NEWS S15 Preview: Round 15, Part One; Rugby 365

It doesn't get much better than our opening match of Super Rugby's Round 15 - the Sharks against the Blues.

It is not so much that it is a table-topping team against a desperate side.

It is because the drama that accompanied the Sharks' against-all-odds win in Christchurch - a performance made even more remarkable by the fact that they were down to a man for 63 minutes and down to 13 players for 10 crucial minutes in the final quarter.

For Sharks Director of Rugby the biggest job this week would have been to keep the players grounded, given the emotional high of their historic win - their first-ever victory in Christchurch and that after receiving two cards.

White said the belief his team will take from the Christchurch triumph will be crucial when facing the Blues - one of just two teams with a 100- percent home record this season.

"There was a lot of talk before we left [South Africa] about how hard it is to tour and how South African sides have toured badly," White said.

"There were questions asked why South African sides aren't winning away from home.

"So to come over and beat the Crusaders, after such a drought against them in Christchurch, is massive.

"We are also obviously mindful of the fact that we can't jump the gun. We still have two more games before the June recess and we need to keep the momentum going.

After such a thrilling start we hop across the Tasman Sea for an all-Australian derby - the Rebels versus the Waratahs in Melbourne.

And then there is another big trek, across the Indian Ocean, for another massive game - the Bulls hosting the Brumbies in a replay of last year's semifinal at Loftus Versfeld.

Jan de Koning looks at Friday's game!

Friday, May 23

Blues v Sharks
(North Harbour Stadium, Albany - Kick-off: 19.35; 07.35 GMT; 09.35 SA time)

The Sharks will have struck fear into the hearts of all opposition with their brave effort against the Crusaders last week.

If there was any doubt about their championship potential, that has been removed.

However, the Blues are as desperate this week as the Sharks were last week. It is simply a must-win for the Blues if they are to keep their hopes of making the play-offs alive.

The big question for John Kirwan's charges is whether they can take their Eden Park form (where they haven't won this year) to Albany?

"We all know [Sharks coach] Jake White very well and he plays a great brand of football as far as strangling the opposition goes and really making you work hard for every yard - so we're expecting that," Kirwan said.

"You also couple that with eight or nine Springboks in the side, so they're not at the top of the [global] conference for no reason.

"I think last week was a pretty awesome effort against the Crusaders, they'd be proud of that so we're going to have to be on top of our game."
 
The Sharks boss, White, admitted they will have to be more inventive than last week, when bravery on defence was rewarded with a historic win.

"We are going to have to defend well," White said, adding: "However, I don't think they will kick as much as the Crusaders did.

"The Blues will definitely try run it back and they've got some dangerous outside backs.

In saying that, we need to make sure that the rest of our game is good enough as well, we can't rely on defence only."

The Sharks' Director of Rugby felt his team also showed they can score tries, despite ongoing criticism of his team's tactics.

"To put it in perspective, the Crusaders had scored nearly 100 points in the two matches before we met and they scored just one try against us," White said.

"However, the positives are that we scored three tries [against the Crusaders] and there is a massive vibe in the team now.

"We need to take that forward into the next couple of weeks."