Bulls not fooled by Sharks’ shaky start to Currie Cup campaign

Bulls coach Phiwe Nomlomo has insisted that they won’t underestimate the Sharks ahead of this weekend’s Currie Cup clash, despite the defending champions’ 46-5 mauling by the Lions last weekend.

The Bulls are riding high after their away 48-23 Currie Cup win over Western Province. The Sharks, on the other hand, fielded a young, inexperienced side as they kicked off their title defence in Johannesburg.

“I think they had a couple of guys who couldn’t play last week, for whatever reason. Some of the older players we’re more accustomed to seeing, like Corne Rall, Tino Mavusere, maybe a guy like Dian Blueler will get a start,” Nomlomo said in an online media conference yesterday.

“I think what we might see is a restructuring of their team this week, and without a doubt, everyone will probably be 10% better this week. We’ve had the hit-out, we can expect stuff now. It’s going to be a tough game.”

Nomlomo feels that last weekend’s match was not a true reflection of the coastal side.

“People mustn’t get into false hope that the Sharks are this and that. It’s still a damn good team. They won the cup last year, again with youngsters initially, so we do appreciate that these guys can play, so don’t be fooled by that result last week.”

Nomlomo was pleased with the Bulls forwards’ dominance and the way they protected their try line in their win over Western Province. But he feels there is room for improvement on Saturday.  

Despite only conceding two tries against Province, Nomlomo feels that the Bulls need to be more miserly in defence. 

“I definitely would love to work a bit harder on that,” he said. “We conceded two tries, so I know it sounds weird, but they were soft tries. We don’t want to allow people in just softly. 

“We’re protecting the try line incredibly well when they get entries, so that’s something that’s going to be a massive focus on the weekend.”

The kick receipt is another troubling area for the Pretoria outfit. 

“It’s something we obviously have to sort out this week and make sure we’re as prepared as we possibly can be for this weekend,” Nomlomo said.

Kickoff on Saturday is at 3pm.