Sharks looking to match Bulls’ emotional intensity

It may have helped their own position on the South African Conference log but the Cell C Sharks are under no illusions that the big defeat the Vodacom Bulls suffered against the Chiefs could make their task more difficult in the return derby at King’s Park on Saturday.

The Sharks, according to assistant coach Nick Easter, are themselves still smarting from the one-sided defeat they suffered at the hands of the Bulls in Pretoria just over two weeks ago. The good win over the Rebels eased some of the pain, but definitely not all of it, and according to Easter there is a score to settle.

“Last time against the Bulls we didn’t turn up and everyone was very disappointed with that,” said the former England loose forward.

"We didn’t look after the ball in that match and were ill disciplined. And you can’t do that against the Bulls when they are playing well, because they are a pressure team. They like to stick you in your half, with Handre Pollard pulling the strings.”

Indeed, but quite a lot has changed since that match at Loftus, and some might now question which Bulls team will pitch in Durban. The Bulls don’t often take 50 on their home ground, and after the way they had played in most of their previous games, the manner with which they subsided against the Chiefs was surprising. Such a big defeat can have two consequences - it can inspire a huge response, or it could lead the Bulls to still be shell-shocked when they run out onto the field in Durban.

Easter made it clear the Sharks are expecting the former, and that is why the team are being directed this week towards matching the emotional intensity they are expecting from the visitors.

“They will be smarting after what happened to them at the weekend and we know what is going to turn up on Saturday. The emotional side of the game is massive and we have to respond with the emotional intensity you need to win big South African derbies," he said.

"We know the frame of mind the Bulls are going to be in and frankly we wouldn’t want it any other way. You want these games to be difficult. If they didn’t turn up with that sort of passion and fire it might give us a false indication of where we are and we don’t want that."

According to Easter, the entire focus from the Sharks this week will be on what made the Bulls so formidable before the Chiefs rode into Loftus, and he had no hesitation in pinpointing where the Bulls’ strengths lie.

“Schalk Brits and Duane Vermeulen have played a massive role in the Bulls’ good start to the season. Leadership on the field is so integral cos the players make the decisions and execute the game plan on the field, not the coaches,” said Easter.

"That spine of the team, Brits, Vermuelen and Pollard is getting a lot out of the other players. They raise the levels of the players around them.”

Meanwhile the Sharks look set to be without another midfield player because of a disciplinary infraction this week. Jeremy Ward is serving a five week suspension after being cited for foul play in the last match against the Bulls, while Marius Louw, who was in the match day 23 because of Ward’s suspension, faces a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday for the dangerous tackle that saw what looked like an otherwise good Makazole Mapimpi try disallowed against the Rebels.