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CAPE TOWN – While Chiefs Coach Colin Cooper tries to concentrate his team and not get bored in their Super Rugby quarterfinals, South African teams should have a very strong goal different at the top of the competition.
To run – Lions and sharks must run.
Against the Hurricanes on Friday, the leaders were 21-0 at one stage, but held on to win 28-24.
In their last three games, Cooper's team totaled 80 unanswered points in the first period, conceding just 65 points in the second, a statistic that made their tail habit a concern.
There will of course be no second chance This week, Cooper wants his team to remain focused on the Hurricanes, this time in the first playoff match at Westpac Stadium on Friday.
"Sometimes he plays big exit games and just kicks the ball .. these guys get a little bored playing like that, and they feel that they have to start" The things have changed, "said Cooper about his team's recent screenings.
" So it's just that balance. Do not cut their wings, but just stick to our structure a little better than we have summer. "
This is what chefs need to zoom this weekend – constantly applying pressure and producing a performance of 80 minutes. And hoping your team does not get bored, having dominated the first half, is probably not the worst problem you can have.
But Lions, and Sharks in particular, need to zoom in on their performances. This is necessary after what has been a rather difficult year for local teams.
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I guess there are not a lot of criticisms that can be directed fairly against the Lions. They are the best team in South Africa, and reach the playoffs three years in a row supports this statement.
Could they have done better this season? Sure. But locally, their impressive 21-game winning streak (which was recently completed by the Sharks) on their compatriots also shows that they're leading the pack, no doubt.
And as good as the results of the Lions are compared to the local teams, in fact, if the Super Rugby format made sense, the Lions – who are second on the overall ranking – would be far away on the combined table.
The Sharks, on the other hand, have won just seven of their 16 games, and on that one statistic, they probably can not have much luck against the Crusaders in Christchurch, a team that does not Has lost only two games this season, which has made him three losses in 2017 and in 2018.
The Sharks have also made things difficult for them this season, as they did at the time. their match against the Stormers, that they lost. And there can be nothing of this in New Zealand this weekend.
This season has once again exposed all the flaws of the Super Rugby format. And it's also a situation in which the South African teams have underperformed when getting the results (the Stormers and Bulls only won six each, while the score Sharks is hardly better).
Lions and Sharks advance to quarter-finals against Jaguars and Crusaders, hopefully they'll produce something to at least give South Africans a smile for the weekend's half-time final.
Cape Times
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