Improved Sharks travel to their hoodoo ground
27 July 2009, 11:29
By Craig Lewis
There were certainly pros and cons to the Sharks' triumphant performance over the Bulls the weekend, but most importantly, they are starting to show signs that suggest they're developing into a formidable, close-knit unit.
Nevertheless, they will know that this Friday night they will face another massive challenge when they travel to their Currie Cup hoodoo venue in Bloemfontein to take on the Cheetahs, who have now lost all three of their matches this season, and will be as desperate as ever to rectify that this coming weekend.
Thankfully for the Sharks though, Argentinian Juan Martin Hernandez - who has arrived to take part in the rest of the Currie Cup and next year's Super 14 - is set to make his long-awaited debut, while centre Waylon Murray is also due to make his comeback after a long injury lay-off.
Young Guy Cronje will also be back from his one-week suspension so, if all goes according to plan, there should be some new backline options available for coach John Plumtree to consider over the next few weeks.
A number of players also seem to be hitting some really good form at the moment, with Craig Burden, Lwazi Mvovo, Rory Kockott, Jean Deysel and Odwa Ndungane impressing once again against the Bulls.
"That's a great position to be in," Plumtree admitted. "Two home wins is good for us but this week will be a massive challenge. It will be another pretty physical game, but I hope we'll be in good shape.
"Hernandez will take a while to settle down so we can't expect too much from him immediately, but we'll just try to make him feel comfortable."
The 26-year-old has certainly arrived at the right time with the Sharks starting to make strides in the right direction. Having accepted the cards they've been dealt in terms of player unavailability through injury and Springbok call-ups, Friday night's win was the first real public display of the team's character, unity and the new leadership roles various senior players are revelling in.
Overcoming three yellow cards that were dished out by referee Mark Lawrence, the Sharks dug deep to ensure they came away with the deserved four log points.
"I have to hand it to the team, it was a courageous effort and the senior players really stood up," Plumtree said after the game. "Everyone played really well but there is always pressure on senior players to stand up and they did just that."
Plumtree added that he had been "furious" at some of the calls from Lawrence and the assistant referees but conceded that the team would also have to take some responsibility for allowing the match to hang in the balance until the final quarter.
There were certainly pros and cons to the Sharks' triumphant performance over the Bulls the weekend, but most importantly, they are starting to show signs that suggest they're developing into a formidable, close-knit unit.
Nevertheless, they will know that this Friday night they will face another massive challenge when they travel to their Currie Cup hoodoo venue in Bloemfontein to take on the Cheetahs, who have now lost all three of their matches this season, and will be as desperate as ever to rectify that this coming weekend.
Thankfully for the Sharks though, Argentinian Juan Martin Hernandez - who has arrived to take part in the rest of the Currie Cup and next year's Super 14 - is set to make his long-awaited debut, while centre Waylon Murray is also due to make his comeback after a long injury lay-off.
Young Guy Cronje will also be back from his one-week suspension so, if all goes according to plan, there should be some new backline options available for coach John Plumtree to consider over the next few weeks.
A number of players also seem to be hitting some really good form at the moment, with Craig Burden, Lwazi Mvovo, Rory Kockott, Jean Deysel and Odwa Ndungane impressing once again against the Bulls.
"That's a great position to be in," Plumtree admitted. "Two home wins is good for us but this week will be a massive challenge. It will be another pretty physical game, but I hope we'll be in good shape.
"Hernandez will take a while to settle down so we can't expect too much from him immediately, but we'll just try to make him feel comfortable."
The 26-year-old has certainly arrived at the right time with the Sharks starting to make strides in the right direction. Having accepted the cards they've been dealt in terms of player unavailability through injury and Springbok call-ups, Friday night's win was the first real public display of the team's character, unity and the new leadership roles various senior players are revelling in.
Overcoming three yellow cards that were dished out by referee Mark Lawrence, the Sharks dug deep to ensure they came away with the deserved four log points.
"I have to hand it to the team, it was a courageous effort and the senior players really stood up," Plumtree said after the game. "Everyone played really well but there is always pressure on senior players to stand up and they did just that."
Plumtree added that he had been "furious" at some of the calls from Lawrence and the assistant referees but conceded that the team would also have to take some responsibility for allowing the match to hang in the balance until the final quarter.
- This article was originally published on page 18 of The Daily News on July 27, 2009
Johannesburg
