The 2015 Super Rugby season is ripe for a South African franchise to emerge victorious. For one thing, it’s about time.
The logic that every itching Proteas fan will be using for the duration of South Africa’s run in the Cricket World Cup is just as relevant in Super Rugby.
It has been too long since the Bulls brought the loot back.
For another, it’s World Cup year, which normally means the Kiwis, in particular, will take their foot off the pedal and let the likes of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter pick up new hobbies like sewing and chess for the first half of the season to ensure they don’t break a sweat too soon.
But, perhaps, the most compelling reason for a South African franchise to do well this season is the exodus that looms after the World Cup in October.
If one looks at a team like the Sharks, they may not have the rich resources they currently stock at the Shark Tank for too much longer. That front row will be different this time next year.
The back row will have new faces, so will the midfield, and the outside backs.
In that sense, it is a definitive season for the Sharks’ brand.
They will want to confine the all-round misery of last year to the annals of horrible history, and restore some battered pride.
It’s a long time since Jake White chirruped that he had the squad to go all the way, this time last year.
As it proved, his commitment tank was only half-full to begin with, so things ended abruptly, which necessitated more change in the coaching ranks.
They say change is good, but as a cursory glance from the spoilt beggars on our streets will attest, too much change is not such a good thing.
Gary Gold is the new big fish in the Sharks tank, and his task is simple enough: Find a way to get the replica trophy that should have – could have – and would’ve been in the president’s office since 2007, had certain freakish events around 5pm not occurred on that particular occasion.
Like White, the Sharks’ latest director of rugby has all the tools he needs.
Crucially, he had no fresh injury concerns after the midweek trip to France. Like Bok coach Heyneke Meyer, Gold will be particularly glad to see the names Patrick Lambie and Pieter-Steph du Toit in the starting line-up, and ready for a big season.
That precocious pair were sorely missed by what became a toothless Sharks side in the second half of last season’s campaign.
Lambie’s sense of occasion has allowed the Sharks to flourish in recent seasons and, without his vision and occasional cheek, White’s 2014 vintage became stale grape juice.
They were solid, but sadly unspectacular. And not blowing teams away, even when dominating territory and possession, left the trap door open, and those late losses in the round-robin stage were decisive in the Sharks’ season.
But now, in 2015, they have a chance to rewrite all that.
They still have JP Pietersen and the intriguing Frans Steyn to welcome back into what already looks like an exciting backline.
If Gold wants to quickly endear himself to the Shark Tank, and restore some of the familiar, early buzz that withered to a grumble and a murmur by season’s end, he would do well to break the shackles, and encourage Lambie to bring his flock of flyers more into the game.
They say fortune favours the brave, and the Sharks’ dour approach in 2014 won them few favours from the rugby gods when the chips were down. They need to rediscover their flair, and perhaps a frolic with the flirty Cheetahs on Valentine’s Day will do the trick.
If there’s one certainty in South African rugby, it’s that a date with the Cheetahs will not be boring. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll encourage the Sharks to show a bit more flash, and woo back their admirers.
As any fool who parts with hundreds of bucks, buying all things red and pink this week will tell you a man can always hope…