Preview- Hollywoodbets Sharks XV vs. Vodacom Bulls

09/08/2024 07:57 AM

Sunday's final round of this year's Carling Currie Cup promises all-out action and drama when the Hollywoodbets Sharks host the Vodacom Blue Bulls at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.

Head coach John Plumtree discussed in the lead up to the game the balancing act that has been necessitated by three competitions all being planned or played at the same time.

"We're in quite a unique situation, certainly very new to me in that we're using the Currie Cup as preseason games for the URC, but we're also finishing off a competition, so there has been a bit of juggling around numbers because JP Pietersen has taken about five or six players to the Under 21 competition.

 "You can see in the team selection the URC players were available and we want to finish the Currie Cup strong, but we are also mindful of the fact that a lot of players haven't had any rugby for a long time.

 "It's quite nice to have this week's game where the result doesn't matter too much – we obviously want to win our home games – but we're already in a semi-final next week."

 The Currie Cup has also provided the Hollywoodbets Sharks with an opportunity of integrating the new signings into the squad before the URC.

 "They've had a conditioning period with us for three or four weeks and now get the opportunity to play in a competitive game that has some pressure attached to it.

 "The new guys have done really well, I'm very happy with them, they've added a lot to the environment. They bring good skill sets, experience and knowledge.

 "We've definitely gained some good guys around providing more depth in the pack where we were a bit thin."

 The positive about the absence of many players during much of the Currie Cup is that they've had a chance for their bodies to rest up after a gruelling and demanding (and successful EPCR Challenge Cup campaign).

 "There's been enough chat about the need for a global calendar for all of our players and not seeing some of these guys for a while is a good thing. It's an opportunity for them to do some conditioning, have a holiday and get some rest and then fire back into a big season."

 Shifting focus to the game this weekend, Plumtree admitted that he is looking forward to some good things coming out of the team's performance.

 "There are things we see as important that we improve from last year, we learned a lot last year and I'm hoping that the learnings that we've put into our preseason, around rugby strategy and what we feel we need to work on get the results we need.

"That's been a big focus and hopefully we'll see some of that under pressure against the Bulls."

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