He didn’t win the Currie Cup all on his own but hats off to debut season Sharks coach Brad MacLeod-Henderson for his worthy contribution to the 2013 success story. In the process he probably achieved a first in the professional age by making the switch from a schoolboy rugby coach at Hilton College in the Natal Midlands to professional rugby cup winning head coach in less than four months.
The Sharks beat Western Province 33-19 at Newlands in front of a packed stadium to claim their seventh Currie Cup title in their 123 year history. On the evening the cup winners from 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2010 and now 2013 came up with the superior game strategy and execution when the BMT mattered most. A very physical game at to the breakdowns where the Sharks often arrived quickly and in numbers was a major plus factor. WP committed the cardinal sin of conceding points almost immediately after scoring their own during the first half. Province really struggled to cope with the relentless pressure. WP assistant coach Robbie Fleck described his team’s “exiting” as below standard at half time. Things however got worse not better. The Sharks suffocated Province and in particular the home team’s dangerous back three players who were made to look quite ordinary at times during the final. Although it was still anybody’s game at the break with the Sharks leading 19-13, it really only looked like there was one team on the park for most of the second half. Excellent contesting at the lineouts by the Sharks meant that Province couldn’t build much needed platforms for attacks of their own. The Sharks added two second half tries to their one of the first half and in the end they were unfortunate not to have scored a couple more in that second stanza.
In a performance like this just about all the players on the winning team are heroes as a team effort won the day. That said several Sharks really stood out. Young lock Pieter-Steph du Toit had a night to remember, producing a Man of the Match performance. Centre Francois Steyn reminded all of what a good player he can be. Hooker Bismarck du Plessis who probably should have missed this game through suspension, made his presence count at the rucks. Charl Macleod came up with inspirational plays. Lambie may have faulted with the boot from the kicking tee in the first half but he never allowed this to shake his confidence and even slotted two drop kicks.
Well done to Brad, the rest of the coaching staff and the Sharks Currie Cup winning team of 2013.
@McCulleys Workshop:
I agree.
The 2012 side was well drilled and well lead but as far as I’m aware only 2 or 3 of the 6 CW players are playing U19 provincial rugby. Obviously some may sensibly choose academics over the tenuous prospect of a pro rugby career which may influence this number.
IMO the number of players contracted to the pro ranks based on CW performances (and perhaps more significantly how they perform at that level and beyond) is a reasonably objective measure of the inherent quality of a team.
A school like Grey College regularly provides a stream of U19 players to the pro ranks. Obviously not all of them step up.
From a MHS perspective both the 07 and 08 sides included 8 players who went on to play at least U19 & 21 Currie Cup – (Lambie, Combrinck and Louis Albertse are included in both years so an additional 5 per year).
Aside from the obvious Bok in Lambie, and 7’s Bok in Mark Richards, 4 played SA U20 – Lambie, Ross Cronje, Ruan Combrinck and Pat Howard. Between them have produced 8 players that have played senior Currie Cup rugby (or overseas equivalent). Most made the step up either while still U21 or straight out of the U21 ranks.
@star: Star I don’t disagree with you, 2012 certainly wasn’t the best or near best SBR side I’ve ever seen and certainly had its limitations to my mind. BUT they had 6 of the CW side, all it really tells you then in the state of KZN rugby, not so?
Hi All
Regarding recruitment, it is quite a tricky one as I think that places for the Grade 8 intake are offered before any Craven Week sides are announced – so I am not sure how they do the selection for sports bursaries.
Do the junior schools in JHB ( PVT ) still not play rugby? In my day, a large number of the new boys had never played rugby before ( Hilton have/had the same problem I’m sure ).
@ Meadows- the only player of the 2012 side who did not start in Grade 8 was Hardman who was a Grade 9 entry. Therefore no recruitment.
