Ken Borland

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.

Proteas captain Dean Elgar admitted to having to bite his tongue at times after the second Test capitulation against Australia, as well as believing in positive affirmation for his team, but when he described their innings-and-182-run thrashing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday as a “pretty weak performance”, it was prim and proper criticism.

South Africa struggled to 204 all out in 68.5 overs on Friday, Australia having piled up 575 for eight declared in response to the tourists’ inadequate 189 in the first innings, to lose the series 2-0, and their lack of fight with the bat was not befitting a team with their legacy in Australia, where they have won their last three Test rubbers.

“It was a pretty weak performance in conditions that were in favour of really good Test cricket,” Elgar said. “It’s pretty disappointing how we ended up when I wanted to see us really give the Aussies a fight, really value our wickets.

“We showed a lot more character with ball in hand, even though they batted us into the ground. There was not as much character in our batting and it is tough to digest.

“But we need to keep going, I still believe in positive affirmation for my team and the guys that are here are talented cricketers and hardened first-class players, just not at international level.

“You’ve got to believe that you are just one knock away from finding form and I keep reminding them that they are not crap cricketers. We’ll be playing for the badge and the pride of the team in the third Test,” Elgar said.

Temba Bavuma, who provided most of the resistance on Friday with a 201-minute innings of 65, told SuperSport after the game that the hunger David Warner had shown in scoring 200 before retiring with severe cramps was the sort of example the Proteas batsmen needed to follow.

“The batting is a worry, it was not good enough on probably one of the better pitches we’ve played on recently. Australia showed it, with Warner really making it count, but unfortunately we could not put anything of substance together,” Bavuma said.

“Australia have done things right, while we have not done it for long periods. Warner started with good intensity, he put the bowlers under pressure, scored at every opportunity and, most importantly, made it count to the point of almost putting himself in hospital. He showed what is required,” Bavuma said.

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 100^th 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.

Bulls coach Jake White said whether he was right or wrong to rest his first-choice players from European Champions Cup action and then they still lost to the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship derby in Cape Town is only going to be decided at the end of the season.

Despite bringing a fresh, best-available team to Cape Town to tackle the defending champions, the Bulls were humbled 37-27, allowing critics to wonder whether it was worth sending the second-stringers to Devon last weekend and being soundly beaten by Exeter Chiefs.

“We have five points from two games in the Champions Cup, both us and the Stormers do,” White pointed out. “The decision had nothing to do about today, it was not a measure of whether I was right or wrong.

“We will only measure that by June next year. There was no way the same team could play today after flying 26 hours in economy and only arriving back Monday lunchtime.

“We’ve lost four times in a row now to the Stormers, but we will see in June when we have three competitions on the go. If I was only concerned with European competition then maybe I would have done things differently.

“But my brief as director of rugby comes from a decision made by the board. Next year’s Currie Cup will be played Wednesday-Saturday-Saturday, which is a helluva ask. Plus we only have eight training days in January because of the travel,” White said.

The former Springbok coach said the naivety of his team was a concern, putting it down to inexperience.

“It didn’t help playing 20 minutes with 14 guys, but we showed moments of inexperience, which was disappointing,” White said. “There were four minutes of madness when they scored three of their four tries.

“You can’t say you should have won when you’ve conceded four tries, but our attack was held up on the Stormers’ line a couple of times. The Stormers really stormed the breakdown.

“They would rather concede penalties than the try, and defence coach Norman Laker has been there a long time. In fact their whole coaching staff has been there a long time, so they are much more fluent.

“I don’t enjoy losing, but it’s a complete and utter juggling act at the moment. We are still young, every player in the Stormers pack is older than his Bulls counterpart. We have six guys who are 23 or younger,” White said.