Durban — There is growing expectations on the Sharks to go all the way in the United Rugby Championship given their stellar cast of Springboks and none other than their new director of rugby, Neil Powell, addressed the issue ahead of the visit of heavyweight Northern Irish team Ulster on Saturday (6.15pm kick-off).
Powell has been in the job for two weeks and that has been timed nicely with the return of the Sharks’ Boks, who last week were introduced off the bench against Glasgow and will start this week against Ulster.
It is a massive game for the Sharks — they are at full strength for the first time in five starts, they are at home and they are playing an in-form team that is full of confidence after seeing off a tough Lions team at altitude last week.
“There is an expectation around this squad with the Boks that we have. We understand that and hopefully we will meet that expectation but it will require a full squad effort. Our Springbok players will be on their way again after this game to prepare for the November tour and we will only have them back in December for our Heineken Cup fixture against Harlequins (on December 10 in Durban),” Powell said.
But for now, Powell’s attention is focused on the obstacle posed by the boys from Belfast.
“To be second on the log, they have to be doing a lot of things right,” Powell pointed out. “They beat a tough Lions team in very difficult conditions on the highveld (it was blisteringly hot).
“We really have to pitch up for this one. Just one of their strengths is turning over possession, so hanging on to our own ball is a big focus for us — our cleaners first have to get there and then must be effective. Duane Vermeulen and the loose trio of Ulster are very capable players and we have to negate them to give our backs quality possession to get us over the line.”
Looking holistically at the challenge ahead of him, Powell said that his priority is to establish stability.
“The big focus for us going into the new season was continuity — in coaching staff and players. It’s something the Sharks have lacked over the past few years,” Powell said.
“We had three different defence coaches in a 12-month period. The way Warren Whiteley is coaching defence now compared to how John McFarland did … they’re sitting on opposite sides of the spectrum.
“So that continuity was key, to get the players to know the coaches and their rugby philosophies and to understand what they need to implement on the field. The last few games have shown that we are starting to move in the right direction.”
Powell said the Sharks had identified and worked on their areas of weakness during the pre-season.
“It was the first proper pre-season we’d had in three years, so the coaches could actually drill those plans, maps and defensive systems into the players, who could actually focus and work on them. The benefits of that have been evident in our last few games.
“We’re not where we want to be yet,” he added. “There are still a lot of areas of the game from a system and individual perspective that we can be better at but, as I said, we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”
Sharks – 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit (capt), 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 James Venter, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Cameron Wright, 23 Anthony Volmink.
IOL Sport