Natal Sharks

Natal Sharks

Full name	Natal Sharks
Union	KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union
Emblem(s)	Shark
Founded	1890
Region	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Ground(s)	(Mr Price) Kings Park (Capacity: 52,000)
Coach(es)	John Plumtree
Captain(s)	Keegan Daniel
League(s)	Currie Cup
Position 2011	2nd (Lost final against Golden Lions) [1]

The Natal Sharks are a South African rugby union team that participate in the annual Currie Cup and Super Rugby tournaments. The Sharks home stadium is Kings Park. They draw most of their players from the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The Sharks are the current representative team of the Natal rugby Union, founded in 1890. The team were known simply as 'the Banana Boys' until the mid-1990s.

The Sharks of the Super Rugby competition are basically the same team - they also play in Durban and draw their players from the KwaZulu-Natal area. For most of Super Rugby history, the Sharks Super Rugby franchise drew players from a larger area than did the Natal Sharks, with the rugby unions of Border, based in East London and Eastern Province from Port Elizabeth included in the Sharks franchise.

History

The Natal Rugby Union was founded in 1890. Natal made their first Currie Cup final appearance in the 1956 season, where they met Northern Transvaal at home, Kings Park Stadium in Durban. Natal went down by just a single point, with Northern Transvaal winning the match nine points to eight.

Natal made the final again in the 1984 season, when they met Western Province at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town. Natal lost the match nineteen points to nine. Natal met 1956 final opponents, Northern Transvaal, in the legendary 1990 final in Pretoria, though this time, Natal won the contest, claiming their first ever Currie Cup, with the final score being 18 points to 12. Natal won the match with Tony Watson's famous '9 point try'. With score at 12-9, Right Winger Tony Watson touched down to make it 13-12 in Natal's favour, but he was fouled upon scoring. Stransky converted to give Natal a 3-point lead, and his successful subsequent penalty gave Natal the six point lead which they held until the final whistle. The victorious side were captained by scrumhalf Craig Jamieson, who led the team on a ticker-tape parade through central Durban later in the week. The victory was especially poignant for being both Natal's first, and for occurring in the Union's Centenary year.

Natal were again in the finals only two seasons after their 1990 victory. They won their second Currie Cup title, defeating Transvaal by a single point, winning 14 points to 13 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. This was another important victory, because it confirmed that Natal were consistently good performers, and not just one-hit wonders. The Sharks' success in the 1990s continued, with the team making it to the following season's final as well, though they were not able to win back-to-back titles, going down to Transvaal 21-15 at home.

Natal provided virtually all the players who participated in the Sharks squads of the 1990s in first the Super 10 competition, and its later edition, the Super 12. Durban-based players continue to provide the bulk of the current Super 14 squad. Natal and the Sharks performed inconsistently in the early years of the Southern Hemisphere competition, but earned the respect of Antipodean clubs and reached the final of the second Super 10 competition in 1994. The team developed a particularly intense rivalry with the Auckland Blues, and Sharks-Blues contests are usually one of the highlights of Super rugby. The team also particularly enjoys defeating Brisbane's Queensland Reds, mostly due to a rivalry that dates back to the 1994 Super 10 final, won by Queensland, and the fact that Durban and Brisbane are considered by many to be almost 'twin cities', sharing a similar climate, population size, and relaxed, seaside atmosphere. Natal reached the final of the 1996 Super 12 competition where they lost to Auckland, and the Sharks reached the 2001 final where they lost to the Brumbies.

The Natal Sharks continued to feature in the 90's and won more Currie Cup titles than any other team in the same period. Natal won the 1995 Currie Cup, defeating Western Province 25-17 at home and then defeating the Golden Lions in the 1996 decider, 33-15 at Ellis Park, their first back-to-back title. They made one other final appearance during the decade, against 1996 finalists, the Golden Lions, who defeated the Sharks 32-9 in Durban.

Following the 1999 final loss to the Golden Lions, the Sharks again made it to the final in 2000, but again lost, this time to Western Province in Durban 25-15. They faced Western Province again in the 2001 final in Cape Town, and again they lost 29-24. The Sharks did not feature in the 2002 final, but faced the Blue Bulls in the 2003 final, who defeated them 40-19 in Pretoria. The Sharks made it to the first-ever all-South African final of the Super 14 2007, losing narrowly to fellow South Africans The Blue Bulls 20-19. They were finally able to avenge these defeats by beating the Bulls 14-9 at home in the 2008 Currie Cup Final. In 2010 the Sharks once again reached the Currie Cup final by defeating their old rivals the Bulls 16-12. They contested the final at home against Western Province on Saturday 30 October 2010, and beat them 30-10 to win the coveted trophy once again. The Sharks failed to hold onto the Currie Cup in 2011 losing 42-16 to the Golden Lions in the finals at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, although some say this was due to the loss of all the Springboks during the rugby world cup, the sharks did play the final with all their Springboks.

The Sharks are a very well supported team with significant support coming from across Kwa-Zulu Natal as well as in parts of the Eastern Cape. The Sharks average roughly 20,000 people at Currie Cup games and 35,000 people at Super Rugby games.

