The Sharks had a bye last weekend, so at least I’ve had an extra week to come to terms with their loss to the Crusaders – their first defeat of the season. It was an incredibly frustrating game to watch, I have to be honest. I love those boys but when they start kicking the ball straight into the eager arms of a team that’s known for its prowess with ball in hand, over and over and over, I want to scream! On the plus side, their defence was fantastic yet again, and they held a very good Crusaders side at bay almost to the very end. Mention must also go to Lwazi Mvovo’s two brilliant intercept tries. There’s a reason he’s one of my favourite favourites – when he gets even the tiniest bit of space to unleash his speed, there’s really no stopping him. Definitely the highlight of the game. Continue reading

Last Friday night I managed to sneak out of my work function just in time to catch the last few moments of the Sharks vs Bulls game on the radio (hurrah for Radio 2000 and their fab rugby commentary, although anyone who has ever listened to a game instead of watching it will tell you it’s WAY more stressful!) – a good thing, I thought, until I nearly had a heart attack and drove off the road. Continue reading

It pleases me to no end to be able to say that the Sharks remain unbeaten. Last week’s game was another nail-biter, and a contentious one at that. There’s a lot of gnashing of Stormers fans’ teeth over that penalty try that was awarded after Siya Kolisi’s foot connected with the ball as Cobus Reinach was dotting down for the try. Now, I’m no Stormers fan but I do like Kolisi so I would be surprised if it was a truly cynical move, but according to the rulebook that’s irrelevant so I don’t think Marius Jonker made the wrong decision in awarding the penalty try. I also think the Sharks had more momentum and finesse in that second half and so I suspect we would have won it anyway, one way or another. Continue reading

I think it’s safe to say that the Jaguares gave the Sharks a run for their money last weekend. We knew this would be a tougher game, but it was a little close for comfort. I was pleased with the way the team used the driving maul to good effect, but there were definitely lessons in minimising handling errors to be learned and maximising attacking opportunities. Continue reading

So, the first round of Super Rugby is behind us, and of course I was thrilled with the Shark’s five pointer start to the season. The Kings had me a little worried with that early try, but it was pretty much one way traffic after that, and I was very pleased that my SuperBru prediction of a Shark’s victory by 18 points proved to be too conservative, with 43-8 being the final score. Continue reading

For quite a while, people have been asking me why I don’t write a sort of rugby prediction column, since I am so obsessed (to put it mildly). I’ve resisted for two reasons. Firstly, I may be passionate about the sport, but I’m certainly no expert. I can’t always explain all the technicalities, and with all the changes happening in Super Rugby this season, I think it’s about to get even more complicated. And secondly, and probably most importantly, I lack any ability to be objective. This is the same reason I refused to play SuperBru for many years. I will ALWAYS say the Sharks (and Springboks) will win. It doesn’t matter what stats, experts and logic suggest. I simply cannot say they will lose. This made for a very sad SuperBru season for me last year, but anyway. I will also typically say that the Bulls will lose, just because I really want them to (see, no objectivity), but I am prepared to work on that. Continue reading