The availability of abrasive hooker Kyle Cooper is set to provide the Sharks with a timely boost up-front as they prepare to take on the Lions’ powerful scrummaging unit in this Saturday’s Currie Cup semi-final at Ellis Park (2.30pm kick-off).
Cooper missed this past Saturday’s clash against Western Province due to an ankle injury, and while replacement Monde Hadebe acquitted himself well, the Sharks will be looking forward to fielding as close to a full-strength team as possible.
Despite the fact that the Durban side are on a five-match unbeaten streak, it’s the Lions who will be regarded as favourites at their Ellis Park fortress, where they have yet to lose a game in this year’s Currie Cup.
This season, the Lions have consistently impressed at scrum-time, while they have scored 44 tries in their 10 pool games, the most scored by any side.
Sharks assistant coach Sean Everitt acknowledged that the Lions were an extremely well-balanced side.
“The Lions are scrumming really well, their set-pieces are working for them, and they’re an extremely dangerous team when they get front-foot ball from that department. So we’re going to have to deliver a massive defence effort to try and stop their momentum, because they do play scintillating rugby when they’ve got go-forward. No-one can deny that, they’ve scored a lot of tries this season, so it’s going to take a real effort to stop them.”
Nevertheless, the Durban side will undoubtedly be quite happy to quietly accept the underdog tag this week, with numerous examples to draw on in the past when the Sharks have performed above expectation after being written off.
In fact, that has been the case over the last five weeks, during which time the Sharks have remained unbeaten and silenced many critics who were beginning to rule out the team’s chances of successfully defending their Currie Cup title after a mid-season slump.
Everitt also insisted that they would not be daunted by the prospect of travelling to Ellis Park, and the Sharks will be mindful of the fact that they have already secured victories at inhospitable away venues such as GWK Park in Kimberley, Loftus and Newlands.
“The guys actually really enjoy playing away from home. Funnily enough, in the Currie Cup we’ve slipped up once at home, and once away, and in the Super Rugby competition we did well on the road, so this is a group that enjoys travelling. They enjoy the challenge, and Ellis Park is a wonderful stadium to play at. The players really relish going there, and we’ve had some good results there in the past, likewise at Loftus and Newlands over the last couple of years. So while we’d prefer to be at home, obviously we have to take up the challenge of playing away.”
And although one would expect the Sharks to favour a high-percentage approach best suited to knockout rugby on Saturday, Everitt said it was all about getting the right balance to their game.
“We have a young group, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm and energy on the field, so we have to make sure that our decisions are good ones, especially in a semi where we can’t afford to make a lot of unforced errors as we did in the first half against Province (last Saturday).”
Meanwhile, coach Brad Macleod-Henderson suggested that they would not tinker with a winning formula this week.
“At this stage of the season there is not much more we can really do. The team (line-up) is pretty much settled, and now it’s just a case of polishing things up.” - The Daily News