Ken Borland

Freddie Michalak overcame a week of illness to inspire a remarkable 26-19 victory for the Sharks over the Stormers in their all-South African SuperRugby semi-final at Newlands on Saturday.
The Sharks will now travel down to New Zealand to face the Chiefs in next weekend’s final and will need to overcome even greater odds than they conquered in Cape Town.
The Stormers, having topped the overall standings, unbeaten at home and having the best defensive record, were expected to freeze out a Sharks team that had just flown halfway around the world twice after their memorable win over the Reds in Brisbane.
But Michalak, the veteran of 56 Tests, showed nerves of steel as he slotted two drop goals, as well as a pair of penalties and conversions, to build on the superb work of his forwards.
Starting at number one Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, who gave the Stormers a torrid time in the scrums, through to the second row, where Anton Bresler was outstanding, to the rugged loose trio that pilfered ball, were tough on defence and carried the ball menacingly, the Sharks pack ensured enough front-foot possession and momentum to hold off the effects of jetlag.
Sharks coach John Plumtree, who sprang a surprise before kickoff by playing JP Pietersen at outside centre, Louis Ludik on the wing and big-kicking Riaan Viljoen at fullback (all inspired moves), admitted that he had delayed his final selection to allow Michalak to recover from a bug that left him vomiting all week.
“Freddie has been ill this week and at one stage it looked as if he wouldn’t even play. But he’s a great guy for just keeping the scoreboard ticking over and he kept the Stormers at arm’s length. He’s a great reader of the game and he’s been fantastic in the team environment,” Plumtree said.
“He’s really enjoying himself. He’s a big game player, the bigger the game, the bigger the occasion, the more he loves it. We’ve given him a lot of responsibility in how we want to play the game and he has been going really well and I am really pleased for him.”
Michalak’s top-class performance saw him rewarded with the man of the match award: He married a reliable boot to a variety of options with ball in hand and a sense of calm under pressure.
Although the 29-year-old is now returning to France to play for Toulon, the Sharks would welcome him back. And the feeling appears to be mutual.
“It’s a bonus to be on the Sharks team and I try my best every week to lead from the front. I want to go on and win the trophy and everyone is helping me to do my best, I have the confidence of the coaches too. I’m happy,” Michalak said.
Michalak’s vision and intuition played a part in both Sharks tries.
In the 35th minute, he turned a defensive position into attack with enormous composure, allowing Viljoen to launch a pinpoint up-and-under that Ludik claimed to speed away for the opening try.
And then, on the hour mark, he shaped to kick another drop goal but instead dashed swiftly on to attack before feeding the ball to Pietersen, whose shimmy outside and step inside wrecked the Stormers defence and gave him the match-winning try.
Michalak’s impressive 30-metre drop goal gave the Sharks a 26-19 lead with four minutes to go, but they were hanging on by a prayer at the end, the Toulon-bound enigma ending the match on his back, weeping for joy.

The Sharks scored two tries to one and French flyhalf Fred Michalak kicked two crucial drop goals as they beat the Stormers 26-19 in their SuperRugby semi-final at Newlands on Saturday.

Wing Louis Ludik and outside centre JP Pietersen, the Sharks’ two most dangerous outside backs, scored the tries and the experienced Michalak also added both conversions and two penalties to end with 16 points.

The Sharks had to contend with travel fatigue, having beaten the Reds in Brisbane last weekend, as well as the passionate Newlands crowd and a table-topping Stormers team that was unbeaten at home this season and had the best defensive record in the competition.

But the Sharks’ tight five dominated and their marauding loose trio carried the ball strongly and disrupted the Stormers’ possession, providing plenty of front-foot ball for their backs. Michalak, capped 56 times for France, played with immense composure and varied his game well, and Pietersen and Ludik were massive threats with ball in hand.

“It’s going to take a while to get over this, but we can only blame ourselves, we had 80 minutes to prove we were good enough and we came up short. We get such good support but we don’t have a cup to show for it – that’s what makes it tough,” Stormers captain Jean de Villiers said after his team’s fifth defeat in six SuperRugby playoffs.

“But credit to the Sharks for travelling so much and then putting on a fantastic performance tonight. If there’s a team you can’t bet against us in these competition it’s them and we’re definitely behind them all the way,” De Villiers added.

