Super 14 | March 5th, 2008
Blues captain Troy Flavell believes his team have had the perfect preparation to gain revenge over the Sharks.
The Sharks beat the Blues twice last season, in Albany and at home in the semi-final, but Flavell thinks their build-up in South Africa has been ideal in reversing these results, especially up-front, where they were dominated home and away last year by the South Africans.
Flavell feels they can take a lot of confidence from the Cheetahs game last week. “It was a good challenge for our forwards especially with regards to our set-piece. It sets us up well leading into the Sharks,” Flavell told rugbyheaven.co.nz.
But at the same time coach David Nucifora was wary of the Sharks display. “It was a typical South African derby where they smashed each other. The Sharks are getting into a rhythm. They have a very well-balanced side and they are going to be very formidable opponent down there [in Durban],” said Nucifora.
The Sharks pack should have more grunt than their Cheetah counterparts, and if Bismarck du Plessis returns they will have an all-Springbok front-row to counter Tony Woodcock, Kevin Mealamu and John Afoa.
But the Blues confidence does not lie solely in their pack’s progression - the team has scored seven tries in each of their last two games, and 18 in the season so far.
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