Hollywoodbets Sharks hooker Bongi Mbonambi reckons Edinburgh will be coming in hot for their EPCR Challenge Cup quarterfinal showdown at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.
The sides clashed in Durban in the URC as recently as a fortnight ago, with the hosts having secured a 23-13 win on that occasion, but the double-world champion believes the men from the Scottish capital will be even better prepared come the weekend.
“I think the fact that it’s a quarter-final makes it even more difficult. We know that they are definitely going to come here even better prepped than before, I think they’re going to play a better team. We noticed last time that they were missing a couple of their key players who came back from playing in the Six Nations.
“They’re going to be fresh and more challenging this time around, especially with a coach like Sean Everitt that they have. He knows how to prepare a team to come play down here in Durban.”
With a number of individuals returning from injury and the team currently enjoying a three-game winning streak, Mbonambi says the players in the squad are feeling positive and
concentrating on achieving success yet this season.
“The mood in the camp is good. We have a lot of energy [with] all the injured guys coming back in. Guys like Emile [van Heerden], who’s a really good No 5 lock for us. You’ve got guys like Eben [Etzebeth] coming back and Vincent Koch, you can see the kind of difference they make in the forward pack.
“But we know the road to the final is not going to be easy. The only thing we can do is focus on the next game and not look too far forward. We’re going to focus on the quarterfinal and make sure we get over that.
“And that’s the only way we’re going to get forward in this competition, the only way we’re going to get better.”
Kick-off is at 13:30 on Saturday.
