The Natal Sharks were one of the maiden South African teams in Super Rugby competition, being established in 1996. The Sharks made the final in their maiden year, going down to the Blues in the decider. Despite making three Super Rugby finals, the Sharks are yet to win a title, with their last loss being a heartbreaking final defeat to the Bulls in 2007.
And yes, semi is intended both ways. While most will agree the Sharks season is a bust, there is no reason to write them off just yet.
41 points was all that the Crusaders required for a 4th place finish in last year’s edition of the competition.
41 points also saw the Hurricanes through in [...] Read article
Brumbies coach Andy Friend praised his front row after they outmuscled a Springbok trio to set up a 24-22 win over the Sharks in Canberra on Saturday night.
The Sharks remain winless this season, having lost nine out of their past ten Super 14 matches, while the Brumbies have now notched three wins in a row.
The [...] Read article
The furore from the Sharks over the refereeing of the Australian referee, Paul Marks, in his handling of the match against the NSW Waratahs was always going to happen in Super Rugby, sooner or later.
The system of using local referees, instead of neutral referees, was brought in last year when the South African, Andre Watson, [...] Read article
Sharks coach John Plumtree has added to the criticism of referee Paul Marks by saying the official’s decisions cost his team victory in the Super 14 match against New South Wales last weekend.
Plumtree told the Sharks Website on Tuesday that those “big decisions” were responsible for his team’s fourth defeat in four games this season.
The [...] Read article
The NSW Waratahs held on for dear life to post a potentially season-saving 25-21 victory over the Sharks in Saturday night’s Super 14 clash at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Playing their first home match of 2010 after a draining fortnight in South Africa, the Waratahs spent most of the final quarter camped inside their own half [...] Read article
My prediction of a two point Sharks victory was so close to being right… 21-25 down and the Sharks had three opportunities to kick at goal in the dying minutes.
They spurned two and missed one… two successful kicks would have put them 27-25 up. Why?
And then Kanko’s penalty try! Or what should have been [...] Read article
The Waratahs view Saturday’s Super 14 rugby clash with the Sharks as the start of a three week campaign which could ultimately make or break their finals campaign.
Both teams will be hungry for points, with the Waratahs starting round four in 11th position with just one victory and the win-less Sharks one place and three [...] Read article
Call me crazy, but there are many reasons for predicting a Sharks victory on Saturday. Firstly, John Smit is back at hooker. The prop experiment has been a fiasco at every level, the Springbok frontrow is a joke.
And now so are the Sharks, even though they feature five current Springboks.
But order is restored, [...] Read article
In the final moments of the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, the match, which had see-sawed for almost 100 minutes, was finally decided by an ice-cold Jonny Wilkinson field goal.
In that moment, Wilkinson entered rugby mythology as the architect of an England triumph.
In 1991, David Campese sliced across field and darted inside John Kirwan [...]
Reds coach Ewen McKenzie has insisted Queensland’s future remains in safe hands despite being angered by the defection of rising prop Laurie Weeks to the Melbourne Rebels.
On a dramatic day, starting with the surprise exclusion of veteran centre Morgan Turinui from the 26-man tour squad to South Africa, Weeks was announced as the Rebels’ first [...]
NSW coach Chris Hickey may be forced to accelerate plans to rotate his squad, with injury doubts over two members of his pack for Saturday’s Super 14 clash with Western Force in Perth.
Neither No.8 Wycliff Palu (hamstring) or prop Al Baxter (calf) ran at training on Thursday and were struggling to be fit enough in [...]
Western Force coach John Mitchell has named an unchanged starting line-up for Saturday’s Super 14 clash with NSW in Perth, believing his players deserve the chance to atone for last week’s 50-10 pummelling at the hands of Queensland.
The Force sit last on the table with no points from their four games.
And despite the Force’s horror [...]
Super 14 preview panel for this weekend’s round six match (all times AEDT).
FRIDAY
BLUES v BRUMBIES at Eden Park, Auckland at 5.35pm
Last meeting: Brumbies 37 bt Blues 15 at Canberra
The Brumbies have slowly risen to equal fourth by grinding out four tight wins. They face a massive test here to continue their streak with the Blues [...]
And yes, semi is intended both ways. While most will agree the Sharks season is a bust, there is no reason to write them off just yet.
41 points was all that the Crusaders required for a 4th place finish in last year’s edition of the competition.
41 points also saw the Hurricanes through in [...]
Skipper Keven Mealamu wants to see the Blues do the business first before he celebrates a personal Super 14 rugby milestone on Friday night.
The match against the Brumbies will be the All Black hooker’s 100th for the Blues, extending the franchise record he broke when he got to 98 in the win over the Reds [...]
The Waratahs have unsurprisingly stuck with the combination that thrashed the Lions in their last Super 14 start for Saturday’s clash with the Western Force in Perth.
Despite some injury concerns it is the third week in a row that coach Chris Hickey has retained the same 22-man squad.
Hickey said that he was monitoring the work [...]
Record-breaking Reds hooker Sean Hardman is battling for minutes on the paddock and he couldn’t be happier.
Hardman still has the desire and drive to see out his 12-season Super rugby career as a starting player but the 141-cap Queensland stalwart is pleased young rake Saia Faingaa has epitomised the born-again Reds.
Faingaa and his twin Anthony [...]
Headlines have read that Waratahs prop Dan Palmer is heading to the Brumbies next season due to “the teams’ direction” and “regular game time” as he sits behind Baxter, Robinson and Kepu.
I might be over-simplifying this, but looking at the Brumbies, they have Alexander (who, if fit, will always start), Ma’afu and Sheperdson on the [...]
