Sharks geared for finals feast
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:12
Sharks stand-in captain Bradley Barritt, having made a timely return to the midfield after a menacing injury period, reflected on the business end off the Currie Cup season with optimism.
After an impressive Sharks performance against Boland last Friday in wet and torrid conditions, Barritt hardly saw it as a warm-up ahead of one of the toughest clashes of the season this weekend (against the log-leading Blue Bulls).
"There are no warm-up games during the Currie Cup - you have to be on top of your game week in and week out, you've seen a lot of the bigger unions have slipped up this year," Barritt told the Sharks official site.
"We knew that going down there [to Wellington], in their own back yard they would be harder to beat than most teams, so we were very chuffed with the win and it was a good way to go into this week's game against the Bulls."
At the start of the season, it was clear that the Sharks were going to suffer quite emphatically from the Springbok player-drain.
And now, second on the log, they are in a good position and along with the return of the Springboks, have been boosted ahead of the final five pool games.
While the returning Boks will certainly add some firepower, there has to be some credit passed to the youngsters who have played - and excelled - since being given the opportunity to represent the team in the absence of their highly-respected teammates.
"We know that at the Sharks, any player who wears the jersey on any given day will give his heart for the team," Barritt explained.
"Looking at our position, we feel okay but are far from satisfied - our aim this year is to win the Currie Cup so anything short of that will be a failure for us."
Barritt displays the kind of confidence the Sharks need this season. At this stage of the tournament, whilst they may not be favourites, they are certainly considered amongst the front-runners to win the competition and there is no arrogance in aiming for the top prize.
"We are just going to take it week by week and hopefully the results go our way," he added.
The next two weeks are going to be vital for everyone, not just the Sharks chasing a home semifinal, or the Bulls or Cheetahs too for that matter, but also the Lions to remain in the top four.
There is also an under-pressure Western Province side who could miss out altogether for the second consecutive year - though have benefited from a number of returning Springboks which could help turn their season around and see them climb into the top four.
The Sharks face the Blue Bulls and Free State Cheetahs on consecutive weeks - both at home at the Absa Stadium in Durban - knowing that if both the results go their way, it will do wonders for their aspirations.
"It is definitely make or break in terms of securing home finals and semifinals. We really need to win the games heading up to the semis. For us, the aim is to win every game from hereon in, if we can do that, we would have achieved our target.
"Looking at these two weeks, it's two big teams, big rugby days, and we are looking forward to the challenge," Barritt added.
