Sharks ready for next Cup mission

Sharks coach John Plumtree is anticipating a tough Challenge Cup quarterfinal showdown with Scottish side Edinburgh at King’s Park Stadium (kick-off 1.30pm) on Saturday as both sides know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

The Durban-based side advanced to the last-eight thanks to a dominant 47-3 win over Italian side Zebre on Sunday.

Plumtree and Co are on a mission to win the Challenge Cup, having built up some good momentum in URC games against

Ulster and Edinburgh in the runup to their last-16 clash with Zebre, and secure home advantage in the quarterfinals with a win (over Zebre).

The mission now enters a crucial phase – a quarterfinal with Edinburgh.

The two United Rugby Championship teams met at the end of March in Durban where the Sharks came out on top with a 23-13 win.

“It was always the plan to do well in this four-match block and we have got three out of three so far. We have an opportunity (to make it four) going into the quarterfinal, which is going to be huge for Edinburgh and us,” Plumtree said.

“Hopefully, we get a nice big crowd here (in Durban). Edinburgh are a good side, it’s going to be a good contest. We played each other recently, so we know each other and what they will bring,” he added.

Plumtree said the performance of his World Cup Springboks in the win over Zebre was encouraging and he’d again bank on them this weekend. The front row men - Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, and Vincent Koch – led the way last weekend.

“I thought Ox, Bongi and Vincent were great,” Plumtree said.