Koster: Sharks wary of well-prepared Griffons
THE last time the Sharks lifted the Currie Cup was five years ago, when they famously travelled to Newlands to beat favourites Western Province in their own back yard.
The South African rugby landscape has made an important paradigm shift since then, dropping Super Rugby, the surviving Covid-19 pandemic and then joining the United Rugby Championship.
Even before the change, the Currie Cup battled to find and maintain its relevance, but that hasn’t changed the fact that the elite domestic competition holds a special place in the hearts of players, supporters and pundits.
So, while the Sharks will be fighting battles on two other fronts in the coming months – a URC top-eight finish and glory in the Champions Cup – the domestic competition will remain important in developing the union’s youth players, while affording URC fringe players an opportunity to get some game time.
This three-pronged challenge will present a test of depth and character for the Sharks, a fact that Murray Koster acknowledged yesterday ahead of their opening Currie Cup clash against the Griffons at Kings Park on Saturday.
“It is a bit of a challenge for us,” the centre said.
“Guys will be moving up and down through the squads in two competitions for at least half of the Currie Cup.
“There are guys who have come together recently into the Currie Cup squad through the club rugby ranks, there are juniors coming into the squad and there are also some fringe players from the URC who have joined the squad.
“It is a very diverse squad when it comes to that, but I think the challenge for us is to get cohesion as quickly as possible and to make sure we hit the ground running.
“The Currie Cup is the premier division competition for us, and we haven’t won it since 2018.
“It will be a huge challenge to do as well as we can.”
Although the Sharks will host the Griffons in Durban, the Welkom-based team will be a bit of an enigma, having been promoted into an expanded elite division this year.
They completed a perfect season in the First Division last year, winning all nine of their regular-season matches and eventually trouncing the EP Elephants 45-16 in the final.
“The Griffons, we know that they have had quite a long pre-season,” said Koster of the Sharks’ opposition this weekend.
“They have been together for a few months. We know that they are going to come out hungry and they are going
to come out wanting to upset us, and to prove something in their first game in the Currie Cup.”
From a personal perspective, Koster hopes that the Currie Cup – and regular game time – will help him make the step up in ambition.
“All a player really wants is game time, so for me personally, that will be key,” the 24-year-old said.
“It is exciting that there are 14 games in a row where there is an opportunity to showcase what you are made of. For me, I am looking forward to it …
“I’m sure there are a lot of guys who are looking forward to it, who have been on the fringes in the URC.”