The Vodacom Cup kicks off on Friday night and the Sharks XV (formerly known as the Wildebeest) will travel down to Wellington to face the Boland Cavaliers in a tricky away fixture.
Sean Everitt’s team has been building up momentum slowly over the last few weeks, starting off with an internal game against the Sharks Super 14 squad and then following that up with a 40-10 win over Border in a warmup match that saw loose forward Warren Whitely and flyhalf Guy Cronje each score a brace of tries. The team played against an Academy selection in the main curtain raiser to last weekend’s Super 14 game in Durban and again impressed, winning by 40 points to 17.
Trying to piece together what the side is going to look like is a tricky affair. There are some names we can definitely pencil in; those who are in the wider Sharks Super 14 training squad, but have missed out on selection for the tour. Justin Downey will be there, leading the loose forward charge. Craig Burden should be the starting hooker and Joe Snyman must certainly be amongst the locks. Nikolai Blignaut will be in the frame, as always and young Barra Mthethwa and Warren Whiteley are sure to figure prominently as well. The squad listing on SA Rugby includes a few other reasonably familiar names. Props Dave Hawksworth and Wiehann Herbst both played against Pumas earlier in the season, as did utility front ranker Frik Venter. Nolan Clarke and Sabelo Nhlapo are additional lock options, along with big Mike Rhodes, who can also play in the back row. Nicolaas Claasen’s is a name I don’t recognise. He’s apparently also a loose forward, as is Ian Adendorff, although the latter, a Bok sevens player, seems likely to be utilised in the centres this year.
Amongst the backs, Andries Strauss, the forgotten man of Sharks rugby, will get another season of Vodacom Cup under his belt. He’ll be a fixture at inside centre and must surely also be a shoo-in for team captain, given his experience. Len Olivier and Monty Dumond will slug it out over who plays flyahlf and who covers fullback, while Charl McLoed and Neil de Bruyn are the scrumhalf options. Currie Cup wingers Chris Jordaan, Lwazi Mvovo and Wes Bodmer will provide the pace out wide. Again according to SARugby, Carl Bezuidenhout (remember him?) will also be in the mix.
It looks a pretty good squad, with a smattering of real talent to complement the youngsters. Let’s hope the core of the squad remains settled this year and not disrupted by too many Super 14 call-ups. We’ll keep you updated as and when the official lineup is announced
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Good squad..but let’s hope for more impressive results than last season!
@Villie (Comment 1) : would be hard to do worse, let’s be honest
Can anyone explain why Ross has leap frogged over McLoed into the reverse scrum-half birth. I really like what I saw of McLoed and a youngster like Ross would have done well to get a year of Vodacom under his belt.
@Dive Pass (Comment 3) : I have no clue… also mystifies me.
Look, one thing you have to say about Ross… that kid has MASSIVE balls. Got to count for something.
@robdylan (Comment 4) :
True but those Lions forwards were mauling the youngster
@Dive Pass (Comment 3) :
“reverse scrum-half” One of the better Freudian slips in a while.
For what it’s worth I think Cronje is pretty good but he is being blooded to soon IMO.
@Dive Pass (Comment 3) : I guess it’s what Plum and Bashford have seen at close quarters in training.
I’m all for giving a guy a chance no matter what age. I often believe we are too conservative in SA and don’t give guys a go at a young enough age.
Having said that, I have always been impressed with McLeod and haven’t seen enough of Cronje to comment. From all accounts he was very impressive as both a schoolboy and Natal U19′s player.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 6) :
@Dive Pass (Comment 3) :
Was Ross not u/19 still last year?
Every week there are pundets who give their “team” of the week! Here is my muppets of the week:
Muppets of the week:
15. Jantjes
14. Demas
13. Adi
12. Doppies
11. Habana
10. Grant
9. De Bruin?
8. Vito
7. Stegman
6. Clever
5. BEKKER!!
4. BEKKER!!
3. Gerd Muller
2. Britz
1. Moller
@JT-www.rugby-innsbruck.at (Comment 10) :
Damn strong Vodacom Cup team that.
