The Sharks aim to create some breathing room in the battle for a top-four spot in the United Rugby Championship (URC) as they host the Lions at Kings Park on Saturday.
The side from Durban suffered a heavy 38-14 United Rugby Championship (URC) loss to the Lions in Johannesburg. However, they have the advantage of playing in front of their fans in familiar conditions for the reverse fixture.
A Backlash On The Cards?
While the altitude of Johannesburg can prove difficult for visiting teams at Ellis Park, so too can the humidity of Durban. In this regard, the Sharks have a major weapon which they can exploit.
“They’re a proud team and we know they’re going to fight back with everything that they have. Just mentally they’re probably going to be 10, 15 per cent better anyway. It’s a big, big week in prep for us,” Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said at the post-match press conference after their win over the Sharks on Saturday.
Sharks head coach John Plumtree also alluded to the need for the Sharks to fight back and show resilience in his post-match comments.
“A week’s a long time in rugby. Next week we can’t be feeling like this, so it could be a timely wake-up call,” Plumtree said. “The team showed a lot of resilience last week against the Bulls but that week is gone and we’ve got to move past a good performance and be consistent every week.”
Although hinting that he felt the Sharks were unlucky, he urged them to control the scrums in particular.
“I think a lot of the scrums were 50/50 and they went the Lions’ way. But we’ve got to be able to control that,” Plumtree said in his post-match media conference. “It’s not criticism of the referee, we can’t blame him for that performance. So we’ll just look inward at everybody, all the players, management.
“We’ve got to make sure that we learn from this and it never happens again, not in this season.
“We’ve still got high hopes of doing well. That’s a massive wake-up call for us.”
Ntuthuko Mchunu Nearing His Farewell in Durban
The Sharks were hit by the news that one of their key scrummaging weapons, prop Ntuthuko Mchunu, will be off to the Stormers once the season ends.
The Stormers recently lost Steven Kitshoff to a career-ending injury and appear to have identified Mchunu as a long-term successor. Aged 25, he is one of the most talented props in the country. He is still at the Sharks’ disposal for the time being. Regardless, it will be interesting to see if this impacts team morale.
Conclusion: A Derby Worth Watching
The Sharks are one of two South African teams in the top four of the URC, with the other being the Bulls. They can extend their lead over fifth-placed Munster to six points if they pick up a bonus-point win.
The Lions languish in ninth, but while the Sharks are hoping to be on home soil for the quarter-finals, the Lions are in ninth place and not only are they in the hunt for the top eight, but they are only six points behind the Sharks, so a home quarter-final is not out of the question.
The Sharks may sit higher in the standings for now, but the Lions are brimming with confidence after winning the reverse fixture. This promises to be a fascinating clash, with online sports betting enthusiasts anticipating a much tighter contest than the last between these sides.
