Any sporting team that harbours desires to succeed and win trophies must not only develop a winning culture, but build a world class team that embraces a culture of hard work that leads to success.
A culture is something that must be embraced; like respect that has to be earned rather than forced.
For The Sharks to succeed, they must build a team around a common goal that everyone buys into. And building a team sometimes means venturing outside the borders. Even that is not a recipe for success, because there has to be an attraction for those being courted. Attracting the Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, is one such example.
But no team can exist without a central and critical body of playing talent and this is where the pipeline from schoolboy to age group representativity becomes crucial. Identifying talent is one thing, developing it is quite another and The Sharks are extremely proud of the pipeline that has been structured around turning schoolboy success stories into future stars.
Retaining locally-produced talent is a vital component of The Sharks Next Gen structure and recruiting the best players in the province and keeping them in KZN has brought excellent results.
In 2017, The Sharks CEO Dr Eduard Coetzee took the Cell C Sharks Craven Week team out to dinner and in less than five years, eight of the players from that squad have become senior contracted players.
Of the eight, seven are still with the Cell C Sharks (JJ van der Mescht is now playing his rugby in France) and have all featured for the team in various competitions, with some even representing the Springboks.
Eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi has captained the Cell C Sharks, with fellow DHS old boy Sanele Nohamba also featuring regularly in the last couple of seasons. Maritzburg College old boy Ntuthuko Mchunu is quickly developing his reputation while Jaden Hendrikse has already had a taste of international honours. Dylan Richardson is a capped Scottish international while Fez Mbatha and Celimphilo Gumede are also getting their opportunities at a senior level.
Outside of that group, other proudly KZN talent that has represented the Cell C Sharks include Glenwood’s Kerron van Vuuren and James Venter and Cameron Wright from Hilton, who have become regular fixtures in the team while Maritzburg College’s Jeandre Labuschagne has burst onto the scene to become a starter in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, having come through the age group pipeline in KZN.
The success of these local players within junior competitions and now their involvement at a senior levels speaks volumes about The Sharks’ vision and commitment for success through the investment in local talent and the dividends this investment produces.
The post A Successful Pipeline appeared first on The Sharks.
Although the Cell C Sharks team selected to travel to Cape Town for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with the DHL Stormers on Saturday shows minimal changes, there is a new selection in the midfield that has been necessitated through injury to Ben Tapuai.
Following on from last week’s draw against the same opponents at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, head coach Sean Everitt has not tinkered too much with the team for the return leg.
The forward pack that dominated the Stormers at scrum time has been given an overwhelming thumbs up, while Everitt has swapped the jerseys of flyhalf and scrumhalf, with Jaden Hendrikse starting at nine and Argentine international Tito Bonilla at 10, with last week’s incumbents Grant Williams and Boeta Chamberlain playing off the bench.
With the injury to inside centre Ben Tapuai, captain Lukhanyo Am has shifted into his place with Jeremy Ward coming off the bench and into the starting line-up at outside centre.
This opens the door for Werner Kok to wear the number 23 jersey, with the final change seeing Reniel Hugo making way for Gerbrandt Grobler.
While there was a lot to enthuse about in the first leg clash with the Stormers last week, one concern was not closing out the victory when the Cell C Sharks held a decent lead.
This is not a structural issue but more about composure and bringing an element of ruthlessness to their game that Everitt will have outlined in the preparations to this match and exhorted his players to adopt this week.
With just two points separating the Cell C Sharks and Stormers on the URC table, every log point counts and this match presents the opportunity to put some daylight between them and the chasing South African sides.
Saturday’s match kicks off at 17h05.
Cell C Sharks
1. Ox Nche
2. Bongi Mbonambi
3. Thomas du Toit (v/c)
4. Ruben van Heerden
5. Hyron Andrews
6. Siya Kolisi
7. Jeandre Labuschagne
8. Phepsi Buthelezi
9. Jaden Hendrikse
10. Tito Bonilla
11. Makazole Mapimpi
12. Lukhanyo Am (c)
13. Jeremy Ward
14. Sbu Nkosi
15. Aphelele Fassi
Replacements
16. Kerron van Vuuren
17. Ntuthuko Mchunu
18. Khutha Mchunu
19. Gerbrandt Grobler
20. Henco Venter
21. Grant Williams
22. Boeta Chamberlain
23. Werner Kok
The post New Midfield Partnership appeared first on The Sharks.
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Have you tried: Visiting Port Elizabeth?
Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: Durban’s not known as Surf City for nothing – it’s one of the county’s top surfing spots, so if you’re keen to catch some waves, head on over to Dairy Beach, North Pier, and the Bay of Plenty. Unlike surf hotspots down the Cape coast where full-body wetsuits are required, the warm ocean temperature means surf shorts are in fashion all year round. Durban is also where surf legend – and one of the 10 greatest surfers of all time – Shaun Thomson, was born and bred.
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