Publications
Partners
Durban - Sharks coach John Plumtree believes the trip to New Zealand for Saturday’s Super Rugby play-off match against the Crusaders in Nelson will be their greatest obstacle.
The Durban outfit sealed their place in the top six of the competition with a 26-23 victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday.
The team must now embark on an 11 000km journey to face the seven-time champions.
"I think our biggest hurdle is actually getting there, getting ready and getting over the jet lag," said Plumtree.
"We haven’t got a lot of time, so how we prepare when we arrive is definitely going to be crucial to how we play on Saturday."
The Sharks have never beaten the Crusaders on their own turf, although the New Zealanders themselves will be in largely unfamiliar territory at Trafalgar Park.
Their traditional hunting ground the AMI Stadium was damaged by the Christchurch earthquake earlier this year.
Plumtree is confident, especially after the win over the Bulls.
"I think what happened on the weekend gives them (the players) that belief," he said.
"Winning at Loftus, I don’t think there’s too many sides in this top 15 that could have done what we did. Especially with the emotional side of some of those players (the Bulls) leaving and the 50 000 crowd."
"It was a huge game, it was a knockout and that could give us a lot of belief. If we can take that confidence across to New Zealand and apply it for 80 minutes then you never know. But like I said, it’s how we get over this trip that’s going to be important."
The Sharks have been boosted by the news that Odwa Ndungane and Eugene van Staden have been added to the 22-man squad that did duty in Pretoria over the weekend.
Steven Sykes (knee), however, will not make the trip after failing a fitness test.
Plumtree said his team had a strong pack of forwards who could compete at scrum and lineout time which would be key if they face wet and cold conditions.
"We’ve got Freddie Michalak that can control the game, and a Pat Lambie kicking game at the back. As long as we defend really well in our set-piece functions and make sure the territory is in our favour, then you never know."
When the two sides met at Twickenham earlier this season, the Sharks lost convincingly 44-28.
Plumtree hoped the first round defeat to the Crusaders would serve as motivation for his players.
"We’re going to show them (the players) a video today (Tuesday) of what we got wrong at Twickenham," said Plumtree.
He said the trio of Dan Carter, Sonny Bill Williams and Robert Fruean played a major role in the Sharks' defeat with their ability to shift the ball into space whether by hand or from kicking.
"It is a key to their game and the foundation to their game is built around their scrum," he said.
"So we have to make sure we scrum really, really well against the Crusaders on the weekend. If we can look after their defensive flair and their scrums well, then anything can happen."
Plumtree said it would be a challenge to pick the players up from the gruelling clash against the Bulls.
"That’s a challenge now for us. It was a do or die match and there was no more next week if we didn’t get it right," said the coach.
"The players were clearly excited about the occasion and wanted to prove a point. So there was a lot of internal motivation.
"We’ve obviously got a little bit of confidence from the weekend, but this is really a different challenge from Loftus because of the travel."
He said the team had grown accustomed to 'finals rugby' over the last few years and it was something the players were excited about.
"But in saying that this Crusaders side also gets very excited about finals rugby, as we know."
