Gold demands clinical performance before Test break

The Durban outfit are finally home for an extended period after a gruelling month of travel. Having travelled across three continents in that amount of time, the Sharks are ready for a good break. Their final hurdle is their second meet with the Kings this season.

The result should take care of itself this weekend but as always, upsets happen and the Sharks need to make sure they win the match to stay in the running for the playoffs. Coming off the back of a hugely physical clash against the Jaguares, Gold was relieved to come away with a scrappy win in Buenos Aires.

“I’m not going to lie and say we weren’t concerned going into last week. For us it was going into unchartered waters playing three Super Rugby games in three different continents in three different weeks is a quite tough,” Gold said.

“In saying that I was really impressed by the professionalism shown by the boys. Not having to be asked or spoken to by the coaches, the guys looked after themselves and recovered. It was hard, it was a volatile crowd and a volatile environment – but really good for the game though, it was a hell of an event.”

“We knew after the Kings performance, these guys were going to be fired up and they had a couple of guys back. They were pretty much at full strength having ten or twelve internationals – even the Springboks have had tough days there.”

The challenge this week was recovering from jet lag on the return home from South America. With that in mind, the Sharks had a fairly light start to the week and only hit their straps in training on Wednesday. Lessening the load may help somewhat as the Sharks look to peak on Saturday.

“We feel good and confident that our defence has been pretty solid but again with ball in hand we want to ask questions. With our axis now of Pat back in the team, Garth and Willie playing so well and having Joe at our disposal, hopefully we can get the ball into the outside channels and get people like JP and Lwazi on the end of it,” Gold said.

“We want to put ourselves under pressure this weekend but it is prudent of us to take the Kings seriously. They’ve had some good performances and episodes and they’ll feel confident.”

While some of his charges will have to wait another week for a break, Gold has rotated his front row. Contracted Springboks Beast Mtawarira and Coenie Oosthuizen have to be rested, while outstanding hooker Franco Marais earned his break.

“With the Springbok contracted players, Coenie and Beast, we’re only allowed to have them for 15 games. Our preparation and planning going forward was to try give the guys a bit of a rest. It was always the plan for Chiliboy to get a start as well," Gold said.

“Both Juan and Thomas played over the weekend so they’ve got a full game under their belt and it’s important to keep the rotation going. We’ve been somewhat lucky with injuries, but the medical team are advising us that some of the guys are getting to a threshold of the limit. It’s important to be mindful and aware of that.”

As for the challengers - the Kings - Gold is expecting a physical clash and a big contest at the breakdown.

"Any team led by Steven Sykes will be a physical team. They're pretty uncompromising from that point of view. I think they'll feel aggrieved that a couple of games didn't go their way. I think they'll have a good set piece, their scrums will be solid and their with Steven and JC Astle has functioned particularly well," Gold said.

The Sharks host the Kings on Saturday. Kickoff is at 17h10.

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