The Cell C Sharks side to take on the Vodacom Blue Bulls in our opening Currie Cup fixture at JONSSON KINGS PARK this Saturday at 3pm shows a strong mix of experience and youth to provide an exciting combination.
The Bulls opened their account last weekend with a victory over Free State and Cell C Sharks scrumhalf Louis Schreuder believes that the importance of starting the Currie Cup well cannot be overstressed.
“It’s just one round with six games and the first is at home which we’re looking forward to, but we know we can’t afford not to win our home games,” he explains. “We want to start well and after the warm-up game against Bordeaux, we are in a good place but know there is a massive challenge ahead of us this week against the Blue Bulls.
“The Bulls are a very good team, I think they’re going to be very competitive in the Currie Cup. We watched their game against the Cheetahs last week when they did very well in Bloemfontein against a strong outfit, a Pro 14 team.”
Schreuder is one of a number of players with Super Rugby experience behind them and there is no shortage of Test match experience either. Those players will provide calm heads for the younger players who will bring youthful exuberance too the team.
With the Cell Sharks having reached the final last year, there is only one way to improve and that’s winning the tournament. But the team isn’t feeling the pressure of expectation based on previous history.
“We’re not really focusing on last season,” he explains. “We have our own expectations and goals, but right now we can’t think semi-finals or finals, we have to get through the pool stages and win as many games as possible. We’ll be looking to get as many points as possible to get ourselves into a good position for the knock-out rounds. But that’s in the back of our minds.”
He admits that the Cell C Sharks are ready for the campaign ahead.
“We had a good break after Super Rugby, a time to refresh, rest the body and importantly, get the mental break after a long tournament. We’ve come back and been training hard, but not overtraining, more functional stuff.
“It was good to get a warm-up match under our belts and build a bit of momentum going into this weekend.”
| The Cell C Sharks |
Replacements |
| 1. Juan Schoeman |
16. Kerron van Vuuren |
| 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle (C) |
17. Khutha Mchunu |
| 3. John-Hubert Meyer |
18. Andrew Evans |
| 4. Gideon Koegelenberg |
19. Lubabalo Mtembu |
| 5. Hyron Andrews |
20. Cameron Wright |
| 6. Wian Vosloo |
21. Johan Deysel |
| 7. Tyler Paul |
22. Aphelele Fassi |
| 8. Daniel du Preez |
|
| 9. Louis Schreuder |
|
| 10. Robert du Preez |
|
| 11. Lwazi Mvovo |
|
| 12. Marius Louw |
|
| 13. Jeremy Ward |
|
| 14. Kobus van Wyk |
|
| 15. Curwin Bosch |
The post Good Mix for Opener appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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