The Cell C Sharks will be looking to make their home ground advantage count when they aim for their fourth consecutive win of the season on Saturday.
The Cell C Sharks’ attacking play will be tested when they host the Reds, Vodcaom Super Rugby champions in 2011, at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on Saturday afternoon in the final match of round five.
The KwaZulu-Natalians and the Waratahs are the top try scorers so far this season, with 10 tries each, although the Waratahs have played in one fewer match than the South Africans.
Added to that, the Durbanites have caused their three opponents to date to miss an average of 17% of their tackles per match, which is also a competition-high.
However, the Reds, with a tackling success rate of 91%, the highest in the competition at this stage, will give the Cell C Sharks a proper test when they launch their attacks.
“There is no doubt that the Reds have a lot of experience,” said Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby Jakoe White this week.
“They’ve won the competition and a lot of their current players were in that winning team, so they understand what it takes to win, they travel quite well as a group and the Wallaby captain is leading them.
“Obviously they have the makings of a good team and cannot be taken lightly. They have shown that when they beat the Brumbies and Cheetahs.”
The teams are:
- Cell C Sharks: SP Marais, JP Pietersen, S’bura Sithole, 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, Tera Mtembu, Charl McLeod, Heimar Williams, Jaco van Tonder.
- Reds: Aidan Toua, Rod Davies, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Mike Harris, Lachie Turner, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Jake Schatz, Liam Gill, Ed Quirk, James Horwill (captain), Rob Simmons, Greg Holmes, Saia Faingaa, James Slipper. Replacements: James Hanson, Ben Daley, Jono Owen, Ed O’Donoghue, Beau Robinson, Nicholas Frisby, Ben Tapuai, Dom Shipperley.
Cell C Sharks v Reds
- Date: Saturday, 15 March
- SA Time: 17h05
- Venue: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
- Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
- Assistant referees: Jaco van Heerden (South Africa), Stefan Breytenbach (South Africa)
- Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
All fixtures (South African kick-off times):
Friday, 14 March:
- 08h35: Chiefs v DHL Stormers – Hamilton
- 10h40: Rebels v Crusaders – Melbourne
Saturday, 15 March:
- 05h35: Hurricanes v Toyota Cheetahs
- 08h35: Highlanders v Force – Dunedin
- 10h40: Brumbies v Waratahs – Canberra
- 17h05: Cell C Sharks v Reds – Durban
- 15h00: Lions v Blues – Johannesburg
Bye: Vodacom Bulls
