The Sharks have a golden opportunity to build on their momentum as they welcome a weakened Leinster team to Durban this weekend.
Phepsi Buthelezi during a Sharks training session in Durban on Tuesday. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
Sharks loose forward Phepsi Buthelezi is backing his team to follow up their positive start to the United Rugby Championship (URC) season with another good performance against defending champions Leinster at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
After a dismal previous campaign, where they finished 10th on the log after losing more games than they won, and thus missed out on the competition play-offs, the Sharks are looking to put in a much-improved effort this season.
Their struggles usually come when they are without their large contingent of Springbok players, and that always happens at the start of the season, but despite missing their Boks they managed to record a solid 41-24 bonus point win over Ospreys last week to get them up and running.
They now have a golden opportunity to continue that momentum as they welcome a weakened Leinster team to Durban, shorn of most of their Irish internationals, and Buthelezi is fired up for the challenge, especially with him set to face some strong senior players among the visiting loose forwards.
“This week is a very important one for us as a group. It’s more important because it shows us how far we’ve come as a group,” Buthelezi said.
“Leinster’s loose forwards are known for their relentless work rate, but as a player, you always want to test yourself against the best. We’ve worked incredibly hard this pre-season and we’re feeling confident. We want to match fire with fire.
“We really feel we’ve been well prepared. We’ve got good coaches around us who have given us all the information we need to go out there and perform.”
Looking to improve against Leinster
Buthelezi said the Sharks were pleased with their win over Ospreys, but he noted that they were well aware they still had things to work on as they aimed to build on their good start to the season.
“To get off the mark in the way that we did was really rewarding for the group. We had a good look at our performance, and we felt we could have done better in certain moments of the game. But overall, it was a really positive start and everyone is happy,” he said.
Against Ospreys the Sharks loose forward department was in top form, with flank Manu Tshituka and eighthman Nick Hatton dotting down two of their five tries, and Buthelezi acknowledged it was always rewarding for the forwards to score, especially with the team working hard on their attack.
“As a loose forward, it’s always nice to get involved with the ball and score some amazing tries. I thought that was positive, and something we’re going to keep working on.”
