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2014 Super Rugby: Blues v Sharks (Round 15)
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Darwin
AKA Dingo_Darwin
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I don't know if the Sharks really showed a lot of class this match though. Don't get me wrong, winning twice in NZ was a fantastic effort, but I don't actually think the Sharks played that well. Indeed I believer they could play better. Much better. Apart from some strong defense the Sharks really didn't do a lot for much of the match - many of the points they got were from unforced (or just plain stupid) Blues mistakes. When at their best the Sharks (and South African teams in general) get points by putting immense pressure on the opposition, but they didn't really have to do that this match, as the Blues seemed to put enough pressure on themselves! When the Blues finally woke up in the last 15 minutes they actually put the Sharks under a lot of pressure, and could easily have stole the match near the end (as they made a lot of breaks in that last 10 minutes).
Again, I'm not trying to downplay how good the Sharks are, I just think they could play a lot better, and I'm sure they will once they get back home (which is a scary thought for all other sides!).
I agree with this, and most Sharks fans I've seen online share the same sentiments. We definitely have another few gears to hit, but I think the tour has shown he can grind out a win away from home too. We have looked livelier with Reinach back, and our pack is steady (Lewies and Oosthuizen always improving). The last time we looked really good was first ten minutes at Loftus. After that, Lambie and Reinach went down... Coincidence? Also have to say McLeod nearly cost us a few times at the end.
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FlukeArtist
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The nature of the competition is that (usually) whoever finishes in first place after pool play, goes on to win the ***le.
The travel factor comes into play too much - especially when SA teams have to travel to NZ/Aus and vice versa.
That being said; even though they did not look that convincing in beating a Blues team that week in, week out look like they don't have a game plan - I think the Sharks have got what it takes to win the competition.
Its not that they have all the pieces of a champion team, it's their defence that will win it for them.
And to be honest; no other team in the competition probably deserves to win it as much as the Sharks do.
I don't think any other team has consistently played as well as them.
The travel factor comes into play too much - especially when SA teams have to travel to NZ/Aus and vice versa.
That being said; even though they did not look that convincing in beating a Blues team that week in, week out look like they don't have a game plan - I think the Sharks have got what it takes to win the competition.
Its not that they have all the pieces of a champion team, it's their defence that will win it for them.
And to be honest; no other team in the competition probably deserves to win it as much as the Sharks do.
I don't think any other team has consistently played as well as them.
Well, last year we were utter ********. Previous two years we managed to get into the playoffs with some good spirit at the end, so there's that.
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Too far away from the majority of the population, holds less than half as many people as Eden Park.
If it weren't for the South African contingent in the crowd (there's a big SA population on the North Shore) then the ground would be much emptier. To be honest the crowd was probably only 60/40 in favour of the Blues, maybe even closer to 50/50.
