The die has been cast and Rob du Preez has selected his 27 warriors to contest the first two matches in Super Rugby 2017. Flyhalf Pat Lambie captains the selection that will depart Durban on Salutary, ahead of crucial clashes with the Reds in Brisbane and the Brumbies in Canberra over the fortnight that follows.
The need to travel with five props and three hookers means there is room for only eleven backs in the tour party, with the other sixteen places going to forwards. Thomas du Toit has been passed fit to take his place as one of the five front-rankers; Springboks Beast Mtawarira, Lourens Adriaanse and Coenie Oosthuizen are also in the mix, with young Juan Schoeman earning the nod as fifth prop after an unfortunate injury ruled out John-Hubert Meyer. Stephan Coetzee, who joined the Sharks last year already but is yet to play a match for the Sharks, will serve as backup to regular hookers Chiliboy Ralepelle and Franco Marais.
Another player who has been passed fit to tour after a pre-season injury is lock Stephan Lewies; he will take his place in the tour squad alongside Etienne Oosthuizen and Ruan Botha, who have started the warm up games as a strong combination. Philip van der Walt, Tera Mtembu and Jean-Luc du Preez are included among the loose forwards, with newcomer Jacques Vermeulen backed for his versatility (as well as good form in the warm-ups). The final forward is Jean Droste, again selected for utility in being able to play at lock or in the back row.
Du Preez’s first-choice backline appears settled and is the same unit that began against a Bulls XV last week; Cobus Reinach and Lambie are the halfbacks, Andre Esterhuizen and Lukhany Am the centres, with Lwazi Mvovo, Kobus van Wyk and Curwin Bosch the back three. Michael Claassens covers the scrumhalf position (du Preez taking a chance with no third scrumhalf), with youngsters Jeremy Ward and S’busiso Nkosi and veteran Clem Poitrenaud completing the group.
Sharks tour squad: Beast Mtawarira, Thomas du Toit, Lourens Adriaanse, Coenie Oosthuizen, Juan Schoeman, Franco Marais, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Stephan Coetzee, Etienne Oosthuizen, Ruan Botha, Stephan Lewies, Philip van der Walt, Jacques Vermeulen, Jean-Luc du Preez, Tera Mtembu,Jean Droste, Cobus Reinach, Michael Claassens,Patrick Lambie (captain), Andre Esterhuizen, Lukhanyo Am, Jeremy Ward, Lwazi Mvovo, Kobus van Wyk, Sbu Nkosi, Curwin Bosch, Clément Poitrenaud
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The interesting parts for me- Droste over Deysel. Only 2 scrummies and taking an out and out wing over a backup 10.
Nkosu over sithole
Nkosi
Is Sithole injured?
Would have picked Sithole to cover centre and wing over Nkosi.
Bosch to cover 10 and I think Poitrenaud covers the back 3 as well as both centres.
Good looking squad!
Very interesting, cant wait to see the boys in action
Guys, I think the Sithole ship has sailed… There has to be something not up to standard, be it physical or emotional. 😐
@Southern_Shark (Comment 7) : Agreed, lets back the youngsters…Sithole needs to do a lot in CC qualifying to get back in
@SheldonK (Comment 1) : I guess Curwin is our flyhalf cover then?
@vanmartin (Comment 9) : Yebo and if either him or lambie goes down they will fly someone over i guess. Interestingly Bosch didnt play at 10 at all in the warm ups so my feeling is they backing Lambie to play 160minutes on tour
The Nkosi selection is, of course, hugely controversial, but we need to back the coach here. Clearly, over three months of pre-season, he has seen something from the 20-year-old that has convinced him to back the youngster over Sithole, whose hands simply never seem to get any better.
There’s no room for sentiment in this sport and if a younger, hungrier player is prepared to work harder than an established guy, it’s got to be good for the team when he gets selected.
Plumtree would NEVER have made a call like this. Ditto Droste over Deysel. It wouldn’t have happened.
In fact, Plumtree would have selected Odwa over either Nkosi or Sithole.
@robdylan (Comment 11) : I fully back the 2 guys selected Droste and Nkosi. My only concern was Nkosi over Van Rensburg in terms of position cover but im happy with Nkosi. He is an SA u20 player, big strong and quick…so i see no reason why he shouldnt get a run over the to be honest tried and tested and failed Sithole. In my opinion Sithole needs 6 months with the 7s side to rejuvenate himself as he seems to get lost in 15s.
