The Cell C Sharks, who are unbeaten after two matches and top the SA log on nine points, host the Lions, who won two of their first three matches and are one point behind the KwaZulu-Natalians.
The Cell C Sharks will be cautious when they host the Lions at Growthpoint Kings Park in the final Vodacom Super Rugby round four encounter on Saturday evening.
With Lions sharp-shooter Marnitz Boshoff making the trip to Durban, albeit at fullback, and the KwaZulu-Natalians amongst the most-penalised sides in the competition thus far, the scoreboard could just see a lot of action on Saturday evening.
In fact, with a success rate of 94%, the Lions have the best collective goal-kicking success rate so far this season. All of these kicks – 16 out of 17 – came from the boot of Boshoff, who also tops the charts in terms of drop-goals with four in his first three outings.
Looking at penalties conceded, the Cell C Sharks averaged 13.5 per match in their first two outings, which is more than every other team in the competition bar the Waratahs (14.5) and the Reds (15).
Jake White, coach of the Cell C Sharks, knows his team will have to be extra careful when they face the Lions on Saturday.
“What the Lions have shown us is that you can’t take them lightly and you can’t go into the game thinking it’s just going to happen,” said White.
“For us it’s about what we do this week in the build-up to the game to give ourselves a fair chance. It’s early days in the competition still and there will always be things you have to work on in your game.
“What I can take out of our two performances so far that is really positive, is that we played two very different teams. One was a forward dominated team in week one when we played really well and scored four tries. And then played a backs’ dominated game in week two against the Hurricanes who offer threats that are so vastly different to the Bulls, and we managed to keep them tryless.”
The teams are:
Cell C Sharks: SP Marais, Odwa Ndungane, Paul Jordaan, Frans Steyn, Lwazi Mvovo, Patrick Lambie, Cobus Reinach, Ryan Kankowski, Willem Alberts, Marcell Coetzee, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Anton Bresler, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis (captain), Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Kyle Cooper, Dale Chadwick, Lourens Adriaanse, Stephan Lewies, Jean Deysel, Charl McLeod, Heimar Williams, S’bura Sithole.
Lions: Marnitz Boshoff, Ruan Combrinck, Deon van Rensburg, Stefan Watermeyer, Chrysander Botha, Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Warren Whiteley (captain), Warwick Tecklenburg, Jaco Kriel, Franco van der Merwe, Franco Mostert, Julian Redelinghuys, Willie Wepener, Schalk van der Merwe. Replacements: Robbie Coetzee, Corne Fourie, Ruan Dreyer, MB Lusaseni, Willie Britz, Ross Cronje, JW Jonker, Coenie van Wyk.
All the weekend’s fixtures (South African kick-off times):
Friday, 7 March:
- 08h35: Hurricanes v Brumbies – Wellington
- 10h40: Reds v Toyota Cheetahs – Brisbane
Saturday, 8 March:
- 08h35: Crusaders v DHL Stormers – Christchurch
- 10h40: Force v Rebels – Perth
- 17h05: Vodacom Bulls v Blues – Pretoria
- 19h10: Cell C Sharks v Lions – Durban
Byes: Highlanders, Chiefs, Waratahs
