Sharks coach John Plumtree and Co will focus on getting the side to gel better ahead of their URC clash against Ulster this weekend. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
The Sharks will be hoping to build on the weekend’s smash-and-grab 18-17 win over Edinburgh when they face Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday.
The Springbok-laden Sharks were kept on the back foot in the Scottish capital. They had to rely on a sterling defensive effort to keep them in the contest until the dying seconds. That’s when Makazole Mapimpi popped up to bag the winning try, sending the Durbanites into raptures.
It also left them firmly entrenched in fourth place in the table on 49 points as the race for the play-offs intensifies.
Makazole Mapimpi scored the last-second try to help Sharks to an 18-17 victory at Edinburgh. They next take on Ulster on Saturday.
Image: AFP
Ulster, for their part, are down in 10th place with 37 points, just three points above the play-off places. The Irish side will be determined to win their last home game of the regular season, before they face tricky away fixtures against Munster and Edinburgh.
The will do so without the services of Michael Lowry (neck and concussion) and Stewart Moore (concussion), who were both injured during their defeat at Leinster this past weekend. Stuart McCloskey (groin), Rob Herring (calf), Callum Reid (knee),and John Cooney (ankle) are all injury doubts for this weekend's clash as well.
The match also promises to be one filled with emotion for the home fans. It will be the final home farewell at the stadium in Belfast for eight senior men’s players who are leaving at the end of the season, as part of Richie Murphy’s rebuild.
Corrie Barrett, John Cooney, Reuben Crothers, Michael McDonald, Alan O’Connor, Matty Rea, Kieran Treadwell, and Andrew Warwick will all bring down the curtain on their time at Ulster. Of those, O’Connor has 210 caps for the team, while fellow veteran Warwick has 209.
They will be determined to ensure that their final match is a memorable one for home fans, and a miserable one for Sharks supporters.
The Durbanites will have had one more week for the Springbok stars to bed into the team, increasing their chances of another win. But it will require another monster effort in a potentially charged up atmosphere.
Should the Sharks fail to make it two wins in a row on tour, they have the luxury of home games against Ospreys on May 9 and Scarlets the following weekend to look forward to.
