Ken Borland

Director of Rugby Gary Gold said on Thursday that the Sharks will honour the agreement they entered into with the South African Rugby Union (Saru) over the resting of Springboks, despite naming Marcell Coetzee, Pat Lambie and Cobus Reinach in the starting line-up for the sixth week in a row for their crunch match against the Chiefs in Durban on Saturday.

Saru confirmed this week that the agreement with the franchises that key Springboks would not play for more than five consecutive weeks and that they would have rest weeks during the tournament was “the ideal” and was not legally binding.

With the Sharks having endured a difficult start to the season, Saturday’s match against the powerful Chiefs is a key one as they look to close the five-point gap between them and the Stormers in the South African Conference, and Gold said the selection should be seen in the light of this.

“Our view is that we’re 100% behind the Boks in resting players, I think it’s the right thing to do and we’ve agreed to a plan. But we have a different challenge on our hands that other Unions don’t have. We have the most number of Springboks and our first bye is only in Week 11. So when other teams get that bye, they have the break within the five weeks.

“Where it becomes problematic is not being able to meet that five-week period this week. We haven’t been given the benefit of a bye which three of the five South African franchises have already. But as of last week, we’re the only team to have rested Springboks.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s something we’re committed to. It’s the right thing to do, I think the Springboks do need to get some rest time, and I want to make it very clear that we’re committed to that agreement. No-one wants the Springboks to win this Rugby World Cup more than me after going through the disaster of 2011,” Gold, who was the assistant coach when South Africa were eliminated at the quarterfinal stage of the last World Cup, said.

The selection of the current national players means there is just one change to the Sharks team that won so convincingly last weekend in Bloemfontein, with Marco Wentzel, capped as a Springbok in 2002, named as the replacement for the injured lock Pieter-Steph du Toit.

The in-form Du Toit’s knee injury is not as serious as first feared, with the 22-year-old now being ruled out for three months.

After such a good performance as the one in Bloemfontein, Gold said it would be silly to now make changes.

“The guys took a lot of confidence out of a tough game, the Cheetahs are not a roll-over. We played in tough conditions and we’re able to keep continuity going for the same guys in the same positions. From next week we’re going to have to look at jiggling things,” Gold said.

The Sharks were back at training at Kings Park on Monday, savouring their convincing 27-10 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, but a far bigger challenge lies ahead this weekend when they take on the Chiefs, who were impressive in beating the Stormers 28-19 in Cape Town.

A backline featuring Sonny Bill Williams, Aaron Cruden and Tim Nanai-Williams is enough to turn defenders’ legs to jelly and Sharks assistant coach Sean Everitt was not sugar-coating the challenge on Monday.

“We are much happier after this past weekend, we haven’t performed quite as well as we’d wanted to, but going to Bloemfontein is never easy, so it was great to come back with a bonus-point win.

“But the Chiefs backline can score a lot of tries and the most important thing for us is to prevent them from attacking from turnovers, that’s when they can be really dangerous. The names say it all, Aaron Cruden, Sonny Bill Williams and the likes,” Everitt warned.

As the Chiefs showed against the Stormers, scoring from poorly-directed or inadequately-chased kicks is meat and drink for them, but Everitt said kicking would still be an important part of the Sharks’ game-plan.

“I think if you look at the stats, teams are losing games when they are playing too much rugby in their own half and not in the right areas of the field. So we want to get that right and ensure we take our opportunities when they arise.

“Against the Cheetahs, with the ball we had and the fact we didn’t want to play too much rugby in our own half because we were punished when we did that in the first round, it was part of our strategy to kick quite a bit. But we won that kicking battle I felt, territory counts for a lot, so it was part of our plan,” Everitt said.

Much of that success has been down to the brilliance of flyhalf Pat Lambie, whose confidence has just been growing exponentially since he kicked that last-minute penalty to beat the All Blacks last October.

“Pat is on top of his game, he’s fighting to go to the World Cup as the number one flyhalf. We’re very happy with how he’s going and his game management has been outstanding, and obviously with the leadership role he plays, he just keeps getting better and better,” Everitt said.

The one major negative to come out of the weekend, though, was the knee injury suffered by lock Pieter-Steph du Toit. Initial reports suggested the form second-rower will be out for eight months, having re-injured the same knee that kept him out for most of last year, which would take him beyond the end of the World Cup in October.

