The KZNRU pays tribute to the late Frans de Beer:
The President of the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union, Francois Louis has paid tribute to former Natal coach, Frans de Beer, who passed away yesterday morning.
De Beer coached Natal in 1972 and was President of the Natal Duikers Club for many years. He also coached Glenwood Old Boys, Maritzburg Collegians and Cedara College. His tenure at Cedara College coincided with that of former Springbok and Sharks centre and now backline consultant at the Cell C Sharks, Dick Muir, who was a student at Cedara during that time.
According to Louis, KZN Rugby has lost a stalwart of the game in this province.
“Frans de Beer was a passionate club rugby man whose massive contribution to the game in our province cannot be underestimated.
“His loyal service to Natal rugby and more especially the Duikers Club was invaluable and we join the rest of the KZN rugby fraternity in expressing our heartfelt condolences to his family and his large circle of friends.”
The post The KZNRU pays tribute to the late Frans de Beer appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
The Cell C Sharks will look to get back to winning ways when we visit the Rebels in a potentially explosive Vodacom Super Rugby clash in Melbourne on Friday morning (kick-off is 10.45am South African time).
Both teams go into this game off the back of disappointing losses, the Cell C Sharks narrowly losing to the Brumbies last weekend, while the Rebels tasted their first defeat in their best start to a Vodacom Super Rugby season, going down in dramatic fashion to the Waratahs.
So it goes without saying that both teams will be throwing everything into coming out victorious, all which adds spice to the clash.
The Rebels have had a good start to the season, winning their first three matches, before losing last week against the Waratahs which saw them drop from first to second on the overall log, but remain top of the Australian conference.
“They’re a well-balanced side, well-coached,” Head coach Robert du Preez says of the opposition.
“Their strength is their defence, they’re a team that shows huge patience and they don’t play a lot of rugby in their own half. They make very few mistakes and they’d conceded very few tries before their game against the Waratahs [losing quite uncharacteristically, 51-27, conceding six tries in the process]. But up until then, their defensive record was amongst the best in the competition.
“From that point of view, that’s a big strength of theirs.”
Cell C Sharks fullback Curwin admits that there is room for improvement from his side following their disappointment against the Brumbies last weekend.
“There were a few opportunities in the Brumbies game where we could have been a lot better and we could have put the game to bed were it not for the mistakes we made,” he explains. “But the margin for error is so small in Super Rugby and those mistakes can cost you – like they did for us.”
Bosch anticipates the Rebels to back their defence against his team in Friday’s match, this aspect of their game having served them well so far this season.
“We’ve analysed them and we can expect a few high balls from them, they like to keep the game alive and force the opposition to run at them because their defence is so good. But that’s not too big a concern for us, we work well together as a back three and we have a strong kicking game.
“Having watched their previous games, they’re a team that plays conservatively and doesn’t like to run the ball back from opposition kicks.
“For us, it’s about executing our game plan. We want to make sure we play in the right areas, get more attacking opportunities in their half of the field.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge the Rebels are going to bring.”
The post Cell C Sharks vs Rebels appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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