The Hollywoodbets Sharks should not have been happy to see that their Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against Munster is to kick-off at 6:30pm as the last game of a 31 May triple header.
It’s definitely not the only reason for their high error rate and apparent failure to get into proper gear with their attacking game, but the dew which caused a wet ball that surprised them in their last two home games against the two Welsh teams, the Ospreys and the Scarlets, did not help them.
The game against the Scarlets this past weekend was particularly hard on the eye for spectators, and it is to the credit of the stadium DJ, who SuperSport commentator Joel Stransky at one point described as a challenger for the man of the match award, managed to keep the vibe in the stadium going.
Perhaps there is a new breed of spectator going to games at Hollywoodbets Kings Park that is less purist in approach for while the game was horrible on television and there must have been many neutrals who switched off, there did seem to be a good atmosphere in the stadium.
Marco Massotti, who heads up the American company that owns the Sharks, told me last year that he wanted to make a day out at rugby an experience rather than everything just revolve around winning, and maybe he’s succeeding in that.
THEY ARE WINNING BUT JUST DOING IT THE UGLY WAY
Actually, the Sharks are winning. They’ve won four tough games in a row now, two overseas at Edinburgh and Ulster and the two in Durban. They’ve just been doing it the ugly way and if there are any in the Kings Park crowd who still think of the Izak van Heerden inspired Natal reputation as the running province they’ve been living on another planet for quite a while now.
The legendary former Natal coach from the halcyon running rugby years of the 1960s died in 1973 so it’s been 52 years but if there’s anything left of his body it would have been spinning in the grave last weekend, as well as the weekend before that and when the Sharks were in Edinburgh last month and somehow scraped an arm-wrestle.
The Sharks have an excellent and well-travelled attack coach in David Williams and head coach John Plumtree spoke of rejuvenating the Sharks’ attacking game when he took over at the start of last season.
But while the Durban team’s defence under Joey Mongalo has progressed to the point that, along with their set phase play, it is their match winner, the attacking game seems to be in sharp decline.
Plumtree lamented the high error rate and said his team would have to be much better if they hope to progress past Munster, who won the competition in 2023 by beating the DHL Stormers in a Cape Town final and so have experience of winning away playoff games.
Indeed, on their way to the trophy two years ago they played every playoff game away from Limerick.
SCARLETS ALSO STRUGGLED
Plumtree did reference the dewy conditions as well as the way that both defences dominated as mitigating factors in the almost complete lack of any coherence in the Sharks’ attacking game against the Scarlets.
“”The defences of both teams dominated, and it didn’t look like there was much space,” said Plumtree.
“And again, you’re playing in these dewy conditions. It was a pretty frustrating night for both teams.”
He’s right about that - the Scarlets weren’t exactly flush on attack either and also made errors that at times bordered on the comical.
The bad news is that whatever climactic conditions are conspiring to turn normally perfect May running conditions in Durban into the slippery arm-wrestle we have seen recently have a chance of being repeated for the quarterfinal given that the Ospreys game kicked off at 7pm, just half an hour later than the quarterfinal kick-off.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS CAN SPARK IMPROVEMENT
The good news is that while it is true that you don’t fix or script an attacking game overnight, and right now it looks as though the Sharks are operating off base zero in that department, individual players can play a role in being the catalyst for improvement and provide some rejuvenation.
Springbok World Cup winner Lukhanyo Am hasn’t been part of the Sharks efforts over the past few weeks, but Plumtree did say before the Scarlets game that Am would be back for the start of the Finals Series.
He’s also expecting Grant Williams, who is the Sharks’ second Bok scrumhalf along with Jaden Hendrikse and by far the best attacking option, back for the Munster game.
Williams has been away for a while with a troublesome neck injury but apparently is now on the road to recovery and should join Am in the selection mix.
Jordan Hendrikse will need to improve on his most recent performances but he doesn’t lack attacking ability and he too should be back, although if Siya Masuku is over the injury that forced him off against the Scarlets his shouldn’t be a straight selection.
The one thing the Sharks have got right in the last few games is their kicking game, and Masuku is good tactician.
However, the Sharks need more than that and against Munster they will be hoping that the return of some of the Am experience and X-factor among the outside backs will transform them back into the good attacking unit they appeared to be becoming back in October through to December.
Perhaps the lack of continuity since then caused by both injuries and Bok resting protocols has played a role in the decline of an attacking game that won them the game when the Stormers beat them at forward in a November derby and which looked impressive in the big win they scored the last time Munster visited Durban for a league game a month before that.