Mick Heenan has put his leaders on notice to provide the discipline and decision making required to turn the Bull Sharks' season around against Sunnybank on Saturday.
Rugby returns to The Canal for round 7 of the QPR with Colts 1 and the Premier Women looking to build on their strong form while the Premier Men enter a four week block that will define their season.
Bull Sharks v Sunnybank
Premier Men
Last time they met
Rd 10, 2024 at Sunnybank.
Bull Sharks won 41-33
We shot out to an early 19-0 lead, and we also started the second half well which allowed us to get out to a 31-12 lead. Those two periods ended up being important in the context of the game because when Sunnybank exerted some dominance over us for a 20-minute period in the second half, that buffer was important. The last 10 minutes were more interesting than they needed to be, but we were good enough to score a couple more tries to seal the result.
The opposition
Sunnybank have hit a bit of form lately. They are a big physical team who have improved a lot through the season and got their first win a couple of weeks ago against Norths and had a close game against Wests last week.
The challenge
We have been trying to play options that we have never practised. We just have to stay calm. They are going to be tough, and we have got to hang on. We seem to be doing everything we can not to win games and Sunnybank are good enough to take advantage of that.
On notice
Our leaders did not perform and I have put the acid on them this week.
The final word
We have a got a bank of four games where we will play teams that are around us on the ladder, so they are like double point games. So it is a really important period coming up.
With Mick Heenan
Colts 1
Last time they met
Rd 10,2024
Bull Sharks won 19-7
Defence was really strong and accurate. There were very few penalties on defence which was something we worked on during the week and we gave only 7points. The set piece was strong especially the scrum and we feel we should have been rewarded more for being dominant. Our reinforcements off the bench provided great impact.
The opposition
They are a really solid team, they have a lot of speed and power in their backline, and they play a very physical, dominant game. They ae very confrontational as well so we have to be switched on to match their physicality
The focus
We want to tidy up our lineout, we can be better with our lineout ball and we’re also working on a better kicking game strategy.
Shuffling the magnets
Rocco Gollings will be back for his first game of the year. Fergus Gillan is in some doubt with a groin injury and that could create an opportunity for Charlie Lui to get his first chance in Colts 1.
The final word
We have won three games in a row and have moved into the top four for the first time this season. We really need to consolidate our position against a very capable Sunnybank side.
With Grant Anderson
Premier Women
Bull Sharks v Sunnybank Gold
The opposition
We haven’t played their second side before, but I have watched them play and they are a young team that are full of enthusiasm. l
The focus
We are starting to roll out our number one team to get some continuity around our combinations before the Hospital Cup starts. So we’ll go in with our strongest available lineup and will then make some changes at half time to give some of the younger players we have been developing another opportunity.
With Lawrence Faifua