”In some competitions you get a prize for that,” said a rueful John Plumtree. The Sharks, the team Plumtree coaches, had just finished at the top of the Currie Cup log by beating Griquas 66-12 in Durban. And all the softly spoken Kiwi could think about was the fact that 12 wins from 14 starts counts for nothing if you lose in the play-offs.
The last time the Sharks topped a log was in the Super 14 of 2007. Back then Plumtree was the assistant to Dick Muir at the Sharks. Muir moved on to join the Springbok coaching setup at the end of this year’s Super 14, leaving Plumtree in sole charge.
The difference between coaching the two competitions comes down to player availability. In Super Rugby the only constraint on the strength of the team is fitness. By the time the Currie Cup begins, however, the international season has arrived and teams have to do without their Springboks.
Plumtree’s achievement has been to send out competitive teams every week of the tournament. If this team breaks the 12-year hoodoo and wins the Currie Cup, the trophy will belong as much to Chris Jordaan, Skoliwe Ndlovu and Monty Dumond as it will to Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen and Beast Mtawarira.
The former trio were there during the dog days of June and July when Plumtree never knew from week to week which players he would have fit and available.
There was some welcome relief when the Springbok selectors, in the mistaken belief that they were expendable, released Pienaar and Frans Steyn.
Pienaar’s play over the past month has made that decision seem even more farcical than it did at the time. It puts into perspective the rashness of rushing Fourie du Preez back into the national side when he was clearly neither physically nor match fit.
If the form book stays true then there is every reason to suppose that Du Preez and Pienaar will oppose each other at the base of the scrum in the final a fortnight hence. It would be the flair and anticipation of Pienaar against the clockwork precision and almost infallible option-taking of Du Preez. But in order for that to happen both teams have to make it through this weekend’s semifinals and that is far from being a given.
The Bulls have reason to believe that in the first decade of the 21st century at least, the Cheetahs are their bogey team. Three years ago the capricious bounce of the oval ball made Meyer Bosman an overnight sensation and a Springbok to boot. He scored the final-quarter try at Loftus that sank the Bulls in the final, giving Free State their first title since 1976.
Last year the Cheetahs won the semi in Bloemfontein against the same opponents and they cannot be ruled out from doing so again at Loftus this time around.
Two weeks ago it seemed likely that the defending champions would not even make the play-offs, but Western Province’s failure to achieve a bonus point against Boland let the Cheetahs in through the side door. This is the kind of scenario that will give Bulls coach Frans Ludeke sleepless nights.
Equally it would be foolish to dismiss the challenge of the Lions against the Sharks. Loffie Eloff’s men may have lost to Western Province in their final outing last week, but they did what was needed to qualify. They defended like tigers and never looked likely to concede the four tries that WP needed to remain in the competition.
This week’s semi in Durban is a repeat of last year’s, won 19-12 by the Lions. Both sides had to live without their Springboks in 2007, because the World Cup rightly took precedence. Clearly the Sharks had more to lose than the Lions, but they had enough talent on the field to have won the game.
It was not to be. The Lions were as tenacious as they were last week against WP and the Sharks lacked a cutting edge. History may repeat itself this year, but don’t count on it. This is not a World Cup year and this particular Sharks squad can lay claim to being the best assembled by any province since readmission in 1992.
It was instructive to stand alongside World cup-winning skipper John Smit at the end of last week’s game against Griquas. Dripping with sweat and clearly exhausted, Smit was nevertheless wreathed in smiles.
He had played every minute of the game because at half time it was clearly won and the coach thought it would be good for his captain to continue rather than being substituted at the break.
Smit is one of those rare players with the ability to inspire those around him. Remember how the Boks played in his absence in the Tri-Nations both last year and this? Remember, too, that people have been waiting for this Sharks side to click and butcher some poor opponent. On Saturday they did and this Saturday they should continue what seems an inexorable march to the title.