Lambie boost for Sharks
IN DURBAN HE SHARKS discovered last week against the Lions that they have sound fly-half options beyond Patrick Lambie but the coaching staff would neverthess have been reasured to see the 23-year-old back in training yesterday after illness.
Lambie will be fit to play against the Reds on Saturday after susptected tick bite fever caused him to be a late withdrawal last week.
Frans Steyn made a decent fist of the No 10 jersey, and kicked beautifully for goal, but he had not played in the postion for years and there was a a degree of disruption to a backline that had been on a upward curve with Lambie at the helm.
“Frans kicked really well and moving him to 10 was our best option given that Fred Zeilinga had played in a Vodacom Cup match the night before the Lions game,” coach Jake White said. “But in looking at the game, having analysed it from a video point of view, we probably got a lot of the cohesion wrong.
“One of the positives to have really come out of the Lions game is that the players realise how vital Pat is to our game, and how difficult it is to control that position, so there is so much more appreciation from Frans regarding the the difficulty of playing there,” White said.
The coach said that Steyn, by his own admission, was a touch rusty in the position he played at school and at age-group level before eventually settling down at inside centre (he has also had his time at fullback and has even started on the wing for the Springboks).
“If we’re really critical about it, it took time for Frans to adjust to the new position,” White said. “And that had a rub-on effect on Heimar Williams, who hasn’t played much rugby and had to come in late to take Frans’ place at 12. It was his first full game since the Currie Cup semi-final last year. Putting it in perspective, it obviously was going to take time for the backline to get going.”
Lambie and half-back partner Cobus Reinach will be up agasint one of the best pairs in the business in Quade Cooper and Will Genia, and they will relish the challenge of containing the innovative Queenslanders.
“The Reds have an exceptional combination at 9 and 10, but the Sharks have had quite a good record
Tagainst the Reds, and the Springboks in the Sharks team have also had a lot of success against the Aussies,” White said. “So as much as Cooper and Genia are a threat and are the focal point of the Reds’ game, we are confident that we should be able to handle them, from the point of view of past performances of our players at Sharks and Springbok level.”
The quality of the Reds team and the entertaining brand of rugby they play makes this game one of the season’s drawcards at Kings Park, and the Sharks are hoping for another good crowd.
“My job is simple, I’ve got to get people to the stadium and one way to do that is by playing well and win- ning,” White said. “And this weekend we have an (earlier) 5pm kick-off against a Reds team that has won the competition before, and the players are hoping we get even more supporters in this weekend, and an even better vibe.
“There is no doubt that winning brings in the fans, and them being there, in turn, helps us win.”