A strong Sharks under 21 side has been named for Saturday’s semi-final against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, with Currie Cup regular Andre Esterhuizen picked at fullback in the only real surprise.
Coach Michael Horak has enjoyed a fair bit of continuity towards the latter half of the season and with his centre pairing, in particular, forming a solid understanding over a number of matches together, the decision to pick the phenomenally talented Esterhuizen in the back three, rather than the midfield, appears to make sense. Other Currie Cup players in Mzamo Majola and Thomas du Toit have also been included in the match 22.
Mzamo Majola starts at loosehead prop, with stalwarts Andrew du Plessis and Ruan Kramer (schoolboy team-mates at Grey College) completing the front row. Du Toit will play off the bench, where he will presumably cover tighthead, given the inclusion of another loosehead in Barend Potgieter. Kerron van Vuuren is the reserve hooker, as he has been all year, while the likes of Mees Erasmus and Mthunzi Moloi are unlucky to miss out after great contributions throughout the season.
There can have been no doubt about the lock pair; Johan du Toit and Hyron Andrews have developed into a formidable combination over the course of the year and the Sharks will be expecting much from these young men in years to come. By the same token, the loose trio of Graham Geldenhuys, Retief Marais and Ayron Schramm has played together on a number of occasions this season and understand each other well. With only one additional forward spot on the bench, Wian Vosloo looks to be the man to provide that utility forward cover, although he has been bracketed with Jean Droste in the number 19 jersey. Sias Koen, who missed the early part of the season through injury, unfortunately won’t be a part of the team this week.
Combinations are key to any successful team and there’s simply no doubt that the halfback duo of Rowan Gouws and Inny-Christian Radebe have been instrumental to the team’s fortunes this year. Having formed their understanding at under 19 level last year, they solidified that bond in Impi colours during this years’ amazing Varsity Shield campaign. Outside them, captain Marius Louw (also an Impi) and Nkululeko “Legend” Marwana continue at centre, while Sipho Mkhize and Neil Maritz are the wingers.
Spare a thought for stalwart Riaan O’Neill, who has done time at flyhalf as Radebe’s deputy but more recently established himself as the starting option at fullback. Esterhuizen’s inclusion means the talented Zimbabwean international has to play off the bench, where he’ll be supported by Sandile Sandile Kubeka and replacement scrumhalf Lotter Pretorius.
It goes without saying that we wish nothing but the very best of luck to Michael, AB, Marius and the entire team for this weekend’s big game. Go get em, boys and glory to the black and white.
Sharks under 21:
15. Andre Esterhuizen
14. Neil Maritz
13. Nkululeko Marwana
12. Marius Louw (Captain)
11. Sipho Mkhize
10. Inny-Christian Radebe
9. Rowan Gouws
8. Ayron Schramm
7. Retief Marais
6. Graham Geldenhuys
5. Hyron Andrews
4. Johan du Toit
3. Ruan Kramer
2. Andrew du Plessis
1. Mzamo Majola
Replacements
16. Kerron van Vuuren
17. Barend Potgieter
18. Thomas du Toit
19. Wian Vosloo/Jean Droste
20. Lotter Pretorius
21. Riaan O’Neill
22. Sandile Kubeka
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Very interested to see how Esterhuizen fares at 15 and also how Thomas DuToit measures up in his own age group against a strong Cheetahs front row. With Radebe coming of age and Lambie not the Bok flavour of the month at 10…thoughts of a Radebe at 10 and Lambie 12 for Super rugby?
That is a very powerful and exciting looking side. What makes it even more exciting is how young this side is – most of them will still be u21 next year.
Best of luck on Saturday
@SheldonK (Comment 1) : It’s something I’ve suggested before but it results in the predictable size argument.
@vanmartin (Comment 3) : Anyway, that’s beside the point.
Good luck boys, we’ll be shouting you on!
I have missed seeing Chris de Beer on these team sheets.
@vanmartin (Comment 3) : True. Although Oz with Foley and Giteau dont seem to have that issue.
@Seth101 (Comment 5) : jeez ja…. how bad was that injury?
@SheldonK (Comment 6) : We’ve been harping on about this for a while now, haven’t we? SA teams need to get over their size and number on shirt obsessions. Sure there are exceptions for the specialist positions but Inny, Lambie, Jordaan, le Roux, Mvovo and Esterhuizen in one backline with the likes of Pieterson, Louw and April as backups doesn’t sound particularly awful 😀
@robdylan (Comment 7) : Must have been very serious, heard he had an op on his arm. Feel for him, such a great player who can achieve a lot in the game.
@vanmartin (Comment 8) : Id watch that backline 🙂
@SheldonK (Comment 1) : Rather get Rob du Preez back and play him at 12. Has all the skills to make a very potent inside centre. Besides, the number 10 position in the country is well resourced. There’s actually a huge opportunity at 12 and I think Rob has all the qualities to challenge Damian.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 11) : I def dont think WP will be letting him go anywhere anytime soon. With Catrakilis gone and Coleman unable to kick it anywhere near the posts they stuck with DuPreez or youngsters coming through. But i do agree that 12 suits him better than 10.
