Final gives Sharks a chance to further hone game

People often talk of “finals rugby”, or “finals footy” if you hail from the Antipodes, but the safety first and more conservative playing template encapsulated in that statement is not something we are likely to see in Saturday’s Currie Cup final in Johannesburg.

For the hosts, the Lions, and the visiting Sharks XV, the game is a stepping stone to the United Rugby Championship (URC) season that starts the following week.

While winning the storied trophy will be celebrated by the team that prevails at Ellis Park, attention will quickly switch to what happens the following week — the Sharks will be in Galway for a tough opening to their URC campaign, while the Lions have an equally tough game against Ulster.

Both teams are committed to a fast-tempo playing style, and as it was what got them to the final, neither will be looking to turn away from that just because it is the deciding game in the competition.

Warren Whiteley, a former Lions and Bok captain, is now one of the Sharks assistant coaches and as he heads back to his old stamping ground it is the growth of the Sharks’ game as much as a potential trophy lift that is occupying his mind.

“We’ve worked on our Sharks way and game model and the players and the coaches are now all aligned on our playing style,” Whiteley said.

“Regardless of the occasion, it is our objective to force our way of playing on the opposition. It’s been great to see that evolution in the past couple of months.

“There’s still a lot of improvement to do and we saw that in the [semifinal] game against the Bulls. And making those improvements is what we are looking at going into this game.

“We were very proud of the effort and character we showed at Loftus, but there are still a lot of areas we need to be better at.”

Whiteley, having been part of the last Lions Currie Cup success in 2015 and having led them to three successive Super Rugby finals after that, admitted that he will have mixed feelings being back at Ellis Park for a final as a member of the opposing squad.

“It is a bit of mixed emotions, but also special,” he said. “We see it in international rugby, Ellis Park is just a special place to play.

“I’ve got some fond memories of my time playing for the Lions, but at the same time it is a great opportunity for us and we have developed nicely over the past few weeks.”

Indeed they have, and the makeup of the Sharks team, given the importance of being fresh and ready for the Connacht challenge a week later in what will be a tough start to the URC season, will be eagerly awaited.

Though this is a final, its placement so close to the URC kickoff will mean that when it comes to weighing up the readiness of players who emptied the tank last week, head coach John Plumtree should err on the side of caution.

Whiteley said that the Sharks players are eager to embrace the challenge of playing against the side that has been acknowledged as the form team in the competition.

SuperSport.com