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Sharks down Blues, Stormers clinch it at the last

Robert du Preez of the Sharks

The Sharks made it two wins from two in Super Rugby with a convincing 26-7 beating of the Blues, while the Stormers got up and running with a dramatic late twist against the Lions.

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After routing Sunwolves a week ago, the Sharks coped better than the Lions in the humid Durban conditions in a match strewn with errors.

It was essentially game over by half-time when Aphelele Fassi, Akker van der Merwe and Robert du Preez tries helped the home side to a 19-0 lead.

Tanielu Tele’a found a gap with 17 minutes left to briefly threaten a Blues fightback, but Curwin Bosch’s 80-metre interception try in the closing seconds completed the Sharks’ win.

The Stormers suffered a hammering by the Bulls last weekend, but Herschel Jantjies’ jinking try in the fifth added minute tied up their South African derby with the Lions in Cape Town.

SP Marais added the extras to seal a 19-17 triumph for a Stormers side that had trailed since the sixth minute to Kwagga Smith’s try. 

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cw 6 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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