Akker van der Merwe of the Sharks goes over for a try during the Super Rugby match between Cell C Sharks and Blues at Jonsson Kings Park in Durban, South Africa. PHOTO: Steve Haag/Getty Images
Table-topping Sharks targeting improvement against Stormers
The Sharks want to continue improving and sticking to their game plan.
Akker van der Merwe of the Sharks goes over for a try during the Super Rugby match between Cell C Sharks and Blues at Jonsson Kings Park in Durban, South Africa. PHOTO: Steve Haag/Getty Images
Despite recording bonus point victories in the opening two rounds of Super Rugby 2019 the Sharks have recognized the need to continue improving.
The great strength of the Sharks so far has been the ability to zero in on a solid game plan and stick to it, they will be looking to continue that against the Stormers who pose a different threat to the sides they have faced to date.
In a chat with the franchises official website, Sharks assistant coach Jaco Pienaar said:
“We are settling in nicely in the competition and the boys are feeling great.
“We know there is still room for improvement, but at this stage, we’re very happy with where we are.“For us, those improvements are all about understanding what we want to achieve and keeping to the plan for 80 minutes.”
The Sharks game could be described as heavy metal rugby with a big pack of forwards gathering ball for an exciting and powerful backline.
Pienaar said: “The platform is laid up front and the forwards needs to work hard there to give the backs quality ball so that we can play some rugby.
“One of our strengths at the Cell C Sharks is that we have really physical players, a big pack of forwards with powerful backs and it’s all about getting the gain-line momentum going and the little things right.”
The Stormers have put in contrasting displays in the opening rounds suffering a chastening 40-3 reverse to the Bulls at Loftus before scoring a narrow win over the Lions at Newlands last Saturday.
The Sharks expect to welcome a dangerous and physical Stormers team to Kings Park this weekend and they will need to be at their best to come out on top in their first SA derby of the season.
“They [the Stormers] have great players, this is a special team and they will always be tough opposition when they pitch so we know we can expect anything from them,” said the assistant coach.
“They’re similar to us in that they have powerful forwards with a great backline that can score from anywhere. They’re a well-rounded team that plays good rugby.
“We have a few small things we need to fix, we know we can improve from the Blues game so that’s our focus.”
The Sharks v Stormers clash kicks off at 17:15 SAST.
