Sharks eye win over Rebels

Despite collecting just their fifth win of the season last week, the Sharks are in confident mood ahead of their Super Rugby clash against the Rebels at Kings Park. Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images

Despite collecting just their fifth win of the season last week, the Sharks are in confident mood ahead of their Super Rugby clash against the Rebels at Kings Park. Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images

Published May 28, 2015

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Johannesburg - Despite collecting just their fifth win of the season last week, the Sharks are in confident mood ahead of their Super Rugby clash against the Rebels at Kings Park, in Durban, on Friday.

Sharks lock Mouritz Botha felt his side’s 21-14 win over the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Queensland could well spur the coastal outfit on to better results as the season draws to a close.

“It’s been a long tour, but coming back it feels like we’re all rejuvenated, the sun is shining and we’re all excited about playing in the Shark Tank again,” said Botha.

“Apart from two very disappointing results this season, it’s all been competitive and we’ve taken confidence from that.”

The Rebels at tenth spot on the log would still present a stern challenge for the Sharks according to Botha.

“The Rebels are a formidable side, they play a lot of rugby; they are a dangerous side, similar to the Lions in that they play from everywhere.

“We’ll have to be switched on; they take quick taps and quick lineouts, so we’ll have to be ready for that challenge. But we’re excited to be back home.”

The Sharks have fallen to nine defeats this season and Botha said his team had been closer to achieving positive results than the scorelines perhaps suggested.

“It was really good to get a win. It was an enjoyable tour despite the first three results, but we definitely made strides after the first game, when we came close against the Hurricanes and Waratahs. We had confidence going into the Reds game and all the hard work eventually paid off.”

Despite the difficult season, hampered by numerous injuries, spirit in the team had remained high. “As a squad we’ve still believed that we’ve got what it takes and we just had to keep playing and believing.

“We’ve taken a lot out of previous results, even those against the Crusaders and Highlanders, those really pointed out what needed to be worked on.

“We addressed that and we’re confident that we’ve worked hard enough on those areas to now get the results, so we’ll need to meet every challenge this Friday and hopefully get another positive result.”

ANA

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