The Sharks. WP bogey team?
August 12, 2012 in Uncategorized
Strength vs Strength. That is what was promised to us for the now already on the way Currie Cup. A statement that couldn’t be further from the truth. How can it be true when 30 Springboks aren’t involved? All of a sudden the Lions look like they are actually enjoying playing rugby again. I would also be glad not being Bullied week in and week out. They can now do the Bullying because the Big Boys are away. So Strength vs Strength, I’m not convinced.
Coming back to my heading.
Are the Sharks now WP’s bogey team? Before the game their supporters made comments like” die naweek k@k jou span weer”, and just before the Semi Final comments like ” enjoy your whiskey, you are going to need it”. Are the Stormers/WP supporters quickly becoming no better than our Pommie friends by “chest beating” before the time?
WP was supposed to run riot against a Sharks C side, but as per norm with WP, they took a healthy lead only to slip into their defensive comfort zone again. A beautiful drop goal sinking the SA flagship once again.
I said it before, and i’ll say it again. Fire the coaches. Mr Coetzee and Mr Fleck are like cancer to a healthy body, slowly but surely killing a good team. Fleck was a flair player in his day and has done nothing for the WP backline to get them going. That being said though, he did well with UCT the year they won the Varsity Cup. That was also the year he got the job with the Stormers. So is it really his fault? Coetzee did great things with Wp/Stormers a few years ago. they were suddenly competing for trophies again. There was even talk about him being Springbok coach just before Helium de Villiers was appointed. So what went wrong?
Maybe its time to rethink the coaching staff or atleast their tactics at Province, beacause it isnt working. Get Nick Mallett in, he is free and I am sure he will grasp at the oppertunity to coach a SA side again.
baylion said on August 12, 2012
When last were the Boks involved at the start of the Currie Cup? At least since 2003 the CC and 3N overlapped and since at least 2008 the Boks were only involved the last month or so of the CC.
2003:
Currie Cup: 25 Jul – 1 Nov
3N: 12 Jul – 16 Aug
WC: 10 Oct – 8 Nov
2007:
Currie Cup: 22 Jun – 27 Oct
3N: 16 Jun – 21 Jul
WC: 7 Sep – 20 Oct
2008:
Currie Cup: 20 Jun – 25 Oct
3N: 5 Jul – 13 Sep
2009:
Currie Cup: 10 Jul – 31 Oct
3N: 18 Jul – 19 Sep
2010:
Currie Cup: 9 Jul – 30 Oct
3N: 10 Jul – 11 Sep
(Contracted Boks were out for another month)
2011:
Currie Cup: 15 Jul – 29 Oct
3N: 23 Jul – 27 Aug
WC: 9 Sep – 9 Oct
2012:
Currie Cup: 10 Aug – 27 Oct
3N: 18 Aug – 6 Oct
baylion said on August 12, 2012
As to WP, a very disappointing performance last night.
ALFraser said on August 12, 2012
strength v strength applies to the big five plus Griquas. No more 50 point wins vs Pumas or Leopards. A watered-down CC allows a team to lose (like WP last night) and then regroup and bag five points away from home the following weekend.
That won’t be happening anymore and WP are up against it next weekend.
ALFraser said on August 12, 2012
One loss and you calling for the coaching staff to be axed. It’s up to the players as soon as they run onto the field. I was at the game and it was very shitty to watch my team implode, but it’s still early days.
Bay, I watched the whole Lions game. They’re looking good. Free State don’t have as much depth this year and they looked stale until Sarel came on. Can’t understand why he didn’t start.
stormyrodger said on August 12, 2012
Well, it is the same coaching team with S15? I agree, they had their opportunity to produce some trophies, now it is time for some new coaches. Sorry, but they did not produce!
mickeynelster said on August 12, 2012
alasdairfraser. Its not one loss sir, 1st in the CC yes, but like Stormy says, nothing is happening in and at the Stormers/WP now for a good few years
Labach Tanai said on August 12, 2012
I honestly do not know what they pay Fleck for. Attack, what attack? Heaven forbid the Bulls manage to lure Nienaber away! I say Pieter Rossouw, i.e. slaptjips, needs to be lured back and quickly. Coetzee can stay because the forward play has definitely improved under him – maybe Rassie has something to say about that…
wesvulcan said on August 13, 2012
If your team relies so heavily on about 8 or so players when you have a supposed 60 odd players on your books for CC, then there must be something wrong with your depth and management. And if the competitions “strength” depends on 30 players out of the combined total of all the CC teams players, then there must be something wrong with SA rugby. Which i think is not the case, obviously just some conspiracy theory created by some rugby journos which have certain “allegiances” although they should be unbiased, and some sour grapes supporters of the supposedly “better” teams
mickeynelster said on August 13, 2012
Wes, you sound like a Lions supporter? Not that it matters much. I was just saying that Strength vs Strength is Super Rugby because then the teams have the best players available. Currie Cup is far from it like Baylion rightfully pointed out, for a few years already.
No sour grapes with me.
wesvulcan said on August 13, 2012
yes i am, but if the press and blogs were saying the same things since 2003 about the other teams like the Bulls and Cheetahs when they were dominating CC, then there wouldn’t be any problem. You and Baylion are right by saying the compitition is off SR pace, obviously, has been this way ever since the start of SR, but why has this “excuse” only surfaced when the Lions are doing well? And shouldn’t the slowing of the pace also favour teams that have the structures in place that can work and win at SR pace? The loss of key players and the slower pace should then even out to make it a fair “strenght vs strength” competition. Its about available strength. Injuries mid season could then also be used to excuse a pro team of a bad performance. Should not be that way. Only thing that is weak in this 1st week of CC is the excuses and “watered down” comments.