Hollywoodbets Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell believes the extra preparation time his squad has had, as well as the form of players like Siya Masuku, will go a long way to delivering the Durban franchise a coveted EPCR Challenge Cup title on Friday.
The men in black and white face Gallagher Premiership outfit Gloucester at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. While they will be without double World Cup-winning skipper Lukhanyo Am, Powell feels the side has an able deputy.
“It’s always a big loss when you lose one of your international players, and also your captain. Lukhanyo was really good for us in the season, and in knockout games and finals you want your senior players to be available for selection.
“But we have capable replacements, a guy like Ethan Hooker has done well to put up his hand this season and show that he can also play at this level.”
The Sharks coaching staff chose to rest their frontline players during round 17 of the URC over the weekend, with the big guns instead focusing entirely on Friday’s encounter. According to Powell, there is plenty to improve on and the added prep time has stood them in good stead.
“[We want} to put a good 80-minute performance together. At times we’ve had some good rugby, and at times we fell off the pace a bit and didn’t play an 80-minute game.
“In the past we’d score a try, get a kick-off and then concede points again, so we could be a lot more clinical in our exits and we hope that, especially in a game like a final, when you put points on the board you put the pressure back on the opposition.
“We’re happy with the time we had to analyse them. The fact that we haven’t played our final squad in the Cardiff [URC] game that we played on Saturday has actually given us the opportunity to start last week already to implement and instil our plan against Gloucester.”
On the impact and form of Siya Masuku, the 45-year-old had nothing but positives to spin.
“When he got his opportunity, he grabbed [it] with both hands. And then with all the experience around him as well. [Francois] Swys Venter played Test rugby before, Lukhanyo Am at 13, even on the inside of Siya Masuku somebody like a Grant Williams and a Jaden Hendrikse that’s very experienced at Test level as well. And then [Makazole] Mapimpi on the wing.
“But take nothing away from him, he’s a special player. That’s the reason why we contracted him last year from the Cheetahs because we saw that he’s got something special in him.”
The Hollywoodbets Sharks will need every ounce of his talent as they look to make history and become the first South African team to win an EPCR tournament in what would be a major milestone for the local game.
