GAVIN RICH: Sharks flounder as coach Du Preez clings to bias towards flyhalf son
Despite win over Waratahs, apparent lack of effort on team’s off days reflects problems
The Sharks hit the winning trail again by capitalising on a Waratahs red card and getting across the line in Sydney but that shouldn’t deflect the sharp focus on the coach and team environment that arose out of the consecutive home defeats to the Jaguares and Reds. That the Sharks are capable of beating anyone on a given day is not the issue. The issue is the apparent lack of effort on the off days, something that speaks of problems within the team environment. The Sharks have survived on emotional spikes and back-to-the-wall responses for too long, and the Durban rugby public has finally lost its patience. A headline in a KwaZulu-Natal newspaper this week was particularly jarring: “Sharks captured by nepotism”. The headline was more sensational than the article it trumpeted, but it may be at the heart of the issue. There is a saying in rugby that you can be a father or a coach, but you can’t be both simultaneously. The previous Sharks coach Gary Gold knew that, which was why he...
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