Preview – The Sharks Durban

Today’s clash between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Edinburgh Rugby in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final at Hollywoodbets Kings Park is shaping to be a game of epic proportions.

The two teams met recently and emotions will be running high, helped by the fact that this is a knock-out game. Edinburgh lost that game but will return to Durban boosted by a few internationals and determined to reverse that result while the Hollywoodbets Sharks have plans of their own while riding a wave of confidence and continuity in team selection.

Talking about this momentum, Hollywoodbets Sharks Director of Rugby Neil Powell explains, “We’ve struggled a bit with confidence this season, but the three wins in a row has been a confidence-builder for us. Sport is all about confidence, if you go into a game lacking confidence, it shows in the playing arena. It’s good for us to get the confidence back.

“We know this will be a different game to the one we played two weeks ago.”

Playing in front of the home crowd brings a mix of pressure, but also motivation, particularly as this is a knock-out game. The motivation is there, Powell explains, not so much the pressure.

“It’s a really good opportunity for us. After the Lions’ game when we had a three week break, we set goals for ourselves and one of them was to get to the final of the EPCR Challenge Cup. That makes this game all the more important.

“Home ground advantage in knock-out games is real, but it’s only an advantage if you make use of it by pitching up on the day and play to the best of your abilities.

“We don’t see this as extra pressure, we see it as a great opportunity to show what we’re capable of.”

Looking at the combinations, he acknowledges the role of synergy and cohesion in team selection, particularly as the squad is close to full-strength.

“The team we’ve selected is the one we believe gives us the best opportunity to win this game. It’s not just the starting 15, it’s also the guys who come off the bench. It’s important for us to make sure we have leadership on the bench if they replace the strong leaders starting. It’s not just the physical performance of the team, but also about the combinations, experience versus youth and also the leadership.

“The combinations we’ve selected have done well for us in the last few games and we feel that looking at the 23, this is the best possible side we could put out to make us successful today.”

The last few weeks have seen the emergence of flyhalf Siya Masuku as a real threat, a valuable player who has taken his opportunities with enthusiasm.

“He is someone we saw last year when he was playing for the Cheetahs and liked his attributes,” Powell explains.

“He’s an all-round good flyhalf who defends well, takes the ball to the line, distributes nicely and has a good kicking game.

“There are still areas of his game we are developing, but he’s done really well to push us in the right direction and he’s a good general for the team. We expect more of that in the game.”

Today’s quarter-final between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Edinburgh kicks off at 1.30pm.