VIDEO: Bongi's Edinburgh warning ahead of Challenge Cup quarterfinal
SPOTLIGHT: Sharks star Bongi Mbonambi believes Edinburgh will be a much stronger unit this weekend in the Challenge Cup quarterfinals than when his team faced them in the United Rugby Championship not too long ago.
John Plumtree’s side reached the last eight after a 47-3 win over Zebre in the Round of 16 last Sunday. A week before, they recorded a 23-13 win over Edinburgh in the URC.
It means the Sharks will be facing the Scottish side twice in two weeks and Mbonambi is expecting Sean Everitt’s side to be a different beast this coming weekend.
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“That fact that it is a quarterfinal, and in another competition, makes it even more difficult,” said Mbonambi.
“We know that they are going to come here better prepped than before. I think they are going to come play with a better team.
“We noticed last time that they were missing a couple of their key players and they just came back from playing Six Nations, so I think they are going to be fresh and more challenging this time, especially with a coach like Sean Everitt.
“He knows how to prepare a team to come play down here in Durban and it’s a quarterfinal, so they are definitely going to come back stronger.”
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Mbonambi says the challenging aspect of this week’s meeting has got a lot to do with that short turnaround.
“It does make it quite difficult because obviously they know that in a short turnaround, you are not going to change your game plan much,” he said.
“I think they will be better prepared for the weather and everything else. Looking at our team, we just need to make sure that we know our roles.
“We believe in our system and plan and playing at home also gives us a bit of an advantage.”
With a poor showing in the URC this season, Mbonambi knows that there is pressure on his team to deliver the goods in the business end of the Challenge Cup.
“We want to make this competition very successful, ” said the double World Cup winner.
“There is a lot of pressure. We need to keep things simple and make sure that everyone buys into the plan.
“With the kind of players that we have and the kind of coaches that we have, we just need to go out there and deliver.”
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