@robdylan (Comment 11) : Nail on the head there Rob. For once we have a coach that seem to (hopefully!) end this ridiculous trend of picking players on reputation rather than form. And then justifying it by throwing the word “experience” around. Kak.
On a side note: Saw Morne the other day speaking very highly of our coach on Twitter. Very encouraging indeed. But we need to give him time to build the team the way he wants to.
@SheldonK (Comment 12) : yes, fair. The lack of cover at 9 and 10 is a big worry.
@robdylan (Comment 11) : Agreed. Let’s hope Nkosi makes the best of this opportunity.
@robdylan (Comment 14) : If Lambie wasnt so injury prone and Bosch was not in only his 2nd year and so young i wouldnt mind. But if Lambie goes down against the Reds we start with Bosch at 10 against the Brumbies in Canberra with possibly a late arriving Van Rensburg on the bench…talk about a team possibly panicking. But will hope for the best
@SheldonK (Comment 16) : Good comment
@SheldonK (Comment 16) : I have plenty of faith in Bosch. I think he’ll manage.
@robdylan (Comment 18) : Huge potential, but his best position is fullback and hasnt set foot at 10 this year yet. So would be huge pressure on not only him but those around him if Lambie goes down, which i hate to think will happen but knowing past history…well ya. Its definitely left field but if Lambie does go down id rather play Poitrenaud at 10 and keep Bosch at 15 vs Brumbies.
@SheldonK (Comment 19) : unfortunate reality here is that compromises have to be made somewhere. To be completely safe, Sharks would have had to leave both Ward and Nkosi behind and take Benahrd + Venter
@robdylan (Comment 20) : Yeh look i fully understand that. And id love to see Nkosi get gametime over there just dont know if he will. Think its just Lambie’s injury history that has me and others a bit nervous
@SheldonK (Comment 21) : surely lightning can’t strike Pat for a fourth season in succession?
@robdylan (Comment 22) : Surely….
@SheldonK (Comment 23) : that was more an exhortation/desperate prayer than a statement, you understand.
@robdylan (Comment 24) : 2017 to be the year of the Pat. Both in black and white and green and gold jerseys. You read it here first.
@robdylan (Comment 11) : @Another Nick (Comment 13) : Really, so Plum wouldnt pick youngsters, not Paul Jordan or Pieter Steph du Toit or Marcel Coetzee or Pat Lambie. As for Odwa, he has been picked regularly by every coach since Plumtree (and there have been a fair few) and dont be surprised if he doesnt get a look in this season as well.
@robdylan (Comment 22) : I think this subject should be banned on here, and anyone making an inference to it , banned and have a curse of genital warts collectively wished on him by the combined psychic power of the site.
@The hound (Comment 27) : ok – I back that, starting now.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 26) : oh look, it’s the praise singer.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 26) : silly ad hominem attacks aside, I think you may have just named the only 4 young players that Plumtree ever did back…. and he was head coach for what, 6 seasons?
@Another Nick (Comment 25) : Kiss of death right there man 😈
@robdylan (Comment 29) : Praise singer, yes, as opposed to back stabber.
@robdylan (Comment 30) : Another time, this is Roberts first Super squad, lets keep the focus on that.
@robdylan (Comment 29) : Speaking of ……did you watch the State of the Nation address, the praise singer that came in ahead of the boss was all of 11 years old.
So provided the full squad is fit we can possibly expect this vs the Reds:
1. Beast 2. Marais 3. Adriaanse 4. Oosthuizen 5. Lewies 6. VD Walt 7. DuPreez 8. Mthembu 9. Reinach 10.Lambie 11. Mvovo 12. Esterhuizen 13. Am 14. Van Wyk 15. Bosch
16. DuToit 17. Chilliboy 18. Oosthuizen 19. Botha 20 Vermuelen 21. Classens 22. Ward 23 Poitrenaud
@SheldonK (Comment 35) : pretty close, but maybe botha to start sine Lewies is short on match fitness?
@robdylan (Comment 36) : I was originally gonna put it as that but thought the Lewies starting would be my ‘possible’ pick
@SheldonK (Comment 16) : Sorry, did I miss something? Who is van Rensburg?
@Southern_Shark (Comment 38) : The youngster flyhalf we signed from Pukke/Leopards- Behnard Janse Van Rensburg. Still young as only 21 i think but doesnt shy away from tackles and likes to take the ball flat and challenge the line. Decent kicker too although Bosch probably more accurate.
@SheldonK (Comment 39) : Oh got it. Wouldn’t Robert rather send Inny?
