The Sharks have got to be the biggest disappointment of South Africa this year. They had such a promising start to their Super Rugby campaign this year and we all thought they would be able to pull this off.
Us die hard Sharks supporters/fans, really had our hopes up for them winning the Super Rugby title this year. Especially after their amazing defeat of the Crusaders in Christchurch. They made history that night and raised the hopes of everyone with that win. I mean, not just anyone can go to Christchurch and defeat the Crusaders on their home turf. To do so is like winning the iron throne of Westeros. It's EPIC.
And yet the Sharks managed to pull of this feat, return home, and lose their home game. I STILL want to kick Charl McCleod for kicking that ball in those last few minutes of their match against the Stormers in Durban.
The Sharks just could not keep up their performances, but still we hoped. We believed they could make a come back and win this.
Their first match after the break against the Cheetahs was pathetic. (Also, why is it that these South African teams that were on such bad form for the entire Super Rugby tournament, decided to play their best games against the Sharks? Really now?! Yeah, the Sharks were at their worst, but the other teams were at their best... )I cried after that match. But, I picked myself up and prayed for a win against the Stormers in Cape Town the following week. And the Sharks delivered. They managed to beat the Highlanders in the play offs and secure a semi-final.
We knew playing the Crusaders in the semis would not be easy. It would most definitely be one of the hardest matches any team would have to play. The Crusaders are like rugby gods, especially with Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter present.
The Sharks had the players. They knew what needed to be done and what they had to do. But they just did not show up for today's match. You couldn't even see our players! Where was Bismarck?! What happened to Marcell Coetzee? Lambie was the only player we really saw, and really Lambie, what happened? They had more than enough opportunities, you cannot say they didn't, yet they just did not/could not follow through and convert those into points. They made far too many errors. Kicked willy-nilly when they really should have tried harder to keep possession of the ball and aim for tries instead of just hope to get penalties.
Jake White is a world cup winning coach, yes. The Springboks did win the Rugby World Cup under his coaching in 2007. But, if anyone remembers, they did not win it with flourishing rugby. They won it by playing it safe and with the boot. And today has proven that you can NOT win every game that way. You HAVE to play full out rugby with all your heart and soul!
The truth is that the Sharks HAD what they needed to beat the Crusaders today, but they just did not play well. Far from it. The Crusaders played wonderful rugby and they were well deserved winners of the match.
I am in a depression about this loss, but congratulations to the Crusaders none the less.
I am in a depression about this loss, but congratulations to the Crusaders none the less.
So now I will just wallow in my depression, and then hope the Sharks make us proud in the Currie Cup.
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