Head coach John Plumtree said a rejuvenated Sharks outfit can’t wait to tackle the in-form DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
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Following a week’s break, the Sharks face the Capetonians in round 9 of the Vodacom URC, and are eager to get back on track after a nail-biting loss to the Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup on 17 December.
Plumtree’s charges are in 15th place on the URC standings, with one win in seven matches, while the Stormers are looking for a third victory on the trot in all competitions.
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John Dobson’s men are undefeated against their coastal rivals in the URC, and speaking in a Sharks conference on Thursday, Plumtree emphasised that the time off is just what his troops needed ahead of a blockbuster derby.
‘This week’s been good and we’re looking forward to the challenge, but we know what a massive challenge it is,’ he told reporters. ‘Beating La Rochelle at home, and then beating a strong Bulls side, the Stormers are an impressive group at the moment.’
‘They’ve got a lot of confidence in what they do and there’s threats all over the park, and their forwards are big and tough and have a smart game. A lot of their playmakers are in good form, so it’s going to be tough down there.’
‘The break was good timing for us, a lot of guys had played a lot of rugby. I haven’t been able to rotate the squad potentially like I wanted to; if you look at the other teams they’ve been able to rotate their squad more and I’ve had to overplay some guys.’
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He added, ‘Around our game, we’ve identified a few things that we need to change and worked hard on that. But a lot will come down to just the intensity of the collision – the scrummaging, the driving, the breakdown [because] the Stormers are a really physical team and pride themselves around those areas.’
‘They’ve got the bling in the backs that make them a real threat, and they’re looking right now like a complete side. I can’t talk highly enough about the Stormers … they’re probably the envy of a lot of teams in this competition.’
While Plumtree emphasised player rotation, the Sharks will also target the game against the Lions at Kings Park in the URC on 6 January as an opportunity to bank a valuable home victory.
The Durbanites have been boosted recently by the return of World Cup-winning Springboks like Lukhanyo Am and Eben Etzebeth, who is set to lock horns with his former teammates in the Mother City.
‘I’ll be looking for a full-strength side every week, I haven’t been rotating at all, and that’s part of the problem,’ Plumtree said. ‘It’ll be a full-strength side next week, and a full-strength side the following week, and we have to do that right now.’
‘Until I feel like we have the squad, we’re still firing away. We still want to make the top eight, and we want to do well in the EPCR. We might rotate a couple of positions, but we’re just working as hard as we can with the group I feel can do well.’
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Picture: Screenshot from video / @@SharksRugby / X
Words: SA Rugby Magazine