There is no rest for the wicked as the Sharks continue their Super Rugby campaign against the Lions this Saturday, as coach Robert du Preez has included all of his Springboks for this encounter.
Boks Tendai Mtawarira, Akker van der Merwe, Thomas du Toit, Jean-Luc du Preez, Andre Esterhuizen, Lukhanyo Am and Sbu Nkosi all start against what is set to be a massive clash against the Lions this weekend.
15. Curwin Bosch
14. Sbu Nkosi
13. Lukhanyo Am
12. Andre Esterhuizen
11. Makazole Mapimpi
10. Robert du Preez
9. Cameron Wright
8. Daniel du Preez
7. Jean-Luc du Preez
6. Philip van der Walt
5. Ruan Botha (c)
4. Tyler Paul
3. Thomas du Toit
2. Akker van der Merwe
1. Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements
16. Chiliboy Ralepelle
17. Juan Schoeman
18. Ross Geldenhuys
19. Hyron Andrews
20. Jacques Vermeulen
21. Louis Schreuder
22. Marius Louw
23. Lwazi Mvovo
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Let’s hope we can do this…any idea what the Lions team look like?
Ja probably as strong as it gets for the Sharks but would have liked to see Ginger at 8 and Vermeulen at 6 with Dan on the bench.
Bend over and bite the pillow Jaco Shite Peyper is here to rape us again this week end
@The hound (Comment 3) : How many times in one season do we have to put up with bloody mr Peyper, who clearly does not “like” the Sharks … ??? 👿 Honestly, isn’t there a limit to the “pain and suffering” he is allowed to bestow upon the Sharks team? Is the umpire association like some kind of Mafia favouring some teams and punishing other by appointing Peyper to their matches …?
I think Beast and Nkosi in particular will be out on their feet after the 1st 20mins. It looked like they were already fatigued halfway through the 2nd England test.
Usually we aren’t good after a bye or international break so I really don’t feel too confident about this game.
@JD (Comment 2) : 100% agree with that.
@The hound (Comment 3) : Agreed, don’t like most Saffa referees, especially Peyper. I don’t get the love affair referees have with lions, they’re as dirty as anyone else.
That’s a good team and if we hit the ground running we can win this game. But that’s a big if.
@JD (Comment 2) : @Quintin (Comment 5) : I’m not convinced with Vermuelen at 6 but hoope that not getting game time with the Boks has put some fire in Dan’s belly and he goes about proving a point. Especially with Duane Vermuelen not being available for RC.
@Hulk (Comment 7) : I would rather have Cam prove a point to Rassie. Dan is pretty much third in line at number 8 after Thor and Whitely, but the Boks really do not depth at 9.
Pretty much the best team the Sharks can put out. And it is a strong team on paper, just need the performances on the field. Will be interesting to see how guys fare after the break both those that played the internationals and those that had a break…
@Quintin (Comment 5) : Flip side if the coin they will be more match ready than the rest, exhaustion aside
Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Voster, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylan Smith.
Subs: 16 Corne Fourie, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Marnus Schoeman, 22 Nic Groom, 23 Courtnall Skosan.
@josefgremlin (Comment 11) : That is a very strong team. Marx, Kwagga and Schoeman – Sharks will have to be 100% accurate and committed at the breakdown
@coolfusion (Comment 10) : Was thinking the same thing as they at least played matches where if we have a bye you can see the guys struggle to find any rhythm to get into the game.
@Bokhoring (Comment 8) : Yeah that would be great. I do think Cam is at least in the picture to some extent though.
@Bokhoring (Comment 12) : And they have Combrinck back as well who has a lot of BMT in my opinion although he has been injured for a while so him and Whitely may also be a bit rusty in the 1st 20mins.
Anyone know if our generous sponsor’s recent color change will reflect on our jerseys? Orange on black just doesn’t sound that appealing
@Die Kriek (Comment 15) : Almost sounds like a TV series
@The hound (Comment 3) : No man now I have to change my super bru pick.
@SheldonK (Comment 9) : Maybe they learned not to drop the ball at the boks
@Byron Wright (Comment 18) : I was much more impressed with the handling and passing by the backs in the first two tests. 3rd test we were back to passing behind the player. Hope they can get good running ball…
QUARTER-FINAL TIME FOR CELL C SHARKS XV
The Cell C Sharks XV will host the Xerox Golden Lions XV in their Supersport Rugby Challenge quarter-final clash at JONSSON KINGS PARK on Saturday afternoon.
In what should be a competitive match between the sides, the curtain-raiser to the Cell C Sharks match against the Emirates Lions later, the tournament has now reached the important stages.
Both teams are fresh – and morale-boosted – following big wins in the final weekend of the pool stages last weekend with the Lions enjoying a 47-29 victory over the Blue Bulls and the Cell C Sharks putting on an equally emphatic performance before running out 48-21 winners over the Toyota Free State XV.
In both cases the victors were able to leap-frog the vanquished into second spot on their respective logs, with the Cell C Sharks XV shading the Lions by one log point to ensure that they host the knock-out match on Sunday.
They will take a lot of confidence out of the recent good form – last week against Free State in particular – as they look to take on a strong Lions side.