“The boys put their bodies on the line and it was tough coming to Newlands having spent last week in Australia, but the boys showed resilience. We had a lot of motivation to do something that’s never been done before. The front row and the tight five really put their hands up,” Sharks captain Keegan Daniel said.

The Stormers were first on the scoreboard as Sharks hooker Bismarck du Plessis was laid low by a rampaging Eben Etzebeth, the lock’s powerful charge setting up a penalty which flyhalf Peter Grant kicked (0-3).

But the Sharks showed they were more than up for the physical challenge, despite their jetlag, and the rest of the half belonged to them. With Michalak pulling the strings, they led 13-6 at the break.

The Stormers scrum was all at sea against the all-Springbok Sharks front row and Michalak was presented with a 13th-minute penalty to level the scores.

The home side were able to see off the strong forward drives of the Sharks, but the front-foot ball allowed Michalak to slot a drop goal to see the Sharks in front midway through the first half.

The Stormers trailled from then onwards and, although their defence at close quarters was sound, they were pinned in their own territory by the strong Sharks kicking game.

Michalak stayed calm under pressure to turn a defensive position after a Stormers kick into attack, fullback Riaan Viljoen hoisting a pinpoint up-and-under. Ludik was there like a flash, winning the ball and then stepping inside to race away and score the opening try.

Michalak converted and, even though Grant kicked a penalty on the half-time hooter to close the gap to seven points, there was no doubt which side held the upper hand.

The 29-year-old Frenchman could not succeed with a drop goal attempt that was half charged down five minutes after the break, but it did give the Sharks good field position and, when the Stormers could not legally stop a rolling maul off a lineout, it gave Michalak another penalty (16-6).

Viljoen could not convert a long-range penalty six minutes later, and the Sharks would be trapped offsides by a succession of attacking phases, allowing Grant to kick a penalty and close the gap to 9-16.

On the hour mark, Michalak shaped as if he would be attempting another drop goal, but then darted on to attack, passing the ball to Pietersen. His shimmy outside and step inside was enough to ensure the Stormers’ defence would be parted and he then sped away for the try.

Michalak’s conversion made the score 23-9, but there was always likely to be some tailing off from the Sharks given all their travelling, and the Stormers dominated the final quarter.

Grant pushed a 62nd-minute penalty wide to add to the other mistakes he made in the game, but the Stormers then kept the ball for 13 phases, stretching the Sharks left and right, before lightning-fast wing Gio Aplon was able to dash through what was left of the defence to score the home side’s only try.

Grant added the extra two points and then kicked a penalty from in front of the posts to leave the Stormers just four points behind with eight minutes remaining.

But Michalak then stepped up and, given a wonderful platform by the hard work of his forwards, kicked a 76th-minute drop goal from 30 metres out.

The Stormers burst back on to attack but, even though the Sharks looked out on their feet, there was no gap to break through.

Flank Daniel, an ever-present influence at the rucks, and Pietersen then combined to steal a vital turnover and send the Sharks back to Australasia for the final.

There they will meet the Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton.

Scorers

Stormers – Try: Gio Aplon. Conversion: Peter Grant. Penalties: Grant (4).

Sharks – Tries: Louis Ludik, JP Pietersen. Conversions: Fred Michalak (2). Penalties: Michalak (2). Drop goals – Michalak (2).

While the Stormers or Sharks will still have to ward off a New Zealand franchise to win the 2012 SuperRugby title, it is fair to say South African teams have dominated the competition thus far.

The Stormers sit proudly on top of the standings and will host the final if they beat the Sharks, cock-a-hoop after their stunning qualifier triumph in Brisbane over the Reds, while the Bulls also finished in the top six and made the playoffs, although they then messed up in Christchurch against the Crusaders.

The Cheetahs had their best season yet in the southern hemisphere competition, winning five matches and earning 10 bonus points to finish in 10^th place.

The Lions, however, were the major disappointment again. Beset by rumours that they are going to be relegated from SuperRugby and replaced by the Eastern Cape-based Southern Kings, in financial trouble and then having to suspend coach John Mitchell because of unhappiness with his management style, they won just three games and finished last.

