THE Sharks were menacing and muscular, if not convincing,

THE Sharks were menacing and muscular, if not convincing, in their ultimately emphatic crushing of the Cheetahs at a wet and bedraggled Kings Park on Saturday evening but the bottom line is that they finished the weekend top of the South African conference (on points difference better than the Bulls) and in ideal mood to tackle their old adversaries, the Blues.

The Acuklanders left Sydney last night after the perfect start to Super Rugby – a come-from-behind and ultimately emphatic win over the seven-times champion Crusaders.

It is shaping up to be a crackerjack match given that the Sharks laboured to a 24-9 win over their nemesis team and are fully aware that the Blues believe that this is the year that New Zealand rugby supremacy shifts from the South Island to the North Island.

Hunger will hardly be an issue for a Sharks team that knows that it is so far playing below Super Rugby par and simply has to beat the Blues on Saturday before heading for Perth the next day for a month-long tour.

After a match that could be euphemistically described as uninspiring, coach John Plumtree was unsure whether to laugh or cry, so instead opted for a drop of wry Kiwi sarcasm.

“I am sure everyone was delighted with the spectacle . . .” Plumtree said sardonically. “It was hard to watch, I am sure, but at the end of the day, in those conditions, we just had to get over the line with our noses in front

“To be fair, we tried to play some rugby in the first half but ended up doing so too much behind the advantage line. The Cheetahs’ defence was good and caught us before the gain line and put us under pressure,” Plumtree said. “The forwards were not doing enough work as a unit and our lineout did not function in the first 15 minutes, so there is a lot of work to do there.”

Cheetahs coach Naka Drtoske said that the only positive he could take out of the game was his team’s defence, which forced the Sharks into kicking even more than they planned to because of the conditions.

“It was really hard to get anything positive going (because of the conditions and the Cheetahs’ defence) and we found ourselves limited to kicking for space and then defending the contestables,” Plumtree added. “The biggest problem for us was trying to play when had no forward motion running onto the ball. What we should have done is keep the ball close to the forwards and get our pick-and-go game going. We were a bit naive in our approach at times.”

Plumtree acknowledged that his team was off the pace, as were most teams, but reminded fans that this is almost always the case so early in the season and that there is plenty of good rugby to come.

“We have a few things to sort out and what better opportunity to do so than against a Blues team that has just beaten the Crusaders,” he said. “I actually picked the Blues to win that one. They have a very good side and the Crusaders often start slowly, although the Crusaders played really well in the first half and the second was all the Blues.

“It is always a great feeling to get on a plane after beating a champion side. So they will be up for this match, make no mistake, and we see it is a very good opportunity to get our game and campaign on track.”

Plumtree will be hoping that Springbok captain John Smit overcomes the calf strain that prevented him from playing against the Cheetahs.

“John pulled up on Friday with a tight calf and it was no better when he woke up on match day, but we are hopeful he will be ready this week.”

www.iol.co.za by Mike Greenaway