Wentzel’s Sharks to meet Pumas’ physicality

The Sharks suffered a first round loss to the Pumas in their new fortress the Mbombela Stadium a month ago. Going into the match with just one warm-up clash underneath their belts, the Sharks looked shell-shocked by a fired-up Pumas outfit.

Sharks captain Marcon Wentzel admitted as much the following week and echoed those sentiments in the build up to their second meeting on Saturday.

“They are quite a physical side and I think we felt a bit bullied and were surprised by the physicality they brought in the first game. We weren’t up to par and were probably a bit undercooked having had only one warm-up game; it’s quite hard to get quality warm-up games,” Wentzel said.

“Again, with these youngsters and new guys, it would have been great to have had quality warm-up games and their intensity and physicality was surprising. But we’re four games in and we’ve improved and showed the intensity we wanted for 60 minutes against the Lions and as Gary said we would like to do that for 80 minutes. This weekend is about us bringing the intensity and improving it week by week.”

Looking at results, the Sharks have won two of their four games. Both those wins came against the EP Kings both home and away while the Sharks were outdone by the Pumas and Lions.

Defensive lapses cost the Sharks in both defeats and it could come down to the lack of game-time the relatively young Sharks squad has had in the build-up to the domestic season. Wentzel also said the Currie Cup was somewhat of a baptism of fire for the greener members of the squad.

“It’s been tough; there is a huge gap between U21 or club rugby and Currie Cup level. It’s been a very steep learning curve for them and you can see it in the system mistakes we’ve made in the few games but they’re getting better. It’s a problem if they don’t improve but they are learning week by week,” Marco said of the young Sharks cutting their teeth this year.

The Sharks host the Pumas on Saturday at Growthpoint Kings Park. Kickoff is at 15h00.

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