Ken Borland

Having a bye after their most complete performance of the season might not have been that convenient for the Sharks, but coach Sean Everitt is delighted, however, to be able to recall three Springboks to his starting XV for their crunch Currie Cup match against the Bulls at Kings Park on Saturday.

The Sharks were decent in Super Rugby Unlocked, finishing with the same record as the runners-up, the Stormers, without ever really reaching the heights they did in Super Rugby proper at the start of the year. But they put on a marvellous display in beating the Pumas 45-10 in the opening round of the Currie Cup … and then had a bye week.

“Our performance has not been consistent this season, we’ve played well in stages, but it was probably our best display against the Pumas. We’re excited to be back again this week and now we have quite a few games in a row; it’s been quite a stop-start season so it will be good to get some momentum now. I said the week off would help us in terms of injured players coming back and it’s a bit of a relief to have very close to the best team we could pick for such a massive game.

“We have a slightly different pack with experience coming back in Henco Venter and Sikhumbuzo Notshe, so I expect a big improvement there. Lukhanyo Am coming back as captain will obviously inspire and motivate the team, he is a good leader and the team have a lot of respect for him. Sbu Nkosi is back as well so it’s going to be an interesting battle between the backlines,” Everitt said on Thursday.

Everitt is also hoping the location of the night game – Kings Park in Durban – will make a difference in favour of his team.

“We were beaten convincingly at Loftus Versfeld in Super Rugby Unlocked, but we are certainly a lot better at the moment and we’ve learnt a lot since then. Week in and week out, this team has found a way through adversity. I think Jake White has enough experience from his time with the Sharks, and Morne Steyn and Duane Vermeulen have played here enough, for the Bulls to know how to handle the humidity.

“But we train in these difficult conditions, we are unbeaten at home this year and hopefully it will be a balmy evening on Saturday and we will have the upper hand because of it. We’re striving for that full 80-minute performance and we all know what is required. We can’t be playing for 20-30 minutes, we need a full 80-minute effort,” Everitt said.

Sharks team – Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (capt), Marius Louw, Yaw Penxe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Dan Jooste, Ox Nche. Bench: Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, JJ van der Mescht, Thembelani Bholi, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jeremy Ward.