Hollywoodbets Sharks prop Trevor Nyakane is anticipating a typically feisty South African derby battle against his former employers the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in the URC on Saturday.
John Plumtree’s side head into the round 11 encounter placed fourth on the standings with 29 log points, one place and six-points back of their opponents this week with a fantastic opportunity to close that gap.
Nyakane turned out for the Pretoria side on 82 occasions from 2015 until signing for French Top 14 club Racing 92 in 2021 and knows better than most just how difficult a task the Sharks have on their hands.
“They’re a very strong outfit when it comes to scrummaging and forward play,” he said. “You can see by the results and the way they’re going about it the past couple of weeks. It’s going to be a massive challenge for us up there at Loftus.
“I obviously played there for a couple of years, and I know the Bulls pride themselves on forward dominance and physicality, so it’s going to be a massive challenge. But that’s why we play the game: to play against some of the best when it comes to specific things.
“Their scrumming is quite good, their mauling is quite good, but that’s where you need to stand up and show your character. It’s going to be a tough challenge but obviously we’ve put in a few things as well and [we’re] working very hard not to just go up there and lie down and accept that you’re defeated.”
Jake White’s side held on to beat the Stormers 33-32 in Cape Town last week, while the men in black and white were last in action in a 42-22 victory at Cardiff at the end of January. That short time off has done a world of good ahead of their highveld showdown according to Nyakane.
“We needed a bit of a break; the competition is quite long. But it was a well-deserved break, the boys could get away a little bit and clear their minds and be ready to get back into the swing of things.
“The guys are well rested and in a good space right now.”
Although there are still several players unavailable for selection due to injury, including a number of established Springboks and a rested Siya Kolisi, the double World Cup-winning front ranker is refusing to offer up excuses.
“It’s the nature of the game. You’re not always going to have everyone ready every time, but you have to learn to adapt [with] some guys not being able to play.
“The pressure is always there, even if they [the missing Springboks] are here, so for us we try to get the next person in and work as hard as we can and try to produce what the coaches are looking for from us. It is pressure, it is going to be difficult at Loftus as well, but I think that the boys that have come in have put up their hands and are working hard.
“The progress they have been making is quite amazing and the energy they inject into some of the older guys is infectious.”
