Sharks up for Stormers challenge
WITH the Sharks facing an African Conference 1 leaders tomorrow at Kings Park (5.15pm) in the Stormers, they will hope they continue their trend of pitching up for the big games.
While many fans would want to compare the Sharks of 2017 to the dream-team of the early 90s, especially under the care of a player of that era in Robert du Preez, perhaps, a more apt comparison would be with English Premier League side Liverpool.
The football side from England, in the top-flight of their football league, have done reasonable well this season without setting the competition on fire.
They have picked up some big and impressive wins against some of their tougher opponents, but struggled against the easy teams. The Sharks, in their own way, have followed this trend.
Against the Lions, although they lost, the Sharks put up one of their best performances, and probably deserved the win. Against the Jagaures, in the hostile arena of Estadio José Amalfitani, the Sharks emerged triumphant with a perfectly executed game plan.
However, it is when the likes of the Kings and the Rebels have been in town that things have gone to pot.
Tomorrow, the game against the Stormers will quite clearly be up there as one of the big ones, and if the trend is anything to go by, the Sharks should be well up for it, but they will need to be more than just pumped up for this one.
The Stormers may have struggled against the Kiwi sides, where they were decimated in their defence, but prior to that they were playing a good brand of attacking rugby that was dispatching all other comers.
The Sharks have promised that they will be taking a leaf out of that Kiwi gameplan, of trying to overawe the Stormers in defence rather than turning it into a defensive armwrestle, and they will be well primed to do so after their trip to Singapore.
The Sharks managed six tries, and a first bonus points, against the Sunwolves last week, and although half of those tries came in the last five minutes, it is that memory that will stick in the players’ minds.
The coach is clearly happy with his side, especially his injury-struck makeshift backline that did the business against the Sunwolves, as he has stuck with the same team barring one change at the tighthead.
Coenie Oosthuizen returns to the side after being rested as part of the Springbok protocols as the only change to the side.
Of course, log points still count, as the Jaguares can still mathematically catch the Sharks to that wild card spot, but as a local derby, this game will have a lot riding on it.
There will be the usual coastal pride; the chance to stretch their eight-point lead over the other conference leading Stormers – making further mockery of the conference system – and finally, the momentum building heading towards the last two games – derbies – against the Bulls and Lions.