for quality writing

Ken Borland



Sharks’ pipeline picked apart after shameful start to the season 0

Posted on August 01, 2024 by Ken

Considering the big money backing them up, the Sharks’ early form this season was shameful and led to their critics picking apart the franchise. And the consensus seemed to be that their pipeline was to blame, with insufficient depth to make up for the erratic availability and form of their many Springbok stars.

The once-vaunted Sharks Academy was a particular focal point and the franchise’s management have confirmed that revamping that feeder is a priority. Critics of the Academy say that it has become too focused on earning money – allowing lesser players to buy their way into the program – rather than being an impactful high performance set-up.

Director of Rugby Neil Powell has pointed to the success of the Sharks’ junior teams as evidence that their contracting and pipeline are perhaps not as bad as many have portrayed.

“Last season the U19s finished second in their competition, the U20s won their’s unbeaten and the U21s were beaten by one point in the semi-finals,” Powell said. “Which shows our rugby strategy revolves around having a sustainable and successful system, not just one team. We believe success in the foundation phases will filter through to the flagship team.

“We are also looking at a rebuild of our Academy. Coenraad de Villiers headed up the Western Province Academy and we want him to create a high-performance environment which is also a feeder into our system. We have two groups of U19 players here – those who are contracted and those who come to the commercial academy, which has not been a big feeder in the past few years. We’re on a journey to turn that around, which is why we’ve got Coenraad.

“We want to change the perception of the academy: we want a quality rugby program, but the teaching must also be holistic. We want to make sure ambitious kids come into the academy, the expectation is that they develop into good rugby players and hopefully kick on.

“In terms of recruitment, we follow a hybrid approach: We identify world-class talent to obtain but we also want to build through our junior structures. The thinking is that recruiting from the outside is more specific, it’s about certain positions. In a couple of years we hope to be recruiting more from our own systems than from outside.

“It’s crucial that the junior system understands what it takes to be professional, so we can make sure they can filter into the senior system. Players will also not leave if they have love for the Sharks, if they feel at home here. The plan is to bring players through from U21 to the Currie Cup, blood them there, and if they pass that test then they can move on to the United Rugby Championship,” Powell said.

Sharks chief executive Eduard Coetzee, who will vacate his position in July to take up a post in Europe with MVM Holdings, the franchise’s majority investors, has said, however, that they will continue to target high-profile signings as well. He says big-name signings are good for the brand and encourage further investment from commercial partners.

“The market perception is that we contract from the top down, but other teams do this too. The schoolboy pathway is unbelievably important for us too. We have 10 schools in KZN who play at the elite level and they have probably been over-aggressive in scouting for players. In terms of rugby scholarships, R75 million is spent annually by those schools. It’s not healthy, but it’s not just in KZN that it is happening.

“We have to build a programme in conjunction with what the schools are doing. We track players from U12 and we filter in the ones good enough to play professional rugby. From U15 they come through our system and junior structures and they become Sharks. It’s important to have numbers in our academy, while Neil Powell and John Plumtree focus on high performance, and there needs to be a synergy between those two. Just filling in numbers is not good enough for what we require. The academy was owned by third parties, but that has now all been bought back and we hope that it will be an environment that young kids want to be part of.

“Sometimes we do bring in someone with celebrity power, but our focus is definitely our pipeline, so hopefully that dispels that myth. We do have so many Springboks and that has led to long discussions at Board level. It’s wonderful for the Sharks to have World Cup winners walking around Kings Park. Pre-Covid, we had R60 million worth of sponsorship and in the last four years we have doubled that. I believe people and businesses see something different about us: I would say it’s the way we treat each other and the reach of our brand.

“But we are almost victims of our own success having so many Springboks, and there has been a shortfall in terms of our rugby. We are planning the whole make-up of our squad totally differently next season,” Coetzee said.

Former Springbok wing JP Pietersen is an integral part of that planning.

“Our focus points are our coaching structure – to have the right people in the right places; the recruitment and elevation of senior players; a long-term succession plan for our junior group; and the culture and environment of the Sharks,” Powell said. “We want consistency across our structures in terms of coaching and culture. If possible, we would like to fill all coaching vacancies from within the system. JP Pietersen is the head of our junior structures and is also very passionate about the Sharks. He came here as a 19-year-old and went on to play 70 Tests. This is his home.”

