Durban - The Sharks are in urgent need of United Rugby Championship points after two unprofitable games against the Stormers but today’s visit to the Bulls is about much more than their position on the log.
There has been much hype about the Sharks’ buy-out by an American consortium almost two years ago, and the consequent migration to Durban of key Springboks in Siya Kolisi and Bongi Mbonambi, and at some point, the New York investors are going to query the return on their investment.
That point is around about now. Until this juncture, the Sharks have had legitimate excuses for non-performance because the pandemic wreaked havoc in their ranks, and then 10 key players were away on Rugby Championship duty with the Springboks last year.
But they have been back now for a few weeks and the excuse of combinations needing to find each other is wearing thin.
In short, the Sharks need to perform today and even if they do not beat the Bulls, they need to make a statement that they are moving in the right direction.
The Sharks’ mission statement is to be the best team in Europe — this is what CEO Eduard Coetzee told the media recently — but over the last fortnight they have failed to be better than the Stormers, never mind Europe, so they really need to pull finger this afternoon at Loftus Versfeld and add some substance to their boss’ ambitious words.
Coach Sean Everitt, who surely is feeling the pressure, says his team is on track, despite drawing at home and then losing away to the Stormers.
“Last week we let ourselves down,” Everitt said. “Bongi Mbonambi has spoken to the media about us not sticking to the plan we had in place. We just didn’t execute it well enough. So, it is frustrating. We know what the team is capable of. It’s not that they are lacking the motivation to play well on a Saturday. Sometimes things don’t go your way. To be fair, the Stormers
played really well last week. We saw it when the Bulls played the Springboks last year, things can happen against star-studded teams.
“You learn plenty when you are losing, so those matches against the Stormers were a lesson.”
Adding to the challenge is the fact that the Sharks have to beat the Bulls at altitude, but Everitt points to their win over the Lions three weeks ago at Ellis Park, a match in which they finished strongly.
“We have done it before on the highveld, and recently,” said Everitt.
“We were able to put in an 80-minute performance against the Lions to put them away. Likewise, we have done it before in the Currie Cup. It’s a matter of starting well and being really motivated on the day. If the players play well, it won’t be a factor. When we have lost up in Loftus, we haven’t played well. It’s not as if we have played well and then lost.
“What gave us a bit of confidence, and I know we talk about it all the time, but 12 months ago we went up there and played for 100 minutes at altitude. Unfortunately, our set-piece cost us at the death of that game. We were really competitive and should have won that game in 80 minutes, had we been accurate in our execution.
“I think that gave the team confidence. But we don’t talk about altitude anymore. The Stormers had a good win up at Loftus two weeks ago and that would have given them confidence they can cope with whatever intensity that comes their way.”
IOL Sport