Will the wheels fall off for the Cats and the Sharks as they travel Down Under?
Andy Capostagno
By the end of the weekend we will know whether the Sharks and the Cats are genuine contenders for the Super 12 title. In Auckland on Friday the Sharks must show their teeth, in Hamilton on Sunday the Cats’ task is to dispel the notion that they are paper tigers.
Last season, after winning their first two games on South African soil, the Cats were thumped 51-16 by the Waratahs in Sydney. Even so there seemed reason to believe that coach Laurie Mains was happy to write off that encounter and blame it on jetlag, because he was really preparing for the following week’s match against the Highlanders.
In his first season of Super 12 Mains was keen to show his old mates in Otago a thing or two and he came very close to his goal. But the Cats eventually went down 33-31 and, having expended so much energy in one game, their season temporarily fell apart with a narrow defeat to the Hurricanes the following week and the much-discussed 64-0 trouncing by the Brumbies to end the tour.
There is reason to believe that this year things will be a little different. First of all the tour itinerary is a good deal kinder. The Waratahs’ and the Brumbies’ fixtures are out of the way (won one, lost one) and while Australian rugby is undergoing something of a renaissance, New Zealand rugby is currently contemplating its navel.
The mere fact that the Chiefs (the Cats’ first opponents) are the best-placed Kiwi unit at the halfway stage speaks volumes. The Chiefs have traditionally been an afterthought, a massively unpredictable compendium of youngsters being thrown in at the deep end and players discarded by other unions.
They have now won three games in a row and, according to Mains, must be rated the form side of the tournament. But if history is anything to go by their new coach, John Mitchell, will need to keep a puncture repair kit handy for the day the wheels come off.
So the Cats with their mighty pack and a suitcase full of confidence will know that this is a game that needs to be won. No great subterfuge will be needed; Mains will simply insist on iron discipline to avoid costly penalties, and another Test-class performance from the forwards.
Keep the game tight and the ball away from the outstanding wing, Roger Randle.
Mains claimed he was delighted with his team’s set pieces in Bloemfontein last Friday, but he will need to spend the week addressing the lineouts, where the Sharks stole several balls despite the illegal tactics of the home side. Law 19 is quite clear: “A player must not jump for the ball or support any player before the ball has left the hands of the player throwing it in.”
The hoisting of Rassie Erasmus was plainly in breach of the law and Australian referee Peter Marshall was wrong to allow it. It might be a while before he is given another high-profile match, but in the meantime it can be taken for granted that the Cats will not get away with the same tactic again.
Lineouts are not a problem for the Sharks, who have two of the best jumpers in the business in Albert van den Berg and Mark Andrews. Their problems are centred squarely on the front row where the load being assumed by John Smit is simply too great.
Coach Rudolf Straeuli obviously has great faith in the young Springbok’s ability and gave him the captaincy when Andrews was rested a fortnight ago. But Smit turned 23 only this week and to ask him to fulfil all the roles of the modern hooker and then to cover at tight- and loose-head when players are blood-binned or substituted is a recipe for an early burn out.
Straeuli has not been helped by an apparent lack of motivation on the part of Ollie le Roux, but if his team is to maintain its admirable standards until the end of the competition this area needs to be addressed.
It seemed odd at the time, but looking at the thin reserve strength of the Sharks’ front row it seems more like criminal negligence that Adrian Garvey’s contract was allowed to lapse.
But there is no need to get hypercritical at this stage. The Sharks have shown that they have strength in all other areas and they have consistently won games away from South Africa ever since the days of the Super 10. In 1999 they even beat the Blues 12-6 in Auckland in a grim encounter.
Like the Chiefs, the Blues are a good side that can be beaten and, in fact, should be beaten by a team with its eyes set on winning the tournament. The absence of Gaffie du Toit is a blow, given that his first-half display in Bloemfontein was the best by a South African flyhalf this season, but the prevailing weather conditions may suit the more measured game of Butch James.
There have only been four wins this season by a team on the road, but the time has come to upset the statistical monsters. With the Stormers and the Bulls back in South Africa and the Cats and the Sharks on a high, this weekend could include the biggest surprise of all; four wins out of four for South African teams.