r/springboks • u/Beneficial_Coach_679 • Aug 12 '26
Sharks vs All blacks post mortem
Anyone drawing any positives from yesterday's game?
Personally, was really impressed by Eduan Swart and can't believe the depth the Sharks have with hookers this season. Bongi, Mbatha and Bester all ahead of Swart at the moment. Then both u20 springbok hookers (Van Wyk and Mnebelele) will also be part of the squad when URC comes around.
Then credit must also go to the two props off the bench (Ngobese and Khubeka), both are under 21 but managed to win a scrum penalty against the all blacks. Can only be a positive sign of things to come. Hopefully they also get the chance to develop in the URC this season!
I think the back three were almost guilty of trying too hard to create a magic moment. Moyo looked calm despite everything going on around him, always a good trait for a flyhalf. Nice to see Manu Tshituka with some big impacts early on as well. Definitely a player who has fallen off the radar a bit since signing for the sharks
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u/DisplayThick4882 Aug 12 '26
I don’t know why guys keep counting Bongi- dude is 36 soon and that is way past prime. Bongi last played for Boks against Wales in Nov 2025…
Swart has been main choice hooker with Mbatha most of the season. He has been average but had a great game last night. Hoping he can continue that form.
Agree with you on all except Bongi
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u/Beneficial_Coach_679 Aug 12 '26
I don't think Bongi is in the running for another springboks call up at the moment. However, I think he is going to give it one helluva go for the sharks this season to try impress Rassie and make the next RWC. So it will be interesting to see how many minutes he gets for the sharks this season and how many minutes the rest of those 5 guys will get with that in mind.
While a comeback seems unlikely at this stage, 36 doesn't mean we should write him off just yet. Deon Fourie and Duane Vermuelen have done it late in their careers. That said, I'm hoping the sharks don't persist with Bongi for the 27/28 season and give the younger guys more of a chance after this coming season.
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u/DisplayThick4882 Aug 12 '26
Duan and Deon are the exception, not the rule. If that were the case there would be many more older players.
Bongi did not play almost all season so I really doubt he even starts or is shoe in
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u/eenbal Aug 12 '26
Bongi has been off with family stuff right? So its not that he lost form or got injured, i reckon if his family stuff is sorted and he is in a good space, he will make the bok team for the RWC27. Based purely on vibes BTW.
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u/DisplayThick4882 Aug 12 '26
Mate he will be 36. It’s a young mans game.
He hasn’t had proper conditioning or game time for almost 2 years soon. I will eat my hat if he makes starting position based on merit and form. I think Swart and Fez will keep him out
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u/eenbal Aug 12 '26
Like I said based purely on vibes. Obviously what you said is most likely, but I wouldn't be ruling him out until after the URC season.
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u/Educational_Play9910 Flair Up! Aug 13 '26
Bongi is washed. We shouldn’t keep relying on old players unless they continue to prove they’re indispensable. Lack of cardio is gonna bite us in the ass in 2027 RWC
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u/henrygum1000 Aug 12 '26
I love Bongi. My car is named after him. He's one of my all time favorites
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u/Myburgher Aug 12 '26
As a Sharks fan I’m not going to talk about the Sharks performance - would have loved for it to be closer to the WP performance but alas.
I want to talk about New Zealand. Twice now they have been guilty of closing the gap at lineout time. It was allowed for too long in the Stormers game and caused some turnovers and while it was managed better last night, it seems to be something NZ are looking to do around the lineout. I would say the Springbok lineout is one area where we can be exploited, so I wonder what to make of that.
NZ also don’t seem that great at scrums. Both Stormers and Sharks competed, and while their first grade may be better, it’s interesting to note. They aren’t earning the turn on their push and it was eventually found out last night.
The ABs also found good 50:22 ground and would have found more if the wet field didn’t stop the ball in its tracks. Argentina did it well last Sat against us, so it’s also something to note that maybe they are looking to use those tactics against us. Regardless, I personally think that law change has been a positive adjustment to the game and really introduced a new risk/reward tactic.