But Everitt said there was still a small element of hope for Du Toit, who went to see his specialist in Cape Town on Monday.

In terms of a replacement, there is zero chance of Stephan Lewies playing yet because he is still four weeks away from action as he recovers from knee and shoulder surgery, while Willem Alberts’ absence due to a hamstring strain has been put at two to three weeks.

Veteran Marco Wentzel is therefore likely to catch a start, with the “Giant”, Lubabalo Mtyanda, returning to the bench.

Loose forward Tera Mtembu and centre Paul Jordaan are the other players still on the injured list, while utility forward Etienne Oosthuizen, the former Brumbies player who Jake White brought to the Sharks, has returned to the training field.

The Sharks did enough in the closing hour of their loss to the Chiefs last weekend to suggest they may have rediscovered their attacking mojo and their offensive capabilities have been further boosted ahead of their Vodacom SuperRugby match against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday.

Wings Piet Lindeque and Odwa Ndungane did precious little against the Chiefs, and before that the Sharks had an unsuccessful experiment with “bolter” Sean Robinson, so it will be a great relief for them to have two tried-and-tested Springboks in JP Pietersen and Lwazi Mvovo back this weekend.

The Sharks did not field their best team against the Chiefs, but nevertheless would have been dismayed by their awful start which they saw them concede 24 points in the first 17 minutes. They played superbly thereafter to score four tries and were only denied a second bonus point by an injury-time penalty, but they were not able to catch the defending champions.

The Highlanders, however, are a team that have not won a match this season – and in fact for almost a whole year – and it is not overstating matters to say the Sharks, with several starters back, will be targeting this game as a must-win affair on an overseas tour that sees them taking on the high-flying Reds in Brisbane next week.

The Highlanders are similar to the Sharks in the respect that they too have a star-studded side, but it has just not been able to click. But several things spell danger for the Sharks. The Otago men are at home, they will be refreshed and have had a chance to clear their heads after a bye, and Brad Thorn, an immensely proud All Black, will be playing his 100th SuperRugby match (92 for the Crusaders) alongside similarly fierce, proven competitors in Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock and Ma’a Nonu.

For all the renewed confidence in terms of attack, the focus for the Sharks must once again be the set-pieces, because it is the pack that anchors their side and the Highlanders are strong up front. Unless they deliver the goods in the primary phases, the Sharks aren’t going to be able to attack effectively no matter who their weapons are.

The Stormers are the other South African team overseas at the moment and they take on the Blues in Auckland. Fortunately they aren’t playing at the daunting Eden Park, but instead at a regional venue in Albany. Nevertheless, it is a clash that should have rugby fans glued to their chairs in front of the TV as the powerful, in-form Stormers take on a hungry Blues team that has retained their attacking prowess but has also been one of the best defensive sides this season.

Bryan Habana will be playing his 50th match for the Stormers and, having appeared 61 times for the Bulls as well, joins former Reds and Force lock Nathan Sharpe as the only players to appear in 50 matches for two franchises. Habana will also be a key man as he marks Frank Halai, one of the leading try-scorers this year.

The Stormers defence has been excellent again this season, conceding just 11 tries, the least in the tournament, and they will need to be at their best against a Blues team that has pace to burn and plenty of vision and skill.

Rene Ranger has been shifted to the wing by the Aucklanders, which has allowed the exciting Francis Saili to come in at outside centre, while fullback Charles Piutau has also been one of the most impressive runners in the tournament this year.

Where the Stormers do have an edge is up front and Eben Etzebeth has returned on the bench to provide them with even more impact in the second half.

The form of Blues veterans Ali Williams and Keven Mealamu has been something of a concern, but the brilliant Steven Luatua has been the outstanding forward and is the frontrunner to fill the shoes of the superb Jerome Kaino in the All Blacks side.

The Stormers tactics should be obvious: The lineout has won 25% of the opposition’s ball so far this season, so the likes of Joe Pietersen, Gary van Aswegen, Dewald Duvenhage and replacements Elton Jantjies and Louis Schreuder will be focusing on the territorial battle, allowing the visitors to pressurise the Blues at the set-piece in their own half.

The fact they are playing in the area of Auckland where most of the South African expatriates live should also help to make the Stormers feel at home.

The Southern Kings have won everyone (except maybe the die-hards in Joburg) over with their committed displays in their debut season of SuperRugby.

