The Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls go head-to-head in an important Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday evening.
The return leg, second round derby will be viewed as a crucial step towards the log chase, with some congestion between the four South African sides competing in the URC and plenty of motivation for various reasons.
Log positions are important, but a clinical, accurate, calm and disciplined performance will have been the talk in the camp during the week.
After the Cell C Sharks 30-16 first round victory at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in early December, they know that they need to look forward, not backwards. A strong performance against a physical Bulls side is vital and the team must match their opposition’s best efforts with relentless physicality of their own.
Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt has made three changes to last week’s side, giving Gerbrandt Grobler a start in the second row with hard-working fellow lock Ruben van Heerden playing off the bench. In the other change to the pack, the vastly experienced Henco Venter comes in for the impressive youngster Jeandre Labuschagne at flank.
After big performances leading the Cell C Sharks in the Carling Currie Cup, Marius Louw is called up to the URC side where he slots in at centre, with captain Lukhanyo Am moving back to his regular position at outside centre in place of Jeremy Ward.
More commanding performances at Currie Cup level have been just reward for the Springbok duo of loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe and flyhalf Curwin Bosch, both of whom returned from injury to play important roles in last week’s 35-20 victory over DHL Western Province. The pair have been selected on the bench for this match.
Saturday’s clash kicks off at 5.05pm.
Cell C Sharks
1. Ox Nche
2. Bongi Mbonambi
3. Thomas du Toit (v/c)
4. Gerbrandt Grobler
5. Hyron Andrews
6. Siya Kolisi
7. Henco Venter
8. Phepsi Buthelezi
9. Jaden Hendrikse
10. Tito Bonilla
11. Makazole Mapimpi
12. Marius Louw
13. Lukhanyo Am (c)
14. Sbu Nkosi
15. Aphelele Fassi
Replacements
16. Kerron van Vuuren
17. Ntuthuko Mchunu
18. Khutha Mchunu
19. Ruben van Heerden
20. Sikhumbuzo Notshe
21. Grant Williams
22. Curwin Bosch
23. Werner Kok
The post A Commanding Performance appeared first on The Sharks.
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Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: Geography – The Kwazulu Natalprovince has three different geographic areas. The lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province. The central region is the Natal Midlands and is an undulating hilly plateau rising towards the west. Two mountainous areas are contained in this area, the Drakensberg Mountains in the west and the Lebombo Mountains in the north. The Drakensberg is a solid wall of basalt, rising over 3000m skyward near the Lesotho border, whilst the Lebombo Mountains are ancient granite mountains, forming low parallel ranges running southward from Swaziland. The Tugela River flows west to east, across the center of the province and is the region’s largest river. The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines and steep slopes host some true Afromontane Forest. The midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland. The former Eastern Cape enclave, of the town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland, have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal, following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made other changes to the southern border of the province.
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