Springbok center and Sharks skipper Lukhanyo Am is looking for a team that can build confidence from a strong showing in the Challenge Cup and translate that into the United Rugby Championship.
It has been a horrendous season for the URC, with the last-place Sharks having only won one of nine games, a poor record considering the team’s firepower. There are some positives as the Durbanites come out on top in the Challenge Cup.
After a short break from competition, URC returns with a derby-packed Origin round, with the Sharks hosting the Stormers in the South African Coastal Derby.
hope is there
Amu is keen to take advantage of the Challenge Cup format to improve his results at URC and believes there is still a lot more on his side.
“Unfortunately we’ve fallen behind in the league, but I’m really happy with where we are at the moment,” Am said. “I think the Challenge Cup can definitely start the season. Our confidence is growing more and more.
“We haven’t done very well in the URC, but we were able to almost zoom in for the Challenge Cup. It was a new competition and a new focus.
“Our energy for it was huge. We’ve made it our goal and we want to go all the way. We’re going to have a lot of confidence in our performance in that competition.
“There is definitely hope for the future. We are seeing significant improvement. Even in the league games when things didn’t go as planned, we performed well. We just didn’t get the results.
“Now it’s starting to settle in, it’s starting to translate, it’s starting to grow as a team. That’s really good for us. Hopefully we can keep piling more wins under our belt.” think.”
shark festival
The Durban side went all out for the Stormers’ game with a ‘Sharks Fest’ which included rugby-related concerts. Am is hoping for a classic derby at home.
“Welcoming the Stormers at home will be a huge deal for us. We’re really looking forward to it,” Am said. “There’s going to be a big crowd for that. All derby games in South Africa are very big.”
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