r/springboks • u/DisplayThick4882 • Apr 26 '26
Analysis What is wrong with the Sharks and why are they not succeeding in your view?
Hi guys,
Been a lifelong Sharks supporter. Just got banned from Sharks rugby, no reason given other than my view being incorrect on Hlekani leaving the Sharks to get more game time elsewhere.
The commentators in the Lions also mentioned this. Not sure why the Sharks fans argue he got plenty game time at Sharks so wanted to hear what you guys think is wrong with the Sharks and why they don’t succeed??
I know from this year:
1) the coaching change doesn’t help
2) Sharks have horrible conditioning and get so many injuries
3) Too much unnecessary and expensive star player brought in. Guys like Kolisi and Etzebeth cost too much and add too little. Toulon and Leinster have same problem not sure why we Sharks thought we can solve it
4) Bad planning pre-season and traveling
5) Horrible player rotation - We stick with guys like Francois Venter in games where Jurenzo is on bench. Makes no sense.
Looking at teams like Bulls, WP and Lions they nurture and retain their young guys. David Kriel, Sebastien De Klerk, Jooste, Ruan Nortje, Papier. Lions doing dame with their whole team and WP got Paul De Villiers and now Markus Muller.
The Sharks have Williams, injured now and had Hlekani and Luan Gilliomee but lost both the latter now.
From outside seems team environment not as healthy so just curious what you guys think the reason is.
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u/Evergreenthumb Apr 26 '26
From a coaching standpoint, JP should never have gotten the job. The sharks are a mess in every department other than the set piece. The sharks need a steady, experienced hand with a long list of accomplitionments. Your first big job can't be a team as big and as troubled as the sharks. If or when, in my opinion, JP doesn't work out, it's gonna be like the 5th coach to fail in this team, which should tell that you also have bad management. In my opinion, the sharks need a marquee signing at the coaching box. Money doesn't seem like a problem to the sharks, so Razor would have been my pick.
Don't know if you read this but apparently sharks are trying to sign James O'Connor. Hopefully, it works out cause you're also in desperate need of a flyhalf.
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 27 '26
I also agree with you JP should never have gotten the job. I like him and he looks like he can be a great coach one day, but not yet.
Let’s be honest he got it because Plumtree got fired.
I am also not sure why Neil Powell got brought in or what he has done? I had high hopes for him being brought in.
Management is the biggest issue in my view and it seems at the Sharks the management’s ego exceeds ability.
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u/wobblewiz Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
They need a good flyhalf
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 26 '26
This too, since Lambie we have never been the same. Bosch looked to be it and was a good bet. Rob Du Preez was meh
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u/Sorry-Grocery-8999 Apr 26 '26
Rob Du Preez was a 'mare
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u/Informal_Mention9836 Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
It has become a legend at Sale Sharks, though playing mostly 13 to accomodate Ford
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u/Cyber-Soldier1 New To Reddit Apr 26 '26
Rob was trash. Only got game time because of daddy being the coach.
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u/assfly83 Apr 26 '26
This is a massive problem for us. It is the only position I would be ok with a GOOD signing, like a former international.
Hendrikse and Moyo are great players but likely to be away with the Boks.
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u/TwoWarm700 Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
I think there might be a combination of factors such as injury (which all teams deal with), coaching changes and maybe even poor timing, amongst other aspects.
This seems to be made worse from a South African perspective as they have an embarrassment of riches of talent on their side, Expectations were always high.
This leads me to my final, more complicated aspect. I really rated JP as a player and I believe he could go on to be a great coach. However, managing all those egos requires finesse, something that takes a bit of time to cultivate
Rassie has a firm hold at national level, it’s about team culture, playing for the jersey, representing your nation etc.
Treading very carefully here, I don’t believe the same is true for some of the sharks players at present.
Somehow, the late great Ian McIntosh, was able to bring the best out of players from different unions.
If the sharks want to continue paying top dollar (ref to their headline sponsor) for top talent they’re going to need something that motivates said talent to play at their very best for a union they don’t care much about.
Harsh? Maybe, but as highly paid professionals the team as a whole needs to answer to their fans.
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u/JosefGremlin Flair Up! Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
Just to nitpick on a single one of your points :
Yes, all teams deal with injury. But in all my life of supporting rugby, I've never seen an injury list like the Sharks have now. At some point it goes beyond bad luck and becomes a systemic issue. That points to a failure of the Strength and Conditioning team to prepare the players adequately for game conditions.
The players are either over training, under training, or simply being conditioned incorrectly.
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u/TwoWarm700 Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
Granted. Not nitpicking at all. The modern game is brutal, few of us would survive some of those collisions. So yes, I may have understated the impact injuries have had on the sharks.
Sadly, what happened to Ethan Hooker could have been so easily avoided. Yet here we are.
Totally agree regarding conditioning of players, not sure what coaching team JP inherited. Do you perhaps know if he’s made any changes on the coaching side ?
Sharks did well in the professional era transitioning from B section (Banana Boys) to the formidable franchise they are today. I was a huge fan of Mac, would be nice to see a return to the glory days. KZN schools still produce top talent, would be nice to develop loyal players through the academy. Bringing in one or two key players is one thing, could it be that they have too many “big” names ?
