sharks on tour

The warm, dry conditions of sunny Perth could well inspire the Sharks to return to the invigorating, ball-in-hand rugby that set the Currie Cup alight last October. They kicked far more in their opening two Super Rugby wins because of the humidity of Durban in February, and traditionally the Sharks have always appreciated the opportunity to tour early in the competition so that they can escape the stifling home town conditions.

The Sharks did not play much rugby in the match against the Cheetahs (when it rained, in addition to the heat) and last week they dtruck a happy medium between kicking for territory and keeping possession in the heat.

“The way we played in the Currie Cup is close to our hearts but the reality is that in summer in Durban you have to play differently,” assistant coach Grant Bashford explained. “Against the Cheetahs (in the first round), we asked the guys at half-time if they wanted to keep the ball more and attack and they emphatically said: ‘No!’

“The ball was just too slippery, and as coaches we have to trust the players’ instincts,” Bashford continued. “Against the Blues last week it was a much nicer evening and we had more of a go at playing the way we enjoy playing. You have to play the conditions, it is that simple.”

Bashford said that when his team tried to get back to running rugby against the Blues, they found they were a touch rusty at it.

“Hopefully it won’t take too long to get back into the groove,” he said. “There were a number of missed opportunities last week but the good thing is that they were created, and when we get accurate in our execution we are going to hurt teams.”

The Sharks will spend this week mostly unwinding after their travel, and this will be helped by the fact that the Johannesburg-Perth route is the shortest a South African team can travel in Super Rugby (11 hours). Last year their first stop was Christchurch in New Zealand, which took 14 hours to Sydney, a three-hour wait at the airport and another four hours to the South Island city.

Exacerbating the travel factor for the Sharks is the fact that the Force had a bye last week, so they will be extra fresh.

by Mike Greenaway

www.iol.co.za