@JT-www.rugby-innsbruck.at (Comment 10) :
Adi?
Dont watch much rugby do you?
@Big Fish (Comment 12) :
He got Bulldozed in defence and one or 2 good things does not make up for a bad game IMO.
JT… I agree with most of them bar Adi and Stegman…
Although Adi did get owned by Fourie… but then most the Sharks did…
@JT-www.rugby-innsbruck.at (Comment 10) : Think you missed round 2 to be honest but never mind.
Is the Vodacom squads out?
Understand WeePee had a outing vs Hamiltons the other day, but no word anywhere about that one.
@PaarlBok (Comment 16) :
I heard WP won that game… think the score was 18-11 or something…
WP apparently didn’t look good at all…
@PaarlBok (Comment 16) :
well if you think so then give us yours…
@JT-www.rugby-innsbruck.at (Comment 18) : Myself a way to positiove person to concentrate on a kak side. I love all of the SA players, maybe the Stormers that just little bit more.
@PaarlBok (Comment 19) :
name and shame IMO
@JT-www.rugby-innsbruck.at (Comment 13) : But it did not have any influence on the game at all, Jacobs just bounced back everytime, Poor Fourie got so frustrated he tried off the ball tactics that surely made him look like a sore loser…IMO the one or two good things (according to you) that Adi did surely had an influence on the match…
@PaarlBok (Comment 19) :
Especially if they come from Paarl né??
@wpw (Comment 22) : Paarl = Boland
Morning gents.
@klempie (Comment 24) : yo dude
@robdylan (Comment 25) : Robster. That reminds me. Would it be okay for us to put an ad up for our supporters group? We have planned a bus trip for the Brumbies game.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 6) : Isn’t conradie a “reverse scrum half”.
Why did I lose points this week? I really want those tickets
@klempie (Comment 26) : sure dude. Mail me
@rahul (Comment 27) : i had to rework some of the fantasy league scores. There was a little bug
@rahul (Comment 27) :
Now if only you lived in Dbn.
@robdylan (Comment 28) : Done.
@Charlie (Comment 23) : Depend on the sport,Rugby All the Top Schools = WeePee , the other sports Boland.
Was on Daljosafat Stadium yesterday with my kids Boland Central U11 cricket practise and cant help wondering about the old Paarl or WeePee league teams of old, specially now ith the problem surrounding the Maori teams.
Man we would pick a good League team like in the old days with all the talent around.
Geuss wishfull thinking with all the poltics in our rugby.
@robdylan (Comment 29) : Sounds dodgy as hell.
@klempie (Comment 33) : dude… you’re a programmer of sorts, right? You would shudder if I told you the details.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 30) : Put my pic up and you will see why I dont live in dbn. Can fly there and back for R700 and still live here
@robdylan (Comment 34) : It’s not even the bug that I take issue with. It’s the blatant cooking of the books to make your score better and then blaming it on a bug.
@PaarlBok (Comment 32) : Jip, but why exception for rugby
@klempie (Comment 36) :
@robdylan (Comment 29) : No problem. Do you sit and go through all the scores every game?
@rahul (Comment 35) :
Your pic isn’t loaded properly so it can’t be shown.
I think you may have loaded to big a picture. if you don’t have software to reduce the size, send it to me and i will do it for you and send it back.
@klempie (Comment 36) :
I think his score actually went down.
MINE went up.
Actually not sure about the score but i did move 2 spots up. 
@KSA Shark © (Comment 40) : I did resize it, Only 40 kb
I’ll try again
@KSA Shark © (Comment 41) : MINE went up.
Ah. Cronyism. You two are true Saffers. LOL
@klempie (Comment 43) :
No No you have it all wrong dude.
My cheque finally cleared. There were some delays and it should have cleared BEFORE the rounds were scored.
