DURBAN - The Sharks can wail and moan about refereeing decisions that allegedly lost them the Super Rugby quarter-final match against the Lions at Ellis Park at the weekend, and they can point fingers at a competition schedule that pitted the same two teams against each other over the last fortnight, but the reality is that it came down to Lions: won 2; Sharks won 0.
It truly was a ridiculous fixture two weeks ago that had a Sharks team playing against a Lions team in Durban where the most favourable result for both sides was a Lions win at Kings Park.
And so it transpired, and we are left wondering if the omission of Curwin Bosch from the team to play that round robin game was because he was being held back to play flyhalf in the quarter-final that was almost certain to happen at Ellis Park (because of a Shark loss).
The thing that really annoys Sharks fans is that their team gets so high and mighty when they are “hard done by” in these big games against the Lions.
Toys get thrown out the cot and nobody wants to talk to the press. There are 80-second press conferences at Ellis Park and we have the incredible sulk.
The reality of the Sharks’ season is this: They lost 28-26 to a terrible Reds team in Brisbane, they lost 34-29 to the Lions in Johannesburg and it was the ref’s fault. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t ...
The Sharks were abysmal beyond description in drawing 9-9 with the insipid Rebels in Durban.
They lot 35-32 to the Kings in Port Elizabeth. The Kings went on to prove that famous victory of theirs was not a fluke. They won six games in the end.
The reality is that the Sharks were just not good enough to beat the Kings in Port Elizabeth, so do not let Sharks fans grow these protestations of grandeur when they could not beat a rag-tag bag of mercenaries put together by Saru to try and make a fist of it against a feast of resources boasted by the Sharks.
Then came a loss at the Bulls in Durban to the terrible tune of 30-17.
Sharks supporters listened when they were told at the start of this season that this was year one of a three-year plan, and they have been patient, but the sheer inconsistency of the Sharks over this season is hard to stomach.
Don’t make the season all about two games at Ellis Park against the Lions ... when it was the referee’s fault that you lost.
Why? Yes, there were some terrible decisions over both of those games but why let the referee be the deciding factor over the season?
Play to a level when it does not matter who blows the game.
Sharks fans won’t swallow this “it was the ref’s fault” for much longer.
Yes, they would have been proud of the Sharks pitching up and playing great rugby in both of the games in question, but why is it only those games when the Sharks pull finger?
Why must the Sharks have a gun to their head before they play decent rugby?
The difference between the Sharks and the Lions is that the Lions go balls to the wall every game.
The Sharks do not. The players pick and choose when to pitch up for a “big” game.
The Sharks can’t claim to be hard done by a narrow loss in a quarter-final that could well have gone their way when over the course of the season they have blown hot and cold.