Assistant coach Joey Mongalo and skipper Vincent Tshituka say the Sharks XV are braced for a “completely different animal” towards the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday, stories DEVIN HERMANUS.
Talking throughout a Sharks convention on Tuesday, Mongalo and Tshituka mirrored on final week’s 24-18 comeback win over the Bulls in Durban whereas gearing up for a fierce Loftus Versfeld rematch within the Currie Cup semi-finals.
“It was our first sport collectively as our URC group, so to win offers us confidence… However we’ve had evaluate of the quantity of room for enchancment going ahead,” Mongalo advised reporters.
“The Bulls are a unique animal up at Loftus. They’ve obtained an ideal file of profitable playoff video games up there, they usually’re in all probability favourites heading into the sport.”
Tshituka echoed his coach’s sentiments, understanding the issue of profitable at Loftus, however relishing the problem. “We all know what the Bulls are like at Loftus. It’s going to be a bloody sport, of two huge forces assembly,” the highly effective free ahead stated.
“As Coach Joey says, we aren’t the favourites. However I’ve all the time liked to be the underdog – it simply places a unique sort of fireplace in your stomach.”
The Sharks are carefully monitoring accidents to veteran prop Ruan Dreyer (calf) and Junior Springbok star Jurenzo Julius (head knock), each of whom have been compelled off the sphere within the win over the Bulls final week. Mongalo stated, “On Ruan Dreyer, we’re ready on stories… Jurenzo’s obtained a concussion so he’s obtained a protocol he must get by.”
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Mongalo was stuffed with reward for U21 coach JP Pietersen, who set a robust basis for the senior aspect. “I need to praise JP and his teaching workers… We all know the twenty eighth of September is an enormous day for us, as a result of it’s our first URC sport, and that is one other alternative for us to get higher.
“We do have work-ons for a gaggle that got here out for the primary time [last week], however the encouraging factor was to win a sport that was such a wrestle. We hope to carry the identical type of combat, and guarantee that for 80 minutes we present up and placed on a efficiency that we will look again on and say that regardless of the outcome, we’re pleased with ourselves as a result of we by no means went away.”
On a possible conflict together with his former group, the Lions, in subsequent week’s remaining, Tshituka stored his focus squarely on Saturday. “Truthfully, I haven’t even thought that far simply but. It’s one step at a time and my focus is certainly on the Bulls,” he added.
“As Coach Joey stated, the blokes who’ve performed the Currie Cup to this point have performed so nicely and deserve the duty from the blokes coming from the URC squad to complete the nice work that they’ve began.”
Mongalo, who beforehand labored beneath Bulls director of rugby Jake White, is aware of the problem of dealing with his former boss however stays optimistic: “I get pleasure from Pretoria! It’s all the time good to go up for the problem…
“The final time we went there within the URC they’d fairly a complete victory over us, and I believe a number of the boys will do not forget that, as a humbling reminder that going up there and also you don’t put your finest foot ahead it may be a day to overlook.
“So hopefully we will create for ourselves a day to recollect.”
Photograph: @TheCurrieCup/Twitter