Sharks need to make a statement against Bulls
Instead of embracing the underdog tag and going into the Bulls’ corral hoping for the best, the Sharks coach says his charges see this game as a perfect platform to make a statement as a team.
THE SHARKS have told the rugby world this week that they are ignoring the rising tide of discontent among their supporters after a fortnight of indifferent results in the United Rugby Championship, but they are fooling nobody when they say they are not under pressure.
The Sharks are a side packed with current Springboks and backed by the US dollars of their American majority shareholders, and while the New Yorkers have not pressed the alarm bell yet, they might just do so if their team are hammered by the Bulls at Loftus tomorrow.
And they will understand the magnitude of the task, given that the Bulls have lost just once in Pretoria since Jake White took over in April 2020, and the Sharks last won there in 2019, when Sean Everitt had just taken over and the Bulls were still coached by Pote Human.
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But instead of embracing the underdog tag and going into the Bulls’ corral hoping for the best, Everitt says his charges see this game as a perfect platform to make a statement as a team.
“This is a massive opportunity for us, and what you must remember about our win against the Bulls in Durban (in December last year) was that they were missing key personnel in the front row,” Everitt said.
“You have to be realistic. I am not taking anything away from our boys, who played really well that night, and our set-piece functioned really well and laid the foundation for a good win, but this is a different Bulls team.
“When it comes to playing on the highveld, we also put the Lions away when we went to Johannesburg three weeks ago and that gives us confidence.”
Marius Louw was brought back in the team at No.12 yesterday, with captain Lukhanyo Am shifting back to No.13, and Jeremy Ward missing out, while flank Henco Venter and lock Gerbrandt Grobler bolster the pack.
On the bench, Bok loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe and flyhalf Curwin Bosch return to the matchday squad.
Everitt is the last person to be reminded that the Sharks did not kick on from that excellent performance by drawing a game they should have won when the Stormers came to Durban, and then losing comprehensively the following week to the same team in Cape Town.
Now it is back to the highveld, and Everitt says the altitude won’t be a factor.
“Altitude is a mental thing. It gave us the world of confidence 12 months ago when we went up there for the Currie Cup final and played 100 minutes at altitude (the game went to extra time). In the end, it was just some set-piece mistakes near the end that cost us, and maybe some goal-kicking,” Everitt said.
“We were very competitive in that game, and maybe should have won it at 80 minutes had we been more accurate in our execution.”
Everitt contends that his team’s faltering form against the Stormers is down to combinations still getting used to each other.
