Sharks ready for cold Canberra reception
SUPER RUGBY SPOTLIGHT: It may just be the feeling of familiarity, but the Sharks will have a measure of self-assurance when they face off against the Brumbies in the quarterfinal on Saturday.
The men from Durban, who are in the play-offs for the fourth consecutive year, have a better ‘away’ record this year than at their Durban home.
Having won just three of their eight home games (37.5 percent), they do not fear travelling – with four wins (50.0 percent) and a draw on the road.
Even better, they have won in two of their last four trips to Canberra.
Captain Louis Schreuder, speaking from the team’s training base in Coogee (a beachside suburb of Randwick, eight kilometres south-east of the Sydney), said they are familiar with the conditions in the Australian capital.
“I have been there a few times,” Schreuder said, adding: “We know about the cold.”
The long-term weather prediction suggested that the teams could face sub-zero temperatures at game time, with a daytime high of just 10°C.
“We feel it is a lot like Bloemfontein,” he said of the cold, biting conditions they look set to encounter.
“We will try and embrace it, take everything in and enjoy the occasion,” the Sharks captain added.
The Sharks are completing their build-up in Coogee and will be driving by bus to Canberra on Thursday.
The Sharks skipper said there is a good reason why the Brumbies are the Australian conference winners.
“They are a physical and well-organised team,” he said, adding: “They have a very good set piece and kicking game.
“Of the Australian teams, they have the strongest set piece and the most organised. That is why they are the most dangerous of all the Australian teams.
“They have a good coaching system that has worked together for a long time.
“They know how to win play-offs.”
The Brumbies are two-time winners – in 2001 and 2004 – and were runners-up on four other occasions.
They also reached the preliminary knock-out stages on five other occasions.
Sharks tour squad
FORWARDS: Coenie Oosthuizen, Cullen Collopy, Craig Burden, Daniel du Preez, Gideon Koegelenberg, Hyron Andrews, Jacques Vermeulen, John-Hubert Meyer, Juan Schoeman, Kerron van Vuuren, Luke Stringer, Mzamo Majola, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Tyler Paul.
BACKS: Louis Schreuder (captain), Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Cameron Wright, Curwin Bosch, Jeremy Ward, Kobus van Wyk, Lukhanyo Am, Makazola Mapimpi, Robert du Preez, Rhyno Smith, Sibusiso Nkosi.
@rugby365com
* Also read:
Beast(ly) blow for Sharks
Du Preez lashes out at ‘cockroach’ critics after Newlands win