@Southern_Shark (Comment 40) : Think Van Rensburg has leaped frogged him as he can tackle. Van Rensburg seemed to be the 2nd choice in the warm up games. Inny was found out last year, still needs time to mature- he is tiny.
@Southern_Shark (Comment 40) : Hounds gonna come after you 😈
@SheldonK (Comment 41) : Shows you, there is always someone stronger, faster, hungrier….
@Hulk (Comment 42) : 😯
@Southern_Shark (Comment 43) : Its also a case of making the transition from a good junior player to a good senior player…for some no transition is needed…for some it takes a short amount of time…and for others the adjustment takes a bit longer. Inny was good at school, good through the junior structures, showed good glimpses in the CC but still needs big improvement in defense and game management. He is still young, not every player needs to be a Bosch teenage sensation.
@SheldonK (Comment 45) : No for sure. Professional sport is nie vir sussies nie. 😛 So many juniors don’t reach their potentional. A strong mind is sometimes more important than a strong body. 😎
@SheldonK (Comment 45) : Not given up on Inny and hope he can make big improvements during the season. I feel we backed him to much in the CC when he wasn’t doing himself any favors with his performances.
Basically all of the above…good squad…worries about 9 and 10 backup…and possibly loosie backup…
@pastorshark (Comment 48) : I think because of it being only a 2 match tour RdP is willing to take the risk of not having backup there. Less of a chance to get injuries in 2 games than 3/4 like a normal tour and then come back home to a full squad?
@robdylan (Comment 14) : think Venter and Bernhard might be living at the airport for at least the first 12 days of the tour 😉
@pastorshark (Comment 48) : I think thats the same for all the SA sides…most sides have 1 decent 10 and then not much. Most sides have 1 or 2 decent scrummies that can either be good or bad. And then most sides struggle for options at 6 especially.
@Hulk (Comment 47) : Yeh look Inny is stil young as i said. He was good at as a junior and i still think he has a good attacking game. Whether he can learn to adapt to senior rugby especially the physicality needed on defense and then also the game management to know when to run and when to slow things down will determine if he can make it. But def potential and the Sharks have invested a lot in him so dont think they will throw him away too quickly.
@SheldonK (Comment 51) : If we hadnt given Robert du Preez a shove and free passage to go and play Varsity Cup / WP / Stormers we would have had ample very good back up at 10, 12.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 53) : At the time he left he was fighting for 3rd in the queue with Jean Luc DuPlessis and behind Lambie and Zelinga. So cant really blame him for going to play Varsity Cup
@SheldonK (Comment 54) : and Tim Swiel
@robdylan (Comment 55) : Yes true forgot he was here too at the time. He seems to be doing ok at Quins- seems to be their preferred choice on the bench.
@SheldonK (Comment 54) : So has he got better in the Cape or were our talent spotters just snoozing.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 57) : Well look he has got older and matured as a player which is expected over time. His initial performances were quite erratic in the Cape, which is why he was down the pecking order in KZN. The lack of 10s in the Cape has given him his chance…if both Peter Grant and Catrakilis had stuck around im not sure he would be any different than he was in KZN. Having said all that he does look to have learnt and matured as a player. He was injured for a large part of last year so interested to see how he goes this year being older and wiser and fit.
@SheldonK (Comment 58) : Judge him on his last outing under the coaching of Robbie Deans and Will Greenwood and he was world class.
@The hound (Comment 59) : I have to challenge what is implied in this statement. Do you have any grasp of exactly how much (or rather how little) “coaching” a player selected for the Barbarians is likely to receive from whoever is named to coach the team? You seem to imply that Robert is a phenomenal player being held back by turkey SA coaches, but that all it took was a 30-minute session with Deans to unleash the world beater he has always been?
@robdylan (Comment 60) : Yes
@The hound (Comment 61) : ok. Well, I’ll let the comment stand on its own merits, then.
@The hound (Comment 59) : One game does not a superstar make. Its also a lot easier to play with freedom when there is no pressure and nothing on the line. Quality of opposition also makes a difference. So id like to see more than just 1 game…id like to think we have learnt from the hype surrounding guys like Garth April after one or two games. So lets see what he can do this year consistently…and no coaching is not an excuse for bad performances.
@SheldonK (Comment 63) : don’t mention April to Hound. Now we’re going to have to go through yesterday’s discussion all over again.
@robdylan (Comment 64) : 🙄
@SheldonK (Comment 58) : Well someone in the Cape clearly saw the potential that we missed when they brought him in to play Varsity Cup in which he was brilliant (player of the tournament if Im not mistaken). He impressed so much that WPRU offered him a contract and we gladly let him go.
