Kings will be physical - Gold
The Sharks face the Kings for the second time two weeks and Gold is not taking the Port Elizabeth outfit lightly. The Sharks came away with a 33-25 win two weeks ago, but the Sharks boss said the Kings are one of the tougher sides in the tournament.
“You could see two weeks ago they were a ‘never give up team’ coming here away from home and they fought to the bitter end. Reviewing their game against the Pumas last weekend, they played really well. They are very physical and they have a lot of pride to play for,” Gold said.
“They themselves are trying to put a stake in the ground and show that they can be competitive at Super Rugby level. Some of their results have gone very close, they just lost to WP 21-19 in a preseason against a Province side in their full-metal jacket.”
“They’re going to be a very tough customer this weekend. I think they are well coached and I think they have a really good team spirit.”
While a positive result will be crucial, Gold was adamant that he would only be happy with an improved performance all-round.
“That’s really what we want to be hard on ourselves about. Two weeks ago against the Kings we got a five-point victory but we weren’t’ happy with the performance. But they are difficult team to play against,” Gold insisted.
“They really aren’t such a bad team. I know everyone wants to look at them on paper, but they are hugely commited and Luke Watson leads them really well – he really is playing great rugby at the moment.”
“They come for you big time. I spoke to one of the Pumas coaches last weekend and he said to me it was arguably one of the most physical games they’ve played this year. We’re preparing for a very tough match and I think they will see it as one of the last opportunities to claim a big scalp.”
The Sharks face the EP Kings at 17h05 on Saturday.
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