The Cell C Sharks will be venturing into somewhat unchartered territory when they face off against an Italian side for the first time in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
With their week seven fixture against Zebre postponed to 19 March due to Covid, the Cell C Sharks take on Benetton in their first foray against Italian opposition this weekend looking to build on their last performance that heralded a hugely rewarding 29-22 victory over the Vodacom Bulls on 12 February.
Having played an extra game – 10 to the Cell C Sharks nine – Benetton are the best performers of the two Italian sides, in ninth position on the URC log with 23 points, two ahead of the Cell C Sharks in 10th spot.
Former Shark Rhyno Smith is their top points’ scorer with 32, while Michele Lamaro is their leading try-scorer with four dot-downs, one behind Makazole Mapimpi while Boeta Chamberlain has scored the most points for the side with 65.
Interestingly, both sides come into this match with after the same three results, a win, a draw and a loss and there isn’t much separating the sides at lineout time (Benetton 7th, Cell C Sharks 8th) and scrums (12th, 10th), although the Cell C Sharks have a better disciplinary record, currently lying 7th while Benetton are 12th.
Head coach Sean Everitt believes his team is in the right space and ready to tackle the immediate challenge and beyond.
“The win against the Bulls gave the team a lot of belief and going away, the team is in a better head space than after the Stormers game.
“It was a good win, a character-building one for everybody and the important thing for us is to prepare well for Benetton, freshen up and be clear about our plans so that we can get another five points.”
Benetton will be missing their internationals this week due to Six Nations commitments and their clash with Ireland means the loss of captain Michele Lamaro amongst a number of their players in the Italian national squad.
“There are no easy games in the URC,” Everitt points out. “Although the Six Nations is on at the moment, Benetton have a wealth of international players still with them who aren’t involved in Six Nations rugby at the moment.
“They aren’t losing too many players from the pack and we won’t be taking anything for granted. We need to focus on the job at hand which is to try get maximum points out of the next seven games which would leave us in a very good space.”
The post The Italian Challenge appeared first on The Sharks.
Defeating the Sigma Lions at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday and in doing so, winning their third successful game in the Carling Currie Cup, propelled the Cell C Sharks to the top of the log.
Together with Toyota Free State, the Cell C Sharks are the only unbeaten side in the tournament and an extra bonus point keeps them one point clear at the top of the Currie Cup table with their next fixture scheduled for Friday 4 March against the Airlink Pumas at Mbombela Stadium
Commenting on his side’s 43-31 victory over the Lions, Head coach Etienne Fynn was satisfied with the outcome, scoring five tries and earning the bonus point win away from home on the highveld, but did acknowledge that discipline was an area to look at, particularly as it allowed the home side back into the game when they scored 12 points in the final 10 minutes.
“Three yellow cards is indicative of a controllable, all of them were controllable so that aspect is something we have to address,” Fynn said afterwards.
“Having said that, when we did get it right, we had some constructive and attractive rugby played out there.”
It was an exciting game and both teams showed their attacking intent from the start and never let up until the final whistle.
Although the Lions struck first blood in the 8th minute, when the Cell C Sharks equalised three minutes later, it was the last time the home side would enjoy a lead over their Durban counterparts. Good game management and taking points when they were on offer kept the Cell C Sharks in front and with a 20-7 half-time lead and scoring regularly throughout, not even a late fight-back from the home side was enough to contain the Durban side.
As far as work-ons go, captain James Venter felt that after three wins, they will focus on the areas they have been successful at in the competition to date and look to continue that.
“Going forward for us, when we stuck to our game plan and structure, we really executed well.” he said. “We have a really good squad, so we are backing the boys, backing the decisions they’re making.
“We know what we’re good at and will keep doing that.”
Fynn added that, “The reality is you get a picture of what’s happening in the game as a coach or observer, but the players on the field get a tangible feel and they will know what will work and what won’t. It’s up to them to consistently probe and nail those weaknesses in the opposition.
“So for us, the work-ons are to not stray away from what works and get better at what does.”
The post Log Leading Sharks appeared first on The Sharks.
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