@GreatSharksays (Comment 11) : One of the many current challenges faced by the union is we no longer have the “rather” option available to us at the moment. Still we wish we could have swapped Swiel back for du Preez once Jake had left though.
Good Luck boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
will I be able to see this on SS ?
I cannot agree with this Lambie to 12 talk, Why on earth do we want to ruin another top 10 in this country??? How many times must Lambie get stuffed around to accommodate other players.
Lambie is the most complete 10 in SA, Yes he can play 12 and 15, and we wish his career to be stuffed up because we cannot recruit the right players??
For me that’s a HELL NO!!!
I cannot believe what I am reading, lordy me and then we wonder where and why GG stuffs up each week lol, I hope to god he does not read all the players out of position being suggested.
As we stand we only have one top 10 ready for SR ( some suggest bring in Radebe at 10) the kid has no experience………. not proven at the highest level.
Then we have an Esterhuizen at 12 who is getting better and better, yet again we want to shift him and bring in a 10 to replace him, surely people we have been through a season of suffering because we are playing players out of position or playing players that are past their prime or just not top quality.
Joe Pietersen has a pop gun boot and tackles very poorly, Cronje enough said, we do not have great cover at 10 and in SR if Lambie gets injured we in deep trouble.
There are 2 positions where we are in serious trouble, Lock and 10, SO my friends if Robert jnr decides to return to the Sharks she should be our cover at 10 and no where else.
Lock is our biggest weakness, Lewies? how long will he play if and when he returns?
Wentzel? only there for a lineout win, slow, cannot scrum blah blah blah.
Giant is ok I guess but he is by no means international class. so who else?? People suggesting Potgieter at 4, do we believe he is an international class lock that can compete with the best out there??
I be shocked 😯
Oh I know I did not mention Oostuizen as a lock or flank because he plays 10 games and will be ok in one and a half of those games, the rest shyte.
Lets just take the WP locks for SR, not 1 is under 2.01 meters.
All I know is if GG keeps selecting as he has or follows some of the suggestions I see in here we might as well start crying for a better 2017 season.
Now after all that I deserve a cold one I think.
@sharks_lover (Comment 16) : Totally agree – there’s enough enthusiasm on this site for messing talented young guys around by shunting them around the backline without doing it to the second string Bok fly half as well.
Potgeiter at 4 – didn’t he play there for the Waratahs quite regularly? Certainly, the times I saw him playing I think at 4, he was massively impressive (and if he’s good enough for the Waratahs…). My memory may be failing me in which case, ignore.
@sharks_lover (Comment 23) : glad you got that off your chest?
How about Pat at 13?
@robdylan (Comment 25) : lol bro ????
@robdylan (Comment 25) : You agree though?
Lambie at 10!!!!!!! Inny can back him up off the bench
@sharks_lover (Comment 27) : I wouldn’t move Pat to 12. Inny is phenomenal, but he’s young. Let’s see him play a season of Currie Cup before we start talking about starting at SR level.
@robdylan (Comment 29) : Agree 100%, As for Lock I know you agree re that as we discussed before.
@JR (Comment 24) : JR Potgieter was ok at lock mate, but against good lock pairings he lost out a bit, also why he gets dropped a lot from starting line ups, consistency is not there, Trust me if we do not get some good locks we will suffer in the scrums and lineouts as we did in CC
@sharks_lover (Comment 18) : You seriously need to calm down.
1. I don’t get to pick the Sharks team and no SA coach would pick according to my hypothetical selection. You’ll see Lambie at 10 next season.
2. Exactly one player in my suggested lineup is in a slightly unfamiliar position and that’s Lambie (although he’s played there before).
3. The current Sharks and SA gameplan would never properly utilise flyhalves in the 10 and 12 channel. When our nines run the show and our first receivers are predominantly blindside flanks there’s little point in that. SA coaches want our 12 to essentially be an extra loosie. Lambie doesn’t fit that mold and that’s why he was never played there again after Plum left and I doubt he ever will be again.
4. Lambie will need rest at some point or be injured. I know who I want to see as his deputy regardless of experience and it’s definitely not Cronje.
5. Our poor season had very little to do with players being played out of position. Look to lack of the basics, poor conditioning and lack of depth first.
@vanmartin (Comment 32) : I don’t entirely disagree with lambie on center now and then but we don’t have a flyhalf of his caliber to stand in at 10. I do think the boks have this luxury though pat and Pollard next to each other opens up a world of attacking possibilities.
@vanmartin (Comment 32) : @coolfusion (Comment 33) : Basically there is more than 1 way to skin a cat. Ben Smith has been played at fb, wing and even centre yet i dont see him moaning about his career in ruins because of being shifted around. Untill we start moving away from wanting a big 12 bashing it up we should talk of playing ‘attractive’ rugby
@SheldonK (Comment 34) : Hear, hear!!
@coolfusion (Comment 33) : You’re right, we don’t and that’s where we may found ourselves in trouble if he gets injured or needs rest. We could do worse than Joe Pietersen but I think Joe is a better fullback than flyhalf.
