The end of a four-match losing streak for the Sharks came not a moment too soon. In beating the Brumbies so emphatically in Durban the Sharks not only earned a shot at redemption, but also became the only local side to win in round five of the Super 12.
In the greater scheme of things the five log points thus earned are irrelevant, since the Sharks would now probably have to win all four of their matches in the Antipodes to entertain even a remote hope of a place in the semifinals.
What is more significant is that a union that has been going downhill faster than a lemming with concrete boots finally got a performance from the team commensurate with its standing.
This could not have come at a more important time because, during the next two weeks, delegates of the South African Rugby Union (Saru) will be visiting the prospective domestic venues for next year’s Super 14 tournament.
There will then be a report-back and the final decision on the identity of the five South African franchises will be made later this month.
Until recently it had automatically been assumed that the Sharks, together with the Cats, Stormers and Bulls would automatically earn a place at the table in the Super 14. But by demanding an action document from every interested party, rather than simply those applying for the new fifth spot, Saru put the cat among the pigeons.
Eight applications were ultimately received and, as far as the media and general public are concerned, the battle seems still to be between the Central Unions (Free State, Griquas, Griffons) and the Eastern Cape (Border, Eastern Province, South Western Districts) for the destination of the fifth share of the Super 14 pie.
But Saru as a body and its president, Brian van Rooyen, as an individual, have acquired the reputation of changing minds and opinions more easily than Imelda Marcos in a shoe shop.
For instance, one of the first things that Van Rooyen announced upon his assumption of the presidency was that franchises would disappear and henceforth the four main provinces — Lions, Blue Bulls, Sharks and Western Province — would compete in the Super 12.
Some hasty political lobbying snuffed out that particular idea and all seemed on track until the debate about the fifth franchise went public.
Government intervention together with the promise of a large sponsorship package from the private sector made the Eastern Cape bid an apparent shoo-in. But the Central Unions have some powerful backers from within the ranks of Saru, not least the union’s vice-president, Andre Markgraaff.
Markgraaff is also no great lover of the set-up at the Sharks and it is this that may just have given rise to a queasy feeling in the stomachs of the Sharks’ executive. What if, for instance, Saru decided that it could not choose between the bids of the Eastern Cape and the Central Unions?
What if instead of giving a franchise to one, it decided instead to give one to both and leave the Sharks out of the equation completely?
That may sound far too close to conspiracy theory for many, but consider this: it is less than two decades since Natal emerged from the B section and there are some who would like nothing better than to see them return there forthwith.
It is highly unlikely to happen, of course, for Durban is a major population centre with a fine infrastructure, but it is perhaps fair to ask the question, where did it all go wrong?
It is far too easy to blame outgoing coach Kevin Putt and suggest that his successor, Dick Muir, turned water into wine in his three days at the helm ahead of the Brumbies game last week. It is far more likely that what really happened over a period of about five years was that the union took its eye off the ball.
Brian van Zyl, the Sharks CEO gave a clue during the first press release dealing with Putt’s dismissal. He said, ”… much soul-searching was done in the best interest of the team, the brand and the ever-passionate and loyal Sharks fans”.
In Van Zyl’s list ”team” comes before ”brand”, but many of the union’s detractors have been saying for several seasons now that the reverse is true. The search for a new generation of Sharks Flasher Girls seemed to have taken precedence over finding a tight five worthy of the name.
That being the case, the union is fortunate in the extreme to have taken on the humorous and cerebral Muir to try to turn things around.
Muir was a member of the great Natal sides of the 1990s and after the Brumbies match he said: ”The stadium and the environment is a special one, and it’s only when you leave here and see what else is around that you can appreciate the carnival that this union has … but the winning part is crucial: everything revolves around winning and that goes with the territory.”
Well, it used to go with the territory, but the Sharks executive need to know that neither winning regularly nor a franchise deal for the Super 14 will arrive with the next batch of Internet spam dealing with penis enlargement, even if they do happen to have a shiny new coach called Dick.