A ‘difficult time’ to face in-form Sharks, says Bulls hooker

Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar says the Sharks are playing their best rugby at the moment and he is anticipating a tough outing when the teams meet in their final United Rugby Championship regular season clash at Durban’s Kings Park Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 4.10pm). 

The side from Durban played arguably their best rugby of the season in the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup recently, dispatching Zebre, Edinburgh, and Clermont and eventually seeing off Gloucester in London to win the competition, being the first South African side to do so.

With the Challenge Cup trophy in the bag and a spot in next season’s Champions Cup now secured, there is a feeling among some perhaps that the Sharks may view their season as being over since they won’t be taking part in the URC playoffs, but Grobbelaar is having none of it.

Sharks at their best

The Bulls hooker believes this could be the worst time to take on the Sharks as they are full of confidence, playing good rugby and have nothing to lose this weekend.

“They are playing their best rugby at the end (of the season) as we saw in this last weekend’s game,” Grobbelaar said.  

 “This is a difficult time to play them. They are starting to play their best rugby now. I don’t think they are going to go away. I don’t think they are satisfied with their season although they won the trophy (on Friday).

“They are going to want to finish strong this weekend as it’s a home game for them. They are a proud club, I don’t think they are backing off, so we have to be up for a big challenge.” 

Bulls target win in Durban

The Bulls have not won in Durban against the Sharks in the URC in two previous visits. Grobbelaar says this weekend is an opportunity for them to secure a crucial win at Kings Park. 

“We are going to try to beat them in Durban,” said 26-year-old Grobbelaar said. 

“It’s been a while since we won in Durban. It’s never easy there. The conditions are a bit different, it’s always humid, it’s always hot for me and there’s always a bit of sweat on the ball.”