Sharks' rocky road to URC play-offs
SPOTLIGHT: The Sharks are in a fight for survival as they’re gunning to reach the United Rugby Championship play-offs with a tricky schedule starting with the Bulls this weekend.
Following their loss to the Lions this past weekend, the Sharks face an uphill battle to make the top eight of the URC after giving themselves a solid chance by securing two bonus-point victories over the Stormers.
The clash against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld will be the Sharks’ last local derby before hosting Munster and Cardiff at Kings Park, followed by their Challenge Cup Round of 16 clash in Galway against Connacht.
They’ll continue to be on the road when they travel to Swansea to face the Ospreys before jetting off to Scotland to take on Sean Everitt’s Edinburgh.
But they will not be looking further than the assignment at hand in Pretoria this weekend.
Although it’s an away match, it will be the first of three consecutive clashes on South African soil before their overseas travels.
The clash against the Bulls is vital to get ascendancy in the competition and keep their top-eight hopes alive, says Springbok wing Edwill van der Merwe.
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“The race for the top eight is on, so every game is crucial,” Van der Merwe told Rugby365.
“I’d say more so the South African derbies, especially this weekend.
“We know the Bulls are an incredible side at home, and they’ll have their fans behind them.
“We’re expecting a physical challenge from them, and for them to be fired up, so we’ll have to be at our absolute best on Saturday and deliver.”
Van der Merwe conceded that the Sharks weren’t at their best against the Lions and that they’ve prepared well to fix the areas of concern they identified for the clash against the Bulls.
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“As a team, we’re all disappointed with the result, game and overall performance that we put out.
“We know it’s not our standards, and this week’s preparation had a lot of focus on collectively fixing it.
“We are aware that we made some unforced errors, and there are other areas of the game that need some cleaning up.
“But so far the week’s preparation has been good, and we’re looking to rectify it on the weekend.”
The Bok speedster also touched on Junior Bok sensation and fellow wing Jaco Williams, who burst onto the URC scene midway through the season, scoring three tries in two matches against the Stormers.
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“Jaco is an exciting player. He is still a bit quiet, but I enjoy him a lot.
“He brings a lot of excitement to the team, and we saw his abilities in those two fixtures against the Stormers when we really needed it to close the game – he brought moments of magic.
“It’s been incredible to see him grow over the last couple of weeks, and I feel he’s got ample potential to reach incredible heights.”
