We’re in this to win, insists Du Preez
The Sharks are assured of finishing in eighth place on the Super Rugby table after the Highlanders hammered the Reds yesterday, but now it is in their hands to a large extent whether the Lions, the great South African hopes, are able to top the standings as they meet at King’s Park this evening.
The Lions also have to hope the Hurricanes can beat the Crusaders this morning in Wellington, but the Sharks are in the strange situation whereby losing to the Gautengers could see them play their quarterfinal just up the road in Johannesburg, rather than having to travel all the way to Christchurch to play the Crusaders.
But Sharks coach Robert du Preez has stressed the importance of winning, to not only take momentum into whatever quarterfinal they land up with, but also to make up for their disappointing inconsistency at home this season.
“It will be one of our toughest games this year. We have a lot to play for – we need to get our campaign back on track heading into the quarterfinals and the Lions have a lot to play for too. We’re working hard on upping our intensity and ball-in-play time, especially for a game against the Lions and potentially a New Zealand side. We’ve worked hard to raise our tempo.
“We just want to focus on our game, make sure we get our processes going and play well before the quarterfinals. It’s been an up-and-down season, especially at home, which has been very disappointing and we hope to put that right,” Du Preez said.
The Sharks, who came so close to beating the Lions at Ellis Park in April, have surprised by preferring Lwazi Mvovo at fullback to the benched Curwin Bosch, but against a side with such ruthlessness and set-piece strength as the Lions, conservative selections are probably to be expected.
“We felt very unlucky that we didn’t win the game in Johannesburg, but we played well. We hope for a repeat performance, but winning the game at the end. To do that, we have to be really accurate at the set-pieces, we have to put their key players under pressure and we have to be very accurate on defence, because if you give them any opportunity, they take it. And we have to make sure we take our opportunities,” Du Preez said.