Sharks v Lions: Dance of the desperates
SPOTLIGHT: The Sharks and Lions shared some great recent history on the domestic front and at a franchise level, and this weekend will be no different.
Both teams find themselves in a ‘must-win’ situation after a poor start to their respective United Rugby Championship campaigns.
The Lions are currently in the play-off picture, in eighth place on the URC table with 17 points.
The Sharks, languishing in 13th position, are just five points behind, with 12 points.
The two teams’ form, however, drastically changed in the last month, and both have undergone coaching changes in the meantime.
John Plumtree stepped down as head coach, with JP Pietersen taking over the reins in an interim position.
Pietersen made a solid start in his new role with a Champions Cup win over Saracens and a URC win over the Bulls at Kings Park.
The Lions recently named Wessel Roux as their new forwards coach following the departure of Barend Pieterse, who took up a position with the Junior Springboks.
Following an unsuccessful overseas tour, Ivan van Rooyen’s side won three matches on the bounce before suffering two Challenge Cup defeats and one URC loss to the Stormers on the bounce.
Following the defeat against the Stormers, van Rooyen was adamant that his team isn’t slipping into a big losing run as they did in previous seasons.
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“I’d be surprised if we go into a slump after a performance like this. I’m really proud of the effort,” Van Rooyen said following their 27-34 away loss to the Stormers.
The Lions are notorious for their inconsistency and tend to surprise teams when they least expect it.
The Sharks will be wary of this trait as it was the case last season when they were favourites heading to Ellis Park and walked away with their fins chopped off in a 14-38 hiding after defeating the Lions earlier that month by 25-22 at Kings Park.
The Lions won three of their last five meetings, but just one of those came at Kings Park, which could be another factor to consider, as well as the potential weather conditions.
Moderate rain (40 percent) is expected to fall around kick-off time and should ease as play continues, but for the Lions, who thrive on dry and fast pitches, this could be a spanner in the works.
Lions assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher, however, said that his team won’t be naive and will prepare accordingly to the conditions that they could face.
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“Whenever it’s a South African derby, it’s always a physical battle, and secondly, you also need to look at the conditions like the humidity, etc,” Loubscher said on Tuesday in an online media conference.
“It’s been raining in Durban for the past few days, and one needs to prepare accordingly for the conditions.
“We know it will be a tough, physical game, and we need to ensure on the mental and physical front that we are in the right space.”
A win for the Sharks could just be enough to spark a bid to move up the URC ladder and gun for a play-off spot, whilst a loss for the Lions could once more be the difference between making or missing the play-offs once more by the narrowest of margins come the end of the regular season.
