Akker van der Merwe might be a new face in the Cell C Sharks team, but the former Lions hooker is in his element in his new surroundings and looking to keep contributing to our fortunes in the Currie Cup.
“I’ve loved rugby all my life,” he explains, “since I was a kid of about four, playing with my sister in the back yard.”
He started off playing scrumhalf, only changing to hooker at the age of 16. “That’s where everything started,” he admits.
“After school, I went to Potchefstroom and played Varsity cup there before moving to the Lions, and now with the Cell C Sharks….
“I must admit that I am enjoying it here and I’m loving the weather.”
The move from the Lions was really precipitated by a desire to get more game time. Playing behind Malcolm Marx, the incumbent Lions hooker, meant that van der Merwe spent more time warming the bench than he would have liked. While he accepted that he was part of the team, he just wanted to play, so when the opportunity to come to Durban arrived, he took it with both hands.
“At the end of the day, you want to play rugby and have some game time, and I’ve probably had more game time in the last three weeks with the Cell C Sharks than the entire year [with the Lions],” he explains of the reasoning behind his move.
Of the Cell C Sharks, he has only good things to say.
“I’m enjoying playing here, everyone is involved and the hooker is an important ball-carrier which I love, so I’m not complaining. Everyone has been so nice on and off the field, it’s been a good move.”
Part of the excitement he finds is the culture amongst the team of enjoying the rugby we play and aside from the character shown in recent matches to rescue wins from precarious positions, he admits that the enjoyment factor is a big part of the team’s success.
Although he left a team with a winning culture, the Cell C Sharks have won their last five consecutive matches and he is happy to remaining in a culture of success.
“I’m not complaining, we’ve kept to our pact of going undefeated since we came together as a team [the Super Rugby competition was in the knock-out stages and the Cell C Sharks were still playing that competition when the first week of Currie Cup rugby started – with a loss to Free State], and we’re almost top of the log. Hopefully we’ll sort that out this weekend.
“I don’t want to talk about revenge, but we certainly owe Free State one, the guys are hungry to beat them.”
With the competition at the halfway stage, there is plenty more to play for, but there is no doubting the conviction and determination to do well.
“We have a lot of confidence in ourselves and in the team and we just need to keep believing that there is a very good chance of playing in the final.”
The post A Fresh New Start appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
LIVING UP TO OUR COMMUNITY VALUES:
The Cell C Sharks have demonstrated our community spirit to assist a young rugby player, Lifa Hlongwa, who sustained a serious injury in a club rugby match in late June.
23 year old Lifa Hlongwa suffered a potentially life-altering injury while playing flank for the Northwood Crusaders 2nd XV against Amanzimtoti in June when he was knocked over in the process of making a tackle and afterwards found himself numb from his shoulders to his toes and unable to move.
He was rushed to hospital, where it was determined that he had spinal cord damage, which not only drastically reduced his chances of playing again, but more importantly could impact on his ability to walk again in the future.
His future looked bleak and he has a challenging road ahead of him, which required intensive specialised inpatient rehabilitation to improve his functional independence.
In response to this, an urgent meeting was set up with Gary Teichmann, Siseko Jafta and Dr Glen Hagermann from The Sharks, as well as John Smit and Gail Baerecke from the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund. The aim was to plan the best way forward for Lifa, by assisting him and his family to come to terms with the journey ahead.
Dr Glen Hagemann was instrumental in facilitating the partnership with Life Health Care. Life Entabeni Hospital has a world-class Rehabilitation Centre and they have pledged to provide up to 12 weeks of private rehabilitation for Lifa, free of charge.
Lifa is not covered by medical aid, so the generous sponsorship, worth in the region of R300 000, will be of enormous assistance in providing him with the best possible chance of becoming functionally independent before returning home to his family.
The Players Fund, in consultation with The Sharks, have committed to providing Lifa with all his mobility needs following his rehab, and the KZNRU Cunningham Kemp Trust Fund will assist with additional ongoing support. This Fund was established in 2001 following catastrophic neck injuries to these two players from money raised by their families.
The Sharks CEO Gary Teichmann admitted that, “No injury is ever welcomed, particularly when it is a catastrophic neck injury, but the commitment from all parties involved shows just how important the livelihood of our players is, and how seriously we take the health and welfare of our players.”
“Lifa has such a passion for club rugby and it is unfortunate that he got injured whilst playing the game he loves. Despite this setback he has showed great character and strength. I would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the Crusaders Rugby Club and the entire club fraternity in KZN for rallying around Lifa and his family during this testing time, added the KZNRU General Manager, Siseko Jafta.
Gail Baerecke from the Player’s Fund, who also holds the position of serious injury case manager (SICM) for SA Rugby’s BokSmart – national rugby safety programme had this to say: “This unfortunate incident and the player involved have the right ingredients to make it a success story. Together as a team, I am confident we can achieve this.”
The overwhelming support from the Northwood Crusaders is another example of family spirit evident within our sport. Within days of the accident, the club activated a fundraising campaign and streams of messages have filled the Northwood Crusaders social media pages.
All three parties are committed to assisting Lifa and his family during this difficult time and we at The Sharks wish him the very best with his rehabilitation at Life Entabeni Hospital.
The post LIVING UP TO OUR COMMUNITY VALUES appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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