There will be a chance to see some Sharks stars in action tonight, which should hopefully make up for the oh-so-annoying Super Rugby bye this week. Deon Kayser’s Sharks XV squad will be put through their paces as two separate teams – the Bulls Sharks and the Tiger Sharks – face off against local club opposition.
College Rovers take on the Bull Sharks XV at 5pm today, at Rovers. This will be a young Sharks side, which includes a fair few players that Kayser knows well from last year’s under 19 squad. Danie Mienie and Etienne Oosthuizen add a smattering of Super Rugby experience to the tight five – Mienie at loosehead packs down alongside a pair of youngsters in hooker Jacques Taylor and tighthead Khwezi Mona, while abrasive young Pretoria Boys High lock Dave “Danger” Fisher joins Oosthuizen in the second row. Openside Lungi Mlaba, a Dundee native, played a few times for the Sharks at under 21 level last year, while blindsider Sias Koen (from the Leopards) and number 8 Ayron Schramm (fresh out of school) are new to the Sharks. Schramm, to be fair, did play a few games for the under 19s last year, though, whilst still at Kearsney College.
Duncan Campbell continues his conversion to scrumhalf and is paired with the familiar Jean-Luc du Plessis for this game, while a pair of club wingers in Lex Botha and JP Bezuidenhout have been offered a chance to show what they can do alongside centres Sandile Khubeka and Wion Robberts, who both played for the under 19s last year. Jaco van Tonder is at fullback to add some much-needed experience to the backline selection.
The du Preez twins, Jean-Luc and Daniel, have been included on the bench, as has last year’s under 19 captain, hooker Chris de Beer.
Bull Sharks:
15 Jaco van Tonder, 14 JP Bezuidenhout, 13 Wion Robbertse, 12 Sandile Khubeka, 11 Lex Botha, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Duncan Campbell, 8 Ayron Schramm, 7 Sias Keon, 6 Lungi Mlaba, 5 Etienne Oosthuizen, 4 David Fisher, 3 Khwezi Mona, 2 Jacques Taylor, 1 Danie Mienie
Subs: 16 Chris de Beer, 17 Brandon Landsberg, 18 Daniel du Preez, 19 Barend Potgieter, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Lotter Pretorius, 22 Legend Marwana, 23 Sipho Mkize, 24 Arrie Vosloo
Jonsson College Rovers:
15 Jors Dannhauser, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Kyle Wilkinson, 12 Quentin Crocker, 11 Richard Strydom, 10 Chris Micklewood, 9 Shannon Rick, 8 Cheese Adam, 7 Liam O’Connel, 6 Jean Pretorius, 5 Nikolai Blignaut, 4 Simba Bwana, 3 Sphe Mayaba, 2 Warrick Venter, 1 Matt Jones
Subs: 16 Njabulo Mkhize, 17 Duanne Cortzen, 18 Edlyn Serge, 19 Rhett Cope, 20 Mesuli Mncwango, 21 Kobus Lourens, 22 Matt Phillips, 23 Jarred Chiocchetti, 24 Jason Kankowski
In the other match, Durban Collegians face the Tiger Sharks at 6pm on KP2. There are far more Super Rugby fringe players in this selection, with old man Mox Mxoli joining a tight five that otherwise all played Currie Cup last year; hooker Monde Hadebe, tighthead Wiehahn Herbst and locks Edwin Hewitt and Peet Marais. Tera Mtembu starts at number 8 in a loose trio that also includes former age-group stars in Khaya Majola and Francois Kleinhans.
Stefan Ungerer and Fred Zeilinga will pull the strings at halfback, with Neil Maritz continuing his comeback from injury by partnering big Andre Esterhuizen in midfield. Sizo Maseko and Alcino Isaacs are the wings (both having played in last year’s Vodacom Cup campaign) while Hansie Graaff gets the nod in the number 15 jersey. For this team, Marco Wentzel and Tim Swiel are perhaps the most recognisable names on the bench, while Franco Marais (hooker) has a Currie Cup appearance to his name. Thomas du Toit is also there, as are Dylan Nel, Hanco Venter, Johann Meyer and Keelin Bastew from last year’s under 21 side.
Tiger Sharks:
15 Hansie Graaff, 14 Sizo Maseko, 13 Niel Maritz, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Alcino Isaacs, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Tera Mtembu, 7 Francois Kleinhans, 6 Khaya Majola, 5 Peet Marais, 4 Edwin Hewitt, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Sangoni Mxoli.