@rahul (Comment 39) : no… but when I went to look for a new hooker to bring in, I noticed that Keven Mealamu’s score for last week seemed WAAY too high given how badly his team got beat… so I did a little investigating and found the problem.
So – just so you all know, any player who was captain of a team playing away had their scores incorrectly calculated over the last two rounds. I’ve fixed it now.
@robdylan (Comment 45) :
So my cheque still hasn’t cleared yet then???????????
@robdylan (Comment 45) : I was gonna say, thats a full time job! The soccer FL is scored once and cannot be changed or questioned. Must be a logistical nightmare.
This is great fun, well done guys!
!
@robdylan (Comment 45) : ha – mistakes
so if I loose -can I blame the ref? 
@PaarlBok (Comment 32) :
WP League vs WP, Dal Josafat Stadium (or even Newlands) – NOT A PLACE FOR THE FAINT HEARTED.
BTW did WP League play Lion Cup rugby – I seem to think so but that doesnt make sense, or does it?
@rekinek (Comment 48) : well – at the end of the day, it’s quite simple.
If you feel you were hard done by, you need to explain why… the rules of the game are published and are hopefully straight forward. Show me where the scoring does not reflect the rules and I’ll make a plan to fix.
I’m bored…
Luckily lunch is just around the corner…
@Charlie (Comment 37) : Man we have a lot of trouble about this one. Court Case exct. This is a fight between WeePee Rugby and Boland Ussasa. SA Rugby decide many moons ago it have to be like this and WeePee obvious want to keep it that way. Between the Paarl Big ones, Gim, Bois , Landbou & Paul Roos you’ll get year not less then 17 Cravenweek Players. So theis schools are WeePee sort of talent platform. Boland Ussasa cant understand this (and it make sense). The school could not care a damn if they are in Boland or WeePee as long as they play sports and thats where the problem is. Boland Ussasa using their schools to boycott KleinGim, KleinBois & Noord Eind in the other sporting codes. No how the hell can they be just plain stupid, using kids in not getting what they want. Trust me taking your kid to a game of rugby and to see the tears in his eyes because some stupid adults using their opponents to get what they want? Explain that to a kid because the opponents just stay away to boycott a game of rugby. Thats unfortanetly the prize we pay but we have moved on. Dont make sense anyway beating a Boland school 120-0 and we play the northern suburbs these days. Even in cricket because Boland schools simply dont produce.
@Salmonoid (Comment 49) : Cant remember but they had some great players. Now some of their kids like Earl & Jody Rose, Ashley Johnson, Sydney Tobias (sure Errol played for them) & Ricardo Croy coming through the system.
@robdylan (Comment 50) : eish
i am cool – just trying to be funny in the midweek 
@wpw (Comment 51) : me too..
@rekinek (Comment 54) :
i’ts okay, Rob is a little stressed as I asked for my money back as I wasn’t happy about how many places I climbed.
@rekinek (Comment 54) : sorry – I forgot the smiley
I’m not really stressed… well, ok… guess I am kinda
@robdylan (Comment 56) : do not stress sharks are still winning
@PaarlBok (Comment 52) : Sad case my friend…Hope that this will be sorted someday…
Dont know if you guys heard, but no normal tickets will be on sale for the DBN Lions test match.
Only hospitality tickets which is even more than the advertised price for normal tickets (over R2K)
@Morné (Comment 59) :
Rekinek mentioned it yesterday.
I have no problem with the way the tickets have been distibuted though.
And that is not just because I have my four sorted.
@Morné (Comment 59) : NO NO Please NO! I am so wanting to go for this game. Otherwise my only life LIONS experience is going to be LIONS v LIONS (actually sounds cool) (if there are still some tickets
@Morné (Comment 59) : @KSA Shark © (Comment 60) : http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=18&art_id=vn20090225110846218C106171&set_id=
but such is the demand at the smaller Absa Stadium and Loftus Versfeld that there are only hospitality packages available,”
What size is Absa stadium? Jhb is only 50 000, PTA 45 000. Im sure Kings park was 55 000
@rahul (Comment 63) : Kings Park – 52 000
@rahul (Comment 63) : Isn’t the coke tin around 60 000+?