As for him being stuck behind other players I have a feeling that if all are fit he will also be (unfairly) stuck behind JL du Plessis.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 66) : Thats a bit harsh on the Sharks. Maties offered him a spot in Varsity cup as they needed a 10. KZN didnt and still doesnt have a varsity cup side for him to play in. WP then had a gap at 10 due to Grant and Catrakilis leaving- would he have been offered and would he have taken the deal if it was behind those 2? Look hindsight is 20/20 but he has def improved and all players should in time. I think with the injuries they have we could see DuPlessis at 10 and DuPreez at 12 with DDA at 13.
@SheldonK (Comment 63) : Do you ever read your comments before you post
One game does not a superstar make, he played three games for the Barbarians.
Quality of opposition also makes a difference, he played against a Bok side that he wasn’t any where near being considered for.
Its also a lot easier to play with freedom when there is no pressure and nothing on the line
Playing at Twickhenham,for a pick up team against your own country, if thats no pressure, for fuck sake what is then.
Secondly my comment was judge him by his last game, which is a fair comment.
@The hound (Comment 68) : My comment make perfect sense, you calling him a superstar after his last game- you know his last game was against like the Czech Republic or something? 3 Games for the Barbarians is hardly a good indicator. And pressure playing for them? Are you joking? Nobody cares if they lose by 50 as long as they throw the ball around. Ask anyone that has played for the Barbarians and they will tell you its an honour to play for them but the games are just a bit of fun.
As for quality of opposition everyone can agree that the Boks werent good last year. And no DuPreez didnt get a look in- he was also injured for 90% of the year.
So now the guy is a superstar after a good , hardly brilliant just good game for a pick up side in a charity game. And yet you moan about the SA selections? Next thing we should pick a guy thats done well at Cape Town 10s…
@SheldonK (Comment 69) : Actually DuPreez last game was not for the Barbarians, it was for the Stormers vs the Lions where DuPreez is reported to have been solid but unspectacular.
His Varsity Cup performances should have been a damn good indicator to the powers that be that he would be worth holding onto and not just release him from his Sharks contract.
@SheldonK (Comment 70) : Solid but unspectacular is fine by me for a proficient fly half / centre coming off the bench.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 71) : Sharks had flyhalves on their books already. Also all the power is with the players- if they want to go not much a Union can do.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 72) : Look dont get me wrong, i dont for one second think Rob DuPreez is not good. Id love if he was at the Sharks. I just dont think he was a superstar all those years ago and that he is the best 10 in SA currently but willing to be proved wrong during super rugby.
@SheldonK (Comment 73) : I have watched Robert play for a long time, he was always a scrum half, desperately trying to emulate his father.It was only when he left school that he moved to 10.
His whole life he had to live in the shadow of the phenomena coming up like a tornado two years behind him.
Best thing for him was to leave and set up his own identity.I never thought he would make it,Iknew his brothers would first time Isaw them playing barefoot junior rugby at Durban Prep.
In that Barbarians game when he hit that beautiful penalty kick that was caught and scored by the wing he grew 2 foot.The look on Green woods face and the high five with Robert said a lot ,that it was a planned move, and executed to perfection.
Your comments about the Barbarians are total horseshit,show me one guy whoever wore that jersey who doesn’t treasure it
@The hound (Comment 75) : There is a difference between treasuring the jersey and having fun on the field- im yet to see one Barbarians side put their full effort into defense. It a fling the ball around approach and if opposition scores oh well. Its hardly test match or even super rugby intensity and pressure. Sorry to suggest otherwise is laughable. Its a fun charity game thats all.
As far as i know Robert played 10 for Kearsney but im not an ‘expert’ as yourself.
Again i never said he is a bad player…im just not going to hype him up to be a rugby god being held back by useless SA coaches. Sorry but thats so far from the truth. Well for us ‘non experts’ on the guy
@SheldonK (Comment 76) : You can make up shit,my comment was judge him on his last game, which happened to be under a great coach,unless you also think Deans is over rated
Rob jumped to and added so you think most S.A coaches are crap land quite frankly next to Deans I think they are.Especially Fleck and Coetzee.
You then go on to rubbish Barbarian rugby’s sub standard kinda like 10’s.
I would kill to watch any Barbarians game, don’t think I’d bother to switch channels to watch 10’s.
I never said anywhere that he was a rugby God held back by useless SA coaches.,those unfortunately were all Rob’s words.
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