“It was a good win for us, we needed it to qualify and credit must go to the boys for putting their bodies on the line; I’m very happy with the five points,” said head coach Ricardo Loubscher.
He has made several changes to last week’s side, enforced due to the Vodacom Super Rugby players returning to The Cell C Sharks team for their match against the Lions in the main game.
“This weekend is a tough one for us, if you look at their DNA, they like to have a crack so defensively we need to bring our A-game. But the boys are excited for this one and looking forward to it. Hopefully we can put up a good performance in front of our home crowd.”
The difference between winning and losing in these matches can come down to an opportunity finished or the bounce of the ball. Loubscher admitted that his team will look to exploit any chances they get in what is expected to be a tight game.
“Any knockout game is about taking your opportunities, making sure you defend when you need to and then take the points whenever the chance presents itself. We might get one or two opportunities and that might be the difference in the game.
“And then adapting to the referee and making sure we’re on the right side of the calls.”
The Cell C Sharks XV were bolstered last week but even without some of the Vodacom Super Rugby players, the team still has a settled look about it.
“We’re excited for this one, we’ve worked hard the whole season and the players can’t wait to have a go on Saturday.”
The Cell C Sharks XV
1. Jordan Els
2. Franco Marais
3. John-Hubert Meyer
4. Rikus Zwart
5. Andrew Evans
6. Cornelius Otto
7. Wian Vosloo
8. Tera Mtembu (C)
9. Grant Williams
10. Garth April
11. Tristan Blewett
12. Jeremy Ward
13. Kobus van Wyk
14. Aphelele Fassi
15. Courtney Winnaar
Replacements
16. Kerron van Vuuren
17. Khutha Mchunu
18. Mzamo Majola
19. JJ van der Mescht
20. Kwanda Dimaza
21. Francois de Villiers
22. Danrich Visagie
No Smith ? he must be back in camp with the 7’s for the wc, no Gideon or Deysel either, sharks are notorious for not updating us about injuries,
@Die Kriek (Comment 15) : @Bokhoring (Comment 16) : Actually I like it! Pays homage to our Cheetahs heritage! 😈
@JD (Comment 21) : Cheetahs heritage or happy hunting grounds? Or fishing.
@coolfusion (Comment 22) : hahaha you know me so well!!!
Sharks score first after a good maul
Sharks mess up a great scoring opportunity
8-7 Sharks lead
How to fuck up a certain try 101
Lions have our number at the scrums
Mapimpi might as well not exist, such is the magnitude of kakness relating to that defensive effort.
Much better scrum!
Great defence Akker!
Mapimpi makes an important steal on the deck, we kick for touch after the penalty and screw up the lineout. Lions almost score but Akker saves the day once again.
Eventually we get out of our half and earn a penalty. Rob kicks the points.
Sharks 11 – Lions 14
Great skill from Marx and co to score. 😎
Sharks 11 – Lions 21 (HT)
Lions really not looking better, just using opportunities. Dyllan Smith scrumming in an Thomas gets pinged. Peyper really does not like penalizing his beloved lions
Pretty forgetful rugby by the Sharks in the first half.
How Akker is behind Mbonambi and Chiliboy in the Bok pecking order is a travesty.
And Bosch butchers his second try
@jdolivier (Comment 39) : So brilliant and kak simultaneously, it’s mind-boggling.
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 38) : His lineout needs some work
Now the Lions scrumming the shit out of us again.
@Bokhoring (Comment 41) : That can be sorted
Great defence! Now get out of our half man!
Sharks defense has mostly been great. Not much else to talk about
Van Wyk makes an immediate difference on attack
Much better!
Schrueder has also been sublime
@jdolivier (Comment 48) : And then rewards your compliment with an atrocious box kick
@jdolivier (Comment 48) : So far he has been much better than Cam today
Suddenly the Sharks scrum is dominant
The scrum battle has been seesaw
All square. 21-21. 63 min
And then we give a penalty away at the kickoff
And immediately we hand them a penalty on a platter FFS!!
Sharks 21 – Lions 24 (66 min)
Mvovooooooo!!!!!!
Intercept try from Mvovo.
Sharks 28 – Lions 24 (70 min)
28-24 Sharks lead
Great comeback from the Sharks.
Awesome defence and counter-ruck!
Now we need a good exit please
Sharks 31 – Lions 24 (73 min)
@Bokhoring (Comment 63) : Esterhuizen decided screw you 😆
Who is that person wearing a Louis Schreuder mask playing scrumhalf for us?
@Nostraseth (Comment 66) : 😆
Great defense from the Sharks
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 67) : Easily his best game in the Sharks jersey, he won us the second half.
Well done Sharks!!!
Great win boys!!!!
Sharks break the Lions winning streak against SA teams
Oh man! I am soon proud of the men!!! They were under the kosh in that third quarter, defended like tigers and then turned it on in the final quarter. That was a brave, important, wonderful win!!!! Jaaaaaa!!!!!
That was gutsy and committed. All we’ve been asking for the season. Well done boys remember the feeling and repeat it next week
@Nostraseth (Comment 69) : Agree
@Nostraseth (Comment 66) : He was possessed by the ghost of joost van Der westhuizen
That must be so sweet for Akker…MotM!
