HURT SHARKS DANGEROUS
IT IS CRUNCH time for the Sharks in Super Rugby 2018 when they host their nemesis side, the Stormers at Kings Park tomorrow, 5pm kick-off, with coach Robert du Preez describing the match as approximating a deal-breaker for the Sharks’ campaign.
“A win will turn our season around,” Du Preez said, with the coach having no need to state that a defeat would be catastrophic to his team’s quarter-final aspirations. “It is a very important game for both teams considering the SA Conference table, and for us it is also a vital home game.”
This is especially so after the Sharks were hammered by the Bulls last week in Durban. They simply have to win this home game to stay in contention, and the Sharks camp know this only too well. At the same time, though, Du Preez says that his team has to keep cool heads and not let the pressure get to them.
“We cannot go into our shells because of fear of failure. In fact we must do the opposite and go out and enjoy ourselves, as we did in New Zealand,” the coach said. “The players have been hurting after the huge disappointment of the performance against the Bulls but it would be fatal to dwell in the past. Instead, we have to see this is as a new opportunity and we have spoken this week about not retreating into defensive mode.
“After all, it is a rugby game, not life or death, although it feels like it sometimes.”
Du Preez was asked whether the two Currie Cup matches at Kings Park that concluded the 2017 season, including the final, had relevance with tomorrow’s match in mind.
Both teams will field similar packs to those that played in the Currie Cup, where the Capetonians seriously outplayed their hosts to set up convincing victories.
“This game is all about the pack, all about forward dominance,” Du Preez admitted. “If we do not get that it will be a long evening. It is going to be a set piece battle. I know that is where they are going to target us, and we will be ready for it.”
The Stormers will heavily target the set scrums while the Sharks will hope to get ascendancy in the line-outs, an area where the Stormers have been inconsistent this season.
“We need to get front ball any way we can,” Du Preez said frankly. “We also feel that their advantage in the scrums last year was helped by their instability in the scrum set-up. We are concerned about that and have spoken to the officials about it.
“From a line-out point of view, we have to stop their dangerous mauls and we have worked hard on that this week,” the coach said.
To add to the significance of the set-piece struggle, heavy rain is predicted for tomorrow. That inevitably means more set pieces, especially scrums from errors in handling the slippery ball.
“Yes it looks like it will rain but there is nothing we can do about that, obviously, but we cannot use the weather as an excuse to go into our shells.
If we want to win, we have to take the game to the opposition. There has been great energy in the camp, the guys are well rested and energised now that we are into our second week back from New Zealand. We are ready to go.”