Interestingly the Sharks attribute a lot of their success to the rotation policy whereby player fatigue could be managed. Schools can achieve the same objection by managing their schedules. In 2012 MHS barely played 14 games, played 1 top 20 team and had substantial home ground advantage. You will find that Kearsney this year had a very similar program. To think therefore that successful outcomes are the sole preserve of good coaching and structures is misleading.( or maybe it is a clever coach that understands the physical limits of his boys and plans accordingly)
@oldschool: I think that a distinction needs to be made between a rugby programme and good coaching. I think that the coaching set up at MHS is technically top notch and I would think has contributed by extracting maximum value out of occasionally limited resources. Converting Pat Howard from an U16 flanker into a 1st XV centre and Mark Richards from an U16B scrumhalf into a wing are two examples.
They have also been very good at playing to their strengths. The 2007 side had a small mobile pack but pretty much the entire CW backline so ran every scrap of possession that they got. It made, for eg, that years game against Westville, who supplied the bulk of the CW pack, especially intriguing.
The 2008 side was far more balanced with a big tight five and adapted accordingly.
Regarding recruitment, I am less familiar with the backgrounds of the 2012 side, but if 2007 and 2008 (along with 2012) were the most successful sides of the last decade then very little recruitment went into the 07-08 sides composition.
In the 2007 group the two stars of that age groups U14 year (and the only two to have played U13 CW) did not play 1stXV when they reached the open age group.
In the 2008 side the two U13 CW players both made the U18 CW side that year along with 4 teammates. Interestingly, it is the 4 others that are now playing senior professional rugby.
@McCulleys Workshop: Not my comment but perhaps one of those who did mention it can elaborate. I believe it was to do with the physical aspect. The more games that a team plays, the higher the wear and tear which it was felt should be a consideration but I too might have missed the point/s.
How did an article on the success of BMH become a MHS discussion?
@McCulleys Workshop: @McCulleys Workshop: @McCulleys Workshop: Through the latter part of the 80s and throughout the 90s into the beginning of 2000s MHS produced some great sides , most of those sides had a large post matric / recruited PM group of players per a side ……the recent successes though have been a combination of good recruitment and team spirit /gees of playing together from grade 8 towards the open age group ……. the feeling is that many of the recently MHS successful sides have evolved naturally as opposed to evolving through the input of a good rugby programme (which compared to the other top tier schools there is none ) …..In saying that there approach to rugby is fairly old school with very little effort placed on pre season or player development ….relying on natural ability and team spirit instead …..which by looking at your results is possibly the correct approach as not many MHS A teams do badly …….so whats the verdict …..a hippy holistic approach (LOL) vs the hardcore high protein long pre season approach ?????
@beet: I’m not sure the about the comments that MHS don’t play enough games to warrant their standing in the SB rankings, that depends on your view of the rankings as whole as a measure of anything, however what I can say is that the proof of the pudding is in the eating : in 2012 MHS were ranked in the top 10, let’s say it wasn’t warranted as they weren’t tested sufficiently, well on that basis neither should they have had 6 players in the CW side that year.
@Tarpeys: While I agree with you wholeheartedly, we do have a historic reputation of post matrics, in particular craven week imports from Grey, and coaches of the ilk of Garth Giles, and Ryno Combrink etc. I wonder to what extent sports bursaries are rugby biased vs all rounders or other sports specialists, and I wonder about the rugby budget vs other sports. If rugby is given more airtime and Rand spend, I get it, it is the way it is generally in SA and NZ with a large rugby culture, however extremes are not good for any school, including the debates around pro coaches (I wonder if we would question Dale Benkenstein coaching the MHS 1st cricket side??) hiring and firing of hot shot players during the transfer window (once the have made GK and only need to be funded for the last two years of school) etc. as for the rankings, a little like the song about Alice, who the F is Alice? Nice to make the top 20, but no big deal for most normal citizens, as for playing more games to get into the rankings, WTF!