They have done a particularly good job against Australian teams and on Saturday they will look to complete an unbeaten sweep against the Force, Rebels, Brumbies and Waratahs when they take on the New South Welshmen in Port Elizabeth.

The Waratahs were irked by what they deemed to be sub-standard refereeing last weekend in their defeat to the Bulls, but this time they have one of the best, the vastly experienced Jonathan Kaplan, in charge.

Kaplan won’t put up with the nonsense they tried at Loftus Versfeld, camping offsides and not releasing in the tackle, so unless the Waratahs sort out their discipline, their hopes in the Australian Conference could be killed off once and for all.

The Kings went to Bloemfontein last weekend and put up a good fight against the Cheetahs, who just had too much pace and attacking skill for them.

The Waratahs attack was way less impressive against the Bulls and, sensibly seeing that all eight have played for the Wallabies, they rely on their pack to get them go-forward.

The Kings went hand-to-hand against the Cheetahs forwards and matched them in all but the breakdowns, and if they get parity again, combined with their never-say-die spirit, they could keep the Waratahs winless in South Africa since May 2009.

The Bulls did what was required of them last weekend to beat the Waratahs, but their opponents on Saturday, the Hurricanes, are much better at keeping the ball alive and stretching defences.

The Bulls have not particularly enjoyed their previous dates with the Hurricanes in Pretoria, losing four of their last seven encounters, including a 37-18 thumping in 2002.

Keeping their defence intact against a team that is most adept with ball in hand will be the focus for the Bulls, and coach Frans Ludeke has included hard-tackling veteran Wynand Olivier at inside centre in place of the injured Jan Serfontein and fetcher-flank Deon Stegmann in an effort to slow down the Hurricanes’ possession at the rucks.

The Hurricanes have arrived in South Africa with wing Julian Savea in tow, fresh from his court appearance on a charge of assaulting his partner, and will be eager to arrest a slide that has seen them lose two of their last three matches, after a four-game winning streak.

The Hurricanes had enough opportunity last weekend to beat the Stormers and they had a strong wind behind them in the first half but didn’t take enough advantage of it.

The Stormers had the kicking game – and the lineout – to keep the Wellingtonians under pressure after the break and there is no doubt the Bulls will be employing similar tactics in the rarefied atmosphere of Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. DM

Teams

Stormers (v Blues, Friday 9:35): Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Gary van Aswegen, Dewaldt Duvenage, Duane Vermeulen, Rynhardt Elstadt, Siya Kolisi, Andries Bekker, De Kock Steenkamp, Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Scarra Ntubeni, Pat Cilliers, Eben Etzebeth, Nizaam Carr, Louis Schreuder, Elton Jantjies, Damian de Allende.

The Sharks (v Highlanders, Saturday 9:35): Riaan Viljoen, JP Pietersen, Frans Steyn, Meyer Bosman, Lwazi Mvovo, Pat Lambie, Charl McLeod, Lubabalo Mtembu, Marcell Coetzee, Keegan Daniel, Franco van der Merwe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jannie du Plessis, Kyle Cooper, Wiehahn Herbst. Replacements: Craig Burden, JC Janse van Rensburg, Anton Bresler, Jean Deysel, Tian Meyer, Piet Lindeque, Odwa Ndungane/Derick Minnie.

Southern Kings (v Waratahs, Saturday 17:05): George Whitehead, Sergeal Petersen, Ronnie Cooke, Andries Strauss, Siyanda Grey, Demetri Catrakilis, Shaun Venter, Jacques Engelbrecht, Wimpie van der Walt, Cornell du Preez, Rynier Bernardo, Steven Sykes, Kevin Buys, Bandise Maku, Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: Virgile Lacombe, Grant Kemp, David Bulbring, Luke Watson, Nicolas Vergallo, Waylon Murray, Siviwe Soyzwapi.

Bulls (v Hurricanes, Saturday 19:10): Jürgen Visser, Akona Ndungane, JJ Engelbrecht, Wynand Olivier, Bjorn Basson, Morné Steyn, Jano Vermaak, Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Juandré Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Dean Greyling. Replacements: Willie Wepener, Frik Kirsten, Grant Hattingh, Arno Botha, Francois Hougaard, Louis Fouchè, Lionel Mapoe.

Other fixtures:

Rebels v Chiefs (Friday, 11:40); Force v Reds (Saturday, 11:40); Brumbies v Crusaders (Sunday, 7:05).

