The Sharks coaches have stuck to their guns ahead of Saturday’s Currie Cup semi-final against the Lions, making just one change to the team that beat Western Province in the final round of league action.
Kyle Cooper, who missed that trip to Cape Town due to an ankle strain, returns to the mix this week and takes over as starting hooker from Monde Hadebe. Hadebe, who had a good game at Newlands, moves to the bench, with Franco Marais dropping out of the squad.
Tera Mtembu leads an otherwise unchanged side onto the park, with three capped Springboks in the backline in scrumhalf Cobus Reinach and wings Lwazi Mvovo and Tonderai Chavhanga. Stephan Lewies (one cap) and Marco Wentzel (two caps) are the Boks in the pack, while Matt Stevens is, of course, a seasoned test veteran in English colours.
Lourens Adriaanse will add further test experience off the bench to what is otherwise the least-experienced sharks side to contest a Currie Cup semi-final in many a year.
Sharks: 15. SP Marais, 14. Tonderai Chavhanga, 13. S’bura Sithole, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Tera Mtembu (Capt) , 7. Etienne Oosthuizen, 6. Jacques Botes, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Stephan Lewies, 3. Matt Stevens, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Thomas du Toit
Replacements: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. JC Astle, 20. Khaya Majola, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Fred Zeilinga
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Pretty much our strongest available team youd have to say.
I have a feeling the Lions loosies are going to be the difference on the day.
Wright really unlucky to loose out even on a bench spot.
Interesting that the Sharks went for two bench props while the Lions reverted to one and added Kwagga Smith
@Baylion (Comment 3) :
Yep, expect the Sharks to keep things fairly tight while the Lions will try free up their mobile loosies up to play a much more looser game.
@John Galt (Comment 4) : True. The Lions bench is very much an impact bench for the last quarter of the game
@Baylion (Comment 3) : Our scrums are a bit of a worry lately. Wouldn’t mind having Kwagga on our bench – can slot into the backline as well.
Have to say I very much doubt a Sharks victory this weekend, Lions one can clearly see are out to run us ragged, We are going for a tighter game with the heavies, if their scrums hold out we in trouble
Sharks only hope is to dominate up front and that’s very unlikely
to many bad experience with the Lions when the are favorite . Sharks to win .
@Zibbie (Comment 9) : Nice try Zibbie,
Best side that the Sharks can offer. Hoffman is there for experience having played in finals etc. Lets hope the boys bring the pain in Jhb. Finals rugby is another breed…form means bugger all.
@Zibbie (Comment 9) : I see Ackers is talking up the Sharks big time 😀
Go Sharks! We need to keep the ball in hand and play a wider game if we hope to take this.
Good team!!!!! GO SHAKS!!!!!
Good team! GO SHARKS!!!!
@SheldonK (Comment 11) : Yep, Hoffman does have finals experience. More specifically, of the 2011 Currie Cup final, where he played a starring role in handing the game to the Lions (although, to be fair, they were vastly superior on the day). They really should have had Wright on the bench
@Culling Song (Comment 16) : jinne, but he was HONDKAK that day
@Culling Song (Comment 16) : @robdylan (Comment 17) : Can Wright not feature for the u19s??
@robdylan (Comment 17) : You clearly have a talent for understatement…
@SheldonK (Comment 18) : He probably can, but that still does not address the more pertinent question; does Hoffman HAVE to be involved with the Sharks?
@Culling Song (Comment 20) : Well guys raved about him last week and said he was a thousand times better than Reinach so on that basis yes…
@sharks_lover (Comment 12) :
you see ! he knows 😛
I see SA rugby mag has Lions as favorites by 4 – 8 points …
eish .. theses people …
@Culling Song (Comment 20) :
Hoffmann was a very good player before joining the Sharks, getting injured and forgetting how to play rugby.
If he can find the form he showed at WP, then he is a real asset. Quite a glut of quality 9s developing in Durban.
@Zibbie (Comment 22) :
Simon Borchardt: Lions by 7
Gary Lemke: Lions by 8
Mark Salter: Lions by 8
Mark Keohane: Lions by 7
Jon Cardinelli: Lions by 5
Brenton Chelin: Lions by 4
@gregkaos (Comment 24) :
yea .. those
@Big Fish (Comment 23) : “If he can find the form he showed at WP…”
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
If turnips were watches, I’d wear one by my side,
If Ifs and Ands were pots and pans, there would be no need for tinkers
@Culling Song (Comment 26) :
Well, the good news is that there IS no need for tinkers anymore.
How many years should we extend his contract by then?
@gregkaos (Comment 24) : Rob Otto Lions by 5
@robdylan (Comment 28) : R365 – Expect the Lions to come out victorious by eight points.
@gregkaos (Comment 29) : yeah, but you can discount the predictions of a Lions fan site 🙂 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 30) : haha true. Just been scouring the net to see if anyone anywhere (aside from the optimistic posters/lions fans trying to shred the favourite tag) is backing the Sharks.