The Hollywoodbets Sharks XV will host the high-riding Sanlam Boland Kavaliers at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg today in an important Carling Currie Cup clash as the home side look to grow cohesion.
For Carling Currie Cup head coach JP Pietersen, cohesion is the catch word this week, as he warns of the glue that binds his opponents together, along with the desire to see his own team continue to develop and grow as a unit.
“We’re looking for continuity in performance from last week’s win over DHL Western Province, the challenge to the group is to double up this week again,” he said in the build-up to the match.
“The group has grown a lot, and as a coach, you want to see continuity and even get better. There has been growth in this group around our defence, if you look back after our first two games, we were better defensively and played with more cohesion.
“If you look at individuals, a lot of guys have put their hand up and played better rugby, especially someone like Nick Hatton.”
Sanlam Boland Kavaliers come to KZN oozing confidence and well on course for a top four finish and a place in the semi-finals.
“They have been doing well, I love the way they play: they grind down teams, their set-piece is good, they maul and scrum well and they have good loosies with exciting backs, dangerous outside backs and a couple of seasoned campaigners to control the game,” Pietersen explained.
“They play an exciting style of rugby and we’re expecting a grind, and when the game loosens up, they’re good in the off-loading game and take their opportunities well.
“Boland is a proud province, they speak about giving hope to the community, they talk about making their community proud, and they’re doing an exceptionally good job.”
Pietersen points out that what counts in their favour is having their squad grow over time without too many interruptions.
“They’ve been together as a group since last year as well as their coaching staff who are doing an excellent job, so they have cohesion, whereas we as a union have a whole new group playing in this competition because we’re in a development phase, so that is always the challenge for the bigger unions.
“We are definitely not taking them lightly, there’s a reason why they go into the weekend second on the log, their performances have been consistent and they showed great courage to beat the Airlink Pumas away from home, with 13 men which was a massive achievement.
“From us, to control what we can control, we want a better start and better performance than last week. We’re also looking for consistency in performance.
“It’s a great challenge for this young group to play against a Sanlam Boland Kavaliers with so much experience and excitement. They’ll test us, it will be tough, but it’s a lekker challenge.”