Sharks face daunting task against classy Hurricanes
SOME clever person once said pride comes before a fall. With gravity having done a number on the Sharks, pride is all they have to play for.
After Friday’s pathetic performance against the Highlanders, Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold has again demanded improvement in a season where his charges have made a habit of taking a few steps forward before losing more than the ground they made up.
The Hurricanes may be without the injured Beauden Barrett, but they will be a stern examination of a Sharks side that cannot even afford to buy confidence on credit.
Whether the Sharks have absorbed any lessons, especially from a defensive perspective, will be seen on Saturday at the Westpac Stadium. While the Hurricanes do not need much on-field intelligence as the Sharks have not provided anything to be scared of, the hosts also have former Sharks coach John Plumtree just in case they need to exploit any minor weaknesses.
“I’m not about to provide any excuses for what happened in our performance. It was sub-standard and whatever the reasons are, we’ll investigate that.
“I take responsibility for it, I’ve said that before, but the bottom line is that we have to fix it,” Gold said.
“The business we’re in provides us with lots of opportunities to fix it. If we don’t fix it this weekend, we’re going to be on the end of another hiding and none of us wants that.
“We understand what this weekend is going to bring. There’s a big personal element involved. I’m a good friend of Plum’s but it doesn’t help that he knows the intricacies of nearly all of our players,” Gold said.
The Sharks do welcome back Frans Steyn from his fiveweek suspension but it remains to be seen whether he will provide what has been a listless Sharks back division with any direction.
Their scrum will also be strengthened by the return of Jannie du Plessis, even though Plumtree will have informed his charges about his scrumming intricacies.
At least the Sharks have their Bok front row to call on despite them also being mas- sively under-par, but any morsel of joy is worth celebrating for Gold.
His senior players have under-performed and if there is any time for them to stamp their authority, it should be against the table-topping Hurricanes.
“It’s wonderful to have a guy like Frans back. Jannie is also back which makes a difference for us, although we’ve lost Cobus [Reinach] who has returned home.
“It’s cruel how sport is – when things are bad, they’re particularly bad. We’ve had an injury crisis but it is an opportunity for young guys to step up to the plate,” Gold said.
“We have three games to go and nowhere to hide – no one wants to hide – and it’s about showing some incredible courage. We want to show we have a lot of fight still in us.
“In the next two weeks, we’re playing two of the top teams in the competition, so we have our work cut out, but that’s what this sport does.”