The Cell C Sharks will be looking to make it five in a row when they take on Western Province at Newlands in Saturday’s Currie Cup match, having won our previous four consecutive matches.
There haven’t been too many changes announced for this clash and the team has had a two week break after a tough eight day period when they played three matches and won all three.
Thomas du Toit has a bone bruise on his ankle and has therefore not been considered for selection, Juan Schoeman starting at loosehead in his place. Keegan Daniel had a minor abscess procedure and was also not considered for selection.
Jean Droste comes in for Tyler Paul in the second row, with the latter shifting to the flank in place of Keegan Daniel.
In the backline, Louis Schreuder replaces Cameron Wright at scrumhalf while Jeremy Ward returns at outside centre and Kobus van Wyk is on the wing, with fullback Garth April not included in the team due to a disciplinary issue, with the coaching staff taking a strong stance around our values of work ethic, team work and respect. Inny Radebe wears the number 15 jersey in his absence.
Kobus van is not only thrilled to be back after missing the Lions game, but also back at Newlands where he played all his previous rugby before making the move to the Cell C Sharks.
“It’s good to be back at Newlands where I played all my life,” he explains. “I’m not sure if the crowd will give me the bird [being an ex-WP player], but I hope they do, I’m quite keen to play against them.”
He admits that the team is in a good head space given the on-field successes of late, and it helps that off the field the players have gelled too.
“There are some energetic youngsters and there’s an awesome vibe in the camp as we grow together, there’s a culture here of mixing together outside of rugby and we’re in a good place right now.
“We’re hoping to build on the momentum we’ve created and progress to the final.”
| The Cell C Sharks |
Replacements |
||
| 1 | Juan Schoeman | 16 | Akker van der Merwe |
| 2 | Franco Marais | 17 | Mzamo Majola |
| 3 | Ross Geldenhuys | 18 | John-Hubert Meyer |
| 4 | Jean Droste | 19 | Wian Vosloo |
| 5 | Ruan Botha (Captain) | 20 | Michael Claassens |
| 6 | Jacques Vermeulen | 21 | Rhyno Smith |
| 7 | Tyler Paul | 22 | Odwa Ndungane |
| 8 | Tera Mtembu | ||
| 9 | Louis Schreuder | ||
| 10 | Benhard Janse van Rensburg | ||
| 11 | S’bu Nkosi | ||
| 12 | Lukhanyo Am | ||
| 13 | Jeremy Ward | ||
| 14 | Kobus van Wyk | ||
| 15 | Inny Radebe |
The post Striving for Success appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
With the Cell C Sharks focus centred around regular improvement, week after week in this year’s Currie Cup competition, this Saturday’s clash with Western Province is the ideal opportunity to gauge how we’re doing on that score.
We enjoyed a bye last week following a tough five match run, with the last three games played in eight days, but now the team is raring to go.
“The break came at the right time,” said Tera Mtembu. “Playing three games in eight days isn’t easy on the body, so the break was good and the guys are now ready to go.”
Our last match was against the Lions when we produced a stunning second half comeback to win a game we looked like losing.
“Our main focus before that game was our character, we agreed that it wouldn’t be easy playing three games in a short space of time – just over a week – and what would win us our game against the Lions would be our character,” he explained.
“I think that came through in the second half, when no-one would have given us a chance. But we maintained belief in our systems and our character came through on the day.”
That kind of character will be called upon on Saturday when we take on Western Province. Mtembu explained how the toll on Jacques Vermeulen’s body was so intense that he could barely walk between games, yet won consecutive man of the match awards.
The challenge Western Province pose at Newlands should be no different to what the Cell C Sharks had to endure against brutally physical sides like the Blue Bulls and the Lions, with the later probably closer to Province in terms of lightning fast attack mixed with stern defence.
“Province will always be tough opposition, particularly at Newlands with their hostile crowd. And all credit to them, they have some good attacking players, a strong defensive system. We’ve done our homework on them and hopefully we can execute our plan against them on Saturday to get a good result.”
Instead of trying to beat Province at their own game or formulate plans and systems to counter their strengths, Mtembu explained that the Cell C Sharks look to impose themselves on their opponents.
“We focus on what we want to achieve. We know what works for us and we want to show continuous improvement in what has given us results, so it’s about focusing on ourselves.”
Province will be riding a wave of confidence following a strong showing against the Lions last week, delivering an emphatic 39-3 victory over the Super Rugby finalists.
“They would have built up confidence from that game,” he explained, “they’ve been playing very well – both their attack and defence – and it’s going to be a real challenge for us. Even if they had lost that match, it would still be a very tough game.”
One thing he admitted that they will be looking to change is how the team struggled in the first half before showing their character to fight back and win the game against the Lions.
“I think it’s a case of us not completely gelling; if we were the perfect side we’d play two perfect halves each match and win all our games. But we’re not perfect, we’ve been together for six weeks now and the processes take time. But hopefully it will get better.”
While maintaining the drive for constant improvement, he added that there was also one eye kept on the log table.
“It’s a bit of both really: improving and winning. Our main objective is continuous improvement, if we do that whether we win or lose, we stand a much better chance if we get to the final. If we do what we know we can do, then the results will take care of themselves.”
The post Improving All the Time appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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