Sharks coach JP Pietersen says his side must be “very awake” at the Arms Park on Friday night, as they take on a fully-loaded Cardiff side.
Pietersen has studied the Welsh side’s selection closely and says they have threats in the starting lineup and on the bench.
“You can see [Cardiff coach] Corniel [van Zyl] is quite serious about the game,” Pietersen told the media on Thursday.
“It’s home [for them] and home games are a must-win in the URC and obviously we understand how difficult it is to win away from home,” Pietersen said. “I see Scott Sio is back – he was injured and just got back now – and I see they put Callum Sheedy on the bench and it looks like when the game turns out, he’ll be the one they look to to control and dictate the game.”
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There are also familiar faces for the Sharks to deal with.
“Then obviously they’ve got Johan Mulder at nine – a very good scrumhalf who we know from his Griquas days – and Le Roux Malan in the midfield, who probably knows a lot about us,” Pietersen said.
“We need to be very awake and at our best because it’ll probably be a set-piece and kicking game challenge.”
Pietersen has made nine changes to his starting XV after last week’s 40-33 win against Lyon, and he explained that the workload from that match was a major factor in the rotation.
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“With the game we had against Lyon, we went to 82 minutes and it was the most ball-in-play we had. I think it was about 37 minutes, so it did push the boys past their barriers physically.
“So it’s a good time to bring some fresh bodies in, and obviously there were a couple of injuries from the last game so those were changes that had to be made.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The post Pietersen sounds Cardiff warning appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Sharks coach JP Pietersen says his side must be “very awake” at the Arms Park on Friday night, as they take on a fully-loaded Cardiff side.
The post Pietersen sounds Cardiff warning appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
