The dust has hardly settled on the victorious Carling Currie Cup campaign and it is already time for the Hollywoodbets Sharks to shift focus from their title-winning effort onto the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, which begins for the South African teams this weekend.
The Durban side begin their tournament in Ireland on Saturday when they take on Connacht before heading east to Wales to play the Dragons and then Italy for a clash with Benetton that concludes their early overseas commitments.
Although the Currie Cup is now behind them, there are valuable lessons to have taken out, learnings that stand the team in good stead as they embark on the intercontinental competition.
“I’m just really proud of the boys,” head coach John Plumtree admits.
“Winning right at the end of the game is one of the moments that gives us confidence. The never-give-up attitude is something we’re trying to instil in the boys so I’m really proud of them for the way they never gave up, even when it looked like the Lions had done enough to win.”
He adds that winning two trophies in short space is good for the group’s confidence.
“To have come to Joburg for the final, lost and then hop on a plan for Ireland wouldn’t have been great, fortunately that’s not the case. So, we will all cherish the memory, everyone who had a hand in getting us to the end.
“We’ve found belief but it’s going to be tough emotionally and physically getting off this high.
“The other job for me now is getting the players back down to earth because we know what a tough game we have in Galway.
“Connacht will be waiting for us, they’ll be excited about playing at home.”
Plumtree has named a 27-man touring squad that departs today (Monday), with 15 forwards and 12 backs selected. The Hollywoodbets tour squad will be captained by loose-forward Vincent Tshituka for this three-match tour to Europe.
FORWARDS
- Corne’ Rahl
- Dylan Richardson
- Emmanuel Tshituka
- Ethan Bester
- Fez Mbatha
- Gerbrandt Grobler
- Hanro Jacobs
- James Venter
- Jason Jenkins
- Mawande Mdande
- Ntuthuko Mchunu
- Ruan Dreyer
- Tino Mavesere
- Trevor Nyakane
- Vincent Tshituka (c)
BACKS
- Andre Esterhuizen
- Bradley Davids
- Cameron Wright
- Eduan Keyter
- Ethan Hooker
- Francois Venter
- Gershwin Wehr
- Jordan Hendrikse
- Jurenzo Julius
- Lionel Cronje
- Siya Masuku
- Tian Meyer
The post Touring Squad appeared first on The Sharks Durban.
Match report – Glory for the Hollywoodbets Sharks:
In quite the most dramatic Carling Currie Cup Final, it was the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV who prevailed against the Fidelity ADT Lions, crowned 2024 champions after winning 16-14 in extra time at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday.
The last Currie Cup Final between the two sides in Johannesburg took place in 2011 when the Lions won, and by the 80th minute, it appeared they might take the silverware once again, but for a moment of sheer big match temperament that wrestled the result in the way of the brave Durban side who have had their share of trials early in the campaign, but have proven worthy champions.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks showed ambition in the opening period, twice opting to keep the Lions pinned in their 22 with penalties kicked to touch rather than for posts, but it demonstrated their intent, even in tough conditions.
With no team managing a score, the teams were deadlocked after a quarter of an hour, but the Hollywoodbets Sharks suffered the disappointment of a yellow card for taking a player out in the air. The fact that they lasted the mandatory 10 minutes without conceding any points, despite the Lions having a gilt-edged opportunity, was testament to the determined and brave defence from the visitors.
By the half hour mark, no team had managed to score yet, such was the intensity of the game. The Lions had been forced to make nearly double the number of tackles than the Hollywoodbets Sharks who enjoyed the majority of possession, but the greasiness of the surface and consequently the ball meant that both sides battled to build enough continuity to make it count.
Jurenzo Julius and Andre Esterhuizen made a strong impact in the midfield, combining x-factor and power with experience respectively to test the home side.
With handling made difficult, the respective kickers gave the ball plenty of air, opting to force errors and keep the ball away from the big forwards and the power game.
Rare, but to be expected in such a tight, absorbing final, the teams headed for the changerooms without the scorers having been bothered, a combination of good defence together with tough conditions making attacking rugby difficult.
The talk at half-time would have been about converting their two thirds possession and territorial advantage into points and that’s exactly what happened when Ethan Hooker shot down the touchline, speed and then a side-step wrong-footing the last line of defence with an attack that seemingly started from nowhere. Siya Masuku converted from out wide to finally break the deadlock 10 minutes in.
Five minutes later the Lions managed to score their first try, earning a couple of penalties that got them to within striking distance and then a quick tap penalty from close out got them over the line, the conversion dragging the teams level once again.
25 minutes into the second half, Masuku struck his first penalty, the Lions infringing at the breakdown and the Hollywoodbets Sharks taking a 10-7 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
A head-on-head tackle on Jordan Hendrikse saw the Lions reduced to 14 men with just over 10 minutes remaining, the penalty coming at a crucial time in the game and Hendrikse stepped up to convert his own penalty from nearly 50m out on the angle and a six point lead.
But with five minutes left on the clock, the Lions somehow found a way to score their second try and together with the conversion, held a 14-13 lead.
Two minutes into extra time, the Lions had a penalty, kicked to touch and won their lineout, but somehow conspired to lose possession. The game should have been wrapped up but came a moment of BMT from Champion Player of the Match Jordan Hendrikse who stepped up for a 60m penalty and when the flags were raised behind the posts, it was the Hollywoodbets Sharks who would lift the silverware and not the home side.
A proud captain Vincent Tshituka said afterwards, “It’s been an unbelievable two weeks and I’m so happy to have experienced this group effort. It was a massive effort from the entire squad all campaign and to pick up the season after three early losses is really special.
“We’ve stuck together, this is testament to where this team is going.”
The post Match report – Glory for the Hollywoodbets Sharks appeared first on The Sharks Durban.
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Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: Sardine Run – An extraordinary natural phenomenon, that is witnessed annually on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, during late autumn or early winter, is the “sardine run”. Also referred to as “the greatest shoal on earth”, the sardine run occurs when millions of sardines migrate from their spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa, northwards along the Eastern Cape coastline towards KwaZulu-Natal, following a path close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches along the coast. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres and is followed and preyed upon by thousands of predators, including game fish, sharks, dolphins and seabirds. Usually the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Many questions surrounding this exceptional event remain unanswered.