Subs: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Marco Wentzel, 19 Dylan Nel, 20 Hanco Venter, 21 Tim Swiel, 22 Keelin Bastew, 22 Johann Meyer
SA Homeloans Durban Collegians:
15 Tommy Bezuidenhout, 14 Norman Knoetze, 13 Andrew Holland, 12 Steve Crause, 11 Lindani Mdlalose, 10 Calvin Sacks, 9 Dylan Marcus, 8 Gareth Reece-Edwards, 7 Brendon Groenewald, 6 Carl Marx, 5 Witness Mandizha, 4 Tom Brown, 3 Robbie Harris, 2 Royal Mwale, 1 Kurt Schonert
Subs (from): Blake Lourens, Deucullen van der Merwe, TC Khoza, Darren Sheriff, Dougie Warden, Werner Botha, Gary Collins, Quentin Hiepner, Ryno Rust, Etienne Reis, Dylan Aylward, Lithle Mazibuko,Brendon Flanagan, Bruce Curtis, Jared Sichel, Luke Fouche
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Tim Whitehead?
@Bump (Comment 1) : no sign thereof, hey…. Also no Downey (but I think he’s carrying an injury)
I probably missed it somewhere but anyone know how the Tiger Sharks vs Bull Sharks game was? Lots of talent bubbling up in those two groups.
@gregkaos (Comment 3) : it was apparently a very stop-start affair with rolling subs and no real score kept.
Bloody hell, poor Etienne Oosthuizen has really lost ground…..what has he done to deserve such crap treatment?
@Saffex (Comment 5) : what is being done to him, exactly, that you consider crap treatment?
You miss the part about him picking up a slight knock against Sarries?
Is that the same Robbie Harris that played for the Sharks and Leicester Tigers??
When did Dusty Noble get back? I thought he was still with the Griquas but had some injury.
@ChrisS (Comment 7) : that’s the same Robbie “Trouble” Harris, indeed.
@ChrisS (Comment 8) : came back to Durbs this year
@robdylan (Comment 9) : Why aren’t they involved with the Vodacom Cup squad? They can’t be too old already.
So Keegan Daniel is absent from the Super Rugby and Vodacom squads, or am I missing something…?
Also, is Jason Kankowski related to Ryan?
@ChrisS (Comment 10) : I dunno, hey….
@Culling Song (Comment 11) : let me answer the second question first. Yes, Jason is Ryan’s younger brother.
As for Keegan, I dunno. I guess maybe they felt it would be a bit demeaning for him to be playing in a Vodacom Cup warmup. Botes isn’t there either.
The whole situation with Keegan is a bit of a rotten mess at the moment. They’re going to have to figure out what to do about it.
No Keegan and No Botes?
@robdylan (Comment 13) : I hope they arrive at some sort of sensible solution. Keegan’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and I get the idea he’s not exactly going to win the Mr Congeniality prize, but there’s no denying that when he’s on fire he can be a force to be reckoned with (if used correctly)
@robdylan (Comment 13) : I have a feeling that Botes and Daniel and doing the same program as the super rugby guys as they are like in the 25 if that makes sense. Glad to see Hansie Graaf finally doing some exercise. no Whitehead…hmm injured again or on the move? Definitely some interesting players in those match ups. Also see Rovers and Collegians recruited a bit.
@SheldonK (Comment 16) : well, yeah… I guess you’re right. I mean, I still think that as senior players who are definitely on the fringes of the SR squad, there’s no need for Keegan/Jacques to prove anything here. I guess we can find others who aren’t playing… like Chavanga
actually, of the 39 named by Jake for Super Rugby.
23 are in his match 23
11 are playing here
1 is injured (Fisher)
1 is still in Japan (JP)
That leaves just Daniel, Botes and Chavanga.
Which one of these no9s should take McLoed’s place in CC?
@robdylan (Comment 17) : Im sure there is a few. I mean Daniel, Botes, Chavanga, Downey , Whitehead all not playing. Altho some may have niggles. Sawe the younger DuPreez boys at gym yest- can honestly say they Super Rugby size. I do have a feeling all these guys know exactly where they stand with JW and it would be silly for us to read too much into things- altho that is fun sometimes haha
Or should we rather sign someone like Faf?
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 21) : no we def dont need him. We have quality in Ungerer and Hanco Venter. Plus decent u19s as well. Not to mention any of the club guys.
bear in mind there are a good few guys playing for UKZN at the moment that would also come into the frame here
@SheldonK (Comment 22) : Thank you. I do not know them. Who is the best and can he contend for a bok spot once in SR? I mean would he at least put pressure on Reinach?
@robdylan (Comment 13) : Still think its too early to get worried about the Keegan/Botes dilemma.
Jake did say he vital it was to win 2 out of 2 first up. How do you change a completely uninjured team that crushed the Bulls against an unknown and dangerous entity like the Canes.
@gregkaos (Comment 25) : yes, I’m with you. And I don’t think Botes is unhappy, by any means.
Keegan is a problem, though.
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 19) : I think we’ll probably buy one
We should buy francois hougaard. He must be very frustrated having never played for a real coach
@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 27) : eish! I was hoping that one of the 9’s name would have popped up as a sure favourite to be the next bok challenger!
@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 28) : Or poach TJ Perenara! Imagine how far those two would push eachother?