Bye: Cheetahs.

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Sharks coach John Plumtree has instituted what superficially looks like a cleanout of players as his team try to get their SuperRugby campaign back on track at the home ground of the defending champions, the Chiefs, on Saturday.

Plumtree has made 11 changes to the team that lost to the Cheetahs last weekend in Durban, but some are just positional switches and others have been forced upon him as the KwaZulu-Natalians battle an injury epidemic.

Jean Deysel will captain the team, and the burly loose forward is sure to lead from the front. Regular captain Keegan Daniel will watch from the bench, as will another standout loose forward, Marcell Coetzee.

Francois Steyn, who led the team while Daniel was injured, is back in the starting line-up, but this time the even burlier Springbok will be playing outside centre as Paul Jordaan has succumbed to a knee injury.

Jannie du Plessis returns to anchor the scrum at tighthead and there are other key decision-makers in the starting line-up like Pat Lambie at flyhalf, Meyer Bosman at inside centre and Odwa Ndungane on the wing to lessen the impression that Plumtree is throwing a second-string XV into battle in Hamilton.

But there is inexperience in the team as well, with Piet Lindeque, who normally plays in midfield, on the left wing and Lubabalo Mthembu starting at eighthman in just his second SuperRugby outing.

Apart from Daniel and Coetzee, other regular starters who are being kept in cotton wool on the bench are hooker Kyle Cooper, lock Franco van der Merwe and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach.

Perhaps the most interesting selection is that of Joburg-based flank Derick Minnie, who will fulfil the ball-scavenging job, at number six. The Lions star will want to show just why he was one of that ill-fated team’s best players – and perhaps earn himself a guaranteed SuperRugby contract along the way.

Although it will irk anxious Sharks fans who are lamenting two successive losses, it seems that Plumtree has taken the pragmatic view that his best available XV would probably lose to the mighty Chiefs anyway and get further exhausted after travelling to New Zealand; targeting tour games against the Highlanders, Reds and Force instead for valuable away wins with a refreshed team to reignite last year’s finalists’ campaign.

The other losers from last weekend’s round of South African derbies were the Southern Kings, who were blanked 34-0 by the Bulls the weekend after returning home from their glorious overseas tour.

The Kings have really pulled together impressive support from fans in the Eastern Cape region, but this weekend they face a new challenge: A local derby away from home, against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

The Kings are no longer unknown quantities and the Bulls showed them some bald facts about SuperRugby last weekend. But the extra week at home will have done them good and Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske’s biggest worry may be that his side will be a touch complacent after their fabulous start, with mental fatigue creeping in as they still have not had a bye.

The Cheetahs should win if they produce similar performances to when they tamed the mighty packs of both the Stormers and Sharks.

But if the Cheetahs are a bit off their game – and maybe that’s due after nine straight weeks of action – and the Southern Kings once again do the unthinkable and win, it could lead to quite an indaba in the corridors of the South African Rugby Union.

Victory for the Kings could lift them to within five points of the Stormers, who are now on tour, raising the possibility of last year’s conference winners having to play promotion/relegation against the Lions later this year.

But for the Kings to win, they will need to raise the bar quite some distance from last weekend’s performance. They have sensibly returned to the impenetrable loose trio of Jacques Engelbrecht, Wimpie van der Walt and Cornell du Preez that has served them so well this season, with Luke Watson, ever a talking point, on the bench for when the game opens up.

Waylon Murray completes a pair of Springboks on the bench as Ronnie Cooke has been preferred at outside centre, with Siyanda Grey and Michael Killian on the wings.

Fortunes have changed so quickly in the South African Conference this season and, at the moment, it is the Bulls who are sitting pretty at the top, after breezing to a bonus-point win over the Kings last weekend.

They were singing an entirely different tune just three weeks ago when they returned from overseas with three straight defeats and they will be desperate to beat the Waratahs at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday to also quieten down talk of a union in crisis due to a rumoured player exodus sparked by some salaries being halved.

The Bulls have left out fetcher flank Deon Stegmann from their match-day squad, but the way hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle competed at the breakdowns last weekend, he shouldn’t be missed as coach Frans Ludeke has preferred the combative trio of Pierre Spies, Arno Botha and Dewald Potgieter, with the physical presence of Jacques Potgieter on the bench.