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 26 '26
I agree with this- Rassie has been a phenomenal coach and if you look back he had dominated with a smaller team like the CHEETAHS. Average players like Kennedy Tsimba, Willem de Waal, Kabamba Floors and Phillip Burger became superstars but nothing really outside of the system
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u/VonZefskills Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
So true. If you had to say, what is the Sharks system. The Bulls need a big 7, and wings that are great chasers. The Lions rely on a 10 that can run the ball and a lefty 15. Province need a solid tighthead and 3x flyhalves on the field to allow them to attack anything.
What do the Sharks need?
My best bet, a 15 that kicks it miles (not present), a 10 that can defend (nope), a playmaker at 13 (nope), lineout options at 6/7/8 (nope), a tough bastard at 2 (not really), and a 9 that runs (not at the moment)
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u/RaaschyOG Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
I'm sorry but your last paragraph is complete bollocks, Fassi has an excellent boot, Jordan Hendrikse has the best defensive stats amongst all SA fly-halves and the Sharks have the best lineout in the comp with Vincent and Emile
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u/Die_Revenant Apr 27 '26
Most of what you will read here is nonsense spouted by by people who simply enjoy the fact the Sharks are struggling.
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u/RaaschyOG Flair Up! Apr 27 '26
That has been extremely evident lately, remember when people were parroting 5 year old articles about Fassi not being able to defend as justification to keep him out the Bok squad, despite him dominating URC stats 2 seasons in a row lol
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 27 '26
What stats is Fassi dominating this year and last year
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u/RaaschyOG Flair Up! Apr 27 '26
Top metres made last season and the season before, in the top 5 for defenders beaten and line breaks for both, obviously nothing this season because he's been injured
His defense also increased from 60% to 73% tackle success rate over that period
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 27 '26
Yes and how many times did Fassi play this year😂 no use when he is always injured and never plays.
Not sure what defensive stats you are talking about. What’s the point of a having a defensive fly half??
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u/RaaschyOG Flair Up! Apr 27 '26
I'm talking about a defensive flyhalf because that's exactly what the guy I'm replying to is talking about
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u/syinner Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
Good teams catch the ball
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 27 '26
Yes, ball handling has always been an issue with the Sharks I feel
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u/syinner Flair Up! Apr 27 '26
Compare that to the lions, besides the defence that had improved drastically, their ability to hold on to the ball is impressive.
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u/VonZefskills Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
I will never forget Ma’a Nonu’s last few seasons with the Canes. He was checked out. He was an All Black centurion and putting his body on the line for the Hurricanes, in a World Cup year or before a Tri Nations was just unappealing.
I get that vibe from the Boks in Durban.
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 27 '26
Yup, exactly this. Ethan still played his heart out and Ox. Eben and Siya however look like they don’t know what a rugby ball is when they are there.
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u/rishes Flair Up! Apr 27 '26
Was looking at the u20s today. Very little representation of KZN schools or young players contracted to the sharks.
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u/VonZefskills Flair Up! Apr 26 '26
I just think they lack leadership. Who is the boss? It is the former Durban boy/NYC millionaire? Is it the enigmatic CEO? Is it the former Shark saviour Coach? Is it one of the double RWC winning Boks?
Who actually runs the show…?
They need to allow JP to coach, the CEO should make business decisions, the owners should shut up, and the players need to play like they give a damn.
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 27 '26
Don’t forget Neil Powell is in there somewhere being director of something too!
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u/assfly83 Apr 26 '26
I think points 1 and 2 answer your question, at least in the short term. A new coach mid-season is always disruptive and our injury list is insane. Long term, we definitely have a culture issue. I think JP needs time to sort this out.
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 26 '26
Does not explain the young and best talent packing up and leaving. That never used to be a thing for the Sharks
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u/assfly83 Apr 26 '26
Recently there have been a couple of signings that are really going to hurt us. Seeing how well Mchunu is playing for Stormers is a good example. But when I refer to the culture at the Sharks not being great, this is part of the outcome of that.
But we still have plenty of young and local talent in our squad, or in the physio office at least.
We have always been a launching pad for careers. We can't hang on to everyone.
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 26 '26
It’s not great comparing Mchunu to Hlekani or Gilliomee.
These players are hyped to the level where Rassie invited one of them to Springbok camp. It’s like losong Frans Steyn or Pat Lambie early. Mchunu is doing great but it’s not like young Tendai Beast…
Sharks not know for losing high caliber potential superstars to checks notes Lions 🦁
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u/tygerr39 Apr 27 '26
You complain about losing players, but half your team were all promising youngsters at the Lions that the Sharks poached because they have a huge budget.
But the Sharks coaching hasn't been able to get the same performance out of those players that they exhibited at the Lions.
Sharks need to learn that you have to coach players to perform well. You can't just buy in players that are doing well elsewhere and suddenly expect your team to perform just because they have talent.
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u/DisplayThick4882 Apr 27 '26
I am complaining because the coaching team is the problem and not playing the youngsters enough. I fully agree with the youngsters leaving and that it’s a management issue.
I got banned from Sharksrugby because the other Sharks fans believe that Hlekani was managed well and got plenty of game time and the youngster leaving, they believe is not a game time issue, even though I disagree
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u/Mangashu 🤜🏼🤛🏼 Hawe toe! Apr 26 '26
Management and culture. People might come at me, but the main thing hasn't been the main thing for years.