I must actually give credit to TJ as he did pretty damn well behind a a pack going backwards. Although I was not happy about some of his dubious tactics go unpunished.
@gregkaos (Comment 30) : you mean the penalty try that wasn’t awarded?
Jonathan Kaplan said that he thought it was a no-brainer
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 24) : Ungerer was on fire in jr wc 2013, so he’s definitely my pick….apparently the bulls were willing to sell loftus and Matfield in order to get him….so he should have a very promising future.
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 29) : Stefan Ungerer and Cameron Wright are both DEFINITE FUTURE BOKS, ok?
@robdylan (Comment 31) : Yup that one! Fairly confident my neighbors, who don’t watch rugby, also know which incident. 🙂 Ref appeared to have a good view of that too. Grrrr. I so badly wanted to see us get a very well deserved scrum try!
Nevertheless I’m always interested to see how scrummies perform when the odds are against them. So many factors to consider. Forwards getting dominated typically makes a 9 look rubbish. A bad flyhalf also makes a scrummies life a nightmare.
Some very small men in the collegians side. Reece Edwards is probably only 5 11, their fullback is fast and hugely skillful but is limited with the boot and probably only 5ft8 and 75kgs. Tiger Sharks are going to kill them. 😆
It will be a blood bath!! 😆 😆
@robdylan (Comment 6) : Don’t even bother.
@Talent (Comment 36) : ja, you’re right.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Saffex’s day job is writing for one of the British tabloids. He has a knack for turning even the most innocuous little thing into a major incident.
@robdylan (Comment 37) : Good point. Who exactly does Oosthuizen deserve preference over in his mind? The boy is fucking lucky he has a contract with the Sharks.
@Talent (Comment 38) : the thing that gets me is that htere’s just no consistency in what he says. He’s pissed that Peet Marais isn’t in the team, he’s pissed that Oosthuizen isn’t in the team, yet by the same token he also seems to rate Bresler, PS and Lewies…. so I’m not sure exactly how the Sharks are meant to fit all these locks into the team at once.
Bull Sharks beat Rovers 22-12
@robdylan (Comment 39) : Easy, follow the Bulls model and discard loosies for locks. Sheesh man, don’t tell me you couldn’t even figure that one out!
@Culling Song (Comment 41) : oh ja, right.
But then we’re back to the same argument we always have with the “how can you not pick Keegan/Botes/Tera/Franna/XXXX” brigade… which of the Bok loosies are you going to drop?
@robdylan (Comment 42) : Tsk tsk, resorting to logic!? That way leads only to tears…
@Culling Song (Comment 43) : as you say. 🙂
Luckily it will never catch on here.
@robdylan (Comment 39) : You summed it up perfectly.
@robdylan (Comment 39) : But then again we know f all about Rugby 😆
A feel for Keegan. I really think that he should be playing Super Rugby, and if there is no place for him in the Sharks, then I would imagine that the offers will start coming in, possibily from the north.
@stevovo (Comment 47) : they have already,sounds like he is off to Ireland,Tim had a small knee op.
@bobby 26 (Comment 48) : any idea where in Ireland?
@robdylan (Comment 49) : no sorry,happy to hear puppy scored a try,Rovers can’t be to good if they lost to all those youngsters. 😳
@bobby 26 (Comment 50) : hmmm…. concerning, yeah.
Apparently Ulster. No idea if it’s true
@bobby 26 (Comment 48) : I hope he gets a good deal, he deserves it, he’s just to good to not be playing top flight rugga, and I’m sure will make an impact no matter where he ends up, like Kockett has.
@robdylan (Comment 51) : Daniel’s game would not suit the European game at all! Would be a silly move on both his and the team buying him behalf. Keegan likes to play off the cuff and a high paced game and thats def not the European style. They like their forwards in the tight not running around. He should stick it out at the Sharks- i mean i doubt they paying him peanuts
People have choices. We all probably agree with 99% of JW selections. He has chosen the best. Players have to think about the longer term. My prediction is the Sharks will loose Keegan, Botes, Tim, Wors, Hewitt, Justin, Charl, etc. all with S15 and higher experience. That’s life. My long term worry is who will leave for big money after world cup, Jannie, Bismarck, Jean, Odwa, Beast ????? I hope we do not have the same shit as the bulls have now.
What happened with the second game last night? Who played well? Who put their hand up ?
@Observer (Comment 54) : Botes won’t leave…. being set up for a nice job next year
@robdylan (Comment 56) : Stadium announcer?
@SheldonK (Comment 57) : something to do with junior recruitment
@robdylan (Comment 6) : I think it is pathetic demoting him that far down the list…….what the hell does a niggle against Sarries have to do with it?
The guy is obviously fit enough to start this game. The guy goes on tour with the Sharks and starts against Sarries having a solid enough debut only to find himself in the Sharks 3rd side.
Its pathetic treatment of a young player who is certainly better than Hewitt and Wentzel……….piss poor show by Jake and co