@ Beet – theres definitely is such a policy. This policy dictates preseason, mid week games, number of practices a week, tours and definitely the number of games a season. For instance I think the first team is only allowed to practice from the 1st of February of the current season unlike some schools that have started practices now for next year. The rest of the teams only start practicing a week before the first game. 1st team is only allowed one preseason tour and one post season tour every two years because of the Independent Schools Festival that the school recognizes as a worthwhile commitment to play like minded schools. That’s why I will be very surprised to see a professional coach at the school anytime soon. RC has to put in his hours as an Afrikaans teachers, MS on top of being First team coach ,science teacher and housemaster has to put in hours as 14 C cricket coach. Generally, I think the school does not make exceptions for rugby. They treat rugby as another means of educating boys, just as important as cricket, now soccer, canoeing and other sports From what I gather, the school hates the idea of rankings and the boys are discouraged from making it an issue but you know what boys are like. What I love the most Beet, is that in the 5 years at the school a boy would’ve played at least 3 different sports, been involved in a stage productions of some sort, had a chance to play an instrument, done a decent amount of community service, gone on numerous nature hikes amongst other activities and write his matric to the best of his ability.
@meadows: Good analysis Steve.
I think there might be too much emphasis on believing that the school making the player good when in actual fact it’s the school assisting the player to become better. Players need not have to go to biggest best schools to go far after school but they do need good guidance.
When it comes to first team, I always thing that the better measure of a school’s success is how have they managed their fringe players to get maximum benefit out of those guys in a team sport. Especially if it’s boys who have been at the school since gr.8.
@Tarpeys: There have been feeling expressed on this site before that MHS did play enough 1st XV rugby to fully justify being ranked alongside some of the other KZN teams that do extend themselves to 18+ games per season.
There obviously isn’t a set minimum requirement (altho the BHP does have set 15 games as the floor for final rankings). It would be interesting to know if there is policy in place on this at MHS eg to balance academics and sport out???
@ Meadows – I guess that is one of the best yardsticks , obviously springbok caps being another, of the effectiveness of a school’s rugby program. If a small school of 550 boys with strong soutie roots can produce players that feature in games of this calibre then that school must be doing something right especially when they don’t have to compromise academics to achieve what they have achieved in the last 8 years or so. It may become harder and harder to achieve these things in the future but as long as they continue challenge boys to be well rounded individuals.
Sharks were outstanding. McLeod had probably the best game at 9 that I have seen him play. Lambie was sublime and Frans Steyn looked like the Steyn of a few years ago at 12.
It was interesting, given that this is a SBR website, to see how many players in this game attended schools that don’t appear in the rankings and rarely come to the attention of bloggers on this site.
Gio Aplon – Hawston High
Damien de Allende – Milnerton
Cheslin Colbe – Brackenfell
Deon Fourie – Pietersburg High
Brok Harris – Bastion
Juan de Jong – Hugenote
Odwa Ndungane – Hudson Park
Lwazi Mvovo – Maria Louw
Charl McLeod – Wonderboom
Pieter Steph du Toit – Swartland
Peet Marias – Welkom Gym
Wian Herbst – Klerksdorp
Jacque Botes – Potch Gym
Marcel Coetzee – Port Natal
Unsurprisingly Grey college had the most old boys playing with 4.
Michaelhouse, Paarl Gym and Paarl Boys had 3 each, and
Affies, Glenwood, and Grey High had 2 players.
@GreenBlooded: I highly agree with you. Pieter-S
teph is 21 I think and Etzebeth recently turned 22.Many years ahead of them.
@burra: I think Pieter-Steph and Etzebeth could well turn out to be a more potent lock pairing than Victor and Bakkies!! Many many years ahead of them in the Bok second row methinks.
Well done Saaarks ! Exciting times ahead for them and with Bresler,JP and co coming back it should only get better and hopefully will under Jake Whites directorship !
Well done to the Coach and the Sharks for this great achievement and a special well done to Du Toit that boy played well,was top class in the lineouts.
He should be considered for the November Tour. Him and Eben would make a great combo and plus he needs experience for for the RWC 2015.