Sharks can’t afford mistakes against Leinster

THE Sharks’ Springbok contingent is hard at work at Hollywoodbets Kings Park and awaiting the return of the team from their United Rugby Championship (URC) tour but given the malfunction of the line-outs overseas, there surely would have been a temptation to get Eben Etzebeth on a plane to make his debut against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.

That s not going to happen and Eben the Angry’s Durban debut is set for their home game against the Glasgow Warriors on October 15.

Last week, coach Sean Everitt explained that his Bok players had been given a week’s vacation following the end of the Rugby Championship.

Everitt said that only in the case of a severe injury crisis would they consider calling up a Springbok.

The Sharks did lose a valuable lock to injury in Gerbrandt Grobler after the win over Zebre but last week they stuck with the men on tour in Reniel Hugo and Justin Basson and they will continue with those two against Leinster.

Etzebeth is arguably the Sharks’ biggest ever signing but he is being saved for their first home game of the URC, and it is the luckless Glasgow who are going to learn to Fear the Fin.

The Sharks go into their Dublin encounter on Saturday on the back of wins over Zebre and the Dragons, but they could have lost both of those games despite patches of very good play.

That is exactly it … the Sharks have been playing in patches and if that continues, Leinster won’t be as forgiving.

The line-outs have wobbled and the rolling maul has not gone to plan, and forwards coach Warren Whiteley knows this.

“We’ve been focusing on our line-outs and maul defence over the last two weeks and have seen some improvement in this regard,” he said. “We were disappointed in the first game but made an improvement against the Dragons.

“However, it wasn’t at the standard that we want. We’ve placed emphasis on that, and we know that Leinster has a powerful pack.”