Sharks up for kick-and-chase game

The Sharks know exactly what to expect when they arrive at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday for a Currie Cup Round Seven encounter with the Blue Bulls.

With just four rounds before the play-offs, this weekend's matches – the first of the cross-section encounters – will have added significance.

The fourth-placed Sharks are just one place ahead of the sixth-placed Bulls  – who have the same points as the Free State Cheetahs, 14, but are below them on points difference.

Some may suggest the men from Pretoria are 'predictable', but Sharks backline coach Sean Everitt admitted it is not always that simple to find an answer to the questions posed by the brutally physical Bulls.

"They haven't changed their plan much over the last few years and it really works well for them, because they have guys in positions that suit the way they play," Everitt told rugby365, in an interview ahead of the trip to Pretoria.

"Obviously we are going to have to deal with the high-kick-and-chase, which they are very, very good at. It is obviously a threat for us.

"They also do maul really well, so we have to come up with ways to counteract that."

While the Sharks did not get the result last week, a 30-all draw against the Free State Cheetahs, Everitt felt it was "an improvement" over the previous few weeks.

"Things are looking up, but it would have been nice to go into the Bulls game with a win under our belt," he told rugby365, adding: "As long as we are improving as a group every week we are happy.

"Our guys will be up for the game at Loftus and it will be difficult up there [in Pretoria], but our guys are up for the challenge."

He said their defence still let them down last week, in the draw against the Cheetahs.

"We let them in for a couple of soft tries. We need to tighten that up, even though we were better defensively than the week before."

The one aspect where the Sharks are beginning to show real progress is with ball in hand.

"We re almost there, as far as getting to where we want to be," the backline mentor added.

By Jan de Koning