The Sharks have long been powerhouses in South African rugby, and boast some of the most formidable players in the world.
With numerous Springboks scattered throughout the squad, they have so much potential as a team… SA’s Galacticos if you want to call it that.
From Springbok stars like captain Siya Kolisi, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Lukhanyo Am and Eben Etzebeth – although the lock has been out for a while with concussion – the list of international players is long.
Those mentioned above have won two consecutive Rugby World Cups.
They even recently raided the Lions again, managing to wrestle the experienced wing Edwill van der Merwe from Ellis Park and luring him to the Shark Tank.
He follow in the footsteps of flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse and the Tshituka brothers, Vincent and Manu.
Yet, despite the recruiting off the field, some things are going horribly wrong between the four white lines with this star-studded line-up.
While they are still in the fight in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Challenge Cup – a trophy they are defending – the questions are coming thick and fast over why they are under-performing like this.
That talent is not translating into results on the field, and they haven’t been able to achieve consistent success with that expensive roster.
It’s not far-fetched to say that a team with that many established stars – including key Boks – should be at the top of the URC standings.
Yes, they’ve had their fair share of crippling injuries this season, but they looked in better form earlier than what the case is at the moment.
Recently, they lost to an erratic Lions side, and under-performed in the victory over Zebre two weeks ago.
That display was surpassed when they fell to Leinster’s so-called ‘B’ team last weekend.
That was a diabolical performance, and they should not be losing with all those quality players at their disposal.
The main problem is that there seems to be no cohesiveness in the team when they are out on the pitch.
They have plenty of leaders, so it can’t be a lack of leadership.
Kolisi, Etzebeth, Mbonambi and Am are all vastly experienced, so having calm heads on the field is not something that they are missing.
