Vodacom United Rugby Championship action returns after a brief break and it couldn’t be more exciting than a clash between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday evening.
Both sides have big aspirations and this game takes on huge importance for each of the South African coastal sides.
Head coach John Plumtree has selected a similar starting line-up to the one that has featured over the last month or more, but has had the privilege of letting his players get something of a break, having enjoyed a rare bye weekend before preparing for this match. The rest has been important for managing the players’ workload leading into this clash.
“I haven’t been able to rotate the squad as much as I would potentially like to, that hasn’t been healthy,” he explains. “If you look at most of the other teams, they’ve rotated their squad more while I’ve had to over play some guys for different reasons.
“The break has come at the right time for us, this week has been good and we’re looking forward to the challenge, one we know the enormity of.”
Having to play pretty much the same personnel for seven or eight weeks, after a Rugby World Cup competition has taken its toll and Plumtree feels that this is something to learn from.
“We have a lot of work to do over the next year or two around our squad depth because the season is brutal in terms of its intensity. Hopefully this break will do the players the world of good.”
He admits that his expectations of the Stormers are high and that there can be no underestimating their opponents.
“Looking at their last few games, they’re looking pretty impressive at the moment, they have a lot of confidence in what they do, they have threats all over the park, their forwards are big and tough and they have a pretty smart game with inform play-makers.
“It’s going to be a pretty tough game down there.”
Looking inwards at his own team, he feels that the preparations have gone well and the group know what is needed. “We’ve identified some things we need to change and we’ve worked hard on that this week.
“But a lot will come down to the intensity of the collisions, the scrummaging, the driving, the break-down stuff. The Stormers are a really physical team what prides themselves on those areas.
“The have the bling in the backs that makes them a real threat, they’re looking like a complete side, one I can’t talk about more highly and they’re probably ahead of a lot of teams in this competition.”
While Plumtree is effusive in his praise, he acknowledges that this presents a wonderful opportunity for his side to make a statement.
“We’re the underdogs for this game, but that fuels them to defend their town and their stadium and that’s a mark of a quality team. Yes it’s an opportunity but one swallow doesn’t make a summer, we have to look for more than one win to say we’ve turned around.
“We need to find consistency in performance, building spirit amongst the group and having talent that turns you into that kind of team we aspire to which doesn’t just arrive, you have to work hard for it.”
This is the perfect springboard to achieve this.
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