While a group of happy players is obviously a positive, some critics say the Sharks are all about the good vibes and culture but are lacking the hunger and grit that comes from hard work.

“The aim is to have a culture that is tough but enjoyable, and to ensure that all the players we recruit can fit into that culture. If we make things too easy, then there won’t be a high enough work ethic and the players will not get fulfilment. Healthy internal competition is how you get the best out of the players,” Powell said.

Kolisi ditching his 5yr Sharks contract is all kosher – Eduard 0

Posted on October 13, 2023 by Ken

Current captain Siya Kolisi will be leaving the Sharks at the end of the season, even though he signed a five-year contract renewal last May, to join Racing 92 in France, and it’s all kosher according to the local franchise’s CEO Eduard Coetzee.

Kolisi’s three-year deal with Racing, a Parisian club, was announced on Tuesday and, while it will no doubt shock Sharks fans and cause consternation in terms of those wondering what happens to the Springbok captaincy after the World Cup, Coetzee said he was leaving Kings Park early with their full blessing.

“Siya’s move to France is a new and exciting opportunity and we could not be happier for him. We are blessed to have him don the black-and-white jersey and we know that over the next few months, he will continue to give back to the team and our fans,” Coetzee said in a Sharks statement, which also said the move was “part of a broader long-term collaboration between the Sharks and Racing 92, with the two clubs having come to an amicable agreement, while they also look forward to continuing to build a mutually-beneficial relationship in the future.”

Kolisi expressed his gratitude to the Sharks for their willingness to part with their most iconic player.

“It has been an incredible collaborative effort between the Sharks and Racing 92 that has enabled me to start a new chapter in my career after the 2023 World Cup.

“I want to give a massive thanks to the Sharks for welcoming me with open arms in 2021, and for making me feel so at home in Durban, while their support over the last couple of years has been hugely influential during a key period in my career.

“I am immensely appreciative that the Sharks have given me their blessing to make this move, and it goes without saying that I will continue to give my all for the team over the next few months,” Kolisi said.

“The signing of Siya Kolisi reinforces the ambitions of Racing 92 and will offer our supporters a high-level of performance,” said Jack Lorenzetti, the owner of Racing.

“His winning ambition and natural leadership makes him a great player, but he’s also a deep humanist. He will bring additional positive energy to Racing 92.”

The 31-year-old’s departure to France, for what is probably hundreds of thousands of euro a year, certainly spices up the debate about how the Springboks should approach the post-2023 World Cup era.

Kolisi will only be 32 at the end of this year’s World Cup, and 36 at the 2027 event in Australia, which he will presumably still be available for given that his Sharks contract was going to run until then.

Whoever is in charge of the Springboks at the end of this year may want to keep Kolisi as captain, perhaps with a handover period to his successor.

Odds against SA as they try to avoid ‘4-day franchise game’ in 2nd Test 0

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Ken

The odds are stacked high against South Africa as their batsmen face trying to avoid turning the second Test versus Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into something akin to a four-day franchise game, ending the third day still needing 371 runs to avoid an innings defeat.

The Proteas batted for just seven overs in their second innings on Wednesday, but in that time they lost captain Dean Elgar, caught down the leg-side for a duck. Sarel Erwee (7*) and Theunis de Bruyn (6*) then took them to 15 for one when rain stopped play at 4.21pm local time.

Mitchell Starc, bleeding from the finger he dislocated in the field on the first day, swung the ball prodigiously, but it was captain Pat Cummins who grabbed the wicket as he bowled three successive maidens.

The bowlers have been through one of their toughest tests as Australia piled on 575 for eight declared, their biggest total against South Africa since they smashed 652 for seven declared at the Wanderers in 2002. It meant the Proteas conceded a monstrous 386-run first-innings lead.

