Sharks look to sharpen up ahead of Rebels clash

IT is a “massive” week for the Sharks according to assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher as the Durbanites look to return to winning ways in Saturday’s Super Rugby match against the Rebels at Jonsson Kings Park.

Last week the players had their feet up licking their wounds during the bye that ensued after the defeat to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, but there was no such luck for the coaching staff, according to the former Sharks fullback and Springbok assistant coach (under Heyneke Meyer).

“As coaches we had our meetings last week to come up with a plan to get back on the winning trail,” Loubscher said.

“We looked at where it went wrong in those two big derbies with the Stormers and the Bulls. Both those sides put us under huge pressure by putting the ball in behind us and then capitalising on our mistakes.

“There were also big moments when we were under pressure that we didn’t handle well,” Loubscher added.

“So there has been a lot of introspection and soul searching, not to mention hard work behind the scenes.”

Loubscher said it is difficult to know whether the bye came at the right time.

“We will find out on the weekend if the bye was what we needed after two very physical SA derbies,” he said. “Ideally after a loss you want to fix it as soon as possible but at the same time the guys were sore. Either way, it is a massive week for us.”

The players pitched for work yesterday in hungry mood, the backline coach said.

“The guys had their one-on-ones with the coaches and you could sense a desperation among them to win this week,” Loubschër said.

“The boys can’t wait to get back on the field in front of their home crowd.

“There is a good vibe and a feeling that we need to set the record straight after two losses.”

In the Sharks’ path is a Rebels team that is top of the Aussie Conference with three wins from four matches and which is smarting after blowing a 33-5 lead against the Lions last week to lose a match they should have comfortably put to bed.

“The Rebels’ first half against Lions was exceptional. They have some experienced Wallabies, especially at 9 and 10 (scrumhalf Will Genia and flyhalf Quade Cooper),” Loubscher said.

“They are going to be a handful on attack so we will have to bring our ‘A-Game’ defensively.

“And from our side, we will have a plan of attack to exploit them.”

The Sharks will have the same players at their disposal as they did for the Bulls game, minus centre Jeremy Ward, who was suspended for five weeks because of a dangerous tackle on Bulls wing Rosko Specman.

Injured key players in Jean-Luc du Preez, Tyler Paul and Philip van der Walt are again unavailable but fullback Aphelele Fassi has recovered from the head knock that kept him out of the Bulls game.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 5.15pm. – Mike Greenaway