Muir: This win was overdue
2006-03-20 09:20
Durban - This time Dick Muir was just about on the button.
The Sharks coach was convinced that his team would beat the Highlanders in their Super 14 clash at the House of Pain in Dunedin on Saturday and they were full value for their 25-11 win.
There should also have been the bonus point Muir predicted but, as captain John Smit said after the match, a number of tries were left on the table and the Sharks only crossed the Highlanders' line three times.
One should not carp. It was a crucial win for the Sharks, who have been handed the worst draw in the competition by SA Rugby and Sanzar but have responded positively, coming agonisingly close to beating the Crusaders and the Brumbies before winning emphatically on Saturday.
Favourable draw
They now have the Hurricanes in Wellington this Saturday before returning to South Africa for six games, four in Durban, and most against teams currently in the bottom half of the draw.
"We needed that win," Muir told The Witness on Sunday, "and we deserved it. I don't want to say I'm relieved ... but, yes, well, I am relieved. This win was overdue."
He agreed with his captain that the Sharks could still improve. Indeed there were times in that first half when it seemed the Sharks were on a familiar, frustrating path to failure.
Their set pieces were untidy - an early tighthead against them gifted the Highlanders their only try - and their lineouts remained a shambles as they conceded at least eight on their own throw.
Quite why the lineout remains a problem week in and out is one of life?s great mysteries. But when your Springbok hooker (John Smit) seems confused about just where to throw the ball and when, there is clearly something seriously wrong.
Muir must have also been wondering when the rugby gods would start to smile on the Sharks when the television referee awarded the Highlanders their only try after Richard Kahui appeared to lose the ball forward moments before grounding it.
To the Sharks' credit, their remarkable defence papered over these cracks. They wrapped up the Highlanders around the fringes, they smothered them in midfield and they chased down kicks in numbers and time and again stopped the counter-attack well behind the advantage line.
Experience was the key
It was an excellent 15-man effort, both in defence and with ball in hand, and this time the Sharks kept playing though the 80 minutes as the Highlanders faded.
The experience of Smit, Warren Britz, reserve scrumhalf Craig Davidson, who came on in the second half, and Tony Brown was invaluable for the Sharks as they closed out the game.
The silky running skills of their 19-year-old fullback JP Pietersen produced a try for Henno Mentz while Odwa Ndugane, who scored the first try, had another busy, productive outing.
The third try went to an impressive Jacques Botes, switched from No 8 to flank, and he ran away from a couple of the Highlanders backs to seal the win.
Muir said that there were no serious injuries.
"Ruan Pienaar cut his hand, JP Pietersen had problems with cramp and Albert van den Berg took a bump on the leg. But they'll be ready on Saturday."
Brown, returning to his home town, was given the bird by the crowd and he said later it "was the first time I've allowed spectators to unsettle me" as he fluffed a couple of kicks.
But he regained his composure in the second half and played a major role in the win as he kept the Sharks rolling forward.
"We knew we could ambush the Highlanders after their African safari and we did," he said.
His final prediction was a safer, almost unnecessary one: "We will be hung-over tomorrow".