Anrich Nortje produced a thrilling double-strike in his second over of the day as he bowled Travis Head for a dashing 51, shaping the ball back into the left-hander. That brought second-day hero David Warner back to the crease, the left-hander celebrating his 100th Test having retired hurt with severe cramps upon reaching his epic 200*.

But Nortje, whose tremendous fast bowling the previous day had thrilled the MCG crowd almost as much as Warner’s innings, bowled the veteran opener first ball back with an excellent yorker.

Cummins survived the hat-trick ball but was then caught behind off Kagiso Rabada for 4. With Cameron Green and Starc both nursing hand injuries, South Africa may have expected to wrap the innings up quickly as Nathan Lyon came to the crease with Australia on 400 for six, leading by 211.

But Lyon batted brightly to score 25 off 17 balls as he and Alex Carey put on a quickfire 40, and the wicketkeeper/batsman carried on in exhilarating fashion to an exciting maiden Test century, one that ensured Australia enjoyed an insurmountable lead.

With Green surprisingly returning to the crease with a fractured finger and defending stoutly, Carey feasted on the tired bowling on a flat pitch, scoring a superb 111 off 149 balls before offering a return catch to Marco Jansen as he tried to withdraw his bat from a steepling, tennis-ball bounce lifter from the left-arm quick.

Green became more fluent the longer he was at the crease, but his 51 not out was still a grind, albeit a brave one, coming off 177 deliveries in 224 minutes.

Having bowled themselves into the ground, South Africa’s bowlers eventually received some respite when Australia declared shortly before tea, having batted for 145 overs. Nortje earned immense respect for his effort as he finished with three for 92 in 25 overs.

Phepsi eager to be a seller of the Sharks brand 0

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Ken

Eighthman and sometime captain Phepsi Buthelezi knows that as a leading player for the franchise he is a seller of the Sharks brand and he says the team are eager to showcase their true capabilities when the United Rugby Championship resumes with a derby clash against the Lions in Durban on Friday night.

The Sharks have certainly made a superb start to the Champions Cup, victories over Harlequins and then Bordeaux-Begles in France lifting them into fourth place in Pool A. But their URC form has been less compelling – they are currently lying in 10th position after four wins and three defeats.

“We feel we’ve been very inconsistent in the URC,” Buthelezi acknowledged. “We haven’t shown yet what we can really do and we want to make our fans proud. We’re targeting the Lions game and the next few, to get to where we want to be.

“Improving our consistency is our aim and I feel we are getting it right. But the Lions have been on a good run, they’re just off a win against Stade Francais, and we know they are on the up and up.

“I’ve been privileged to play in many South African derbies and we know it will be very physical because it means a lot to the teams. Plus we are not where we want to be on the log.

“But we are in a really good space at the moment, on a good run having won three in a row. So the mood in the camp is very good,” Buthelezi said.

The turnaround in the Sharks’ form has, of course, come since director of rugby Neil Powell took over the coaching reins from the axed Sean Everitt. Buthelezi said the last few weeks had seen the team re-look how they go into matches.

“The big thing has been our process during the week, changing how we go into games physically, emotionally and mentally. We feel it will give us more results and we are still carrying those changes into this week.

“The travel has been really tough. But we have embraced it and we’ve enjoyed spending time with one another. We’ve shown true spirit and taken on our challenges.

“I feel fortunate to be part of this amazing squad, with amazing coaches, and I’m just trying to work hard and be consistent as a player and a leader.

“It’s going to be a massive game against the Lions, but we have a few tricks up our sleeves … ” Buthelezi said.

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Thought of the Day

    Philippians 2:13 – “For it is God who works in you to will [to make you want to] and to act according to his good purpose.”

    When you realise that God is at work within you, and are determined to obey him in all things, God becomes your partner in the art of living. Incredible things start to happen in your life. Obstacles either vanish, or you approach them with strength and wisdom from God. New prospects open in your life, extending your vision. You are filled with inspiration that unfolds more clearly as you move forward, holding God’s hand.” – Solly Ozrovech, A Shelter From The Storm

    But not living your life according to God’s will leads to frustration as you go down blind alleys in your own strength, more conscious of your failures than your victories. You will have to force every door open and few things seem to work out well for you.

     

     



↑ Top