franchises, the Hurricanes return to Wellington on the back of a demoralizing one point loss to the Bulls. After back-to-back defeats in Pretoria and Cape Town, the flight home will undoubtedly be all the more draining in the knowledge that a third loss on the trot would likely spell the end to their home semi-final aspirations.
This time last week, the Sharks were staring into the abyss of a potentially winless season and the prospect of returning to unforgiving fans demanding that player and managerial heads roll. A win in the House of Pain has lifted Durbanite spirits like an afternoon sun emerging from parting clouds. Adi Jacobs has gone from defensive frailty to attacking weapon, Patrick Lambie is suddenly the new Francois Steyn and nobody seems to care about Andy Goode’s comb-over. “This could be the beginning” they say. “The Bulls have been in this position before and gone to the semis” they say. “Ruan Pienaar might play in the same position for more than a half hour” they say, somewhat tentatively.
Yes, suddenly the Sharks face the prospect of grabbing a valuable four-pointer (you don’t honestly see that backline crossing the whitewash four times, do you?) before returning home to (former) fortress ABSA.
Standing in their way will be a desperate Hurricanes outfit brimming with jagged talent and Pacific Island flair. A conundrum facing the Sharks coaching staff will be the composition of the loose forward and halfback combinations. Whilst the likes of Keegan Daniels will always be quick to the breakdown and provide promising attacking options in broken play, the perennial threat of Ma’a Nonu taking crash-ball up the middle may suggest a beefier flank would be better suited for the imposing defensive duty. That being said, the sheer width of the Westpac Stadium may fall right into the hands of a Sharks squad that still possesses flickers of the ‘attack from any position’ mindset that was prevalent during the Dick Muir era. It would be a brave and petulant pundit that bets against at least one intercept or tear away try (Ryan Kankowski, stand up).
Besides possessing the likes of Nonu, Conrad Smith and Rodney So’oialo, the Hurricanes seem a tad lean and inexperienced with much of their squad comprises of unknown quantities to the average South African eye. Enter the refreshingly Antipodean Sharks coaching duo of John Plumtree and Chris Boyd. Plumtree was the Wellington NPC coach before heading for the Republic and is likely to know many of the Hurricanes better than they know themselves.
Quite ironically, it is this selfsame international flavor that could stand the Sharks in good stead, should the conditions prove disastrous. Vilified for signing Andy Goode ahead of local talent in the pivot position, the former Leicester Tiger would thrive in the swirling winds of the Westpac ‘Cake Tin’. He may have seemed off the pace in Sydney, but New Zealand’s capital could provide the setting for the emergence of the newest European success story to don the black and white.
Prediction: There is every reason to believe that the Sharks can steal a victory from the jet-lagged and moral depleated 'Canes. Hoping for a Sharks victory by 7 points.(ED)
Teams:
Sharks: John Smit, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Steven Sykes, Alistair Hargreaves, Jacques Botes, Willem Alberts, Ryan Kankowski, Ruan Pienaar, Andy Goode, JP Pietersen, Riaan Swanepoel, Adrian Jacobs, Stefan Terblanche, Patrick Lambie, Tendai Mtawarira, Wiehahn Herbst, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Jean Dysel, Rory Kockott, Waylon Murray, Odwa Ndugane