@SheldonK (Comment 34) : While we’re on that topic I might as well stir the hypothetical pot a little more. I’m still not convinced that 12 is Esterhuizen’s best position. I like his defense in that channel but I honestly can’t recall a commanding performance from him there. His handling and distribution is not up to par (my opinion). He impressed me most on wing this Currie Cup. Wish I could see what he does at fullback on Saturday.
Sharks can load the u/21 team with their CC players. Cheetahs to still take them down, which would make the victory even more gratifying. 3/3 and a shot at the title 😀
Then again we could always lose, and I can come back and say “JaJa, you couldn’t have done it without the CC players”
@vanmartin (Comment 36) : Esterhuizen is a good player. Well built, strong, defends pretty well. What he does well at the moment is run hard and straight and usually get over the advantage line. However id personally like my 12 to do more than that but id be happy to get that from my wings.
@KingCheetah (Comment 37) : we’re hardly loading our team.
Majola was a key member of the u21 side all season and was only called up to the seniors 3 weeks ago when Chadwick got injured. du Toit and Esterhuizen, yes, but we’ve put one in the starting team and one on the bench. That’s not loading, that’s “sprinkling”
@SheldonK (Comment 34) : What I really don’t understand is why people think that players who have been picked in one position for the Boks would be keen to play in a different position for the Sharks. We’ve had Reinach suggested as a winger, Lambie as a centre, Jordaan as full back (he admittedly just made the training squad but lets see what he can do with a run in the side at outside centre). I don’t know these guys and it may be that somebody who does tells me that they’re mad keen for it – but taking 23-25 year olds and moving them around makes it very difficult for them to stay in contention for something higher and ultimately risks them moving on.
@JR (Comment 40) : This question came up a while back in a SuperSport discussion and I think Mallet answered it really well. To paraphrase him, most rugby players would rather be on the field as opposed to watching from the side. That’s why you won’t find Kriel objecting to playing in the 13 jersey when he paid his provincial dues at fullback. Sure it’s a crazy challenging position but he’d rather be on the field than not in the squad. Having said that, there are some players that just can’t handle it mentally, Ruan Pienaar playing at flyhalf being the obvious example.
@JR (Comment 40) : The reason regarding the talk is people wondering if they could perhaps not add more value in those other positions. Now i kno everyone here thinks differently but fact is if Lambie only plays 10 he will only ever be a bench option for the Boks, and maybe he is happy with that. So im not saying move him permanently there but its perhaps worth a look (he did make his debut there for the Sharks i think). As for Jordaan, we have 2 good fullbacks now at the Sharks and limited centres so perhaps thats where he needs to stay focussed, although mayb an interchange between 12 and 13 occassionally too. A lot of people are set in their ways and they not neccessarily wrong, bt i just feel the best players need to all be on the field where possible
@KingCheetah (Comment 37) : currently I think the under 21’s will beat the CC team so we will rather sent the strongest team to play the Cheetah under 21’s!!! 😈
@robdylan (Comment 39) : so what if they’re old enough why not?!?!!?
@JR (Comment 40) : no you’re wrong look how good moving around worked for Hougaard!!!!!!!!!!!
@SheldonK (Comment 42) : so if Lambie moves to 15 he will be picked above Willie or maybe at 12 ahead of De Allende?!?! Dream on Pat will always be a bench option because he can cover 10, 12 and 15 and moving to another position will not chance that!!!!!!!
@JD (Comment 46) : Im not saying he will definitely be picked in another positions. What i was trying to say is why not see what guys can offer in different positions. We all think Inny Radebe is playing well so why not give him a chance. Im not saying in every game but a chance. And if he does play id rather hav Lambie next to him than Esterhuizen for example. The Sharks need to do something different as our backline for years has had a passer at 10 and a crashball at 12…well thats a bit stale now
@SheldonK (Comment 47) : and for that reason I prefer Heimar at 12.Think Pat Heimar Jordaan could be good together with Sithole/Odwa/Mvovo on the wing and Willie/Joe at 15!
Have we ascertained whether this match will be broadcast (live or delayed)?
@JD (Comment 48) : Look Odwa has been a great servant but he needs to be told thanks but no thanks. Sithole has played sulky sue all year so id play Esterhuizen ahead of him. Im very happy with Heimar at 12.
@SheldonK (Comment 47) : I think you will find that any fans we have left in 2016 will go on the field and lynch any coach who trys to play Pat anywhere else but 10.
@robdylan (Comment 39) : I sit corrected! Sprinkled it is.
@The hound (Comment 51) : Well at least then we will get numbers to the game 🙂
@The hound (Comment 51) : Well that gets rid of our coach problem 😈
@vanmartin (Comment 54) : and would satisfy the MMA element.
@vanmartin (Comment 32) : I don’t need to calm anything, your name was not mentioned? Taking it a tad personal, no? Fact is we fight when coaches play players out of position yet we then sit and advocate for players to be played out of position.
Well Cheetahs u19 lost 31-15 to the Ep u19. Three tries apiece, but the EP scored two conversions and 4 penalties to the zip of the Tahs. One down, and two to go. Can’t say I am disappointed. The EP u19 have had a stellar season, and deserve their shot at the title.