Sharks will have to ‘get up’ in Singapore

DURBAN: Robert de Preez said it himself in the starkest of terms when he looked forward from the Sharks’ defeat to the Kings last week, to tomorrow’s match against the Sunwolves in Singapore.

“No more excuses,” the taciturn coach growled.

The Sharks are playing a team that has just won once this season, the only other team as bad as them are the Rebels who, dare we mention, drew with the Sharks in Durban. So, actually that draw means the Rebels are better than the Sunwolves because it adds to their solitary win.

But let’s not split hairs ... Surely a Sharks team severely chastised by their coaching staff for allowing themselves to be bullied in Port Elizabeth last week, are going to “get up” for this one.

The Sharks have to win tomorrow to solidify their hopes of finishing second in their conference and earning an away quarter-final spot.

Playing away in a playoff to a New Zealand team, and probably losing (at the risk of sounding pessimistic), is better than finishing among the also-rans. The Sharks have got themselves into this position because of some unforgivable performances, some of which are too painful to mention.

But let’s not go down the road of the Sharks’ inconsistent performances, and rather focus on the starting line-up that they have picked (under duress as far the backline is concerned) for tomorrow’s match.

Coach Du Preez has opted for Lwazi Mvovo at fullback, a position the Springbok wing will learn on the hoof given the need to keep Garth April at flyhalf because of the non-availability of Curwin Bosch and Pat Lambie.

Du Preez has given a debut to centre Johan Deysel and recalled wing S’bura Sithole.

In another backline calamity, veteran Michael Claassens is out of the match because of a hamstring injury.