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United Rugby Championship: Sharks quietly confident ahead of Lions clash says Phepsi Buthelezi

Sharks number eight Phepsi Buthelezi has revealed that the team is in a confident mood ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter against the Lions in Durban on Friday.

After hitting rock bottom courtesy of a 35-0 defeat to Cardiff last month, the Sharks parted ways with their head coach Sean Everritt with director of rugby Neil Powell taking over the coaching reins until the end of the 2022/23 season.

And after winning their next three matches – against the Ospreys in the URC as well as Harlequins and Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup – Buthelezi believes they have turned the corner.

Good mood in the camp

“We’re in a really good place at the moment to be honest, we’ve enjoyed a good run having won three games in a row and the mood in the camp is really high,” he told the Sharks’ official website.

Despite their fine form, the Sharks had to dig deep as all three those matches were difficult challenges. The Bordeaux encounter was particularly difficult as they had to travel to France and faced their opponents in freezing conditions.

“I’m not going to lie, the travel has been really tough, but it’s something we’ve embraced,” said Buthelezi. “We’ve really shown our true South African fighting spirit and we’ve really enjoyed spending time with one another and how well we recover is something we’ve put a big focus on.”

The 23-year-old said the Durban-based outfit have placed a higher emphasis on their preparations for matches which has helped with their improvement.

“The biggest thing has been our process during the week,” he explained. “It’s something we looked at in terms of how we prepare for games physically, mentally and emotionally and it’s something we’ve paid a lot of attention to.

“We feel it’s given us the kind of performances that delivered the results and which we’re striving towards.”

With the URC back in the spotlight, the Sharks will be aiming to retain the same focus, ambitions and personnel.

“We’ve really addressed those areas and while we’re playing in a different competition on Friday, it’s still the same squad and we are going to carry that momentum through,” added Buthelezi.

“If you look at the URC log at the moment, we’re not where we want to be, so that’s something we definitely want to change,” he admits. “We’re really targeting this game and the next few; we want to put our hands up and get to where we want to be, not only in terms of the log but building some consistency, especially in the URC.

“We feel that we have been very inconsistent where we’ve put in some good performances and then some really poor ones, and that’s something we’ve addressed over the past couple of weeks and it’s something we feel we’re getting right.”

They face a difficult assignment on Friday against the Lions, who are unbeaten since the start of December, after winning three and drawing one of their four URC and Challenge Cup fixtures.

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Wary of the Lions

“We know that it’s going to be a typical South African derby, very physical, and it means a lot to both teams,” said Buthelezi. “Yes, you want to beat the overseas teams but you also really want to win your local games. The Lions are on a good run at the moment so they’re a team that’s also on the up and up.

“For us, it’s about focusing on what we have to bring to the game. We feel that as a team and a whole squad, we haven’t really shown the world and especially South Africa what we can really do.

“So we want to really go out there on Friday and make our fans proud as well as everyone else that’s rooting for us.

“We’re in a good place and looking forward to the game.”