DURBAN - The Sharks were thrilled to gain a dollop of revenge on the Bulls at the weekend but they will remain grounded as they turn their attention to a tough fortnight on the Currie Cup road.
The Sharks pulled back three points on the Bulls at the top of the log thanks to their 32-29 win, and they have a game in hand on the men from Pretoria, but this week they have a tricky away game against the fast-improving Lions, and next week they visit the hurting Cheetahs. The Sharks then host Griquas before finishing away at Western Province.
“We have a big challenge ahead of us now on the road,” coach Sean Everitt said. “At the beginning of the year, we won three out of four matches on tour in New Zealand and Australia and that certainly help with the guys’ confidence in going to Ellis Park.
“The Lions are a tough team at home. They are playing the best rugby they have in the entire year. That’s going to be a massive challenge, but our guys will grow with confidence from this performance in beating the Bulls and hopefully next week we can be even better.
“One of our DNA blocks is that we stay humble,” Everitt continued. “We are performance-driven, that’s what I have pushed all year. We have got to be critical of our performances and we need to improve where we need to. We have to keep that in mind going forward. The guys can’t look too far ahead.”
The heart-stopping, last-minute win over a team that had twice thrashed them will give the Sharks a shot of self-belief.
“We were good against the Bulls,” Everitt admitted. “We mustn’t underestimate the fact that Morne Steyn missed a kick to level the scores at the end. That’s not normally what happens when he kicks at poles. We will take the win. We are happy about it. I am happy about the improved performance with the team. We will enjoy it and come back to work on Monday so that we can prepare well for a massive challenge in Joburg on Saturday.”
Everitt said he was sweating on the fitness of tighthead prop Thomas du Toit, who left the field with a rib injury, the extent of which will be known today.
Bulls coach Jake White said his team would learn plenty from a game they seemed to have in the bag at the three-quarter mark.
“I am a little disappointed things didn’t go our way, but at the same time I am appreciative of the margins being so small. As I have said before, this is a young team that is growing together and we will learn a lot from this. We will take a lot from this result.
“The guys need to understand that we will make mistakes. We still have our destiny in our own hands and we can still make the play-offs. I would like to believe that any team this coaching group coaches becomes tough to beat.”
@MikeGreenaway
IOL Sport