Everitt: Vital Sharks get off to a good start
THE order of the teams on the United Rugby Championship standings suggests that if the Sharks lose to Ulster today in Belfast there is a good chance they will be returning to the Northern Ireland capital on 4 June for the quarter-finals.
That is how much is at stake for both teams today — a probable quarter-final between them at Kings Park or the Kingspan Stadium, and Ulster has an ominously record at home.
That is why Sharks coach Sean Everitt says his team will throw the kitchen sink at winning at the inhospitable venue today and then have the luxury of a playoff on the green grass of home.
To make the challenge just a little sterner today, there is an almost 100% chance of rain in Belfast today, not that the Sharks are strangers to weather inclemency given how many games they have played in the rain that has persisted in Durban almost this entire year. “Rain seems certain for the game and while we are used to playing in the wet, the difference is the temperature of the rain — in Durban the rain is a lot warmer than it will be over here,” Everitt said. “But given how much we have played in the wet, our game model obviously allows us to adjust accordingly.”
Probably more challenging for the Sharks will be combating the intimidating atmosphere in the compact stadium. The capacity at the ground is just 18 200, but the stadium is small and the fans are almost on top of the players. The match is sold out and the Ulster crowd is renowned for the full voice with which they encourage their team.
“None of us has been here before,” Everitt said. “I was speaking to Thomas Du Toit about the atmosphere because he had a stint with Munster, but he did not play Ulster in that time. But we know their crowd is very passionate and it will be no different from when we played at Thomond Park against Munster.
“It is nice to play in front of fans and a full stadium gives added motivation to us as well as them.”
Of course, the best way to deal with an intimidating crowd is to silence them with your play.
“It is vital that we have a good start,” Everitt said. “Starting well in any must-win is vita,l but it is even more so when you are playing in difficult conditions. It is difficult to come back in the wet, as we found out against Edinburgh (the Sharks lost at home in torrential rain).”
The Sharks — and the other three South African teams — are much wiser than they were when they visited the UK and Ireland last November at the start of the United Rugby Championship when painful lessons were learned.
“We all struggled at the beginning of the competition,” Everitt said. “We have come on nicely as a group since then.”
Sharks – 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukanyo Am, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Reniel Hugo, 3 Thomas du Toit (c), 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche Subs: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Jeandre Labuschagne, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Boeta Chamberlain