The Sharks have confirmed, via an injury report, that neither Tera Mtembu nor Michael Claassens will be considered for Saturday’s Currie Cup clash against the Bulls.
Claassens missed out on the recent trip to Wellington for reasons that were’t disclosed at the time; team doctor Alan Kourie has revealed that he’s suffering from a knee ligament injury and thus won’t be available this weekend either. The injury is listed as a “strain” and thus doesn’t sound too serious. Mtembu, who was taken off against Boland after injuring his left knee, also definitely won’t play, but in his case we’re awaiting the result of an MRI scan in order to know what the prognosis is. We know that it’s not likely to be the dreaded ACL, but could be a lengthy lay-off all the same. Thoughts and prayers are with Tera as always.
Jean-Luc du Preez should hopefully be fit to play this week, while his brother Daniel is apparently 2-3 weeks from fitness as he continues to recover from a groin injury sustained during Super Rugby.
There’s been no information shared regarding Stephan Lewies or Lukhanyo Am, so it’s hoped both will be available this week after sitting out the Boland trip.
Patrick Lambie has commenced gym training and will be re-introduced to field work over the next couple of weeks – a good indication that his nightmare is close to being over.
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Lambie must surely be the longest lay-off for concussion in rugby?
Possible Sharks team:
1. Chadwick 2. Marais 3. DuToit 4. Oosthuizen 5. Lewies 6. Daniel 7. DuPreez 8. Van Der Walt 9. Ungerer 10. Radebe 11. Sithole 12. Esterhuizen 13. Am 14. Ndungane 15. Bosch
Bench: Meyer, Ralapelle, Botha, Deysel, Venter, April, Smith/Williams/Mjekevu
@SheldonK (Comment 2) : no place for Mvovo?
@JD (Comment 3) : Good point- totally forgot about him (guess i can relate to Rob DuPreez 😉 ) He would probably replace Sithole on the wing with Sithole covering the bench with Venter and April
I also see that WP want to play Kolbe at 10. Guess that pushes Rob Dupreez Jnr down to 3rd choice….should Sharks go a calling?
@FireTheLooser (Comment 1) : Someone posted a link to an article explaining why the lay-off was so long. My layman understanding: he’s a migraine sufferer and that muddied the waters for his concussion protocol and testing.
@SheldonK (Comment 5) : Couldn’t hurt. We need another 12 and by all accounts he can do the job there too.
@vanmartin (Comment 7) : I would sign him as a 12 to be honest, think he is better suited to 12 than 10.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 1) : could be a world record! 😉
@SheldonK (Comment 4) : if Am is not available I would give Sithole a go at 13. Going to be interesting to see how RdP goes if everyone is fit as Odwa could also play 15 with Bosch losing his starting spot.
@JD (Comment 10) : Yeh good points. Selection could get tricky. Even April can play 15
@vanmartin (Comment 6) : Also saw that, just expected him to have started exercising with the team by now….shocked that he only recently started gym work.
I hope Rob gives Hanco Venter another go. Although his play wasn’t anything exceptional, he did the basics, like passing the ball at the right height, clearing rucks quicker and not kicking too much way better than Ungerer did. I hope that was a once off performance by Ungerer though as we don’t have a lot of depth at SH.
@SheldonK (Comment 8) : It would mean the Sharks have both a rapier and viking broadsword at 12 which is terribly handy.
@vanmartin (Comment 14) : Its all about good viable and different options…something we lack on occassion
@JD (Comment 10) : I’m interested to see where RDP see’s Sithole in the wing pecking order. Is it Mvovo, Sithole, Ndungane or Mvovo, Ndungane, Sithole? We’ll see soon enough…
15 Odwa, 14 Mvovo, 13 Sithole 12 Esterhuizen, 11 Maritz, 10 Bosch, 09 Ungerer, 08 VD Walt, 07 Deysel, 06 Daniel (capt) 05 Lewies, 04 Oosthuisen, 03 Du Toit, 02 Marais, 01 Chadwick,
16 Chillipip, 17 Meyer, 18 Botha, 19 Daniel Dup, 20 Venter, 21 April, Am
I would give Bosch the 10 for his boot and rest Radebe, both Bosch and Radebe not great on defence so equal there, both pretty ok going forward.
