Sharks facing identity crisis?

OPINION: After four rounds in the United Rugby Championship, the Sharks are looking like a team without any direction or identity.

An away draw to a measly Dragons outfit, two defeats on the road, and a home loss to Ulster leave the Sharks with more questions than answers.

The tournament is a marathon, and not a sprint, but at the moment, the Sharks are facing a steep hill which could turn into a mountain to climb if they don’t turn things around ASAP.

One could forgive the Durbanites for their misfortunes on the road playing without their big names, but with 13 Springboks in their starting line-up and four more on the bench, they looked like headless chickens against a well-coached Ulster side on Saturday.

How is it possible that a side littered with Boks who won every trophy in national colours this season looks like a shadow of themselves in a black jersey?

The reason? A lack of identity.

Most teams have something that sets them apart from the rest, which drives them.

The Bulls have been and are still known as a team that will bully the opposition into submission with their bulky forwards, complemented by their attacking backs.

The Stormers, on the other hand, play a transition game off opposition mistakes based on solid defence and a solid pack.

But what do the Sharks have?

Apart from their scrum dominance so far this season, there was no clear picture of how they want to play, and the players seemed like a community club team that got together twice after work for training.

Sharks head coach John Plumtree looked lost and had little to no answer for the result against Ulster, which is concerning considering the resources and talent they possess.

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“We don’t have any excuses. We knew it would be ugly.

“Last season, when we returned from our overseas tour to face Glasgow Warriors, we strung together a good performance.

“We can’t go into that space. We have to be hard on ourselves and look at the reasons why [we lost] and in which areas we can be better.

“That comes down to our preparation with the coaches and everyone involved.

“That’s a big loss for us tonight [Saturday].

“Then you lose Ruan Dreyer with a serious knee injury, and [Makazole] Mapimpi could be out for a while now [through possible suspension], which could get ugly for us.

“It’s a real tough night for us.”

Plumtree defended captain Vincent Tshituka when asked about his leadership and said that the team as a collective weren’t good enough on the day.

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“No one showed up out there for us.

“Collectively and individually, we weren’t good enough.

“No one deserves to be singled out in that performance.”

For the Sharks to be successful, they’ll need to find a common goal, purpose and identity, and if they do have that, they should re-examine it because it’s clearly not working for them.

Big-name players don’t necessarily mean success will be guaranteed, and if that’s what the Sharks are relying on, they’re going to be in for a long, tough season once more.