Elrigh Louw says the Sharks are different gravy this season and the Bulls are determined to stay off the menu when the teams clash in the Vodacom URC match at Kings Park on on Saturday.
“This year the Sharks are really gelling as a team,” Louw told the media on Wednesday. “Last season it was a bit up and down, and things weren’t going their way, but then they went and won the Challenge Cup and this year it looks like things are great for them at the moment.”
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The 4-2 Sharks are on a three-win streak in the URC this season, positioned sixth going into round 8, but they’re also coming off a 56-17 reverse at Leicester in last week’s Investec Champions Cup tie. The Bulls can empathise, having taken a 30-21 loss to Northampton at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Though the clash in Durban marks the Bulls’ last match of the year, it is also the first of six SA derbies they will play in the URC in succession between Saturday and 1 March when they host the Stormers – the only interruption being Investec Champions Cup matches at Castres (11 January) and versus Stade Francais in Pretoria (18 January).
Louw knows that showdowns like these, against the Bulls’ South African cousins, are the rugby equivalent of a reset button: “This is a massive game for us, especially with it being a South African derby and coming off a loss. There is a lot of pressure and the guys know what has to be done.
“It’s really important, psychologically, to get a win before we go on a break and start the new year. It isn’t difficult to find motivation ahead of this weekend’s game.
“We have to take games like last week against Northampton Saints as a learning opportunity,” added the 13-Test Springbok flanker. “I don’t think we were switched on for the full 80 minutes.”
The Sharks will be hoping that the resumption of the URC restores the confidence and efficiency they had in beating Glasgow, Munster and the Stormers in succession.
“The Sharks are a group of very skillful and talented players, from No 1 to 15,” said Louw. “They love the game when it gets loose – they are going to want turnovers. We expect lots of kicking and contestable kicks from their No 9, and for them to target the set piece with the great players they have in the pack.”
Photo: @Springboks/X
