The Hollywoodbets Sharks get ready to tackle the Vodacom Bulls amongst the fervour of a sold-out Sharksfest Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park this evening.
Head coach JP Pietersen can’t wait for his charges to deliver another committed and winning performance after last week’s victory over Saracens.
“Every week is an opportunity to get better and we’ve taken the positives from last week’s game, as well as looking at how we can build on those,” he said in the lead-up to the big derby game.
“Prep has gone well and there’s some good energy in the group.”
Pietersen has made two changes to the sides, with Jordan Hendrikse coming in for George Whitehead and one more at fullback.
“With Aphelele Fassi out, Hakeem Kunene starts, and George and Jordan swap,” the coach confirmed. “Jordan played his first game at 10 against Toulouse, that’s why we’ve given him this opportunity. He struggled a bit with a shin splint before that, and that’s why it took him time to get back into the game. Also, with Fassi not available against Connacht, Jordan played at 15.
“So, as a coaching group, we felt this was the right time to give Jordan an opportunity at 10 this week. In my eyes, I see him primarily as a flyhalf while George plays his last game for us, having been on loan from the Suzuki Griquas where he returns after this match.
“I trust in Jordan, I think he will do a great job at 10, he’s capable of doing it. I trust in his ability to bring the best out of the group.”
As always, the scrum battle between the two sides is likely to produce fireworks and Pietersen expects nothing different from past games.
“They have a very good squad and a Springbok level front row, so we’re aware of the scrum, it’s a big part of their game and it’s going to be a proper battle.
“I think it will bring the best out of us, we know we have to contest at scrum-time.
“It’s going to be a tough and physical game between two good packs of forwards and that’s what rugby’s all about, the best measuring against the best and how you compete.
“These are two teams that really want to showcase what they can do. The Vodacom Bulls have played really well lately, even if the results didn’t go their way. They’re in a pretty good space, being in positions to win those games.
“So the losses probably haven’t helped, but us too, we have also had a rough start with results, but we take a lot of confidence out of last week’s game.
“These are two good teams who want to put on a good performance.”
As a former player in these games, and now coach, Pietersen knows exactly what is required to beat their northern rivals.
“Games against the Vodacom Bulls are always tough, always unpredictable in terms of who is going to win on the day. For me, the rivalry between us is probably my favourite, but most challenging.
“They have the physicality, the skillset and it’s close to test match intensity.
“We have history over the years, people think we don’t like each other, but that’s not the case. These fixtures bring the best out of us all and hopefully we can put out a great performance for the sell-out crowd.”