Sharks eager for defence to front up in URC clash against defending champs Leinster

The Sharks beat Ospreys last week but let in four tries in their season opener. The Sharks are hoping to produce a better defensive effort when they welcome United Rugby Championship (URC) title holders Leinster to Kings Park in Durban for their clash on Saturday evening (kick-off 6.30pm). It was a strong start to the season for the Sharks last weekend when they brushed aside Ospreys 41-24 for a full house of points. However, their defence wasn’t as sharp as it could have been, as they allowed the visitors to run in four tries, which defence coach Joey Mongalo took personally. “As a defence coach even one try hurts so you can imagine how much four will hurt. They were all the product of four soft moments, so the one thing I can take out of that game is that the system was in place,” explained Mongalo. “When you have a No 9 breaking through space around a ruck that is individual error and not a problem around the system. There were just one or two errors on our side and that cost us. “At the same time, we know that good teams will score tries, so against a team like Leinster you can’t give them (easy) tries. We want to build a defensive culture here at the Sharks. “We want to be known as a team that is hard to score against. We didn’t show that fully last week so we need to sort that out for this week.” Confidence boost The good win over Ospreys will have given a young Sharks team plenty of confidence, which they will take into the match against Leinster. The hosts will be favourites as Leinster are touring South Africa with a weakened team full of youngsters, while they’ve also lost captain Max Deegan and the experienced Harry Byrne to concussion. Despite that the visitors still have a couple of Irish internationals in their side, along with their exciting up-and-coming talent, and Mongalo says the young Sharks players will relish that experience. “What a privilege it is for our youngsters to go up against them. The thing about youth is that sometimes there’s a bit of ignorance. It isn’t always obvious what is coming. Our youngsters could surprise themselves and surprise all of us,” said Mongalo. It is also an important match as the Sharks face a very tough clash against the Stormers in Cape Town next weekend, and they will be eager to head into that game with a couple of good wins under their belt.