Theory about 'good' guys finishing top goes bust this time

By WYNNE GRAY

How many times during the Super 12 have you heard the catchcry about discipline? Usually it comes from a defeated captain or frustrated coach bemoaning his side's lack of control.

Sometimes the grizzles are about those going to the sinbin, but it can also be about the penalty concessions.

The general theory is that teams who play with poise, direction and restraint get consistent rewards for their conduct.

Remember the discussions about the Hurricanes last season, a team with great potential who finished eighth and paid the price for a poor disciplinary record?

This year the Sharks lead the Super 12 after round nine, having lost just twice going into tonight's match with the Crusaders in Christchurch.

They have played some smart, enterprising football. They deserve to be near the top of the table, but figures show they have had the most players sinbinned, sent off or suspended after being cited, and have conceded the third highest number of penalties each game.

The Sharks are penalised on average 14.3 times a match compared with the Crusaders - who are the most virtuous mob - conceding just 9.5 penalties each time they play.

Statistics show that before this round, the Sharks had incurred nine yellow cards and also had prop Brent Moyle sent off, followed by the Highlanders and Hurricanes with nine indiscretions and the Blues on eight.

The Waratahs have offended the least - only intercept prop Matt Dunning had been sinbinned after nine rounds.

The five NZ sides had committed a total of 32 offences, the four South African teams 24 and the three Australian sides only eight sinbinnings between them.

Worst offenders had been Troy Flavell, Jason Spice, Vula Maimuri, Matt Cockbain, Owen Finegan, Boeta Wessels, A J Venter and Robbie Kempson, who had all been yellow- carded twice.

Moyle and Chiefs prop Tama Tuirarangi were the only players sent off.

Sixty-four yellow or red cards have been used, compared with 45 at the same stage last year.

So how have the Sharks pushed to the top of the ladder when they are losing players to the bin and getting penalised at a high rate, too?

They score plenty of tries and have a tough defence.

Intriguingly, teams playing the Sharks have also incurred the highest number of sinbinnings.

Statistics are everywhere as the Super 12 builds towards the semifinals.

Estimates have suggested a drop in the number of New Zealand spectators watching this year's competition, a projection which spawned various trawls through the history of crowd numbers during the six-year-old series.

Some of the facts to emerge support the basic formula that spectators follow winning teams.

The Sharks averaged just over 26,000 a game last season as the cellar-dwellers, but are up to 36,000 this season after winning all five home games so far.

Spectators have also been tuning into the Cats with average crowds of 28,000 to pass their best year in 1997.

At the other end of the table the Bulls are getting fewer than 15,000 to each home game at Loftus, a test venue which holds 50,000 people.

In New Zealand, the Hurricanes continue to get large crowds and the attendances for the Chiefs' games have also improved with the team's fortunes.

According to some research, the Waratahs are the only team never to have had a crowd below 20,000.

The smallest recorded crowd was the 3661 which watched the Bulls play the Brumbies in 1998. At the other extreme, the Sharks this year had 51,340 spectators, the largest crowd in Super 12 history, for the match against the Waratahs.

The raptuous thousands roared the Sharks to a convincing 42-17 victory.