@pastorshark (Comment 77) : It feels like he’s every MOTM lately.
Would it really kill Joel stransky to compliment the sharks
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 78) : He is amazing, can’t understand why he benches for the boks
20 – 3 to the Sharks second half.
Those big tackles on Elton about 15 minutes out probably changed the game…after that Elton was nowhere…
@jdolivier (Comment 79) : You would never think he grew up in Natal and even played for Natal.
@Bokhoring (Comment 83) : Scary thing is that Whiteley, cronje and coetzee also got overlooked by Jake white
@jdolivier (Comment 80) : He should only bench if Marx starts. Shouldn’t be behind any other hooker in world rugby, except maybe Codie Taylor.
@pastorshark (Comment 82) : We’ve just showed the rest of the competition how to stop the lions. Tackle Elton into a new bloodgroup and they lose
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 85) : At the moment akker is better than Marx. Definitely top 5 in the world Mr warthog
Right Stormers, make yourself useful!
Or not…my word! Surely the Fleckster can’t survive this…
@pastorshark (Comment 89) : We can only hope. 😈
Wow the Argie lock can shift! 😯
@jdolivier (Comment 87) : @Spirit of Rugby (Comment 85) : probably the only “weak” point is inconsistency of his lineout throwing! That needs to be a bit better to really be the best hooker!
@McLovin (Comment 90) : hahaha best of luck with that! Maybe will have a new coach and stadium for next year! 😈
Congrats with a good win. The Sharks defence in the second half was absolutely great.
The Sharks played knock-out rugby, taking their points, the Lions didn’t
@Baylion (Comment 94) : Thanks. Both teams played the way they usually do. Hard game but on the day think Sharks just use their chances better.
@JD (Comment 92) : Both hookers currently ahead of Akker in the Bok setup miss their jumpers regularly. Mbonambi 3 times against the Jaguares last night and Chiliboy twice against the Lions. Simply going by the value he adds overall on attack and defence blows the others out of the water.
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 96) : Think it’s time for Beast to play the sub and elevate Schoeman to start, we got the ascendancy with the reserves,but by then Thomas had decimated Smith and his replacement wasn’t;t up to scratch.Thomas seems to perform better with a shorter No1,like he does with Kishoff.I thought Chilli had his best game in a long time, and make no mistake we won that game when we took out their scrum.Lions haven’t been put back like that with Marx in the driving seat for a long time.
As good as Akker was on the night and he was brilliant,Thomas was my man of the match, he played the whole game and got better as it got longer.
Best night at KP in a while and in front of the entire,Currie Cup winning team of 2008,they were all there,Bizzie,Jannie,Johan Muller,Albert van der Berg,Pienaar,amongst others,
Great evening great win and we did it without Jean Luc who has become our one trick pony in recent times.
@The hound (Comment 97) : I agree that the game swung when our scrum started to dominate and that was also around the time when Chiliboy came on. I’m just chuffed to see the squad pulling finger as a whole for a change. Having said that, I wish our locks had more grunt.
@The hound (Comment 97) : Did anyone notice how crisp tdt pass is from the base. If he didnt weigh 130kgs he could make a good scrumhalf
@The hound (Comment 97) : du Tank decimated Smith? Seriously? Did you actually watch the game? Du Tank got the same scrumming lesson from Smith that he got from Jacques van Rooyen earlier this year. Keeping in mind the Sharks pack outweighed the Lions pack by 60 kgs
@Baylion (Comment 100) : On that side of the scrum there was very little legal going on. So let’s just leave it there. Thomas won 2 your cub won 3
@jdolivier (Comment 101) : 😀 🙂 😆
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 98) : Schoeman also deserves a mention
@Baylion (Comment 100) : @The hound (Comment 97) : @jdolivier (Comment 101) : Yes in the beginning Tank was under pressure but the longer the game went the better he did. He’s already way better then a couple of months ago and will only get better the longer he plays at 3! Schoeman also impressed me and was really strong in the scrum and busy in overall play. But all of this is just how I think after watching 30 odd min of play as well as highlights.
@Baylion (Comment 100) :I was at the game, and sitting just above the Lions bench,I probably had as good a look at Dylan Smiths he came off the field as Peyper and this much I can tell you friend he was fucked and distraught, he had been worked over.Only other Lion in that condition was Jaantjies after Akker was finished with him
@The hound (Comment 105) : he started off good but think the longer the game went on the more pressure Tank put on him.
@JD (Comment 106) : In life its not about how you start but how you finish that counts.Thomas big test will come next week against the best prop in the world Kitshoff.
@The hound (Comment 107) : For sure think the next two weeks (against Ginger and Argies) will show exactly how good or bad Tank is doing at 3! Just hope he can start better as he has the endurance to be strong after 30 odd minutes!
You guys know anything about injuries Akker and Jean luc?
@coolfusion (Comment 109) : Would seem like Akker will be in but jldp out for a while?
@coolfusion (Comment 110) : that’s what I’ve read as well. Jldp out for a week or 2, hopefully ready for the play-offs again