Centurion — Sbu Nkosi insists that the Sharks will be just fine without the services of Springbok Lukhanyo Am in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Welsh outfit Scarlets, in Durban, on Friday evening.
Am, the Sharks skipper, last week signed a short-term deal with Japan’s Kobelco Kobe Steelers and will be unavailable for the Durban team.
The 26-year-old winger Nkosi said the rest of the team will simply have to improve their performance in the absence of Am — the World Cup winning centre.
“It will be a huge loss for any team in the world. Lukhanyo brings exceptional quality and great moments when it’s really needed,” said Nkosi.
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“Obviously we have capable replacements and the balance of the backline brings a huge amount of ability and X-factor on their day. I think we’ll be fine, it will take us some time to adjust. But if each player gives 10 percent more, we will be able to make up for the loss.”
While the loss of Am will be significant, the Sharks will be led by Springbok captain Siya Kolisi. That in itself, will aid the team.
“It’s a huge boost [having Kolisi as captain], but I don’t think anything will change because he’s been in a leadership role since he arrived at the Sharks. He’s been very influential, positive and involved with the coaches. I don’t think it will be a major shift for us, because he’s been giving us that energy the whole time.”
The Sharks find themselves eighth on the URC log, and are on the verge of putting together a completely dominant performance said Nkosi.
“We try to improve our game each week. We have a very good game which we’re trying to perfect, we’re not quite there yet but on the day that it clicks it’s going to be amazing. We’ve improved in a lot of facets of our game that allows us to survive and penetrate the teams from up north.
“We’re really close because it started as glimpses of playing the kind of game we want to perfect. We showed it in each game until it turned into patches. We’ve basically got it all covered and we’re just looking to add consistency now.”
With autumn around the corner, Durban doesn’t seem to know it and Nkosi said the extreme heat and humidity will be a big factor in their clash against their European opposition.
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“It’s still very hot and humid and the ball is very slippery. The humidity might drop off when we get closer to winter, but right now everyone must expect it to be super humid. That’s how it’s been at training this week — and that’s what I’m expecting on Friday.
“We would love for it [to be very humid]. We train for that, we are moulded by this heat. Our coaches time our training sessions perfectly for when the sun is at its harshest. We are used to those conditions and use the heat and humidity to our advantage, like the other teams use the altitude to their advantage. I think it balances out — us flying over to Europe during their winter from our hot environment.”
IOL Sport