@Hulk (Comment 16) : I really liked what Mjekevu brought to the game when he came on against Boland. He was fast and used his size to be very physical. I hope he can also get a bit of a run during the CC
@HeinF (Comment 18) : My problem with Mjekevu is his inconsistency, he will do one brilliant thing and follow it up with 5 bad things, With Jordaan gone i would like to see Sithole and Esterhuizen partner up, might work and might work and might not work, it does lend for more experience in the midfield.
@HeinF (Comment 18) : really? I was quite disappointed. He seemed completely at sea defensively.
@robdylan (Comment 20) : Fully agree.
@robdylan (Comment 20) : He seemed lost at sea – period.
Another Taute type….then we wonder why all/most of SA big players are used as forwards, decidedly uninspiring in the backline.
@sharks_lover (Comment 19) : somehow I think the Sharks will stick with Am (and Ward when he arrives) at 13. Seemingly only JW rated Sithole as an option at 13.
@JD (Comment 23) : Actually i do not have a problem with Am at 13 either, i thought he played quite well there in the games he did play, One thing for sure is Heimer is not looking the part.
@JD (Comment 23) : The other option is play Sithole at 14 and Neil Maritz who is a center at 13 with Esterhuizen
@sharks_lover (Comment 24) : @sharks_lover (Comment 25) : Heimar is not a 13 so he will not look good playing there. Forgot about Marnitz maybe a good idea to give him a go if Am is still out.
@JD (Comment 26) : I think Williams is distracted in his last season. Maritz looks a good wing- id leave him there. Am needs to play more. Just concerned that once again we only banking on Esterhuizen as the only 12.
@SheldonK (Comment 27) : yes Am needs game time but there needs to be a replacement for time like now when he’s injured. Heimar also needs more game time at 12 as he’s the only real cover for Andre. Personally I think Andre needs to be rested against the smaller teams.
@JD (Comment 28) : We definitely need an alternate at 12…no way Estrhuizen can continue to play every game and play well…he will break down early next year that way. As far as i know Williams isnt around next year. So maybe Am is the cover at 12.
@SheldonK (Comment 29) : not sure about Heimar but for sure Sharks needs another option at 12 as you’re 100% that Andre will not last if they keep on playing him every game all game.
@robdylan (Comment 20) : Maybe he just looked better live at the game 😉
I didn’t watch the game again,but thought he was at least looking for work,but could be wrong. Now I am not so sure anymore, but here’s to hoping he proves me right!
@HeinF (Comment 31) : Yeah maybe it had to be something about watching it live,I also thought he had a good game on attack and cant say I noticed his poor defence but then maybe that had to do with the low grand stand and his position on the field when defending being mostly on the opposite side of where I was sitting.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 32) : I also thought that because of the low stands,you only notice what happens more in front of you and miss what is further away, and he did do some good things on attack in front of the stands
i like to see Coach Du Preez pair the centre with the likes of esterhuizen/maritz should provide a galloping midfield
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 32) : @HeinF (Comment 33) : It’s possible I’m being unfair – I also only watched once.
I mean, I accused Philip of being subdued last week, only to spot him wearing a green jersey at training. Clearly the coaches disagree with me.
@robdylan (Comment 35) : Maybe you getting a different camera feed on mud island 😉
@robdylan (Comment 35) : OK glad to hear the coaches are carrying on with the coloured jersey thing!
@HeinF (Comment 18) : @sharks_lover (Comment 21) : @FireTheLooser (Comment 22) : @robdylan (Comment 35) : Ok, so I watched the recorded game last night and paid special attention to Mjekevu and I think calling him out on his defence had merit, but only very slightly in one instance when he shot out of line, he made that tackle but unfortunately the player had only just managed to get the ball away and it lead to a try. One of the commentators called him out on that move and I think that is what stuck in the minds. For the rest he was pretty solid on defence and put in quite a few good hits. He was pretty good on attack too. I would like to see his stats for the 30 minutes that he was on the field.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 38) : Great insight. Such a pity that as supporters we remember one incident and use that as a basis for a players performance
@SheldonK (Comment 39) : @Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 38) : thanx ja it’s interesting when a player developes a reputation for something (bad tackling, poor discipline, high tackling, etc.) he can almost be perfect and just make one mistake and most people will say “ja just look at him we told you he could not do it”! Reminds me of a poster I had “if I do something right nobody remembers but if I do something wrong nobody forgets”!
@JD (Comment 40) : Yup the sad truth. Nobody remembers if you do your job well only the mistakes and if any exceptional eye catching play.