The Cell C Sharks XV will commence their Currie Cup qualifying campaign against Boland Cavaliers this Friday night at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont. The match kicks-off at 19h00.
Cell C Sharks XV Head Coach, Michael Horak has assemebled an exciting team for this opening encounter with the likes of S’bura Sithole, Dale Chadwick, Heimar Williams and Thomas du Toit featuring, in an impressive line-up.
Horak will be looking for a clinical and passionate performnace from his young team , who can expect a tough challenge from the travelling Boland Cavaliers team.
Loose-forward, Khaya Majola will captain this young and determined Cell C Sharks XV team who will look to make a strong statement in this opening round of the Qualifiers.
This is the first time that a top-level match will be played in the township of Clermont and we expecting a great turn-out for this historic match.
Cell C Sharks XV
1. Mzamo Majola
2. Andrew Du Plessis
3. Ruan Kramer
4. Wian Vosloo
5. Tjiuee Uanivi
6. Khaya Majola (c)
7. Johan Du Toit
8. Retief Marais
9. Dylan Marcus
10. Inny-Christian Radebe
11. Niel Maritz
12. Heimar Williams
13. Wandile Mjekevu
14. S’bura Sithole
15. Alrin Eksteen
16. Dale Chadwick
17. Stephan Coetzee
18. Thomas du Toit
19. Dave McDuling
20. Matt Alborough
21. Tristan Tedder
22. Nkululeko Marwana
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Cell C Sharks lock Stephan Lewies, over the serious injury that forced him to take an unexpected and unwanted break from rugby last year, is back in full cry and relishing not only the opportunity to represent his team, but to do so with determination and pride.
“After a nine month lay-off, I’m personally ready to go; I just want to spend as much time on the field as possible,” he explains. “After sitting on the side-lines for so long, cheering the guys on, it’s an amazing feeling to be playing again.”
He’s had another break, but this time it was with the rest of his team-mates for an enforced bye last week and he reflects on recent times.
“The loss [to the Crusaders] was far from ideal and we had wanted to go through that run of five games unbeaten. But the guys had a great break after a full week off, they’ve come back full of energy, looking forward to the next seven games.
“We know we need to get the results over these next seven weeks, with the focus now on Saturday’s game against the Lions.”
The Lions, a team who have been together for some time now, are well-settled, and it is at the set-piece operations that this tends to show the results of continuity in playing personnel. But he feels his own team are developing well.
“We’re a young and new side and previously we had those combinations of players playing together for a long time. We’re still finding our feet but we’re all young and enthusiastic and all striving to be world class. It’s a work in progress and we’re a process-driven team, looking to improve each week on the previous week’s performance. I think we’ve been showing signs of that.
“The Lions have an excellent set-piece, their scrum is something that everyone is talking about and from a lineout point of view, they have quality players there. We’ve done our homework and we aren’t taking them lightly.”
The Lions are renowned for their attacking mentality, looking to penetrate and use all 15 players in every possible situation that presents itself.
“They’re a team that mix it up on attack, so you don’t always know what you’re getting but I can promise that we will be up for it.”
He expects the challenge to match what his team encountered against the Crusaders, admitting that: “They play similar styles and we know what we’re getting, and having played the Crusaders, it was almost preparation for this match against the Lions. Two teams with similar styles, played in succession, we know what’s coming up.”
Talking styles, he acknowledges that the Cell C Sharks and Lions do have differing rugby philosophies, explaining that their opponents look to attack from everywhere, while his team are a little more calculated as far as where their attacks originate from.
“We like to attack from the right areas of the field, we don’t want to play from everywhere, but when we can, we want to be able to apply pressure. We’ve shown with our defence that we can apply pressure and turn that into scoring opportunities. And it’s no fluke, we train to defend and turn that into points.”
While this is the final game before the Cell C Sharks head off to New Zealand for a round of three matches, Lewies admits that there is no point in looking further ahead than the immediate challenge.
“To be honest, there has been no talk of touring, we’re just talking each week as it comes. Although we now have a run of seven games, we’re concentrating on them one at a time, giving each opponent the respect they deserve.
“Like this week, we have massive respect for the Lions and our focus is purely on this game.”
The post Back in the Saddle appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
Full article here: Sharks Rugby – sbuki1030
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