Vodacom Super Rugby | Brumbies vs Cell C Sharks
The Cell C Sharks and Brumbies go head-to-head in Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby round two Canberra clash with both attributing great meaning to the outcome of the game.
Both suffered narrow defeats in last week’s opening round of matches, both have a case to argue that they could have been on the right side of the result, and both will clearly come out guns blazing, determined to make a statement.
The two teams have not seen much of each other in recent years. Last year, the Cell C Sharks played only New Zealand opposition meaning there was no fixture with the Australian two-time champions (2001 and 2004).
In 2015, with the way the tournament was structured, we played four New Zealand and four Australian teams and managed to miss the Brumbies (and the Blues).
This year, we play the Australian teams rather than Kiwi teams, with next week’s first home clash, against the Waratahs, the third straight game against Australian opposition.
Which brings us to recent history between the Cell C Sharks and Brumbies.
The last meeting took place at GIO Stadium, Canberra (where they play on Saturday morning), in 2014, a close game that was decided by a converted try, with the Brumbies taking it 16-9.
Four players remain in the present team that were involved in that match. Tendai Mtawarira, Stephan Lewies, Cobus Reinach and Lwazi Mvovo did duty for our team that day and will recall the local conditions and hostile environment.
But for the rest of the team, there is no history to worry about, no good or bad memories to influence their focus and right now the only point of consideration is to play to our strengths.
Along with that are two areas that were mentioned this week: to minimise individual errors and cut down on any unnecessary indiscipline.
Head coach Robert du Preez admitted that small individual errors proved costly, and felt that the penalty count against his team was a little too high.
These will have been focal areas during the week’s training in the lead-up to this critical match. Points are on offer and no team is unbeatable. The competition is still in the early stages of the 2017 edition and a good performance from the Cell C Sharks will put us right back in the fight.
In last week’s clash with the Reds, early pressure against a team that enjoyed the lion’s share of ball possession led to a try that allowed our team to take the lead, one we would hold for most of the match.
Against the Brumbies this week, clearly the focus will be on applying the pressure once more, taking advantage of any slip-ups by the opposition whilst under pressure, and maintaining concentration during the course of the game to ensure the best possible chance of returning to Durban on a high, ahead of the Waratahs’ visit to Growthpoint KINGS PARK.
Saturday’s match against the Brumbies kicks off at 10.45am, South African time.
Team announcement:
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Replacements
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