Pumas are ‘desperate’ and ready for a fight, Everitt warns his Sharks

Sharks coach Sean Everitt is well aware of the threat posed by the Pumas, having suffered at their hands before, and he has warned his team that if they don’t get their act together in their Super Rugby Unlocked match in Nelspruit on Saturday then they will face the fate the Stormers were fortunate to escape last weekend.

The Stormers scored a controversial 78th-minute try at Mbombela Stadium last week to pip the Pumas 42-37 – their third try in the last 10 minutes – while the Sharks were hammered 41-14 by an ultra-physical Bulls side in Pretoria.

“I wasn’t shocked by the Pumas’ game against the Stormers at all because I’ve been on the receiving end of that before,” Everitt said.

“It’s always difficult to play in Nelspruit. They are always desperate and the players want to attract contracts from the bigger unions.

“The Pumas probably deserved to win that game and they will see themselves as being unlucky. We won’t be underestimating them.

“We’ve seen what they can produce – we know they are fighters – and they will come with tremendous energy like desperate soldiers.”

Ideally, given the make-up of their team with a relatively light-weight loose trio and a dazzling backline, the Sharks will want to raise the pace and stretch the Pumas.

A tight, forward-dominated scrap is not what they want, but in order to give themselves the opportunity of playing the high-tempo game they favour, their pack has to put them on the front foot first, which requires a big effort in the set-pieces.

“The fundamentals of the game stay the same and maybe we could do with a bit more synergy in our tight five,” Everitt said.

“Our defence has done really well. The guys are getting off the line quickly and disrupting, but the problem is more at the breakdowns.

“We’re not getting enough offensive carries because our body height isn’t right and the guys need to work harder against players who are bigger than them.”

Teams

Pumas: Devon Williams, Neil Maritz, Erich Cronje, Wayne van der Bank, Etienne Taljaard, Fiela Boshoff, Ginter Smuts, Jeandré Rudolph, Willie Engelbrecht, Francois Kleinhans, Pieter Jansen van Vuuren (captain), Darrien Landsberg, Ruan Kramer, AJ le Roux, Liam Hendricks.

Replacements (from): Marko Janse van Rensburg, Stephan de Jager, Brendon Valentyn, Phumzile Maqondwana, Chriswill Willemse, Neil Marais, Ali Mgijima, Dewald Maritz, Daniel Maartens, HP van Schoor, Kwanda Dimaza.

Sharks: Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (captain), Marius Louw, Madosh Tambwe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Phendulani Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, JJ van der Mescht, John-Hubert Meyer, Dan Jooste, Ox Nche.

Replacements: Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, Ruben van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Grant Williams, Jeremy Ward, Yaw Penxe.

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