Jake White challenges Sharks to bounce back to form in clash with Rebels

THE Rebels have been put on notice by the Sharks with coach Jake White demanding his team atone for a shock loss to the Highlanders.

Jake White says the Sharks must bounce back against the Rebels.

THE Melbourne Rebels have been put on notice by the Sharks with coach Jake White demanding his star-studded team atone for a shock loss to the Highlanders.

Operating in Australia for the first time since resigning from the ACT Brumbies, White has challenged the Sharks to return to peak form against at AAMI Park on Friday night.

The competition leaders fell to a surprise 34-18 defeat to the Highlanders, slicing their advantage at the top to only one point over the Brumbies.

“This Rebels game becomes the most important game for us,” White said.

“We want to bounce back. It doesn’t matter who it is, it’s not the Rebels we’re targeting.

“When we lost to the Bulls, we won the next game against the Waratahs.

“This week we need to make sure that regardless of who we’re playing, we need to be better than we were last week to get a result.

“We must remember that although we beat them comfortably (64-7) last year in Durban, we’re playing them in Melbourne. They are a good team playing at home

“They’ve picked up some good wins this year, they beat the Brumbies in Melbourne. That tells you they can play.

“We want to get our tour off to a good start and take ­momentum through the tour and in order to do that we need to get a win in the first game.”

White welcomes back captain Bismarck du Plessis to an all-Springbok front row after the hooker recovered from neck soreness.

Bismarck du Plessis is back for the Sharks.

The Sharks’ hulking pack is only one facet of the puzzle as Rebels coach Tony McGahan demands his young team turn narrow defeats into victories.

“We’ve got really good attributes but this second half of the competition, we want to turn some of those close losses into wins to make a difference,” McGahan said.

“The Sharks will give us a really thorough examination about what we do well and what we don’t.

“They have a ­really clear identity about what they do and how they do it.

“Excellence in maul, excellence in the kicking game, some really strong carriers and really like to boss sides around that breakdown on both sides of the ball.

“That, with an exceptional scrum, makes them a really dangerous side.

“The good thing is that they know what they do well and they play it out each week and that’s put them at the top of the table.”

Melbourne is without injured prop Toby Smith, who has been replaced by Cruze Ah-Nau at loose-head, while scrumhalf Luke Burgess has returned to the starting side.

McGahan wants his underdogs to be smart and hang on to the ball.

“You need to make sure that you get some phases — you don’t want to be tackling them all day,” he said.

“I think at the breakdown, you need to be getting them on the ground. Big side, they like to boss that breakdown and stay on their feet.”