Sharks should return to full strength in quest for momentum

The Hollywoodbets Sharks should be welcoming back most of their frontline stars in the team that will be announced later on Thursday for Friday night’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with the Scarlets in Llanelli.

The Durban franchise went in with a completely changed team when they lost 21-10 to the Glasgow Warriors at the Scotstoun last Friday as coach John Plumtree rested his top players to facilitate fresh input into the buildup to next Saturday’s EPCR Challenge Cup semifinal against Clermont-Auvergne at the Stoop in London.

The first choice players flew to the UK the day after the Glasgow game and Friday’s clash with the Welsh club should see them return to action at the Parc Y Scarlets as the Sharks look to take some winning momentum into next week’s playoff game.

But experienced loose-forward Phepsi Buthelezi, who should be one of the returning players, has indicated that he and his teammates are not focusing on the challenge that comes eight days later but rather on the more immediate goal of securing the win that will lift the Sharks away from their current position near the bottom of the log.

“We are 100 per cent focused on the Scarlets. What is waiting after that, we will deal with next week,” said Buthelezi in an online briefing with the media from the UK.

“We want to put in a good performance against the Scarlets. A win would mean a lot to us and would give us good momentum. We would like to show that we are better than the scoreboard (log table) shows. We want to seize our opportunities and raise our standards.

“In the last five or six weeks, our confidence has grown a lot. Once you start winning, the belief in a group grows,” he added.

The Sharks surrendered a four-match winning streak in Glasgow last Friday, but they arguably didn’t surrender too much in the way of momentum given that they effectively fielded their second stringers against one of the top teams in the competition at a difficult away venue. The Sharks put in a highly creditable and competitive showing and were it not for a few soft moments they would have come close to clinching what would have been a famous upset win for the franchise.

“We haven’t won any Cups, but we are working hard on changing that,” said the Sharks No 8.

“Scarlets are a team with a lot of international players in their midst. There are some experienced, tough players up front and they have a good tactical kicking game.”

The Sharks team for the match will be announced later on Thursday morning.