@rahul (Comment 63) :
Ellis is bigger than KP and KP is bigger than Loftus.
Exact figures are difficult to get but according to the SB graphics:
Ellis 59,611
Kings Park 55,000
Loftus 52,000
Newlands 50,900
@McLovin (Comment 65) : Point is Craig Lewis refers to kings park as the smaller stadium. Jhb is supposed to be increased to 60 000 for 2010. Not sure how far that is
@KSA Shark © (Comment 66) :
Bloem 36,538.
Ellis, Bloem and loftus will change though as the 2010 alterations are completed.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 60) :
You don’t?
I do.
@rahul (Comment 67) :
I think Craig is refering to Loftus and KP in comparison to the Coke Tin.
On Monday, 2 500 match tickets became available at R1 140 for the third international at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg, but such is the demand at the smaller Absa Stadium and Loftus Versfeld that there are only hospitality packages available,”
He isn’t saying that the stadium is small just that it is smaller than the Coke Tin.
According to Fifa
Bloem – 48,000
Pretoria – 50,000
Jo’burg – 61,000
@KSA Shark © (Comment 70) : OK, Didnt realise coke tin was bigger that KP already. thanks
@McLovin (Comment 71) : Those are post upgrade…
Durbs (not KP) – 70,000
@McLovin (Comment 74) : Why build another stadium in durban? Die mense maak my mal
@rahul (Comment 75) : Some big new stadiums being built. Would be better if they were going to be fully utilised after the soccer cup.
@Morné (Comment 69) :
Nope I don’t.
The figures don’t tie up 100% but I have no issues with the distribution.
Homan, though, explained how the ticket allocation works for the matches: “On average the three stadiums have 27 000 season and suite ticket holders who we have obviously been keen to reward first and foremost for their support of rugby,” he said.
“On top of that the Lions receive their 11 000 allocation, SA Rugby receives 6 000 to satisfy our sponsors and stakeholders, another 4 000 are set aside for hospitality and another 2 000 are available for other members of the rugby family such as members of previously disadvantaged communities.
27 000 season and suite ticket holders
11 000 B & I Lions allocation
6 000 to sponsors
4 000 for hospitality
2 000 for Previously disadvantages communities.
Which of these do you have a problem with though.
27 000 season and suite ticket holders
They have been loyal season ticket holders and deserve some sort of benefit for their loyalty
11 000 B & I Lions allocation
We can’t exactly just have Saffa fans in the stadium
6 000 to sponsors
Those tickets are well worth their weight in gold if you look at how much the sponsors invest in the game and they expect (rightfully) some return on that investment
4 000 for hospitality
Those will probably go to the guy in the street anyway.
2 000 for Previously disadvantages communities.
No problem with that either.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 77) :
11 000 B & I Lions allocation
We can’t exactly just have Saffa fans in the stadium.
They’ll have you supporting them…. thats enough imo
@rahul (Comment 78) :
Hehehehehhehehehehehehehehhehe
Ain’t gonna happen I’m afraid.
I have “buddies” in the UK begging me to assist them with tickets!!
@rahul (Comment 78) : We could sell 50 000 tickets to them for each test. There will be over 100 000 of them out in South Africa…most will be forced to watch on big screen telly’s at pubs etc!
here’s some breaking news… Dylan Ruthrford will be starting at hooker tonight. Burden is sick.
Since the Sharks aren’t actually going to announce the team, here it is…
1 Dave Hawksworth
2 Dylan Rutherford
3 Wiehann Herbst
4 Nolan Clarke
5 Joe Snyman
6 Justin Downey
7 Nik Blignaut
8 Warren Whiteley
9 Charl McLeod
10 Len Olivier
11 Chris Jordaan
12 Andries Straus (capt)
13 Ian Adendorff
14 Lwazi Mvovo
15 Monty Dumond