THE Sharks V Crusaders!!

[JJR]

I Believe..CLAP,CLAP...I believe...Clap,Clap...I believe.

 

[tgd]

mismatch in the centres with ww2 hero terblanche to be absolutely destroyed by sbw and fruean

 

[Seaton]

Dissapointed that Lambie is injured, but the plus side is now that we get a look at a couple of things

How well Potgeiter can play at 10 for the Sharks
Who our 3rd choice flyhalve is
Lambie would get a nice rest before the Stormers clash
Imo Potgeiter is a better kicker than Lambie, which would be useful considering English weather (yes not British, cos' Aberdeen's weather is first class B) )

If Ludik is a doubt, I would imagine that Terblanche would move to 15, with Jacobs coming in, no?


Pure speculation, but that's part en parcel when your a Sharks uber fan B)

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Well, if we keep 1 point from this match, I will be happy. That means our 4 matches overseas got us 12 points (5 from the Rebels and Force, 1 from the Chiefs so far). We can play the remaining 10 matches on home soil

 

[donmcdazzle]

Shame for Adam Whitelock though, He's done a very good job for the crucaders. makes good yards and almost never makes a mistake. Guildford did look pretty good though.

maybe give Whitelock a couple weeks off then give him a go on the right wing to Keep Maitland Fresh.

He isn't even a winger though? Agreed that he doesn't make any mistakes but if you have the chance to play a genuine winger with pace over a midfielder (who can play out there and not cock anything up too much) you take the winger everytime. Whitelock has zero pace which was exposed a few times.

 

[NZRUGBY]

He isn't even a winger though? Agreed that he doesn't make any mistakes but if you have the chance to play a genuine winger with pace over a midfielder (who can play out there and not cock anything up too much) you take the winger everytime. Whitelock has zero pace which was exposed a few times.

Really hoping for Guildford to come back to form

 

[187]

I don't care who is on the wing. Who needs a winger when you have Dan Carter, SBW, Robbie Fruean & Dagg in your backline! Heck they could have a prop there & they'd still tear it up.

 

[JJR]

Plummy hints that there could be more than one change.

With a number of previously-injured players making good progress over the last three weeks, John Plumtree gave a strong indication yesterday that he may look at "freshening up" his squad ahead of the match against the Crusaders in London on Sunday.
Had the Sharks opted to head straight from Hamilton to the UK, then they would obviously have stuck with the same 26 man squad who'd served them so well on their three-week Australasian tour – although I'm sure one or two guys would have probably headed back to Durban anyway as they wouldn't have played in the final week. Making the trip via Durban, though, gives the opportunity to assess the injury situation, both in the tour group itself and in the wider squad. The good news for the Sharks, at this stage, is that it's become more a question of who to leave out, rather than who to take along.
Of the 26-man tour squad, only Pat Lambie now looks doubtful for the trip to London, with a fracture to the middle finger on his left hand possibly serious enough to require surgical correction. He will see a specialist today, but may well be cleared to play against the Crusaders anyway. As a key player to the Sharks campaign, I'm sure no chances will be taken with his long-term health, though. Jean Deysel and JP Pietersen are both still on the sidelines, of course, with the former possibly due for a return to Vodacom Cup action this week already.
Possible returnees to the Sharks squad for the match against the Crusaders include prop Eugene van Staden, now over his shoulder concern, and lock Gerhard Mostert, who has proved his match fitness through several storming performances for the Sharks XV over the last month. The Vodacom Cup side is sure to benefit this week as well froma fresh injection of players who toured with the Sharks, including Dale Chadwick, Marcell Coetzee, Mark Richards and possibly even Anton Bresler, depending on what Plumtree decides to do with Mostert. Ross Skeate is another who is expected to start his comeback via the Vodacom Cup this week.
The Sharks group to play the Crusaders will be finalised today.

Source- Sharksworld-Rob Otto.

 

[Aedaphon]

As an English Super Rugby fan I'm pretty ecstatic about this game
Got my tickets when they came out and (as a fairly solitary Crusaders fan in this thread) I'll try and get a couple of words in:
Crusaders are gonna have to be locked down in the midfield for the Sharks to get anywhere, Carter, SBW and Fruean are almost certainly the best 10, 12, 13 in the competition and even if Dagg & Guildford have not been on top form, running lines of those 3 it's gonna be hard to stop anyone.
Lack of a first choice 10= Easy target as the Waratahs proved.

 

[Larksea]

yeah, I think the Crucaders forwards can match it with the sharks forwards but I dont think the sharks backs can match it with the Crucaders backs. Has to be the biggest game of the season so far though.

 

[Amobokoboko]

I reckon the Crusaders will trash the Sharks.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

If we can leave London with 1 or 2 points, I am happy. 3 points would be cool too! That almost never happens haha.

 

[Draggs]

If we can leave London with 1 or 2 points, I am happy. 3 points would be cool too! That almost never happens haha.

Or 5...

So, no Deysel and probably no Lambie.
I still think Alberts is best used off-the-bench at 55-60 minutes as an impact sub, as seen last November. Time for Deysel, Daniel and Kanko!

 

[Amobokoboko]

As long as it is a good game I'm happy.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Or 5...

So, no Deysel and probably no Lambie.
I still think Alberts is best used off-the-bench at 55-60 minutes as an impact sub, as seen last November. Time for Deysel, Daniel and Kanko!

Well, there is my favourite loose trio!!! Lambie is not playing but we have JLP who is a much better kicker and not a bad replacement to be honest. I wonder who will be on the bench. Is Monty Dumond still with the Sharks? Is he eligible to play? Otherwise Riaan Swanepoel...

 

[Draggs]

What is Lambie's kicking percent this season, out of curiosity?

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I think around 85... Which is nice, but JLP will not do worse

 

[donmcdazzle]

yeah, I think the Crucaders forwards can match it with the sharks forwards but I dont think the sharks backs can match it with the Crucaders backs. Has to be the biggest game of the season so far though.

Is there a reason you spell it Crucaders with a 'c' rather than Crusaders?

 

[Seaton]

Well, there is my favourite loose trio!!! Lambie is not playing but we have JLP who is a much better kicker and not a bad replacement to be honest. I wonder who will be on the bench. Is Monty Dumond still with the Sharks? Is he eligible to play? Otherwise Riaan Swanepoel...

Yeah, I am also wondering who the back-up flyhalf wil be...

Monty Dumond is playing for the EP Kings, but he might just be on loan though, however given the way he has been playing in the Vodacom Cup, I'd rather Guy Cronje was the back-up, or possobly Ross is called up with Hoffman going to reserve for 10?

Whatever happens, in Plumtree we Trust B)

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

The Sharks and Crusaders play a very similar brand of rugby but I think the Crusaders know and implement it better and have better players in most positions (for me it's pretty even if all players are on form except in the 2nd row and centres where Crusaders have a decided edge, Sharks in the front row). Kanko is also not suited to this game and Twickenham. If Deysel were there I'd have more faith in a backrow line-up of 6)Daniel, 7)Deysel, 8)Alberts 19)Botes.

Crusaders are on fire at the moment and the Sharks have been slowing down just a tad every game. With Lambie now injured..

Crusader FTW but not by as much as most on here seem to think.

BTW, how's JP Pietersen doing?