Rugby: Sharks must stick to task at hand - coach

DURBAN - The Sharks forwards have more than held their own thus far in the Super 12, but their coach has warned them that on Friday night they will face their biggest challenge yet.

"The Cats pack will be the toughest we have faced," Rudolf Straeuli said on Tuesday night. "They will be in our faces all night. We cannot afford to give an inch."

Super 12 matches between South African teams have by definition become physical showdowns between rivals who want to "donder" each other first and play rugby second.

Straeuli wisely says his team will "focus first and foremost on the ball", but there is no doubt that the usual niggle will be omnipresent.




Both teams leave the next day for New Zealand and both coaches will be holding their breath that key players do not get injured.

"We are on the same plane as the Cats on Saturday, so whatever happens on Friday night, the two sets of players are going to have to look each other in the eye the next day on a very long flight," smiled Straeuli.

The Sharks underwent a light run last night because a number of players are still nursing slight injuries from Saturday's battle with the Waratahs. Loose forwards Warren Britz and Charl van Rensburg did not participate, but this was more of a precautionary measure.

Straeuli has not named a team, nor a squad of 22. Instead, he has named his touring squad of 26 for the Bloemfontein encounter and later in the week he will trim four players from that squad.

The starting line-up is unlikely to depart much from that which played on Saturday. Up front Straeuli will once again want to fight fire with fire and he will field the biggest, most experienced forwards he can muster.




Cats scrumhalf Werner Swanepoel acknowledged that his team are also expecting a bruising clash.

"We are under no illusions as to the task ahead of us, and the Sharks are riding a high at the moment," he said.

"The match will be a physical battle, but with our pack I'm sure we will give as good as we get," he said.

- INDEPENDENT SOUTH AFRICA

Sharks (touring squad):
Mark Andrews, Warren Britz, Warren Brosnihan, Deon Carstens, Eduard Coetzee, Craig Davidson, Gaffie du Toit, Etienne Fynn, Trevor Halstead, Butch James, Deon Kayser, Ricardo Loubscher, Ollie le Roux, Brad MacLeod-Henderson, Brent Moyle, John Smit, Philip Smit, Andre Snyman, Justin Swart, Stefan Terblanche, Gus Theron, Lukas van Biljon, Albert van der Berg, Charl van Rensburg, AJ Venter, Dave von Hoesslin.