Today’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby match between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Vodacom Bulls at Hollywoodbets Kings Park promises to provide a fitting end to a season that ended in glorious triumph.
For Hollywoodbets Sharks head coach John Plumtree, this season finale offers the opportunity to end on a high.
“It’s been a different week for us traveling back to South Africa, we’ve had some celebrations after what we achieved in London, so the week’s preparation has been compromised by that. But we’ve worked pretty hard during the last part of the week and we’re ready to go.”
Although there aren’t too many changes to the side, Plumtree has had his hand forced into leaving some personnel out for this match, explaining that: “We have a couple of injuries, some wear and tear, a bit of flu, so some of our players weren’t available. Eben is a bit uncomfortable with some stiffness from all the travel and it was better to look after his body and Lukhanyo Am is still out for another three or four weeks.”
Having played their final last week, keeping the players mentally at their peak and focussed for this game is an important aspect of the team’s preparations.
“We poured all of our energy into Gloucester last week and before that, while four of the last six weeks were spent overseas, so there is some mental fatigue. But this competition is just so brutal that you have to lift yourself, even if you’ve won a trophy.
“There are some challenges which become personal: everyone has their ‘why’; why they have to play well in this game. It might be Springbok selection, it might be their own standards that they want to live up to and we have one or two athletes that might be looked at by other international teams. That’s the big thing, everyone has their own reason why they need to get up apart from the fact that we have our home crowd.
“We are proud of what we’ve achieved and it would be nice to finish on a really good note. However, we know what a test this is going to be for us because we’re playing against one of the best teams in the URC and they’re hungry for five points.
“It’s going to be a massive challenge for us.”
His expectation of the Bulls is exactly what he might have prepared for and planned around at any stage of the season, even now at the business end where they are chasing top spot and looking to avoid a loss that could push them down the table.
“I don’t think they’ll change too much, they’re the type of side that loves dominating the collision areas and with that they get a lot of continuity with offloading. That’s why they can score a lot of tries.
“They also have a good set piece, that part of their game is really strong and potentially we’re similar when we’re at our best. We know that it’s going to be a massive physical battle which is always the case against the Bulls and we’re expecting that today.”
While the Bulls go into this game with enormous pressure hanging over them, the Hollywoodbets Sharks have just as much motivation to win this game.
“We know how to win a game of rugby now, we feel that we have the game. Yes, there are changes to the team, but the players know our game model, they know how we expect the team to play.
“We just want to go out there and win, and that’s playing the game we know. We want to be as clinical as possible.”
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Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: Zulu Monarch – KwaZulu-Natal, as the name may suggest, is also the home to the Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu. Although not holding any direct political power, the Zulu king is provided a stipend by the government, and holds considerable sway over more traditionalist Zulu people in the province. To date, the Zulu king has thirteen wives. Traditionally, each year a ceremony is performed in which the king receives another wife. The current King has kept this ceremony, called the “Reed Dance”, but not chosen a wife, instead using the ceremony to promote abstinence until marriage, as a way of preserving Zulu culture and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