History may be against the Waratahs – they have not beaten the Bulls since 2005 and have not won in Pretoria since 2002 – but the New South Welshmen showed last weekend versus the Chiefs that, when their game clicks, they are competitive against the best in the tournament.

If a practically all-Wallaby pack can get on top in the tight exchanges, then the Waratahs can rely on exciting backs like Drew Mitchell, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Israel Folau to put points on the scoreboard.

Just like last weekend, however, if the Bulls are on their game from the start, maintain the momentum of the last two weeks and get their passionate supporters behind them, then the Waratahs’ minds could dwell on their awful recent record against the three-time champions and not on the job at hand.

The Stormers embark on the first leg of their overseas tour when they take on the Hurricanes in Palmerston North on Friday.

The return of Bryan Habana is a welcome boost for the Stormers, but the Springboks’ leading try-scorer will probably be focusing more on the defensive aspects of the game than on running the ball.

Against the masters of broken-field play and the most lethal counter-attackers around, the Stormers are unlikely to be throwing the ball around as the Hurricanes are renowned for pouncing on the slightest error.

The performance of the inconsistent Stormers pack will be the key to the outcome as the defensive system masterminded by Jacques Nienaber still seems to be in good nick, with just nine tries conceded in seven matches, once again the best in SuperRugby.

A bonus-point win for the Stormers and defeats for the Bulls, Sharks and Cheetahs could see them climbing to the pinnacle of the South African Conference.

The Hurricanes have had the unwanted distraction this week of star winger Julian Savea appearing in the Wellington District Court on charges of assaulting his partner and the All Black’s absence does weaken the potency of the home side’s backline.

Teams

Stormers (v Hurricanes, Friday 9:35): Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Gary van Aswegen, Dewaldt Duvenage, Duane Vermeulen, Michael Rhodes, Siya Kolisi, Andries Bekker, De Kock Steenkamp, Pat Cilliers, Deon Fourie, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Scarra Ntubeni, Brok Harris, Rynhardt Elstadt, Nizaam Carr, Nic Groom, Louis Schreuder, Damian de Allende.

Sharks (v Chiefs, Saturday 9:35): Riaan Viljoen, Odwa Ndungane, Frans Steyn, Meyer Bosman, Piet Lindeque, Pat Lambie, Charl McLeod, Lubabalo Mtembu, Jean Deysel, Derick Minnie, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Anton Bresler, Jannie du Plessis, Craig Burden, Wiehahn Herbst. Replacements: Kyle Cooper, Danie Mienie, Franco van der Merwe, Keegan Daniel, Marcell Coetzee, Cobus Reinach, Sbura Sithole.

Bulls (v Waratahs, Saturday 17:05): Jürgen Visser, Akona Ndungane, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Bjorn Basson, Morné Steyn, Jano Vermaak, Pierre Spies, Arno Botha, Dewald Potgieter, Juandré Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Dean Greyling. Replacements: Willie Wepener, Hencus van Wyk, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Jacques Potgieter, Francois Hougaard, Louis Fouchè, Lionel Mapoe.

Cheetahs (v Southern Kings, Saturday 19:10): Hennie Daniller, Willie le Roux, Johann Sadie, Robert Ebersohn, Raymond Rhule, Burton Francis, Piet van Zyl, Phillip van der Walt, Lappies Labuschagne, Heinrich Brüssow, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Lourens Adriaanse, Adriaan Strauss, Coenie Oosthuizen. Replacements: Ryno Barnes, Trevor Nyakane, Ligtoring Landman, Frans Viljoen, Sarel Pretorius, Elgar Watts, Ryno Benjamin.

Southern Kings (v Cheetahs, Saturday 19:10): George Whitehead, Siyanda Grey, Ronnie Cooke, Andries Strauss, Michael Killian, Demetri Catrakillis, Shaun Venter, Jacques Engelbrecht, Wimpie van der Walt, Cornell du Preez, Rynier Bernardo, Steven Sykes, Kevin Buys, Bandise Maku, Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: Virgile Lacombe, Grant Kemp, David Bulbring, Luke Watson, Nicolas Vergallo, Waylon Murray, Siviwe Soyzwapi.

Other fixtures: Reds v Blues (Friday, 11:40); Brumbies v Force (Saturday, 11:40); Crusaders v Rebels (Sunday, 6:05).

Bye: Highlanders.

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