The Hollywoodbets Sharks host visiting Welsh side Cardiff at Hollywoodbets Kings Park this evening as they look to continue their form in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as evidenced in their thrilling 45-point victory over Munster in Durban last weekend.
Head coach JP Pietersen has made minimal changes to his side as they seek consistency in performance and team selection for this match.
“Training went well this week although it was a short week with a six-day turnaround,” he explains. “With that in mind, we wanted to keep combinations going.”
One of the changes sees Springbok Ethan Hooker back in the side after missing last week’s match because of family bereavement.
“It’s good to have him back after a difficult stage in his life, losing your father who has been a cornerstone of your life and career. But he’s in good spirits, the team supports him and we’re all behind him. We’re excited to have him back.”
His midfield partnership with Andre Esterhuizen is an exciting one, one that will be watched with keen interest by both fans and the opposition.
“They’re both experienced players who have played together and that combination is growing nicely. Andre has been consistent in his performances and hopefully Ethan slots in, does what he does and gives us a good performance.”
With minimal changes, there is consistency in team selection, but what Pietersen is really after is consistency in performance, backing up last week’s big win with another strong effort.
“Our results have been up and down and that comes down to cohesion,” he explains. “The longer you play with combinations and cohesiveness, it helps. We built ourselves up nicely for Munster after a 10-day break, and we wanted to keep consistency with the team.
“It’s hard with the Springboks resting for the whole month of February, it is what it is, but they’re a big part of our squad so it is difficult to build consistency and cohesiveness.”
It won’t be easy though, and the challenge that Cardiff poses is substantial, as evidenced by their campaign this season.
“They’re doing well, in the top six on the log, so their performance at Loftus was a bit surprising [losing 40-7]. They’re a better side and we expect them to bounce back this week.
“They bring a good overall game, good kicking and transition play and their flyhalf controls the game nicely.
“We know it’s going to be a pressure cycle game, so we have to show discipline. The set-piece is also going to be important because with a kicking game there are always going to be knock-ons and scrums.”
Although the immediate focus is on tonight’s game, thoughts of the play-offs still linger in the back of everyone’s minds.
“We’re realistic about where we are, we didn’t get results against the Vodacom Bulls and Lions and that’s why we’re kind of playing catch-up,” Pietersen admits.
“We have five games left and if we get the results, we give ourselves a good chance of finishing in the top 8, although that will be hard and we will need some other results to go our way.
“But we can only control what we can control and that starts with putting in a good performance against Cardiff tonight.”