Centre Lukhanyo Am leads an exciting Cell C Sharks’ team in their opening Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Vodacom Bulls at Jonsson Kings Park on Friday evening.
The team closely resembles the starting line-up that took on the Stormers in the Superhero Sunday preseason warm-up match with a number of players set to make their debut in the black and white jersey.
Making their run-on debuts are three forwards, loosehead prop Ox Nche, flank James Venter and eighthman Sikumbuzo Notshe who all made the move to Durban late last year. Le Roux Roets (lock) and Henco Venter (loose forward) – also new signings – together with local talents who performed in last year’s Currie Cup, scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba and flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain, play off the bench.
“There’s a strong vibe in the camp and we’re all looking forward to Super Rugby kicking off,” Cell C Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch admits.
With Bosch settled in the number 10 jersey, he recognises this as an opportunity to entrench himself. “For me to grow in confidence at 10, I need game time there, that’s how a player gets better and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Opposite him is 35-year-old Springbok Morne Steyn who returns to Pretoria after a stint of French rugby and Bosch admits that Steyn will be an important factor for the men in blue.
“Morne brings a lot of experience to his side, they’ve lost quite a few players overseas and because he’s such a good kicker, we know our discipline and game management need to be really sharp this weekend.
“But we’re going into this weekend’s game with a plan and if we stick to it, the result will take care of itself.”
Cell C Sharks
1. Ox Nche**
2. Kerron van Vuuren
3. Thomas du Toit
4. Ruben van Heerden
5. Hyron Andrews
6. James Venter**
7. Tyler Paul
8. Sikumbuzo Notshe**
9. Louis Schreuder
10. Curwin Bosch
11. Makazole Mapimpi
12. Andre Esterhuizen
13. Lukhanyo Am (c)
14. Sbu Nkosi
15. Aphelele Fassi
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Craig Burden
17. Juan Schoeman
18. John-Hubert Meyer
19. Le Roux Roets*
20. Henco Venter**
21. Sanele Nohamba*
22. Boeta Chamberlain*
23. Jeremy Ward
*Denotes that these following players will be making their Vodacom Super Rugby debuts.
**Denotes that these players will be playing their first match in a Cell C Sharks jersey.
The post Bring It On appeared first on The Sharks.
Cell C renews Cell C Sharks Sponsorship:
Wednesday, 29th January 2020: Cell C is pleased to announce it has renewed its sponsorship agreement with Sharks Rugby, extending an already long-standing partnership with the KZN-based club.
“Our sponsorship over the last six years has proven exceptionally valuable as a brand engagement platform for our customers as we endeavour to connect with them through their passion whilst driving key brand and business objectives. Sponsorships help us to drive brand awareness, sales, engage customers and to drive brand love. The partnership has been rewarding, not to mention the amazing strides the Cell C Sharks have made to truly embrace the country’s diversity and what that brings to the game of rugby,” says Cell C CEO Douglas Craigie Stevenson.
This team has grown in leaps and bounds since the start of Cell C’s sponsorship, bringing home the Currie Cup in 2018 and continuing to grow talent. Five of the Sharks players were victorious as Springboks in last year’s Rugby World Cup; Lukhanyo Am, Sbu Nkosi, Makazole Mapimpi, Thomas du Toit and the iconic, Tendai ‘’Beast’ Mtawarira. As Sharks fans know, Mtawarira announced after the World Cup he would be retiring from local and international rugby – he will be sorely missed.
“One of Cell C’s core values is to embrace diversity, and the Cell C Sharks are definitely a reflection of this ideal,” says Craigie Stevenson.
Cell C is excited to once again be able to leverage this valuable partnership through various sponsorship marketing initiatives which, in today’s cluttered marketing world, provides Cell C with a captive audience. Cell C is consistently looking at ways to find these audiences and to connect with customers through shared passions and values.
“The Cell C Sharks development programmes and their commitment to rugby development in the country as a whole is close to our hearts at Cell C,” says Craigie Stevenson.
The Sharks CEO, Eduard Coetzee added: We are delighted that our hugely successful partnership with Cell C will continue for a further three years. The Cell C brand is now synonymous with The Sharks, with the association firmly entrenched amongst our fans and rugby lovers in the country.
“The leveraging of this partnership has been hugely beneficial for both brands, yet there is so much more that we can achieve together. We look forward to what’s to come and taking this relationship a few steps further.”
The sponsorship agreement, which comes into effect in January 2020, will cover the next three years and Cell C is pleased to continue its relationship with such an incredible franchise.
Our customers and employees can look forward to lots of engagement opportunities throughout the sponsorship as we use it to drive key business objectives into the next three years.
-ENDS-
Issued by: Cell C (Pty) Ltd and The Sharks (Pty) Ltd
The post Cell C renews Cell C Sharks Sponsorship appeared first on The Sharks.
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