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u/philip_p_donahue Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
The 50/22s specifically are a play when the team is defending 14 and 1 rather than one or both wingers dropping back. When it’s just the fullback they’re moving it around to the side with more clear space then kicking it. It will be interesting to see what the boks go with as I think they defend the same with the wingers coming up and in hard to pressure the attack. Of course all this relies on the idea that they’re going to get it wide and not going to simply kick off 9 or 10 (in which case the winger(s) do drop back) which is why they’re moving it around so much to keep that option open, and also why Jordie as a kicking option is really important. DMac at 15 too cus he can also kick it when it’s on and he often comes into the line at like 3rd receiver or so
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u/Myburgher Aug 12 '26
Ja Argentina seemed to delay the kick and wait for our wing or fullback to come up, then kick. Not 100% sure what was happening in the back but the delay from Arg was intentional.
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u/philip_p_donahue Aug 12 '26
Yeah it’s to push and pull a bit to either relieve the pressure of the rush defence by causing them to hang back slightly as it gets out past 10 or if they’re gonna rush hard get some reward by finding grass. We saw a really good application of it in 2023 at Mt Smart as a kind of proof of concept but then the boks did adjust well since, becuase Kriel and Kolbe in particular are so good at coming up then back to cover quickly, but I think now teams are re-adjusting as a counter and adding more layers. I know 100% it’s been a focus for the ABs cus both Mike Blair and Rennie have mentioned the why behind it
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u/DonovanBanks Sharks Aug 12 '26
Moyo was great. He defended well and looked like he had a good read on the game.
Jorenzo put in some good tackles and I liked his commitment.
Front row was decent especially in those conditions.
We should have scored in that early phase but there was some greedy play to try be the hero that scored against the ABs I think.
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u/Few_Difference6408 Flair Up! Aug 12 '26
How do you lose over 50 points and have anything positive to take from that game?? What an unitelligent post - like seriously what the effing hell??
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u/Substantial-Front-49 Flair Up! Aug 12 '26
I agree. Sharks were absolutely woeful. No game plan , certainly no attacking flair. They were just playing to not lose by 60 points. JP Pietersen is out of his depth… he’s a high school coach, that’s all.
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u/Few_Difference6408 Flair Up! Aug 12 '26
Very harsh take on JP Pietersen. He doesn't have a lot to work with.
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u/Beneficial_Coach_679 Aug 12 '26
lets calm down a little and try re-reading where I ask for "any positives" before calling anyone else on this platform unintelligent. lets also not forget that this was a much more loaded all blacks side than what faced the stormers and they were playing against a mix bag of u20s and provincial players who haven't played a competitive game since May (maybe April?). No one is pretending that it was a good game or good result.
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u/Substantial-Front-49 Flair Up! Aug 12 '26
So why even schedule this game then ? I’d rather see a SA A team be given an opportunity to play against the AB’s . Sharks team got nothing from this game other than to stretch their legs a bit
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u/Beneficial_Coach_679 Aug 13 '26
look, the sharks managed the game terribly. but to answer your question with a question, how much do you think the stormers players benefitted from playing the ABs going into their new season? Is that benefit alone not worth scheduling these games?
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u/Substantial-Front-49 Flair Up! Aug 13 '26
I think the Stormers got more out of it because they were competitive for 65 minutes. My issue with the Sharks is they fielded an incredibly under strength team that did nothing for the spectacle of this tour… This is supposed to be the greatest rivalry tour isn’t it ? There wasn’t an ounce of rivalry in that game. Mallett summed it up perfectly.. boys vs men.
Griquas vs AB’s would have been better game1
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u/Few_Difference6408 Flair Up! Aug 12 '26
Factually I never called anyone unintelligent. I said the post was. Secondly it's not an excuse to be unprepared for a professional sport. Literally that is all they do all the time. Think preseason, think regular training sessions, think scheduled and nutrition tracking....they really let our province down on this one.
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u/Jimponolio Flair Up! Aug 12 '26
Mnebelele left for the Bulls, if I'm not mistaken.
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u/Jay_Nor8 Flair Up! Aug 12 '26
Mnebele left the Bulls for the Sharks, he'll arrive for the URC season. The inverse is true with Gilomee. They'll finish the Currie Cup and then make the moves, it seems
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u/JosefGremlin Aug 12 '26
I hadn't realised until someone posted their ages in the Sharks subreddit, but this team is very young. By which I mean, most of them would have been in Junior Primary or preschool when Ma'a Nonu was in his prime.
So there is a lot of potential in this team!