Sharks seek consistency in 'new era' ahead of Ospreys visit
INTERVIEW: Sharks assistant coach Scott Mathie and co-captain Nick Hatton outlined the goals and objectives for their side ahead of their opening 2026/27 Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash against Ospreys.
The Sharks will kick off their URC campaign at home for the first time since 2024, the last time they made the play-offs as well.
During the off-season, the Sharks officially rebranded to the “Sharks Rugby Club”, marking a new era for the Durban-based team.
For Hatton, making the most of the opportunity at home is crucial to the Sharks’ success in this new dawn for the franchise.
“The start of the season is quite exciting, and playing [the first match] at home is really cool for us for a change.
“All teams in the URC want to start well, whether it’s home or away. The first few games are really important.
“We’ve worked really hard this pre-season for this weekend and what’s to come and we’re excited to play in front of our own fans.”
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Hatton added that the Sharks will seek to be more consistent, following a slow start last season which ultimately cost them a play-off spot despite hitting their straps late during the second half of the tournament.
“The URC is quite a long tournament, so the strength of the squad is really important; that’s what we’re working hard on during the pre-season.
“Things like competition for places and just building a nice strong squad that can compete in the EPCR [Challenge Cup] and URC.
“Again, we must start well and stick to it, we want to be a team that’s consistent and that performs to a Sharks standard which is something that we’re driving hard and we’re trying to implement that onto the field now.”
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Looking ahead to the clash against the Ospreys, assistant coach Mathie praised the Welsh outfit’s style of play and touched on their latest recruitments.
“I have a lot of respect for every team in this competition, the Welsh teams in particular. They are abrasive units, and their ability to move the ball around is second to none.
“The Ospreys have shown that, especially with the signings of those Super Rugby players, speaks a lot about how they want to play the game; It will definitely add quality to their squad.”
Mathie also touched on how the Sharks prepared for the Round One fixture and the difficulties around preparing for any team at the start of a tournament.
“At the beginning of any season for every team, it can be a difficult one, because you go on what happened in the past and you pick up a couple of pre-season games that they’ve been involved in, and they would do the same,” Mathie told Rugby365.
“Then you try and put some pieces together; a lot of it has to do with the processes around your own team, structures and things you want to implement from your side.
“There’s definitely a piece of that which you can gain in terms of what they’ve done during the pre-season and in the past.
“Obviously it won’t give you the whole picture or a clearer picture that you would get during the season, but it’s the same for everyone,” he concluded.
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