Sharks hooker Bongi Mbonambi says the Sharks want to put the disappointment of their Bordeaux loss behind them. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The Sharks face a “tough task” as they hope to put their three-game losing streak to bed with a win against Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship (URC) this Saturday (kick-off 7.15pm).
Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi said the Sharks especially want to put the disappointment of last week’s thumping 66–12 loss at Bordeaux behind them.
Before that, they lost 20–8 to Toulouse in Durban and 24–20 to the Stormers in Cape Town.
But Cardiff will not be beaten easily, sitting third on the URC log after a great start to the season. However, they’ve had two losses and a draw since their last win, which came against Dragons in the URC on 26 December.
The Welsh side will be just as eager to stamp their authority at home a month after that last victory.
“We definitely had a disappointing week in Bordeaux but we forget about that, we put it behind us. We learn our lessons. Now we are just refocusing on the URC competition,” Mbonambi said.
The 34-year-old forward said the Sharks were targeting a win in this final game on tour before they return for five matches in South Africa.
“We know that this week we have a tough task ahead of us, especially coming after a defeat in Bordeaux,” he said.
“They are a quality side with quality players so we definitely have to do our homework and make sure we come up with a plan that will give us the result that we need.”
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The Sharks are working hard on formulating that plan.
Mbonambi said the team flew from Bordeaux to Cardiff on Monday night and hit the ground running with training on Tuesday.
They had Wednesday off but had more training on Thursday before the captain’s run on Friday.
He said the weather has been a “tad bit better” in Wales than in France, estimating it to be 3°C warmer.
“But we are still missing the warm and sunny weather back home in Durban,” Mbonambi confessed.
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