Etzebeth calling for Sharks forwards to step up
As the Hollywoodbets Sharks chase a second win in the
Vodacom United Rugby Championship this weekend against Ulster, star Eben
Etzebeth has called on the forward pack to make a significant impact.
It’s been a URC campaign to forget for John Plumtree’s side who sit at the foot of the URC table after eleven rounds, however a win this weekend against an embattled Ulster side could see them jump off the bottom rung.
Four points separate the bottom four of the table so there is a big opportunity for the Sharks to make a move this weekend, and for Etzebeth it’s going to start with the front eight.
“As forwards we have a big job and responsibility to step up in the physicality department,” Etzebeth said.
“We haven’t been great so far at the set-piece and as South Africans we love that battle and I think we’re letting ourselves down at the moment.
“We’re also letting down the Sharks fans so I think we can definitely be more physical this weekend.”
The Sharks will welcome back their Springboks this weekend and we can look forward to a potential debut of Springbok prop Vincent Koch. For the SA Rugby Player of the Year Etzebeth, it will be a big boost for the Sharks.
“This will probably be the strongest 23 that we can pick so far this season and it will be a boost to have everyone back.
“It’s easy to say we will be better having big names back, but we have to go out there and produce on the field on Saturday,” Etzebeth added.
Given the stop-start nature of the season, the Sharks have battled to get momentum going and for Etzebeth getting a win this weekend will go along way to getting the Sharks some impetus.
“You only get momentum if you win so our first priority is getting a win this weekend against Ulster.
“Hopefully from there we can gather some momentum. The three home games in a row now will hopefully work for us, but we can’t look past this weekend’s game against UIster,” he explained.
