MONDAY, 12.30PM:
THE Coastal sharks ended the ACT Brumbies’ record of two seasons without a home loss on Saturday, when they slashed into the Australians with a 41-23 victory in their Super-12 match at the Bruce Stadium in Canberra.
Sharks coach Ian McIntosh, who is arguably the most experienced coach in the Super-12, showed his fine sense of planning in the second half. After being dominated by the Brumbies in the first half, Mac put on three Springboks in the second, and effectively shut down the Brumbies.
The Sharks are at the top of the log, with the Wellington Hurricanes, and next play the Otago Highlanders at Dunedin in New Zealand. The match against Otago should not pose too many difficulties to the Sharks, as Otago have only managed to score four tries in their threee matches so far.
The Golden Cats will want to go back to the drawing board after suffering a humiliating defeat against New South Wales in Sydney on Friday. The Cats’ coach, Peet Kleynhans will have to start working on fitness and morale among his players if the Cats are to make an impact in this year’s competition. Former Springbok Tiaan Strauss, playing for New South Wales, was one of the stalwarts in his side’s 25-10 victory over the Cats.
Eugene van Wyk, coach of the Northern Bulls, said on Saturday he will not give up in the race for Super-12 honours. The Northern Bulls suffered yet another defeat when they were thumped 35-18 by the Western Stormers at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday. The Bulls have yet to register a win in the competition this season.
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