Sharks look to move in for the kill against depleted Cheetahs

THE Sharks will have no better chance at beating the Cheetahs come Saturday when the men from Bloemfontein arrive at Kings Park.

It is not just because the Sharks are on a five-match winning streak – the Cheetahs have other things on their plate.

Since being booted unceremoniously from Super Rugby, the heartland of South African rugby, the Free State have been given a lifeline in the Celtic Pro 12, or as it is now known, the Pro 14, with the addition of the Cheetahs as well as the Kings.

It is a curious twist of fate as when these teams met at the beginning of the season, some odd bit of scheduling saw the Sharks embroiled in a Super Rugby quarter-final, as well as the Currie Cup. This necessitated a watered down squad to be led to slaughter in Bloemfontein in that, the only loss of the Sharks’ campaign.

Sharks assistant coach Ryan Strudwick is aware of the rever- sal of fortunes, and as such is hoping his side can take all the advantages on offer to them.

“The timing of the Cheetahs having a weekend double-header (in two different competitions) suits us because we meet them in the Currie Cup in the week that they will be at their weakest, and we must exploit this to go top of the log and secure a strong advantage in terms of ‘points scored for and against’,” Strudwick said.

However, the Cheetahs being the Cheetahs, they can still pose a surprising threat, and there is no team more aware of this than the Sharks.

It has often been the case that a strong Sharks team has been surprised by the determination and attacking intent of the Cheetahs, going down when they really shouldn’t.

“Are they going to come up and try play defensively (to keep the score respectable), or will they throw caution to the wind and attack with everything they have to try and score four tries and get a bonus point out of the match?” Strudwick mused.

However, even in this seemingly unprecedented situation for their opponents, having to focus on taking a squad up North, the Sharks are still more determined to get their side of things right.

“It is a curious situation, but all we can do is concentrate on getting things right in areas where we have been poor and then be ruthless and clinical,” Strudwick said.

“There can be no soft tries conceded and we must show patience and efficiency in scoring as many as we can.”

The Sharks will expect to take top spot from the Cheetahs, but they will also hope they can stay near the top in the following two where they have tricky away encounters in Kimberley and Nelspruit.

“We then have tough Friday night away games against the Griquas and Pumas, and we will be flying in on the day and out again for those matches, and we all know tricky those games can be if the home side is up for it, which they invariably are.”