Sharks target win in Bloem

The Sharks go to Bloemfontein on Saturday still searching for any kind of form in the lineouts, where they have struggled for most of the season.

However, they noted at the weekend how the Bulls dominated the Cheetahs there, and more particularly, how the Cheetahs struggled in other areas of the game when the Bulls pressured them in both the lineouts and the scrums.

Taken out of their comfort zone, and without the solid front-foot ball to play with that was responsible for much of the good rugby they played during their impressive five match unbeaten streak, the Cheetahs weren’t the same team. And with everything to play for, the Durbanites would like to do the same on Saturday.

“The Bulls have moved up yet another level and they were able to disrupt the Cheetahs at the set pieces which for long periods of the game impacted on their big ball carriers’ ability to give them the momentum that has been allowing them to attack so well,” said Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford.

The Sharks did just a short skills session on Monday, as they did last week after the Bulls game, where it was felt they fell well short when it came to the execution of the basics.

The Sharks weren’t completely happy with their performance in the victory over the Waratahs, but they did feel an improvement was made, and they know a further improvement will be needed on Saturday.

The Cheetahs have long been considered a Sharks bogey side, and while the Sharks management argue that they have laid that ghost to rest – they scored three tries in the last 10 minutes in a Currie Cup game in Bloemfontein last year and also won in the first round Super Rugby fixture – they are going to have to get all aspects of their game to click.

The big complication at the moment is the disciplinary hearing faced by flanker Jean Deysel for dangerous play. Deysel was yellow carded in the second half for the headlock he deployed on a Waratahs player in cleaning him out.

Should Deysel miss out it will be a big blow to the Sharks as he was in excellent form against the Waratahs and played a big role in helping the Sharks get the all-important momentum they needed on attack.

Willem Alberts would probably come in at No 7 flank should Deysel be suspended and he did make an impact when he came on late in last week’s game.

Still, the Sharks would rather have both players available, even if they don’t both start, and having an answer to the drive and form of the Cheetahs’ Ashley Johnson will be crucial to their chances of victory. Alberts hasn’t quite sustained the form in the second half of the season that he displayed in the first eight games.

Part of that might be down to the fact that the Sharks’ derby opponents, the Stormers and Bulls, have placed a high premium on preventing the Durbanites getting gainline access through their big runners. Maybe that is an area that the Cheetahs will pay more attention to than the Waratahs did.