The Cell C Sharks will head up to Emirates Airline Park for Saturday evening’s Carling Currie Cup clash with the Xerox Lions with confidence and a measure of certainty that only a strong performance will win the day.
Defeating the Vodacom Bulls last Saturday at Jonsson Kings Park was morale-boosting and the team will take great confidence from their performance and ability to beat the log leaders, but they know the Lions are deserving of healthy doses of respect.
There have been some disruptions to the team, forcing head coach Sean Everitt into making a number of changes to the tight five for this match.
Dan Jooste and Ruben van Heerden are out due to Covid protocols and Thomas du Toit’s rib injury hasn’t healed, while Hyron Andrews has travelled home due to a family bereavement.
“It’s always going to be a disruption when you lose players like that,” said Everitt. “Ruben was playing really good rugby along with Hyron and Dan, and I thought Thomas was outstanding on Saturday. But it’s exciting for the guys coming in.
“So, while we would have liked those players who are missing out to have played, it’s an exciting opportunity for the guys coming through.”
There is another 6-2 split on the bench after Everitt loaded it with forwards last weekend and while he has a healthy respect for the Lions, this is more about continuity.
“The Lions are on fire at the moment, but in going 6-2 on the bench for us, I was trying to reward the team for a good performance against the Bulls. It’s also good for continuity that we continue on the road we are.”
Much has been made of the Cell C Sharks ‘performance-driven’ ethos. Their’s is not a win-at-all-costs attitude but rather one that embraces good performances that lead to victory.
“When we say we’re driving performances, we want this team to play their absolute best every weekend,” Everitt explained. “We’re driving consistency in our performance, but we need to face reality here, this is a vital game as far as log points are concerned. The challenge for the team is that we have three very tough games coming up over a difficult period, the first time our guys will be playing over the festive Christmas season.
“From a log perspective, the Bulls game this weekend has been called off so they’ll get two points, but we are focused on our game knowing that this is a crucial match for us.”
Much has been made of the Cell C Sharks’ successful home record, but playing away has its advantages too and the team are excited about the opportunity to get away from the Durban humidity and play some running rugby.
“Our guys enjoy playing with ball in hand,” said Everitt. “We played some of our best rugby early in the year when we were away from home and scored some great tries, so the guys are looking forward to hopefully have a dry ball to play with.”
There was a mix of the good and not so bad as far as injury news goes, with the coach confirming that prop du Toit has a rib cartilage injury and that his return to play will be determined by his comfort levels in training which could be anywhere between two and four weeks.
“As far as Aphelele Fassi goes, he started bag contact work last week and got through training well this week, so we’re hoping that he will be available to be included in next week’s match day squad.”
The post Preview appeared first on The Sharks.
Beating the Vodacom Bulls at Jonsson Kings Park ticked a number of important boxes for a Cell C Sharks side that is growing in confidence and building momentum as the Carling Currie Cup approaches the business end.
The log points gained in the 32-29 victory over the Bulls were invaluable in the title race, while denying the log leaders the win allowed the Cell C Sharks to cut the gap to five points with a game in hand over their Pretoria counterparts.
Returning captain Lukhanyo Am said that the win was a big step towards building confidence, morale and momentum for a tough month ahead.
“It was a huge win for us, the Bulls have been top of the log since lockdown and facing them is always a challenge; we’re really happy with the result,” he admitted.
“It was definitely important for us to win, coming back from a bye the boys were nice and refreshed and getting the result was a massive confidence-booster for us going forward.”
Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt had remarked in the lead-up to the match that he wanted an 80 minute performance from his team and that was exactly what he got.
“We’ve been together for a while now and credit to the impact players who came off the bench and closed off the game for us. Playing for the full 80 remains a work-on for us, against the Bulls we managed to do that even though there was a dip early in the second half, but the boys managed to pull it off in the end.”
In recent weeks the Cell C Sharks have demonstrated good form and the most recent, a win over the Bulls, suggests that they’re rediscovering the Vodacom Super Rugby form that saw them top the overall table when the competition was prematurely interrupted back in March.
“We’re starting to do the small things right,” Am acknowledged. “We’re also trying to build momentum and taking it week by week. But we are definitely getting to where we want to be.”
The Cell C Sharks travel to Johannesburg this Saturday to take on the Xerox Lions who have won all three of their Currie Cup matches to date, securing important wins against Free State and Western Province in the last two weeks and no doubt will be brimming with confidence.
“They’re definitely a team on the up,” said Am. “Coming back from a good win against the Cheetahs they’ll have a lot of confidence and we know they’re going to be a very tough side to face.
“I expect another exciting game, we know the Lions are a good side that likes to maintain possession and keep the ball moving. It’s going to be a challenge for us.
“Going up to Ellis Park, we know we definitely need to bring our A game.”
The post Forging Ahead appeared first on The Sharks.
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