Vodacom Bulls vs Cell C Sharks Match Preview:
A classy Cell C Sharks team travels to Pretoria for Saturday’s second round Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash between the two sides with no shortage of motivation to come home victorious.
The selection changes that Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt has made this week for the trip to Loftus is all about players putting in the hard work, knowing that there will be benefits.
“They deserve their opportunities on the bench and the changes we’ve made is to reward players who have shown form in the Currie Cup,” said Everitt.
Marius Louw at inside centre in one such change and deservedly so.
“Marius has played well every time he’s put a Sharks jersey on and we feel he deserves an opportunity after two really good games in a row in the Carling Currie Cup,” the coach explained.
“I thought he was one of the standout backs in the game against Province, so he deserves a shot. If a guy puts his hand up then we need to select him.”
There is also a return for Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Curwin Bosch, both of whom will feature off the bench at some stage of the game.
“It’s good to have Curwin back, he showed good form last week as well from a kicking perspective and Sikhumbuzo, on his long-awaited return to play, also had an outstanding 55 minutes.”
Given the disappointment of the last two weeks when the Cell C Sharks drew with, then lost, to the DHL Stormers, this week offers the opportunity to show what this team is truly capable of.
“What people need to understand is that building a winning team is all about cohesion and that doesn’t happen overnight. Last week we probably let ourselves down, we had a plan but didn’t execute well enough so that is frustrating because we know what the team is capable of. It’s not that they’re lacking motivation, sometimes things don’t go your way and to be fair, the Stormers played really well.
“We learnt a lot from last week. You don’t only learn when you’re winning, but when you lose too, so it was a lesson learnt for us.
“This is a proud team with top professional sportsmen in it and they will always be motivated. Throw in the fact that this is a derby – Sharks-Bulls matches are always exciting – but they’re always tough, and it’s all about the team that performs on the day.”
Log points and winning up at Loftus offer the Cell C Sharks dual motivation for this game and there won’t be any shortage of desire from the Durban team.
“It’s a massive opportunity for us. In the last game at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, our set-piece functioned really well, although admittedly, the Bulls were missing some front row personnel. But that laid the foundation for a good win.
“The Highveld issue for us is that we’ve done it before. Three weeks ago we were able to put in an 80 minute performance against the Lions to put them away. But we know it’s a matter of starting well and really being motivated on the day.
“When we’ve lost up at Loftus in the past, we haven’t played well, it’s not as though we just weren’t good enough.”
Playing at altitude is always a factor, but opposition teams are not using it as an excuse.
“It’s a mental thing, what gave us the world of confidence was that 12 months ago we went up there and played for 100 minutes at altitude and unfortunately our set-piece cost us at the death and maybe some goal-kicking, but we were very competitive and probably should have won that game in 80 minutes, had we been more accurate in our execution.
“So that gives the team confidence that they can cope with the intensity of whatever comes their way.”
The post Vodacom Bulls vs Cell C Sharks Match Preview appeared first on The Sharks.
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Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: Climate – KwaZulu-Natal has a varied, yet verdant climate, thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Durban, on the south coast, has an annual rainfall of 1009mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28°C (min: 21°C), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23°C (min: 11°C). Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter. Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30°C in the summer, but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy winter snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity.
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