South African rugby sojourns in the Australian capital city have almost always ended in tears.
Our teams have played 23 matches in Canberra since the Super 12 began in 1996, and just one of those games has ended in defeat for the Brumbies - Gary Teichmann's Sharks team won there 41-23 in 1998, a fact that has been either forgotten or overlooked by the Australian TV commentators who never miss a chance to (erroneously) tell us that South Africa is winless at the Canberra Stadium (formerly the Bruce Stadium.)
Those self-same TV men will smugly tell us that with one win in 23 (a four percent win ratio) we are splitting hairs by highlighting that lone win.
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Perhaps, because the bottom line of all this is that SA teams just do not win in Canberra, and that it will take a very special team - or a very poor Brumbies team - for this overwhelming trend to be halted.
| They certainly have what it takes to win the first half of the game |
Well, we know that this Brumbies team is not poor (the backline of Gregan, Larkham, Giteau, Mortlock, Rathbone and Gerard is a sublime combination), so we have to ask this: do the Sharks have that something special required to effect a great upset?
They certainly have what it takes to win the first half of the game, but whether they can put together two good halves is another story.
The return of Tony Brown will help the Sharks' quest for a quality 80-minute game. Over the past season or so their concentration has wavered largely because a seasoned flyhalf general has been conspicuous by his absence.
For instance, the Sharks would probably have beaten the Crusaders two weeks ago had Brown's guiding hand been there for the entire match (he left the field injured on the 25-minute mark).
And in addition to Brown, the Sharks welcome back a host of seasoned pros to the match. Warren Britz, Adrian Jacobs and Henno Mentz will start, and playing off the bench are John Smit and Craig Davidson.
The backline that started against New South Wales last week (excluding Percy Montgomery) had an average age of 21 and a total of 102 Super rugby caps. This week that tally has grown to 239.
This week's team certainly looks better balanced as a result of the seven changes made by coach Dick Muir.
And with Smit and Davidson on the bench, the Sharks have quality back-up. Talking of Davidson, the last time the Sharks played in Canberra the gutsy scrumhalf had a fantastic game and inspired the Sharks to what should have been a win.
They were denied a famous victory by referee Steve Walsh who twice penalised them wrongfully in the final minutes.
Bearing that match in mind, perhaps the Canberra Stadium is not as impregnable as history suggests.
- This article was originally published on page 20 of The Mercury on March 10, 2006
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