Du Preez will leave nothing to chance

The Pumas’ record in Durban makes for sorry reading, but Sharks coach Robert du Preez is still expecting an uncomfortable evening for his side when they meet in a Currie Cup clash at King’s Park tonight.

The Pumas have not won a Currie Cup match in Durban for 22 years and they are coming off a 57-28 walloping at the hands of Western Province in Nelspruit last weekend, but Du Preez was still talking them up yesterday.

“Western Province played really well, but I felt the scoreline flattered them a bit. The Pumas are a good team and we expect a backlash. They are a very physical side and I think it’s going to be a tough encounter. We’ve also got to be really spot-on when we’re defending because the Pumas do score tries from several different areas,” Du Preez said.

The Sharks are a side that make plenty of attacking inroads themselves, but Du Preez is still bemoaning their finishing, saying they are still not ruthless enough.

“I was disappointed last weekend with our execution, we created so many opportunities against the Cheetahs that we did not take. Also, the tries we conceded were not up to the standard we set ourselves defensively,” he said.

Despite Du Preez’s warning, there is a sense that the Sharks are keeping some of their powder dry ahead of their next two matches – crucial games against the Golden Lions and Western Province – with the coach saying certain selections this week were down to rotation.

“The Currie Cup is an opportunity to blood youngsters, we always have that mindset, and some of the switches are just rotational. But we still need to keep the continuity going and you need a strong team to back up the players coming in. We want to make strategic changes as well, not just chop and change for the sake of it,” Du Preez said.