Ref Mischief: Slaughter of the innocent as Sharks capitulate to Bulls in one-sided Currie Cup clash

If this had been a boxing bout, the Sharks’ corner would have thrown in the towel before half-time. Instead, the South African rugby public had to watch — with one hand over an eye — as the defending champions were annihilated 64–0 by the Bulls.

Here is the reality: we understand that the Currie Cup has become a development competition, and that is fine. But how can the Bulls’ wannabees be 64 points better than the Sharks’ wannabees?

Well, it clearly means the Bulls are recruiting much better than the Sharks, and those in Durban in charge of the future of the Sharks must be shown the door — immediately. It should have happened a long time ago because hit-and-miss recruiting has been their problem for years, whether it’s overloading on Springboks or signing players that make no sense given the playing strategy of the head coach.

An illustration of the dysfunction at the Sharks in terms of recruitment was the confirmation last week that Junior Springbok hero Bartho Hlekani is on his way to the Lions. This guy is arguably the hottest property in South African rugby, but the Sharks were so poor in their management that they couldn’t keep him in Durban.

Flanker Hlekani is arguably the next Eben Etzebeth in terms of potential, and he was in the Shark Tank — but is now a Lion.

The red faces at Sharks HQ over that one will endure for some time, but well done to the Lions for snatching the bargain of the century while the Sharks were out to lunch.

Spare a thought for proud former Springbok JP Pietersen. He is in charge of a team that has shipped more than 100 points in two matches — away games to the Lions and Bulls.

I feel for the man. You could hear a tone of doom in his team announcement press conference on Thursday. He didn’t quite articulate it, but the paraphrase was that his boys were being sent to their doom.