Many will be sceptical, but Sharks No 8 Phepsi Buthelezi says next Saturday’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Clermont Auvergne has not been discussed in the build-up to tomorrow night’s United Rugby Championship match against the Scarlets (8.35pm kick-off, SA time).
It is a fixture at the Parc y Scarlets stadium in Llanelli that has no consequence for the URC log (the Sharks are 13th and the Scarlets 14th), but next week in London, the Durbanites have a massive opportunity to win through to the final of a European tournament.
The Sharks need to take momentum and form into that game, but maybe Buthelezi has a point when he says that they cannot afford to take their eyes off what is directly in front of them.
If they lose to the Scarlets, it would be a disaster for team morale.
“We have our eyes fully on the Scarlets … There is no talk of the Cup,” he said.
“The last time we played here (11 months ago), we lost (32-20) at this same stadium. We remember how difficult it was.
“They have some tough old hands in their pack, like (Tonga internationals) Sam Lousi and Vaea Fifita, a good talent in Taine Plumtree (Sharks coach John Plumtree’s son), and in the backs, Sam Costelow has a great boot.”
Costelow is the current Wales flyhalf and in that last game that Buthelezi is talking about, he kicked 22 points. He is an ace goal kicker, and seldom misses on his home ground, where he knows the conditions intimately.
Last week, the Scarlets were leading Edinburgh at half-time in the Scottish capital before a second-half slide led to a 43-18 defeat.
“We would never underestimate them,” Buthelezi said. “They are getting our full attention. Our only focus is on performing well against these guys and executing our game plan efficiently. They will be determined to put another one over us.
“Also, we want to finish as high as we can in the URC because some of our performances early in the competition were not up to standard.”
Naturally, Buthelezi was asked about the likelihood that he would be marking coach Plumtree’s son, but he met the question with a straight bat.
“When we go into a game, it is never with a pre-discussion about marking certain individuals,” he said diplomatically.
“We don’t put one of our guys on a certain opposition player. It is the 15 on the field doing what is required at the time to get on top of the opposition as a whole.”
Last week, an experimental Sharks team lost 21-10 with honour to a full-strength Glasgow Warriors side. The Sharks group contained several fringe players, and they outscored Glasgow in the second half.
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“The past couple of weeks have been very positive for us,” Buthelezi said. “When you start getting the results, it makes life easier.
“The belief has grown among the group, but we understand we have not won any silverware. We want to improve game by game, and grow into a Sharks team that is feared.
“The Glasgow game was positive for us. We ended up a bit unfortunate not to get the result, but it was nice to give other guys a run, and some of them put up their hands up,” the 24-year-old continued.
“Ultimately, we are in a very good space. The last six weeks have been very positive.
“We have had some honest conversations. The leaders have stepped up, and we have become a driven environment. On the field, we are getting solutions on the go.”