.''

The Force's next pre-season match will be against the Queensland Reds on February 5 – a week before the competition proper gets under way.

Sharks 0, Western Force 26 (Sam Wykes, Ryan Cross, Cameron Shepherd, James O'Connor tries; Andre Pretorius 2 cons, James O'Connor con).