Rugby Update: Injury woes continue for the Sharks
The Sharks, already suffering from the loss of their top scorer Patrick Lambie, have suffered another blow when his replacement, Jacques- Louis Potgieter, is expected to be carrying a calf injury. Sharks who will be hosting the Stormers who are yet to win a match against the hosts at Durban since 2004. However the injury strike against the Sharks might allow the Stormers to better their record this year courtesy of their injury struck side.
The last thing the Sharks were expecting was to lose their new fly half Jacques – Louis Potgieter, who has played just a single game in the super XV and was phenomenal. His efforts for the Sharks' last game against the Crusaders at London speak volumes of his skills and abilities. Replacement players are always under pressure to perform, particularly when you are replacing the tournament’s top scorer, the expectations are doubled. Although the end results were not good for the Sharks, the fight they have put up against the Crusaders provided the crowd a chance to witness a thrilling and attacking game of rugby unlike the games played in the Northern Hemispheres.
For Sharks coach John Plumber, the injury worries started after their game against the Western Force courtesy of some close body rugby played by the Australians, with sharks ultimately winning the game. Unlike that particular match, the match against the Crusaders only resulted in them losing their fly half with all other players being cleared from injury. Earlier the Sharks were expecting to see the return of Lambie last week and now might be forced to play the half fit Lambie particularly with Jacques – Louis Potgieter being diagnosed with problems with his calf. Plum tree has termed his injury as the worst for the season. While the coach has injury vows in consideration he is also critical of his team performance particularly in defense in their last outing with the Cusaders. Plumtree has admitted that the Sharks performed below par in their match against the Crusaders and particularly their defense has let them down. He was also critical of the fact that even the slightest of errors, due to what every reason, in the defense has allowed the Crusaders to score points in a span of a few minutes and to take the decisive lead in the first half.
Speaking about the positives of the game he was pleased by his side’s efforts as they have conceded less tackles as compare to the Crusaders and his side’s rejuvenated efforts in the second half, which helped them to put on a good show. Sharks have conceded a lesser number of tackles as compare to the Crusaders, which is another positive improvement from them. They expect to repeat the same at Durban.
Sharks must shift their focus away from injuries towards getting their basics right ,particularly when they’ll be expecting a similar sort of opposition to the crusaders. The Stormers too have big mid field players with a powerful and physical pack that can play tight offensive rugby.
Sharks might be without some of their key players that would hold an advantage over the season unbeaten Stormers who are looking for their 1st win in six years at Kings Park.
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