The Natal Sharks Academy

The Natal Sharks are reputed to have one of the best academies in the world of Rugby Union. Players such as Ryan Kankowski, JP Pietersen, François Steyn, Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Patrick Lambie and Keegan Daniel are all graduates of the programme. The Academy also run a 'gap year' style programme for overseas players, specifically aimed at school leavers.[2] The academy, which is accredited by SA Rugby and backed by a strategic partnership with the Sharks, offers a full-time, three-year course designed for young people with a passion for rugby and a desire to forge a career in the sport.

The Natal Sharks Region

The Natal Sharks franchise covers the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The two main cities from which most of its players are drawn are Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

Current squad

All players are correct as of the end of the 2011 Currie Cup season. Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality

Frontrow: Bismarck du Plessis Jannie du Plessis Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira Craig Burden Kyle Cooper Wiehahn Herbst Julian Redlinghuys Dale Chadwick Eugene van Staden

Second Row and backrow: Willem Alberts Ross Skeate Jacques Botes Alistair Hargreaves Keegan Daniel (c) Jean Deysel Ryan Kankowski Jan Andre Marais Francois Kleinhans Marcell Coetzee Francois Kleinhans Anton Bresler

Halfbacks and centers: Patrick Lambie Meyer Bosman Charl McLeod Steve Meyer Frederic Michalak Marius Joubert Adrian Jacobs Stefan Terblanche Guy Cronje Ross Cronje Conrad Hoffmann Piet Lindeque Jacobus Reinach

Wingers and full-backs Lwazi Mvovo Odwa Ndungane JP Pietersen Mark Richards Louis Ludik Gouws Prinsloo Chris Jordaan Sibusiso Sithole Luzuko Vulindlu

In for 2012

• Marius Joubert - Clermont
• Riaan Viljoen - Cheetahs
• Tim Whitehead - Stormers/Western Province

Out for 2012

• John Smit - Saracens
• Steven Sykes - Leinster
• Gerhard Mostert - Stade Français
• Eugene van Staden - Biarritz
• Riaan Swanepoel - Clermont
• Mark Richards - blitzbokke(national Sevens Team)
• Stefan Terblanche

Natal Springboks

Cameron Christian Alf Walker Bill Payn Bertram van der Plank Bill Zeller Taffy Townsend Wally Clarkson Phil Nel Jacko Tod Ebbo Bastard Pat Lyster Cecil Moss Roy Dryburgh Keith Oxlee Ormond Taylor Don Walton Trix Truter Snowy Suter Tommie Bedford Rodney Gould Hannes Viljoen Piston van Wyk Ian McCallum Derek van den Berg

Wynand Claassen Vleis Visagie Lood Muller Hugh Reece-Edwards Wahl Bartmann Robert du Preez John Allan André Joubert Steve Atherton Henry Honiball Guy Kebble Gary Teichmann Joel Stransky Adrian Garvey James Small Pieter Muller Johan Ackerman Deon Kayser Warren Brosnihan Mark Andrews Wayne Fyvie Ettiené Fynn Ollie le Roux Warren Britz

AJ Venter Albert van den Berg André Snyman Robbie Kempson Percy Montgomery Ricardo Loubscher Stefan Terblanche Lukas van Biljon Trevor Halstead Craig Davidson John Smit Shaun Sowerby Deon Carstens Solly Tyibilika Butch James Henno Mentz Brent Russell BJ Botha Johann Muller Ruan Pienaar JP Pietersen Francois Steyn Ryan Kankowski Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira

Odwa Ndungane Bismarck du Plessis Jannie du Plessis Adrian Jacobs Waylon Murray Keegan Daniel Patrick Lambie Willem Alberts Lwazi Mvovo

Roy McLean, one time fly half also played for SA cricket team.

Finals results

Currie Cup

Season	Winners	Score	Runner-up	Venue
1956	Northern Transvaal	9 - 8	Natal Sharks	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1984	Western Province	19 - 9	Natal Sharks	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
1990	Natal Sharks	18 - 12	Northern Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1992	Natal Sharks	14 - 13	Transvaal	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1993	Transvaal	21 - 15	Natal Sharks	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1995	Natal Sharks	25 - 17	Western Province	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
1996	Natal Sharks	33 - 15	Golden Lions1	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1999	Golden Lions	32 - 9	Natal Sharks	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
2000	Western Province	25 - 15	Natal Sharks	Absa Stadium, Durban
2001	Western Province	29 - 24	Natal Sharks	Newlands, Cape Town
2003	Blue Bulls2	40 - 19	Natal Sharks	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2008	Natal Sharks	14 - 9	Blue Bulls	ABSA Stadium, Durban
2010	Natal Sharks	30 - 10	Western Province	ABSA Stadium, Durban
2011	Golden Lions	42 - 16	Natal Sharks	Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Notes

1. ^ [1]

¹ Transvaal were renamed the Gauteng Lions; now known as Golden Lions.
² Northern Transvaal were renamed the Blue Bulls.

External links

• Official website