{"id":137739,"date":"2019-05-22T08:34:08","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T06:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/big-challenge-looms-featured-durban-blog\/"},"modified":"2019-05-22T08:34:08","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T06:34:08","slug":"big-challenge-looms-featured-durban-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/big-challenge-looms-featured-durban-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Challenge Looms \u2013 Featured Durban Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big Challenge Looms<\/a>: <\/p>\n

The Cell C Sharks have enjoyed a week\u2019s break following the second and final bye as the team now look to close out the final stages of the regular season looking to secure a place in the knockouts.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We will host the Emirates Lions at JONSSON KINGS PARK this Saturday in the final month of the pool stages but will be without the services of a few players who have minor niggles that will keep them out of action for the next week or two.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Team doctor, Dr Gerhard Coetzer, has confirmed that front rowers Akker van der Merwe (shoulder injury), Beast Mtawarira (MCL injury \u2013 Left knee) and Craig Burden (Left bicep tear) as well as wing Lwazi Mvovo (ankle sprain) will return to play in approximately two weeks, while prop Thomas du Toit (also ankle sprain) is doubtful for this match.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The previous encounter between the sides resulted in a 42-5 victory at Emirates Airlines Park in as close to a complete performance as the Cell C Sharks have delivered in some time and while the chances of the Lions getting caught out again like that are slim, there is every reason to aim for a similarly commanding performance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cell C Sharks assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher admits that the Lions pose a serious challenge, but one the team is up for.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know it\u2019s going to be tough against a quality side that loves playing attacking rugby,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect a physical match, South African derbies always are, but the players are in a good space and took some nice momentum from the tour. We\u2019ll be looking to take that momentum into the next four games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cell C Sharks are in a good place and will look to combine the energy in the team from the return to action to the good work done on tour \u2013 both on and off the field.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLike us, the Lions will be preparing as well as they can for this game but we will also be looking to build on the momentum we gained out of the tour, there\u2019s a good spirit within the team and the players came back from the bye with lots of energy. The vibe in the camp is great at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Lions had to work hard, but eventually saw off the visiting Highlanders on the weekend, a 38-29 victory securing a hard-earned result and a warning that they are a competitive side.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of points scored in that match, we know that\u2019s how they prefer to play, so we expect them to come to Durban<\/a> with that same attacking DNA,\u201d Loubscher explains. \u201cBoth teams love to play ball-in-hand rugby and it\u2019s about who is clinical on the day, who takes their opportunities. But it\u2019s going to take an 80-minute effort from us<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom our side, it\u2019s all about making sure we prepare and prepare well. Our focus is to bring lots of energy to this week\u2019s preparations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both teams come into this game in a good headspace and confidence. The Cell C Sharks had a good tour while the Lions have won their last two matches which bodes well for the makings of an exciting clash between the two foes.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be an exciting challenge, the players and coaching staff can\u2019t wait for Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

With four games remaining (two home and two away) in a tightly contested South African Conference, there are just six points separating the five teams and no clear favourite to win the conference.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we don\u2019t see this as a must-win time in our campaign, it\u2019s really about enjoyment, about going out there and playing for your team-mates and the guy next to you.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to come down to the bounce of the ball \u2013 hopefully in our favour \u2013 and we know it\u2019s going to be tough. It\u2019s also about taking your opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Big Challenge Looms<\/a> appeared first on Sharks Rugby<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fill in the form below to have your blog featured on MyDurban \u2013 we will post a snippet and title link to your new blog posts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Submit and get free press releases here:<\/strong> MyPR Free Press Release<\/a> | Meet the Durban Bloggers<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Big Challenge Looms: The Cell C Sharks have enjoyed a week\u2019s break following the second and final bye as the team now look to close out the final stages of the regular season looking to secure a place in the knockouts. \u00a0 We will host the Emirates Lions at JONSSON KINGS PARK this Saturday in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18],"tags":[8275,3335,953],"class_list":{"0":"post-137739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-durban","7":"tag-durban","8":"tag-mydurban-co-za","9":"tag-newspaper","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137739\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}