How Hurricanes plan to blow Sharks away
SUPER RUGBY SPOTLIGHT: Jan de Koning chatted to Hurricanes assistant coach Jason Holland about their plans to counter the Sharks gargantuan pack.
The Sharks are not the most prolific try-scoring team.
In fact their 35 tries in 13 matches pale in comparison to the table-topping Crusaders’ 59.
They are outside the top 10 on the try-scoring list, but their Brobdingnagian pack have ensured the Sharks remain in the play-off hunt.
In contrast, the Hurricanes will arrive at Kings Park on Saturday – for a crucial Round 16 encounter with the Sharks – with a set of forwards that have a questionable pedigree.
The Hurricanes assistant coach, Holland, said they have a strategy on how to cope with the challenge.
They are coming off a bye and had plenty of time to plan for this match.
“It is always a battle with these [Sharks] boys and the last time here [in Durban] we got a hiding [a 15-32 loss in 2016],” Holland said in a teleconference call.
The Hurricanes have not won in Durban since 2005 and the Crusaders have been the only New Zealand team to have won at Kings Park in the last five year.
However, it is the effect of the current standings more than history that concerns Holland.
“There are so many teams in the hunt for those top eight [play-off] spots,” he said of the mad dash awaiting teams in the next three weeks.
“The Sharks will be desperate, sitting in sixth [place].
“We are looking for home [ground advantage in the] quarterfinals and we need to get some wins in the next few weeks.”
However, they first have to find a way to deal with the Sharks’ abrasive pack of forwards.
In contrast, the Hurricanes’ pack is seen as their soft underbelly.
“They have a big pack and they have a couple of boys who like to win that physical battle,” Holland said.
“We will try and play a style of game that does not play into their strengths, but plays into our strengths.”
The Hurricanes feel brains will win over brawn.
“We have to be smart in how we attack.
“We have to make sure we get quick ball from rucks and not let them hold us up and slow our ball down, when their physicality will take over.
“We want to play with a bit of tempo.”
Meanwhile, Hurricanes forwards Dane Coles and Gareth Evans will most likely be eased back into Super Rugby via the bench against the Sharks.
The Hurricanes side won’t be named until Thursday, but Holland suggested Coles and Evans will come off the bench.
And doubt remains as to when Ngani Laumape will sit out his second game as part of his mandatory All Black rest weeks.
“It’s going to have to happen in the next three weeks, because we won’t be resting him for a quarterfinal if we’re in it,” Holland said.
“We’ve got plans in place, he’s with us at the moment and we’ll just assess that at the end of this week.”
Captain Coles and Evans have both been sidelined with calf injuries since round five and round two respectively.
Coles, 32, safely made it through the first half of a game for his Wellington club side Poneke last Saturday.
Evans also played club rugby last week.
By Jan de Koning
@king365ed
@rugby365com
