Durban — The People of KZN have suffered calamities of biblical proportions over the last two years or so and after the latest suffering, the Sharks are hoping to provide some metaphorical sunshine after the rain when they host Irish giants Leinster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.
The Irishmen are ten points clear at the top of the United Rugby Championship and even though they have left some of their star players at home, they will nevertheless provide the Sharks with their sternest opposition of the year and their star quality gives the Sharks a great opportunity to shine for their fans.
The in-form No 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, a future Springbok captain if ever I saw one, said as much in an online media conference.
“As a province, we have been through a lot the last week or so. As a squad, we have spoken about this and the wonderful opportunity presented to us to make people happy by expressing ourselves on the field,” the well-spoken 22-year-old said.
"We are going to have a lot of people here — the Sharks are putting on a family fun day with plenty of entertainment pre and post the match — it is going to be an awesome day to be a Sharks rugby supporter and what has happened (the flooding) is extra motivation for us to make our people happy by playing some amazing rugby against a top team.”
Leinster has left a host of Ireland internationals in Dublin to prepare for the European Champions Cup but they pride themselves on their quality depth and Buthelezi points out that there is no such thing as a weak Leinster team.
“We know that it will still be a very good Leinster side and they still have ten Ireland internationals coming to us. Nothing changes on our side — we know how tough this game is going to be with or without their full complement of internationals.”
The Sharks go into the game on a roll after strong performances against the Dragons and Lions but Buthelezi says they were also pretty good in their defeat to Edinburgh in atrocious conditions.
“We learned some good lessons against Edinburgh,” he said. “We actually played quite well but were not patient in their 22 and not careful enough given the conditions. What was so good about the Lions game is that we had the same conditions as the loss to Edinburgh but had a different result because we sorted out our finishing, and going forward we know how to perform in those conditions.”
Speaking of patience, a hallmark of Leinster’s success is their ability to hold on to the ball for long periods.
“Leinster love to take the ball through the phases and work out the defence,” Buthelezi agreed. “Defensively, we are going to have really stand up on Saturday. But it is also about making sure we play in the right areas of the field. Against the Lions, we got that right thanks to our game drivers at scrumhalf and flyhalf.”
Buthelezi was Man of the Match in that 37-10 victory and such is his form that he is keeping Springbok Sikhumbuzo Notshe out of the starting line-up.
“I am feeling really good about my game,” he admits. “I am fortunate now to have had a number of games under the belt and I am understanding better how things are done at this level.
“Notshe being injured gave me more opportunities in the No 8 jersey and the game time and exposure have been good for me, but the biggest thing for me is to give my all whenever I put on the jersey. The people of KZN are at stake ... Yes we don’t always get it right but there is always the hope that we can make people happy.”
IOL Sport