RUB OF THE GREEN

RUB OF THE GREEN

I have more vices than are good for my health but fortunately gambling is not one of them – apart from the once-a-year hunch that a big sporting upset is on the cards, so to speak.

And so it was that a found myself in a tote last Saturday having a flutter on the Sharks at 22 to 10. I thought the odds against the Sharks winning would have been greater but I guess when there are only two horses in a race and it is winner take all, the bookies are not so generous.

That hunch was born last Thursday when I saw the team picked to play the Bulls. It was the best balanced side the Sharks had fielded in four months of Super Rugby. In the front row, Jannie and Bismarck du Plessis were both back in the starting line-up (from injury and rotation respectively) and they very seldom play a bad game together.

As for the second row, Gerhard Mostert’s form has been brewing for a while and he is at last realising the potential – and raw power – that John Plumtree recognised in him when he was in a poor Lions team, while young Alistair Hargreaves for a while now has shown that he is coming of age.

In the loose trio, Ryan Kankowksi has been pulling finger since being dropped from the Bok training squad, tank flank Jean Deysel was back from suspension and irrepressible Keegan Daniel has an uncanny ability to be brilliant in big games.

In terms of the backline, it was a masterstroke to pick Frederic Michalak at 10 while keeping the exceptional skill of Patrick Lambie in the side by picking him at fullback for Louis Ludik.

Michalak brought calmness and control to the backline, not to mention penetration, when he come on against the Lions the week before and in that same game Lambie was superb when he moved to 15. So why not start them both?!

It is difficult to believe that Michalak, who is only 28, is deemed surplus to French needs with a World Cup only weeks away. Who cares? Frog loss is Sharks’ gain.

In terms of the backline that started against the Bulls, JP Pietersen and Lwazi Mvovo had already proved to be red hot, and were again brilliant against the Bulls, which brings us to the centres. Meyer Bosman has copped huge flak this year but apart from a few conspicuous mistakes, he has actually played quite well.

Super Rugby statistics show that he is one of the leading tacklers in the competition – the problem has been that when he has missed a tackle it has often led to a much publicised try. His occasional misdemeanours have seen the Stormers, for instance, scoring vital tries at Newlands and Kings Park.

But for me a telling indicator for a possible upset was the big deal made of the final games at Loftus Versfeld for Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw and Fourie du Preez.

Time and time again I have seen emotional farewells become unfortunate funerals when sideshows for the team concerned have been swept aside by a visiting team that is focussed only on the rugby.

Sharsk fans will recall Mark Andrews’ emotional goodbye ending in tears in a Currie Final in Durban while a very good equivalent of what happened last week in Pretoria was the 1999 Currie Cup final, when the Sharks were bidding adieu to coach Ian McIntosh and icons in Gary Teichmann, Henry Honiball and Andre Joubert.

The Lions, with a youthful AJ Venter in the vanguard, drilled them out of sight.

Another good indicator that the Sharks would perform at Loftus last week was the decision to take the team away from family and friends and bond in preparation at a retreat in Rustenburg, near Sun City.

Way back in 1990, McIntosh did the same with Natal when he bucked trends and at Sun City prepared for that historic final against the Bulls at Loftus …

by Mike Greenaway