- Sharks coach Sean Everitt says the Currie Cup final against the Bulls is a thing of the past.
- The sides met in an epic final earlier this year and the Bulls recorded a 26-19 win.
- Everitt adds they need to reduce the number of penalties they are conceding.
Sharks coach Sean Everitt said they don't have revenge on their minds ahead of Saturday's PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA clash against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
The Bulls and the Sharks engaged in an epic final earlier this year that the former won 26-19 after extra time to record their first Currie Cup success since 2009.
Instead, Everitt said the Sharks gained more confidence from that game even though they were on the wrong side of the result.
"We don't look at it that way. Every game against the Bulls is a competitive and physical one, so we don't expect anything different," Everitt said.
"What that Bulls game did was it gave us the confidence of knowing we could go to altitude and perform for a long period of time.
"The Currie Cup final is gone, and no one thinks about the past when you play a game of this stature."
One of the positives the Sharks gleaned from that game and Everitt hopes will be taken into Saturday's game was the parity they managed in the forward battle.
In the Super Fan Saturday game and Super Rugby Unlocked, the Sharks were properly outmuscled by the Bulls.
However, Everitt said his charges became better for those chastening experiences and trusts them to take the fight to the Bulls.
"When we got to the final, our lineout and scrum was spot-on and we even earned some scrum penalties," Everitt said.
"Our set-piece has grown a lot and the guys have become better at what they did. We know we can handle the Bulls' tight-five and I have faith that our individuals can come out right in that department."
The Sharks' penalty count remains a problem and it is something that concerns Everitt.
However, he said it was a by-product of their over-eagerness to get the game going quickly and it's impacting how they want to play the game.
"It is the penalty count that makes it look like we've taken the foot off the pedal," Everitt said.
"Just after half-time when we wanted to put the nail in the coffin against the Lions, we conceded five penalties and two yellow cards.
"When you concede more penalties after those five, and we conceded 11 in the second half, it becomes a stop-start affair, and as a team, we want to play quick rugby."
Kick-off for Saturday's clash is scheduled for 18:15.
Teams:
Bulls
TBA
Sharks
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Werner Kok