Roar Guru
The Sharks host the Western Force in Round 6 of Super Rugby, with the Force needing a result to get their result back on track.
Join The Roar for live scores from Sunday morning, 2am AEDT.
Battle of the bad boys
A total of four cards were handed to the men from Natal and Western Australia. Bismarck du Plessis misses the first of four matches today due to suspension for kicking the Chiefs’ Michael Leitch in the head.
It would be misplaced thinking to assume Patrick Lambie is omitted due to foul play. He is being rested, which is probably a safe measure – considering they have won all matches against the Force played in Durban, whilst also scoring twice as many points as the men from Australia.
Lambie’s inside centre partner Francois Steyn was the other Sharks player who received a red card last week. Whilst the judiciary exonerated him, SANZAR has appealed the judgement and will be reviewed next week. In the meantime, he will be the Sharks’ playmaker.
Tetera Faulkner and Adam Coleman were the men from the Western Australia who were forced from the field through yellow cards. They were two of many players who conceded several infringements when defending the Bulls’ maul early in the second half.
Sharks’ set piece superiority: Back to the future?
The Force have the worst scrum success rate in the competition. They also have the fewest lineout steals.
Conversely, the Sharks are the tournament leaders in lineout steals. Although leading jumper Pieter-Steph du Toit is rested, the other leading lineout thieves in Marco Wentzel and Ryan Kankowski will be ready to pilfer from Nathan Charles’ short throws.
If their set piece form continues, the Sharks may be tempted to employ good ole ‘Jake Ball’ to keep possession and territory away from the Force.
The scrum by the men from Perth improved last week, probably due to the additional back five power including Adam Coleman and Steve Mafi.
The premier Springboks props will be facing off with the Wallaby backup props. It would be interesting to see if the Force can lift their scrum further today. Failing to do so, will end their chances for victory, or even scoring points.
Kane Koteka. Meet Johnny Diesel.
Today is the second game Super Rugby match for Perth-born, 21 year old, 94 kg openside flanker Kane Koteka. Last week, he matched up fairly well against 105 kg super tackler ‘Lappies’ Labuschagne. Today, he will compete in the rucks against the 110kg Sharks captain and Springbok, Jean Deysel.
Can the backs play?
If the Sharks’ pack dominates set piece and controls that game, we may not be able to see if the good form demonstrated by Luke Burton and Kyle Godwin will continue. Both the zippy SP Marais and the tricky Luke Morahan will inject themselves strategically to create opportunities to score tries.
Conrad Hoffmann. Meet Adam Coleman. And Steve Mafi. And Ben McCalman
Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach is also being rested. In his place is the ex-Brumbie Hoffman, who will make his first start this season. The Force may look to disrupt the Sharks forwards rhythm by targeting Hoffman.
Nevertheless, the bookies have the Sharks as a clear favourite. In order to deliver an upset, the Western Force need hold up their set piece and take advantage of the missing regular Sharks starters.
Join The Roar for live scores of the match on Sunday morning, and join the discussion in the comments section below.