Sharks ready to bring out their ‘A-Game’ against Rebels

IT HAS been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the Sharks in this year’s Super Rugby competition. They were, at one stage, sitting second on the overall log having picked up bonus point wins against the Sunwolves and Blues, but are now down to fourth on the South African conference after their bye.

The two wins were quickly followed by two losses, against local opponents, which has a double sting due to the conference system; the Bulls and Stormers asserting themselves there.

The men from Durban, and the brainstrust at the top, have now gathered round to try and get back to the early days of the tournament where winning came easier.

“We looked at where it went wrong in those two big derbies with the Stormers and the Bulls,” assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher said. “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,” the coach added. “So there has been a lot of introspection and soul searching, not to mention hard work behind the scenes.“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.”

One thing that does seem to be clear though is that the players have at least enjoyed the break with Loubscher complimenting the mood in the camp.

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

The Sharks face a Rebels team that is top of the Aussie Conference with three wins from four and which is smarting after blowing a huge 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 concluded. “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.”