Hollywoodbets Sharks XV attack coach David Williams says their much-changed Currie Cup matchday squad will have a real challenge on their hands in maintaining the same level of performance shown by a number of the union’s youngsters as the competition continues to heat up.
Ahead of their penultimate round robin game against Griffons in Durban on Saturday, URC boss John Plumtree has assumed the coaching reigns from JP Pietersen, who has resumed responsibility of the Sharks U21 side. Along with Plumtree, a number of senior URC players have been thrust into the starting lineup, which Williams stated was always the intention.
“[This is part of] the plan we set in motion in the back of last season around how we are going to utilize both the coaching and playing squad in these rounds of the Currie Cup,” he said. “I think offhand we’re committed to five competitions this weekend with the Rugby Championship, Currie Cup, URC, Under-21, Under-19.
“So this was always the week where we were going to slowly blood the guys back into our Currie Cup squad as we move forward.”
With the Sharks’ URC campaign kicking off against the Lions on 21 September, it’s imperative Plumtree gets his players fit and firing. Equally important, though, is striking the right balance in keeping up the momentum Pietersen’s youngsters have achieved in the Currie Cup so far, with the playoffs just a fortnight away.
“It’s a massive squad effort, the Currie Cup, moving into these final rounds and hopefully into the playoffs,” noted Williams. “It’s a reward for the guys who have been training hard in the URC and a chance for them to play their first minutes of rugby. And it’s a nice challenge for them to try and maintain the standards set in the Currie Cup we’ve seen with some of the youngsters.
“The way they’ve played and the excitement, the ambition and the intensity. So it’s a real challenge for our guys coming in – I think there’s 13 in total – to maintain and lift those standards as we go into the last rounds.”
While there may be a few hiccups on the weekend, Williams has believes the players can pull it together.
“The continuity is always a challenge as you move into competitive games from a pre-season, but we had last week where we joined together as a squad and we’ve still got some great drivers out there.”
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