Sharks to apply the suffocation treatment

It will be Operation Lockdown and Suffocate for the Cell C Sharks when they tackle the Highlanders in their Vodacom Super Rugby play-off match at Growthpoint Kings Park on Saturday.
The 34-10 win over the DHL Stormers in the final league match in Cape Town last weekend has served to reaffirm the Sharks’ belief in the simple but effective subdue and suffocate strategy that has helped them to a record of 11 wins in 16 starts during the regular season and saw them finish top of the South African conference for the first time.
It was the conference victory that determined that the Sharks have home ground advantage, and while many of the Sharks’ fans have been lamenting the lack of try scoring bonus points that might have seen their team bypass this match and advance straight to a home semifinal, the Sharks have taken confidence from the feeling they have been playing knock-out rugby all season.
“We have been playing play-off rugby since the start of the season so this will be no different,” said reserve scrumhalf Charl McLeod early in the build-up week.
Director of rugby Jake White concurred, and made it abundantly clear both at the post-match press conference at Newlands last week and after announcing his team on Thursday that there would be no deviation from the template. “Cut and paste” was the way he described what is needed from now on, meaning that what worked against the Stormers needs to just be transported into this game.
And when he says the Highlanders have to be shut down and given no room to breathe, it would be hard for anyone who saw the league fixture between the teams at Kings Park in late April to disagree that is the way to go about it. While the Highlanders did surprise with the strength of their forward game against a depleted Sharks pack, it was the visiting team’s ability to punish the Sharks with turn-over possession and make full use of half-opportunities that shone through.
White agrees that the return of Ben Smith to fullback will make a big difference to the Highlanders’ confidence levels and approach going into the Durban game.
“It is not just that Ben Smith is a good player, it is also the effect that he has on the players around him that makes him important for them. He brings a calmness, much like Patrick Lambie does for us when he is playing. We saw what happened to the Highlanders when he wasn’t playing,” said White.
Smith is probably the best in the world when it comes to turning defence into attack, and in wings Richard Buckman and Patrick Osborne, plus the exciting outside centre Malakai Fekitoa, he does have players around him who can maximize any scoring chances that he can spark.
So the Sharks will have to kick accurately, and also chase accurately, and they cannot afford to be inaccurate at the breakdowns either.
“We had a lot of ball turned over last time, and my memory of that game is of JP Pietersen having the ball lost from his hands about four or five times, sometimes in try-scoring situations,” said White.
“JP has played well since then, but the emphasis must be on cutting down on mistakes and we also need to hit them hard at the breakdowns to stop them from getting quick ball to play with.
“You don’t want to give any Kiwi side quick ball. If you offer them quick ball to play with they have the backs to run you to pieces. So we will have to make sure we don’t give them anything. We all know that they are frail sometimes as a forward pack. So we will try to make the game as tight as possible and make as few mistakes as possible.”
If they get that mission right on Saturday, it will be ideal preparation for the following week’s clash with the Crusaders in Christchurch, where the same template will have to be employed if they are to win. However, what the Sharks can probably do without in this game is spending too much time without the ball, as they should already be carrying the after-effects of last week’s particularly bruising clash with the Stormers.
In the second half the Sharks spend long periods just defending, and by some accounts their dressing room was like a war zone afterwards. The less hard contact the Sharks take, and the less tackling they have to do the better for the Sharks if they are to prevail in a Christchurch semifinal. The problem for them is that the Highlanders have lacked intensity in their last two games but are sure to come out firing, so while a Sharks win is expected, they may encounter some turbulence along the way.
Teams for Durban
CELL C SHARKS: 15.SP Marais, 14.S’bura Sithole, 13.JP Pietersen, 12.Paul Jordaan, 11.Lwazi Mvovo, 10.Frans Steyn, 9.Cobus Reinach, 8.Ryan Kankowski, 7.Willem Alberts, 6.Marcell Coetzee, 5.Stephan Lewies, 4.Anton Bresler, 3.Jannie du Plessis, 2.Bismarck du Plessis (captain), 1.Thomas du Toit.< br> Replacements: 16.Kyle Cooper, 17.Dale Chadwick, 18.Lourens Adriaanse, 19.Etienne Oosthuizen, 20.Jean Deysel, 21.Charl McLeod, 22.Pat Lambie, 23.Tonderai Chavhanga.
HIGHLANDERS: 15.Ben Smit (co-captain), 14.Richard Buckman, 13.Malakai Fekitoa, 12.Phil Burleigh, 11.Patrick Osborne, 10.Lima Sopoaga, 9.Aaron Smith, 8.Nasi Manu (co-captain), 7.Shane Christie, 6.Elliot Dixon, 5.Joe Wheeler, 4.Jarrad Hoeata, 3.Chris King, 2.Ged Robinson, 1.Kane Hames.
Replacements: 16.Liam Coltman, 17.Matias Diaz, 18.JP Koen, 19.Josh Bekhuis, 20.Tom Franklin, 21.Fumiaki Tanaka, 22.Trent Renata, 23.Gareth Evans.
Kick-off: 5.05pm (Saturday)
Prediction: Sharks to dominate forward battle and win by 10 to 15.
BRUMBIES v CHIEFS (Saturday, 11.40am SA time).
The earlier quarterfinal on Saturday sees a re-enactment of last year’s final, though the more recent clash between the teams in Canberra in the league phase of the competition might give us a better indication of what to expect. The Brumbies won that 41-23. However, since then the Chiefs have had flyhalf and captain Aaron Cruden return, while Stephen Moore, one of the leaders in the Brumbies side, was injured playing for the Wallabies during the June international window.
The Brumbies lost their way a bit after the big win over the Chiefs, but last week against the Western Force they had players coming back from injury and they looked set to regain the form of earlier. Matt Toomua was excellent at flyhalf, while Henry Speight adds a lot of thrust now that he is back on the wing. The Chiefs don’t have the awesome backline of past seasons and look a little limited at the moment, even though their championship qualities have started to come through during the business end of the season. In Canberra the Brumbies have the edge.
Teams for Canberra
BRUMBIES: 15.Jesse Mogg, 14.Henry Speight, 13.Tevita Kuridrani, 12.Christian Lealiifano, 11.Robbie Coleman, 10.Matt Toomua, 9.Nic White, 8.Ben Mowen, 7.Jarrad Butler, 6.Scott Fardy, 5.Leon Power, 4.Sam Carter, 3.Ben Alexander, 2.Josh Mann-Rea, 1.Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16.Ruaidhri Murphy, 17.Ruan Smith, 18.Allan Alaalatoa, 19.Fotu Auelua, 20.Tom McVerry, 21.Michael Dowsett, 22.Joe Tomane, 23.Pat McCabe.
CHIEFS: 15.Dwayne Sweeney, 14.Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 13.Tim Nanai-Williams, 12.Bundee Aki, 11.James Lowe, 10.Aaron Cruden (captain), 9.Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8.Liam Squire, 7.Tanerau Latimer, 6.Liam Messam, 5.Brodie Retallick, 4.Mike Fitzgerald, 3.Ben Tameifuna, 2.Mahroni Schwalger, 1.Jamie Mackintosh.
Replacements: 16.Nathan Harris, 17.Pauliasi Manu, 18.Nick Barrett, 19.Matt Symons, 20.Tevita Kologamatangi, 21.Augustine Pulu, 22.Gareth Anscombe, 23.Tom Marshall.
Referee: Craig Joubert.
Prediction: Brumbies to win by 7.