THE DURBAN TEAM CONCEDE THAT ZEBRE GAME IS THE ONE
By: Tshepo Phalane
After their second win of the season,the Hollywoodbets Sharks will look for a rare back to back victory in the United Rugby Championship when they face Scotland international-laden Edinburgh side at home this afternoon.
The John Plumtree side beat Ulster 22-12 last weekend and are hoping that a win is a start of many to come as they prepare to face Zebre in the Challenge Cup.
Speaking this week ahead of the clash against the Scottish side who themselves lost to The Stormers last weekend, Plumtree accepted that their poor form at the start of the season has all but sealed their fate in the URC…
‘I really want to do well in the Challenge Cup and this game this weekend will help me prepare the team for that .Now I have some selection headaches for me if players take this opportunity this weekend…’ conceded Plumtree who will be opposite Former Sharks coach Sean Everitt
‘We know who we are playing this week and have prepared well and are excited about playing Edinburgh..but we are possibly out of the URC but still alive in the Challenge Cup….’ added Plumtree.
The home fans will hope that their Springboks laden team will put a smile on their faces with the likes of Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche and collosal Eben Etzebeth helping captain Lukhanyo Am and the team as a whole put aside the Scottish side.
Edinburgh themselves also boast an array of Scottish internationals with returnee Duhan van der Merwe, Jamie Ritchie, Ewan Ashman and Pierre Schoeman who were dearly missed when the team went down 43-21 to a perfect storm in Cape Town last week.
The Sharks hope that with a successful run in the Challenge Cup,they can manage to qualify for the elite Champions Cup next season.
The Sharks are 16th on the log while Edinburgh sit sixth on the table.
Kickoff at the Shark Tank is 15h00.