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Preview: Sharks v Blues
Sportal.co.nz - (23/04/2010)
It is crunch time for both sides in Durban, neither of whom can afford a loss. That should it make the contest all the more compelling on Sunday morning (NZT).
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 17 – Sharks 9, Blues 8.
LAST TIME: March 7, 2009 (Auckland) – Blues 31-35 Sharks.
LAST TIME AT VENUE: March 8, 2008 – Sharks 22-17 Blues.
WALKING WOUNDED: Apart from a straight swap at inside centre and one minor alteration to the bench, the Sharks have named the same side that won at Johannesburg. The Blues had few worries with their side, which shows a couple of changes in the loose forwards from last week, but otherwise selection was a fairly simple process for both teams.
FORM:
PAST FIVE Sharks:
Round 6: Beat Highlanders 30-16
Round 7: Beat Hurricanes 29-26
Round 8: Beat Reds 30-28
Round 9: Bye
Round 10: Beat Lions 32-28
PAST FIVE Blues:
Round 6: Beat Brumbies 39-34
Round 7: Lost to Waratahs 32-39
Round 8: Beat Bulls 32-17
Round 9: Lost to Stormers 21-33
Round 10: Beat Force 38-17
After making a miserable start that virtually condemned the Sharks to playing a bit-part in the 2010 competition, the Durbanites have recovered with four straight wins although none have been easy – even that reasonably decisive one against the Highlanders turned on two plays about 90 seconds apart. The most meritorious of the four has to be the one against the Reds, which was saved by an excellent defensive play from Odwa Ndungane, but they made hard work of the Lions even if they did finally gain a bonus point. The Blues have been alternating wins and losses for more than a month now and last week’s victory over the Force certainly began slowly, only for a very positive middle section to quickly put the game out of reach. It’s still hard to get a handle on the Blues, as they’re capable of brilliance one moment and schoolboy stuff the next, which makes them all the more dangerous as they contemplate the key match in what is still a possible playoff charge.
WHO'S HOT: The Sharks are slowly getting better but even that bonus point win last week exposed a number of reasons why they’re still down the bottom end of the table. Defence around the fringes doesn’t appear to be a strength but that charge cannot be levelled against Jacques Botes, whose tackle count is always huge. Ruan Pienaar has worked back into some decent form and is kicking for goal accurately, while young Patrick Lambie has settled in nicely at fullback. When the Blues attacked last week, they were normally dangerous. Joe Rokocoko scored three tries, moving to the top of the scoring ladder in Super 14 this year and to 99 first-class tries for his career. Luke McAlister had his moments, making the last pass for three tries but he’s not yet at his best and his goal-kicking was only adequate. Despite concerns over the fitness of both, props Tony Woodcock and John Afoa turned in sound games.
WE THINK: This is clearly one of the toughest matches of the week to pick and a strong case can be made for both sides. Uncertain form from both only compounds the difficulty, but we’re prepared to tip the Sharks to win a tight one (5-10 points) in front of the home faithful.
TEAMS:
Sharks: 1. John Smit (captain), 2.Bismarck du Plessis, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 4.Steven Sykes, 5.Johann Muller, 6.Jacques Botes, 7. Jean Deysel, 8. Willem Alberts, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 10. Andy Goode, 11.JP Pietersen, 12. Andries Strauss, 13. Stefan Terblanche, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 15.Patrick Lambie.
Reserves: 16. Craig Burden, 17. Tendai Mtawarira, 18.Michael Rhodes, 19. Alistair Hargreaves, 20. Rory Kockott, 21. Riaan Swanepoel, 22. Lwazi Mvovo.
Blues: 1. Tony Woodcock, 2.Keven Mealamu (captain), 3.John Afoa, 4.Kurtis Haiu, 5. Filo Paulo, 6.Jerome Kaino, 7.Serge Lilo, 8. Peter Saili, 9.Alby Mathewson, 10.Stephen Brett, 11.Rudi Wulf, 12. Luke McAlister, 13. Benson Stanley, 14.Joe Rokocoko, 15.Isaia Toeava.
Reserves: 16.Tom McCartney, 17. Tevita Mailau or Charlie Faumuina, 18.Andrew van der Heijden, 19. Viliame Ma'afu, 20.Chris Smylie, 21. Rene Ranger, 22. Paul Williams.
REFEREE: Mark Lawrence
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