Unlike perhaps was the case after their first round defeat to the same opponents in Durban, it doesn’t appear that there has been any sugar-coating within the Hollywoodbets Sharks camp of last week’s Vodacom URC derby defeat to the Lions at Ellis Park.
When the Sharks lost to the Lions at Hollywoodbets Kings Park at the beginning of January, social media images of the then interim coach JP Pietersen addressing his players in the change-room afterwards got a lot of traction on social media.
He spoke up the effort of the players in coming back from a deficit at one point, and perhaps it was because he was so new in the job and wanted the players onside that he ignored the fact they’d lost a crucial home game.
There was arguably more excuse for the Sharks to lose their most recent game against the Lions - after all, Pietersen left out most of the Sharks’ top Springboks because of the Bok resting protocols.
If he expected them to win in Johannesburg with that team his was not a universal view, and yet there’s a new perspective at the Sharks following the two wins over the Stormers that many are hoping will prove to be season defining.
NO PULLING OF PUNCHES
Pietersen didn’t pull punches after the game as he lamented the soft moments that cost his team, and listening to the Sharks’ Bok wing Edwill van der Merwe speaking ahead of Saturday’s massive derby against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus it appears that the theme has been carried through into this week.
“As a team we were all disappointed with that result and the game and the performance was not nearly to our standards, we all know that,” said Van der Merwe, who will have had plenty of experience of being in the Lions camp playing against the Sharks as he spent the first four URC seasons playing for the Johannesburg franchise.
“This week the focus has been on collectively fixing what went wrong in Johannesburg. There were some unforced errors but there were also some other collective errors that need fixing and that has been the focus this week.”
FELL DOWN IN WHAT WAS A STRONG POINT AGAINST STORMERS
On the highveld the aerial game becomes even more crucial to determining outcome as it does on the coast, and it was one of the areas the Sharks let themselves down badly last week - something that would have been particularly disappointing to them as it was a key area of advantage for them in the two games against the Stormers.
So it almost goes without saying that it is one of the aspects of the game that the Sharks are concentrating hard on in their preparation for the Loftus battle.
The presence of fellow Bok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse and possibly Canan Moodie on the other wing if Bulls coach Johan Ackermann doesn’t play him at centre, plus the probable presence of double World Cup winner Handre Pollard as the home team’s flyhalf has put Van der Merwe on high alert.
“The aerial contest is particularly applicable to the position I play, and it was an area we weren’t sharp last week,” said Van der Merwe.
“We need to be better in that space at the weekend, and it will be a good contest because there will be Bok wings on the other side. It should be a good contest and I know if I want to do my job for the team I will have to bring my A game.”
WIN IS CRITICAL TO TOP EIGHT CHANCES
Van der Merwe could potentially be up against two fellow Bok wings but the speedster, who started his senior career at the DHL Stormers after starring for the Maties in the Varsity Cup, is looking beyond any personal battles and rather at the most desperate need on Saturday - a Sharks win that will lift them back towards the top eight which signifies Investec Champions Cup qualification and a place in the URC playoffs.
“Obviously the race for a top eight spot is really on now, and every game from here on becomes crucial. That is particularly true of the derbies (with three of the SA teams close together on the log battling for top eight positions),” he said.
“The Bulls at home with their fans behind them are obviously a very formidable challenge, and we are expecting a very physical challenge from them. My focus is not to outshine the Bulls’ Boks, but to express myself within the framework of the team. If I do that hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”
The Sharks team for Saturday’s game is set to be announced on Thursday.