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Sharks fail to stamp authority
Sharks website,
Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 15:13
In a game in which the Sharks could and should have won, the Western Force punished them with the boot, running out 22-12 victors in Perth on Friday in the Vodacom Super 14.
It may have been an auspicious occasion for Butch James and Warren Britz, playing in their 50th games, but it was a game they will both wish to forget as the Sharks dropped into third place and the Force rose to second.
Dick Muir went for a very mobile loose forward trio in Bobby Skinstad, Ryan Kankowski and Jacques Botes, with the former Springbok Captain getting his first start for the Sharks, having played his previous matches off the bench, this after shifting AJ Venter from flank to lock as Johan Ackermann was pulled out with a bout of flu, and Bradley Barritt failed a late fitness test, replaced by Grant Rees.
The first half was characterised by some erratic play from the Sharks who showed glimpses of sublime play, but threw away a number of opportunities with poor finishing. It was a fairly ordinary half from a team who set high standards for themselves.
With four kickable penalties all taken, Ruan Pienaar had a 50% success rate, with one attempt he felt was true, but the poles were too short to confirm and the TJs turned it down.
If there was one player in the Sharks side who stood out, it was JP Pietersen who couldn’t set a foot wrong. He followed each kick-off, making tackles of the catcher and ensuring the Force were under pressure each time.
The Force would have been happy to welcome back Matt Giteau from injury. The diminutive, but dangerous player (the most expensive in Australian rugby history) set up the only try of the game when he jinxed through a couple of tackles and offloaded to birthday boy Cameron Shephard who scored.
The Sharks certainly had their fair share of possession and good attacking ball, but somehow they couldn’t maintain the continuity. The forwards fronted up, and again defence was outstanding – in one case the Force were forced back a good 15 metres on their own attack as they tried, without success, to make something happen.
By the end of the half, the Sharks trailed by a converted try, having enjoyed good ball, but not good finishing in a game that was fairly open, both sides playing an attacking style of rugby.
Last year the Sharks ran out 41-25 winners in Durban, but there was no way they were going to emulate that feat as they just battled to find their rhythm and just when momentum was building, they would find themselves having to start afresh.
It was a game that both sides played with a lot of boot, and while neither side really won that little battle, it was what they did with the ball afterwards that really dictated how the game would end.
Sadly, the Sharks were made to pay for their indiscipline, earning two yellow cards in the process and Matt Giteau punished them with three second half penalties, while Francois Steyn kept them in the hunt with a 55m drop, and Ruan Pienaar a penalty to go with his two first half efforts.
But this is a game the Sharks probably lost more so than the Force winning it. When the forwards mauled the ball up through a series of pick and drives a good 15 metres to within a sniff of the tryline, the question had to be asked: ‘why not more and not earlier?’
At that stage, in the dying seconds of the game, a try would have earned the Sharks a bonus point. With Warren Britz getting his marching orders from coming in from the side in the 22 minutes earlier, the Force were lucky to get away with two players entering a ruck form the side to kill the Sharks attack and the game was over.
John Smit paid tribute to the Western Force afterwards, saying how it is a “phenomenon the way this team has come up in one year. We kept trying to get out of our half, but they had our number. We probably played incorrectly at times, they stopped us today, maybe we played too much rugby, while they played Test rugby.
“The yellow cards were frustrating and unforgivable; when the chips are down you need to tighten things up.”
Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe admitted that “The boys stayed focused, and it shows the character in the side. There was a lot of kicking, but we have a very skillful side. I don’t think the plan that the Sharks put together really worked.
“After half time, we rallied together, knew we needed a good second half; we regrouped, built up territory and possession and added the points. It was a good litmus test for us against the Sharks and we passed it.”
Scorers:
Sharks: 12 (6):
Penalties: Ruan Pienaar (3)
Drops: Steyn (1)
Western Force: 22 (13)
Tries: Cameron Shephard
Conversions: Matt Giteau (1)
Penalties: Matt Giteau (5)
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Originally Posted by Prop Star
