Sharks to be tested by new-look Dragons
BEFORE the Sharks left Durban two weeks ago, coach Sean Everitt said his team had targeted 10 log points for the three-match tour from the possible 15, and having bagged five of them last week in Parma, the goal can be reached in Newport tonight.
The question as to why Everitt did not say the target was 15 is because he was being realistic in that the tour ends in Dublin next week against Leinster, who are arguably the best team in Europe, so nailing wins against Zebre and tonight against the Dragons made more sense.
But the form book for the new URC season looks markedly different, with the teams that finished 16th (stone last) and 15th in the last edition — Zebre and the Dragons — having pulled themselves together.
Zebre came within a few minutes of pulling off the shock of the century against Leinster in the first round, losing 33-29, and last week they almost pipped the Sharks at the death (4237); and the Dragons shrugged off a difficult start away to Edinburgh by shocking Munster last week in Newport.
The Welshmen clearly play better at Rodney Parade in Newport and the Sharks will know that their 52-3 slaying of the Dragons five months ago at Hollywoodbets Kings Park is half a world away.
It is expected to be wet and cold tonight (8.30pm kick-off, SA time) but if the Sharks start off on fire as they did against Zebre they should be okay.
“That first half was the best 40 minutes we have played for a long time, and we take the positives from that,” Everitt said from Newport. “But then in the second we allowed Zebre to get momentum, too much width on defence and we did not stick to
our kicking plan. So the lesson learnt from that is we put ourselves under the pump and it is fixable.
“In the first half we were not under pressure and much of that is because we gave away almost no penalties, but we conceded seven in the second and that caused the momentum shift.”