Inny Radebe will earn his first Super Rugby start tomorrow when he wears the number 10 jersey for the Sharks against the Jaguares at Kings Park.
Rob du Preez has lost Garth April to an unspecified injury ahead of the game and has thus reshuffled his back division, with Curwin Bosch moving to the last line of defence and Radebe coming up off the bench.
Rhyno Smith, who has yet to see action this season, has been promoted to the match 23.
Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo (vice captain), 10 Inny-Christian Radebe, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Tera Mtembu (captain), 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Ruan Botha, 20 Philip van der Walt , 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Jeremy Ward, 23 Rhyno Smith.
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I am not anti Inny, but i think this is not the right move for this reason alone, CB has just settled and is also starting to gel with the players outside him in defense and attack, I believe another fullback should be found to let CB settle at 10, if this backfires we will have a huge setback. you cannot chop and change your 9/10/12 every week, you need consistent selection
Eish, trial by fire.
@Bokhoring (Comment 2) : this worries me, surely Smith to 15 a better option and if he is not match fit bring in another 11 and play Mvovo at 15
Far better to have kept CB at 10
I’m not going to second guess Rob and his coaching crew. Good luck Inny!
One of the reason I think Rob will have gone with this is the lateness of the change. Most of the backup played a full game today. Inny and Bosch will have run in these positions at practice this week.
This game is going to brutal so the coach knows what is best for this…
Why contract the Frog and then not play him?
Creevy and co push the envelope on physical play.
Looks like April has a calf strain…
If we start Inny, I would have played Claasens with him. He would do a much better job of taking the pressure of his 10.
@Loosehead (Comment 7) : To be fair, all these guys are contracted…Rob has done a good job so far of playing the right guys at the right time. So I back him. Inny did a good job last Saturday. Poitrenaud has been shaky so far…so I can’t see too much wrong with the thinking.
Well it should answer some questions at the least. I would have used ward in place of Am and move him to wing then keep bosch at 10 with mvovo at 15. But let’s see.
@coolfusion (Comment 12) : same i agree
This explains why Smith wasn’t on the Sharks XV team list. Coach was obviously hoping April would be fit in time but had Smith waiting in the wings in case.
@vanmartin (Comment 14) : must be as I found it strange that Smith did not play but now it makes sense.
@Loosehead (Comment 7) : he played fr the Sharks XV today. Remember he has not played in over a year so will need time to adjust to taking contact.
@JD (Comment 16) : Did he play for the Sharks XV? He wasn’t on the team list…
I hope this doesn’t go like the Ben10 fiasco.
I had hoped Rob would at least start him off next to Claasens. A misfiring Cobus can do a lot of damage to his confidence which he is obviously very reliant on, looking at previous seasons.
@coolfusion (Comment 19) : “A misfiring Cobus” …. Cobus has been misfiring for a very long time and has become an overrated player with periodic bursts of speed … not much more …. When last has he played really well? What warrants his inclusion week after week? He does not play well, does not seem interested anymore and is on his way out …. so, why continue playing him?
Is there really no better (or soon to be better, if given a chance to play) scrumhalf at the Sharks?
During every match Cobus drives me nuts with his little box kicks which amount to absolutely nothing, apart for giving the opponents ample opportunity to counter attack … He does not (ever) deliver good, sharp service to his flyhalf, but broadcasts very clearly his next action for all to see …. The outcome is that he fails miserably in getting his backline away quickly and places the flyhalf under intense pressure.
Give somebody else, who really wants to play, who is hungry and whose loyalty lies with the Sharks, an opportunity. Get Michael Claassens so help this guy, as Michael has a world of experience …. and what better opportunity to get a fresh no. 9 now, as our excellent coach was one too? Who better to recognise and “form / create” a brilliant young scrumhalf than Rob du Preez???
@swan (Comment 20) : yes well put cause this joke and it can only be a joke cant carry on till he leaves
Off to the stadium, beautiful day 27 degrees slight NE 18kmh breeze.,great day for rugby.
Heres to a great Sharks victory.
@swan (Comment 20) : Well no disagreement from me. He does have brilliant moments but manages to balance them out with bone head moves every game. Claasens doesn’t have the endurance for a full game but we should start him fresh and sub him at 50. Or else work a lot harder on his conditioning. We have a problem though that we don’t have a good enough backup. My fingers are crossed that we rectify this with a good signing end if season make that 2 since Mike is getting on.