Raving about Rudolf
Sharks rugby coach Rudolph Straeuli doesn't look like the kind of guy you would take with to a rave party and expect him to turn the night on its head - unless you need him to be your body guard.
But it looks like you can hand him a Super 12 side and tell him to turn it around for them, given the state they found themselves in last year.
And as things stand at the moment, it looks like he has done just that this year. Sorry to bore you with the details, but in case you didn't know, the Sharks finished bottom of the Super 12 log last year under former Springbok fullback Hugh Reece-Edwards.
To finish behind the Bulls shows what a pathetic season they had. But after round eight in 2001, they top the log and are leading South Africa's quest for their first Super 12 title. The only blemish on their results sheet came against the Cats in Bloemfontein at the end of March. They are on 33 points, four ahead of the Brumbies and six more than the Cats.
Legendary All Black hooker Sean Fitzpatrick - he's with the Blues in Cape Town for their two away matches against the Stormers and Bulls - reckons they play the game it should be played by doing the basics right, keeping the game simple, nothing flashy.
Fitzpatrick is right but this week Sharks backrower Warren Brosnihan added another reason for their success.
Players were told to leave their egos in Durban, and not take it with them to Australia and New Zealand. Brosnihan said, too often last year, players formed cliques which dented the morale. He said there were far too many guys calling the shots.
That changed when Straeuli took charge before the Currie Cup - and it's showing. They reached the finals of the domestic competition and look a competitive outfit this year compared to the rattled souls they were last year.
Not too many punters put money on them doing well this year. Comments of "you cannot win rugby by playing it the old fashioned way" and "the jury was still out on Straeuli" were frequently heard pre-season. How Straeuli is proving them wrong!
Obviously their current position is not a guarantee that they will become South Africa's first Super 12 champions but at least they are winning.
All that's left for Straeuli to do now is to remind Butch James that he has arms. James is a physical player but his "look ma, no arms" game hasn't won him any mates. For all his talent, he needs to be disciplined because referees won't tolerate his charges for long. He was lucky not to get sent off against the Chiefs last Friday - but he's on borrowed time.
Australian referee Andy Cole summed it up in the Chiefs game: "When you go for the charge-down use your arms mate!"