Venter brings leadership & intelligence to experienced midfield Sharks are building
Springbok centre Francois Venter is a man who brings leadership and rugby intelligence to the field, and his inclusion in the Sharks starting XV for their United Rugby Championship derby against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday highlights the experienced midfield the franchise is building.
The 31-year-old former Free State Cheetahs star, who has played seven Tests, was part of the unfortunate Worcester Warriors team that went into liquidation, and the Sharks snapped him up to join the other strong group of centres they have. Lukhanyo Am, who should be back in action in early December, is a seasoned Springbok and world leader in midfield, 28-year-old Rohan Janse van Rensburg is in the prime of his career and Ben Tapuai is a 33-year-old Wallaby who has experience playing in both hemispheres.
“Francois brings a lot of experience, he has played at international level and in the UK,” Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell said on Friday. “He has a lot of rugby IQ.
“Our attack coach Noel McNamara has been very impressed with him over the last two weeks and how quickly he has understood what is expected in terms of our attacking principles and system.
“Francois has an amazing work ethic, he’s a good guy. He has caught up very quickly with what he needs to know and I’m looking forward to seeing how he goes.
“Hopefully Francois can bring some stability, and with Rohan coming back for the Cardiff game after the international window and Lukhanyo targeting the Ospreys game in early December, we have a few centres with good experience, plus Marnus Potgieter and Murray Koster in the squad,” Powell said.
Of course, having all these playing resources attracts both expectation and naysayers, and, shorn of their regular Springboks, there will be no sterner test of their form than travelling to Loftus Versfeld to take on the Bulls.
“There’s not just expectation from the franchise owners but from ourselves as management and players,” Powell said. “The key is the pressure we put on our ourselves to succeed.
“There’s an opportunity to do things differently now, and there will be a few changes. But the union is in a really good place, even though we’re just at the beginning of our journey.
“We know it is always a physical battle playing the Bulls at home, especially amongst the forwards. It’s going to take a good 80-minute game for us to win. We’ll be in trouble if we don’t stand up to them physically and play for 80 minutes.
“We need to put pressure on them in all areas and also match their kicking game. But there’s a good energy in our system,” Powell said.
Sharks – Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Francois Venter, Ben Tapuai, Thaakir Abrahams, Boeta Chamberlain, Cameron Wright, Phepsi Buthelezi, Vincent Tshituka, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, Gerbrandt Grobler, Thomas du Toit (c), Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Bench: Dan Jooste, Dian Bleuler, Carlu Sadie, Justin Basson, James Venter, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Marnus Potgieter.