South Africans had approached the season with cautious optimism … and it turned out way better than expected.

The Stormers were tipped to challenge for the title, but to top the log was a massive bonus, even if there was some concern over their inability to score tries. They became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages without earning a single try-scoring bonus point, although the fact that they won 14 of their 16 matches shows tries might be over-rated in this competition.

The Sharks and Bulls both had handy line-ups, but the loss of key experience was meant to keep them from challenging.

John Smit and Stefan Terblanche had left the inconsistent Sharks, while the Bulls had said goodbye to Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw, Gurthro Steenkamp, Gary Botha and Derick Kuun.

The strong finishes of the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks also suggests they timed their climb to the summit better than some of their Australasian rivals in the first season of extended SuperRugby with a break for the June Tests.

South Africa are also the SuperRugby powerhouses based on attendances and TV viewership.

On any weekend, nearly 350 000 people could be expected to watch a SuperRugby match on TV, an increase of 17% on last year.

On derby days, that would increase to nearly a million – the average audience for derbies was 990 062.

The average attendance at the ground for all South African games was 26 617 but the Stormers, especially when they went on their six-match unbeaten run at the start of the season, had the best attendance figures averaging around 40 000. Compare this to the 16 000 people who watched the Crusaders beat the Bulls in such impressive fashion in their qualifier in Christchurch last weekend.

But the figures still do not match those of South Africa’s traditional domestic competition, the Currie Cup, and there is still a large school of thought that Sanzar have fabricated the current SuperRugby format in order to favour Australia.

Critics pointed to the fact that the leading Australian franchise were guaranteed at least third place on the final log as evidence and the Reds would have finished sixth had normal rules applied.

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South Africa fullback Zane Kirchner has been ruled out of the second Test against England and Stormers utility back Gio Aplon has been called up into the Springbok squad to replace him, team management announced on Monday.

Kirchner injured his knee during the 22-17 first Test victory in Durban last weekend and was unable to take the field for the second half. The 27-year-old had a scan on Monday morning and, according to a statement released by team management, “it was decided that he would not be considered for the second Test”, in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The statement said Kirchner’s knee would be checked again next week ahead of the final Test in Port Elizabeth on June 23.

Aplon was one of the original 42-man Springbok training squad announced last month and was considered a controversial omission from the final squad, having starred for the Stormers en route to the top of the South African SuperRugby conference and having played in last year’s World Cup.

The diminutive Aplon [1.75m, 78kg] has played 16 Tests and his omission caused a storm of protest in his home city of Cape Town.

Kirchner is likely to be replaced in the starting line-up by Sharks utility back Pat Lambie, who slotted in well at fullback in the second half of the first Test. Aplon has the ability to play both fullback and wing.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said on Monday that although Lambie was a quality replacement, fullback was a specialist position that would require some thought.

“Obviously Pat is a great fullback and he had a good second half, I was happy with his performance. Obviously he’s one of the guys who has played there before and it’s easy to use the group system, that’s helpful. But it’s always tough losing a fullback because it means you need a specialist reserve,” Meyer said.

South Africa’s other injury concern is prop Coenie Oosthuizen, who can play on either side of the front five and came off the bench in Durban.
Oosthuizen experienced pain in his shoulder and neck region on Monday morning and Bulls prop Dean Greyling has been called up as cover.

Meyer said Oosthuizen’s potential unavailability after earning his first test cap, would seriously complicate matters because he wants to go into the match with a prop on the bench who is comfortable with playing both loosehead and tighthead prop.
Greyling, 26 years old, has played Two tests, both 11 months ago when South Africa sent a weakened team to the away leg of the Tri-Nations in Australia and New Zealand.

Meyer also praised England for their defence in the first Test and said it had been hard for the Springboks to get their game-plan going.

“Our scrumhalf, Francois Hougaard, struggled a little bit because a lot of guys up front haven’t fitted in together before and didn’t provide him enough protection. That’s rustiness and we worked on that today, but credit to England because they pressed hard in midfield. They’re a quality side and their defence was good,” Meyer said.

“England were awesome at times, they showed great defence and great discipline and you can not go into a comfort zone against that sort of quality. They don’t give up like a lot of other teams give up and they came right at the end.”