Du Preez wants his Sharks to become Boks
Cell C Sharks Currie Cup coach Robert du Preez wants to provide a platform for his players to become Springboks in the future.
Du Preez’s charges have had a successful start to the season with two wins from two games. They now turn their attention to their third clash against Boland this coming Friday – their final step before they face the bigger Unions in this year’s Currie Cup.
The Sharks early success is directly attributable to their forward pack – which has enjoyed continuity from Super Rugby. They’ve had the ascendancy in both of their early season clashes and Du Preez admitted that it has made life far easier.
“Our forward pack in the first two games has really been good. Scrums and lineouts were outstanding. We’ve been blessed to have those guys for the Currie Cup. When we face the likes of the Bulls in two weeks’ time, we want to be hitting our straps,” the coach said on Tuesday.
“The backline is young, especially at 10 and 15 but they are talented players and they just need to get experience under their belts.”
Bar the absence of Beast Mtawarira, Coenie Oosthuizen and Lourens Adriaanse, the Sharks pack remains unchanged from Super Rugby. Even with a couple of injuries, the continuity from the Southern Hemisphere competition is apparent.
“I think we have a healthy situation when it comes to our forwards. Obviously a guy like Lourens is now with the Boks, which I think is fantastic. For me it’s really important that not just the forwards but the whole teams performs so well that they can be in reckoning for higher honours for the Springboks – that is our ultimate aim.”
The Sharks have an advantage in that they have kept hold of most of their charges, with only a handful of players training with the Springboks ahead of the Rugby Championship. Du Preez believes that time spent together will help build a bond in the squad and lay a platform for how they intend to play in 2017.
“First and foremost is the way we want to play, it’s really important that we sort that out. We need to have a well balanced approach between defence and attack and the transition between the two. It’s important that we sort out the brand of rugby that we play at the Sharks and the Currie Cup will hopefully give us the opportunity to do that.”
The Sharks face the Boland Kavaliers at 15h00 on Friday.
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