Gold wary of Jaguares piercing shark tank
by Khanyiso Tshwaku,
2016-03-04 05:00:00.0
THE notice served by Argentina last year at King’s Park looms large in Gary Gold’s mind.
That seismic moment in South African rugby seems to have changed the way Argentine rugby has been viewed around the world.
Generally seen as a scrumming nation, their radical transformation into an all-round team has given South African coaches more to think about.
The Sharks director of rugby knows the Jaguares may not have the bristling armoury that sunk the Boks last year. However, their improved rugby intelligence has required Gold to approach tomorrow’s Super Rugby clash with the Jaguares with a Test-match mentality.
"We’re preparing for this game in the fashion of a Test match and the last thing you want to do is to get into a rope-a-dope with these guys. You need to offer them the respect they deserve because if you don’t, they’ll run you off your feet. They’ve brought in the Argentinian way of playing and we’ve seen how dangerous they can be. We’ll have to play in the right areas of the field and ensure they don’t camp for too long in our 22. The dam wall will break if you allow them to do that."
Wholesale changes have been avoided by Gold with Stephan Lewies and JP Pietersen replacing Hyron Andrews and Lwazi Mvovo in the starting XV that did duty against the Southern Kings.
The latter has an ankle injury and the former drops to the bench at the expense of Australian lock Dave McDuling.
While the Jaguares scrum was caught cold by a strong Cheetahs set-piece last week, Sharks captain Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira knows better than to underestimate the Jaguares.
"It’s something that we’ve spoken about since Monday and it’s all about getting into the right mind-set," he said.
Picture: THINKSTOCK
THE notice served by Argentina last year at King’s Park looms large in Gary Gold’s mind.
That seismic moment in South African rugby seems to have changed the way Argentine rugby has been viewed around the world.
Generally seen as a scrumming nation, their radical transformation into an all-round team has given South African coaches more to think about.
The Sharks director of rugby knows the Jaguares may not have the bristling armoury that sunk the Boks last year. However, their improved rugby intelligence has required Gold to approach tomorrow’s Super Rugby clash with the Jaguares with a Test-match mentality.
"We’re preparing for this game in the fashion of a Test match and the last thing you want to do is to get into a rope-a-dope with these guys. You need to offer them the respect they deserve because if you don’t, they’ll run you off your feet. They’ve brought in the Argentinian way of playing and we’ve seen how dangerous they can be. We’ll have to play in the right areas of the field and ensure they don’t camp for too long in our 22. The dam wall will break if you allow them to do that."
Wholesale changes have been avoided by Gold with Stephan Lewies and JP Pietersen replacing Hyron Andrews and Lwazi Mvovo in the starting XV that did duty against the Southern Kings.
The latter has an ankle injury and the former drops to the bench at the expense of Australian lock Dave McDuling.
While the Jaguares scrum was caught cold by a strong Cheetahs set-piece last week, Sharks captain Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira knows better than to underestimate the Jaguares.
"It’s something that we’ve spoken about since Monday and it’s all about getting into the right mind-set," he said.
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