Is what should be ringing in the ears of 'Sharks' players and supporters this morning after letting the 'Blue Bulls' charge down from Pretoria to Kingspark in Durban and with no time remaining on the clock, score a superb try under the posts.
By birth (my cross to bear) I am a Joburg Lions supporter but I took great pride yesterday in watching two Saffir sides play each other in the final of the Super 14 competition, in my opinion (and most antipodean's i guess ;-)) the top rugby competition in the world in terms of skill, speed and overall quality of rugby played.
The disappointment of Dick Muir (coach) and John Smit and co could be felt in the foothills of the Highveld yesterday. They clearly dominated the Bulls for 79 minutes, scored a try to stretch the lead to 6 points at the 80th minute but missed the conversion to put the game completely out of the Bulls reach with only seconds to spare on the clock.
But with enough time left for the post try kick-off to go ahead, the Bulls secured possession and managed to roll forward towards the try-line. With the Sharks tackling like madmen into the 82nd minute it looked like the cup was destined to be in the hands of the Durban faithful only for Brian Habana to weave from out on the touchline in field, swerve past 3 players and spectacularly dive through the air to score a great try underneath the uprights. What a win, what a comeback and what disappointment for the 50,000 Durban supporters.
Their disappointment however is equalised by Jake White's (current Springbok coach) and the rest of the country's excitement and optimism over the strength of South African rugby going into the International rugby season. I wonder though whether this is good or bad omen, SA teams (Cricket World Cup!!) do not like the tag of 'Favourite' although I have no doubt that even though we have had two sides in the final of the Super 14, New Zealand All Blacks must still be favourites for the World Cup in France in September this year.
I really look forward to the Tri-Nations in July and the Rugby world cup in September, lets just hope that with the punishing rugby schedule, we have all the top players playing in both competitions, as it would be a shame if injuries rob us of full strength Kiwi, Oz and Bok teams!
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