Chiefs head for Shark infested waters
Mon, 12 May 2008 16:06
The Sharks face the Chiefs in the final Super 14 round-robin game of the season in what is set to be a nerve-jingling 80 minutes at the Absa Stadium.
The Sharks are in fifth place - equal on points with the fourth-placed Stormers - but with an inferior point difference of just nine points.
The Chiefs are three points behind the Sharks in seventh spot and need all five points from the clash to stand a chance of making the play-offs. They will know their fate before kick-off in Durban on Saturday.
The Lions did the Sharks a massive favour on Saturday by beating the Chiefs. It has made Dick Muir's team's chances of progressing to the play-offs that much easier.
Johan Muller's team are arguably in the pound seats as far as the semifinal contenders are concerned. Why? Because they will know exactly what needs to be done by the time referee Stuart Dickinson blows his whistle at 19.10 local time.
The Bulls were in the same position last year when they knew that in order to get a home semifinal, they needed to beat the Reds by 72 points. They beat them by 89 and went on to win the tournament for the first time.
The Stormers face the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday in another crucial fixture. That game will finish two hours before the Sharks game which will give them enough time to work out how many points they need to win by. If results go their the Sharks can still finish second on the standings, but there are so many permutations that need to be played out on the weekend that any talk of where they might finish is mere speculation.
Looking at the previous encounters between the Sharks and the Chiefs, there is nothing to choose between the two semifinal hopefuls.
They have met on 10 previous occasions with both teams winning five games. Honours are also even at the Absa Stadium, with two wins apiece for the Sharks and Chiefs.
Even more uncanny is the fact that both teams have scored 34 tries against eachother. Looking at the stats it's hard to pick a winner.
But on current form one has to fancy the home team. The Chiefs were terrible against the Lions and have lost Ben May through suspension as well as having to bid farewell to David Bason, Simms Davison, Simon Lemalu and Richard Kahui, who have all returned home because of injury.
The Hamilton-based franchise have not enjoyed the greatest of records in South Africa. In fact they have the worst record when it comes to the New Zealand teams.
They have played 28 matches in South Africa and have won just seven. They have lost 18 and drawn one - a 22-all stalemate against the Cheetahs last year.
In fact they haven't won in South Africa since 2005, where they beat the Stormers 37-34 in Cape Town. Since then they have lost five and drawn one. The Sharks will be keen to extend the Chiefs' losing streak in South Africa on Saturday.
The Chiefs chances of winning will be made that much harder by the Sharks' good home record of late.
The have won 16 out of their last 17 round-robin clashes at home, but lost the all-important Super 14 Final last year to the Bulls.
If they want to go one better in 2008 they will need at least four points - probably five - against the Chiefs on Saturday.
It's going to be a Super Saturday of Super 14 action!
By Steve Farrell
