It’s the biggest game in recent history for the Hollywoodbets Sharks today as they host Clermont at the Twickenham Stoop in London for their EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final.
It’s been an exciting campaign with some outstanding rugby and today marks the opportunity to deliver the kind of winning performance that grants the team an appearance in the final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 24 May.
Head coach John Plumtree has warned that Clermont are a side befitting a semi-final appearance and he expects his team to have everything thrown at them from a team that embraces a multifaceted approach to playing the game.
“Clermont are a side that like continuity in games,” he explained from the team’s base in London on the eve of the match.
“A lot of their players have outstanding skills and they can absolutely butcher teams by winning collisions, offloading and keeping the game really flowing.
“That’s what we’ve seen and it’s going to be a tough challenge, as you’d expect at semi-final stage.”
The Hollywoodbets Sharks know they’re going to have to bring their ‘A’ game to this gigantic tussle against a side that will punish any mistakes made. That all starts by building a foundation upfront.
“The set-piece is going to be important and we have a lot of confidence in our pack. But their pack is strong as well, they have a big lineout, a big drive, they’re not just a side that plays all around the park with their continuity skills; they’re pretty tough upfront as well.
“There are no real weaknesses here, they’ve found some form and there’s no magic bullet for us; it’s about us playing really well in all departments.”
One vital facet of the game is leaking penalties and Plumtree admitted that it’s an area his team have got on top of, an area they know they need to continue to be good in.
“Our discipline has been good in the last three or four weeks, the players know how important it is to our game that we are disciplined and I’m expecting that to continue.”
With home ground advantage limited to playing in Europe, the Hollywoodbets Sharks have made the Stoop their home and look forward to some local support to get behind them.
“We’ve settled in well, our preparation has been good and the marketing team has gone beyond to ensure it’s a good day for us. Hopefully we get a lot of South African support, not only Hollywoodbets Sharks fans.
“A lot of work has been put in and hopefully we see a nice crowd.”
Befitting the occasion, the Hollywoodbets Sharks team is a strong one and will be going all out to deliver a match-winning performance.
“We’re at full strength, this is a semi-final and with that comes a lot of pressure. We know there’s a big job to do and a really massive carrot for us if we do well in this game.”
Having a number of Rugby World Cup winning Springboks doesn’t hurt either and Plumtree acknowledged their role in both lifting their team-mates as well as keeping them calm for the big event.
“They’re really important to us, when you get to this stage of the season when there’s an opportunity to play in a final, your big players get excited and they step up.
“All of our senior players, with their experience, have done a great job. Right now we feel that the team is in a good spot.
“We’ve done well to get to this point, all I’ve asked the players to do is to win the week, by that I mean nailing their preparations, nailing their roles so they can give themselves the best opportunity to win as a team. We know we’re playing against a tough side and we know we’re going to have to play very well to beat them.”
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