Sharks want a 'fair chance' against Toulouse
SPOTLIGHT: The Sharks took down some important notes when the Bulls faced Toulouse over the weekend.
Jake White’s side fell to a 9-33 defeat in that Round of 16 clash, but they were in the fight right up until the 50th minute when it was just 12-9 in Toulouse’s favour.
The Sharks will now head over to Toulouse for their quarterfinal fixture and they will want to avoid some of the mistakes that the Bulls made at Le Stadium.
Sharks centre Lukhanyo Am identified discipline as the Bulls’ main issue.
The team from Pretoria conceded 13 penalties in the match and centre Harold Vorster also spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin. Toulouse only conceded seven penalties in the 80 minutes.
“The Bulls did really well up until maybe the 50th minute and I think the only thing that cost them was the penalty count,” said Am.
“We know all South African teams like the confrontational and the physical side of things and if you bring that against a side like Toulouse with a big pack, it will give us confidence in the game.
“If we can have good discipline and don’t give them opportunities to get into our 22, I think that will give us a fair chance.”
Am believes there are a lot of similarities between Toulouse and the Sharks.
“The French sides have a similar style of play to us – that set-piece and forward dominance and a backline that is not afraid to move the ball around,” Am explained.
“It’s almost like for like.
“They are a big side and having home advantage, it’s definitely going to be a challenge to us, but it is something we are preparing for.”
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After a shaky return against the Scarlets in Llanelli two weekends ago, Am believes the Springboks showed more cohesion in the Sharks’ 50-35 Champions Cup Round of 16 win over Munster.
“Two weeks back it was our first game in eight weeks as a group.
“We had a Springbok camp, which kind of disturbed the continuity in the team, so we were undercooked against the Scarlets.
“That game was a good thing as we went up there just to gel as a team.
“It was quite evident in terms of performance against Munster that it did help us.
“Now that it is play-offs rugby, it’s getting one or two good wins and then you get your momentum from there.
“We are definitely in a good space and we are going up there to [Toulouse] go play rugby.”
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