The Sharks just came back from their successful tour of Australasia where won 3/4 games and now ready themselves for a stiff test against the Jaguares.
The side from Buenos Aries are known for their physicality that is carried by their forward pack. Sharks coach Sean Everitt is aware of the treat possessed by their weekends opponents.
"It is going to be a great challenge for us, I think we have been criticised over the last five games; our set piece has not performed as well as it should. I think there was a big improvement against the Reds on the weekend. We know the Jaguares pack it is; it is a test pack and we look forward to the challenge," said Everitt.
The one play aspect the side from Argentina thrive on is their mauling, Everitt says his side has some tricks on their hands to counter the the Jaguares.
"The Jaguares so far in the games they have played, have used their maul effectively. They came back from a big deficit against the Reds to win the game, I think they scored three tries from the maul in the second half, so we know that is a threat.
We too defended the mauls against the Reds extremely well, probably one of the reasons why we won the game, because we gave away so many penalties, we put ourselves against the pump. So our guys have improved in that area as well, we had two mauls against the Reds where we mauled them more than 20 metres. It will be an interesting tussle and we have some tricks up our sleeves," said Everitt.
The major factor for the successful tour the Sharks had was the impact of the fringe players who benefited from the team rotation. Throughout the tour the Sharks rested first choice players enabling them to field a strong team for this weekend.
"Before we went on tour, we planned to give each guy game time. We gained a lot, there were guys who filled in for players that were first choice at the start of the season; they really did well. I am talking about guys like Henco Venter, Dillan Richardson, who performed admirably. We had to rest Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi and the guys that covered for them did well. What we have achieved is that we have grown the squad, we have grown confidence on the players that are on the fringes. In sometime this season we will have injuries and these guys will be able to step up," added Everitt.
One of the player who stepped up when a key player got injured was Madosh Tambwe who came in for S'bu Nkosi who left the tour due to injury. Tambwe contributed with key performances and nabbing a handful of tries along the way. Everitt though is excited about having the Springboks winger back.
"Madosh Tambwe filled in really well for S'bu Nkosi, it is unfortunate that he has to drop. S'bu is fresh, he has been at home for a while now, he's dying to be on the field. He has brought in energy which is what the team needed," said Everitt.
The Sharks are playing some great rugby but the two conference games against the Jaguares this weekend and the Stormers next week will test the young teams character.
Shark teams
1. Ox Nche
2. Kerron van Vuuren
3. Thomas du Toit
4. Ruben van Heerden
5. Hyron Andrews
6. James Venter
7. Tyler Paul
8. Sikumbuzo Notshe
9. Louis Schreuder
10. Curwin Bosch
11. Makazole Mapimpi
12. Andre Esterhuizen
13. Lukhanyo Am (c)
14. Sbu Nkosi
15. Aphelele Fassi
Replacements
16. Craig Burden
17. Juan Schoeman
18. John-Hubert Meyer
19. Le Roux Roets
20. Henco Venter
21. Sanele Nohamba
22. Jeremy Ward
23. Madosh Tambwe
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