Hollywoodbets Sharks defence coach Joey Mongalo believes their side knows what to expect in their EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16 tie at Lyon on Sunday.
The Durban outfit head into the encounter following a dire display in a 7-10 home loss to a weakened Leinster in the URC. Mongalo, though, says the players’ belief is still up.
“The team definitely hasn’t lost confidence at all from that performance. We’re a group that takes things into context. So that team we played against, irrespective of their internationals, is a still a top quality team. You saw that by the way the Bulls at Loftus had to kick a last-minute penalty to win a game against them. That just says a lot about the quality of the outfit.
“But looking internally, I thought the way we operated on both sides of the ball, and the kicking game, there was enough encouraging signs there to show us that we can do a lot of good things going forward.
“So definitely not a confidence drop, but just some time to do some introspection to see where we can get better.”
On the ongoing challenge of juggling playing in two tournaments concurrently, Joey says it’s just something all sides have to manage.
“If you think about the Leinster opposition that we played against, they have to play Harlequins this weekend but they also had to play against the Bulls and Sharks away. And we’re similar.
“We have to think about Edinburgh in two weeks’ time and Ulster, two phenomenal opposition. But at the same time we have to honour a good quality competition and one that we mustn’t forget we are the defending champions of.”
2022 Challenge Cup winners Lyon are seventh on the Top 14 ladder and unbeaten in their last seven matches at the Stade Gerland, the venue for this weekend’s tussle. According to Mongalo, the Sharks have done their homework in the build-up.
“Like a typical French side they’ve got a lot of French flair. They’ve got X-factor players, especially amongst their backs, and their forwards are large units, so that will help them set piece-wise.
“Anybody that follows the Top 14, you’ll see that teams win at home, even teams that are struggling. They put so much emphasis on winning at home, so every French team takes massive pride in how they perform at home.
“We can expect a hostile crowd, a passionate group that we’ll play against, so we are not ignorant or unaware of what’s coming.”
On the injury status of Springboks Eben Etzebeth and Aphelele Fassi, who weren’t named in the Sharks’ traveling squad, Mongalo says they are expected back soon.
“Eben and Fassi are not traveling because they’re both still medically not able to join part of the match 23. They’re both on the road to recovery, both looking good to be available over the next row or three weeks.”
