Ken Borland

Sharks coach Sean Everitt rates the Lions pack highly, but he was full of praise on Thursday for his own forwards and the wonderful improvement they have shown ahead of their United Rugby Championship clash at Kings Park on Saturday.

The Lions have been playing some thrilling rugby of late, winning their last four URC matches, and it is their pack that has been laying the platform.

Critics of the Sharks have been suggesting they need to boost the strength of their pack, but their forwards have been on the charge lately and Everitt has been delighted with their efforts.

“The forwards have put a lot of work in. Not too long ago they were considered our achilles heel, but I’m very proud of their wonderful performances lately,” Everitt said.

“Our lineout has been good and our scrum has been dominant and earning penalties. That means we’ve been able to get good field position inside the opposition 22.

“There’s been a lot of talk about the Lions scrum, and deservedly so, they are still the most effective scrum in the competition, they’ve earned the most penalties.

“That allows their loose forwards, who are very good, into the game. But our all-Springbok front row has done very well too, so it’s going to be an interesting battle,” Everitt said.

The Sharks have made three changes to their pack, arguably making it stronger than the one that overwhelmed the Dragons last weekend, with first-choice flanks Siya Kolisi and Henco Venter, and lock Reniel Hugo returning to the starting XV, in place of James Venter, Jeandre Labuschagne and Le Roux Roets.

All four of those Lions wins have come at home, at altitude, and now they have to travel to the subtropical lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal. While the drop in altitude will do little to their aerobic capacity, they may still find their vigorous style of rugby a bit harder to pull off in Durban.

“In terms of altitude, the change will not have as much of an affect as when we go up there,” Everitt admitted. “But the conditions might not be as conducive to throwing the ball around.

“There’s a very good chance that there will be some rain, which is not ideal, it makes conditions tough in the humidity and heat.

“But the Lions do have a good kicking game and we must make sure we don’t give them any opportunities.

“We’ve practised in the rain though and done fairly well, we’ve played some good rugby,” Everitt said.

Sharks team – Anthony Volmink, Werner Kok, Ben Tapuai, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Siya Kolisi (v/c), Reniel Hugo, Gerbrandt Grobler, Thomas du Toit (c), Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements: Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Le Roux Roets, Jeandre Labuschagne, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain.

Proteas batsman Ryan Rickelton expects Bangladesh to use the local knowledge of their coach Russell Domingo to bounce back in the second Test against South Africa starting on Friday at St George’s Park, after the touring team’s questionable tactical approach in the first Test in Durban.

Domingo was born and raised in Port Elizabeth and first made his name in cricket coaching with the local Eastern Cape Warriors franchise. By making one of the less-resourced teams in the country a trophy-winning force, Domingo quickly rose in the coaching ranks and become Proteas assistant coach and then head coach between 2013 and 2017.

“I think Russell and Allan Donald [Bangladesh bowling coach] will have a massive say in this Test,” Rickelton said. “I was very surprised that Bangladesh bowled first at Kingsmead, where you generally bat first.

“Russell will have valuable insight which Bangladesh need to exploit, they need to invest in what he says, especially in regards to Port Elizabeth.

“Bangladesh came into the Tests with lots of momentum after their one-day series win. They do have some really good players and seamers, but unfortunately a couple of them are injured and going home,” Rickelton said.

The 25-year-old left-hander, who is also an accomplished wicketkeeper, made his debut in the first Test and hit a bright 21 in the first innings, boldly getting off the mark with a reverse-sweep for four, before he mistimed a pull shot off fast bowler Ebadot Hossain and looped a catch to mid-on.

In the second innings he showed more composure under pressure, as he batted through a collapse to finish with 39 not out.

Rickelton said it was an extremely exciting prospect to make his debut.

“It was an awesome experience, I was honoured to represent my country and to step into the Test arena is something I dreamt about since I started playing.

“My Dad came down the night before the game once I was told I was playing. We’ve been through thick and thin together since I was a little boy. He was over the moon and probably even more excited than me.

“And I was probably a bit too excited and played a few too many shots! I was a bit too expansive and gave my wicket away. In the second innings, I was a lot more composed and controlled, back to my normal self.

“I’m not sure if it was brave or stupid the way I got off the mark, but when you’re that excited it’s tough to fight it and you just have to let it happen and try and make the best decisions,” Rickelton said.

The Johannesburg-born, St Stithians product has been one of the most successful batsmen in domestic cricket this season and he has a first-class average of 51.21, having hit 10 centuries in 37 matches.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt will be hoping the critics keep mum about two things after their thumping 51-3 win over the Dragons in their United Rugby Championship match in Durban at the weekend: their poor finishing and the form of flyhalf Curwin Bosch.

A much more clinical display by the Sharks saw them score four tries and be awarded two penalty tries, while Bosch gave an assured all-round performance and his fine kicking saw him succeed with four conversions and three penalties.

“Being able to convert in the gold zone was what we worked on all week and we spoke about not giving the Dragons any soft moments,” Everitt said. “And we tightened up and gave them nothing.

“We were able to put our whole game together. We’ve been managing the game well and winning the territory battles, but now we were clinical in the important areas too.

“Curwin has made 17 out of 19 tackles but the poor guy never gets compliments, he just gets ridiculed. Last week he missed one kick from in front and that was the talking point.

“But he has managed the game very well and his field-kicking was outstanding. It was one of his better games, after lots of criticism, and I’m very happy for him,” Everitt said.

Like a teenager anxious to make sure they have a prom date, the Sharks are grimly hanging on to eighth place in the URC standings and next week’s derby against the high-flying Lions is a crucial match, especially since both the Stormers and Bulls have finned past them on the log.

“It’s about building momentum and a win next week would be big for us, massive,” Everitt admitted. “Winning by the scoreline we did brings confidence and we have a really good platform for the next few games.“

An Ulster team featuring the services of Duane Vermeulen, who played a key role in the revival of fortunes at Loftus Versfeld, will come to Pretoria and play Test match rugby on Saturday, according to Bulls coach Jake White.

Ulster are currently second in the United Rugby Championship and will be looking to grind out a win in the heat and altitude of Loftus Versfeld, where the Bulls have been formidable in winning their last three games.

“Ulster are all singing the praises for what Duane has added to their game and brought to their pack. But we know well how good he is,” White said on Friday.

“But we can’t focus on individuals and we need to all play well collectively, working together as a unit. There’s been a massive improvement in that as the weeks have gone on.

“Ulster will play similar to a Test match style, they maul and carry well, they have big forwards. And their defence is very strong too.

“It’s going to be a great challenge for us. They are second for a reason: they are organised and they have good players, playing a style that suits them. It’s going to be nice to see where we are against a team that has done very well,” White said.

Apart from the importance of the encounter, Ulster are expected to also be fired up over what they have classified as an injustice in their previous game, when they went down 20-23 to the Stormers with a late try controversially disallowed.

“It’s going to be a big game because Ulster are disappointed to lose last weekend against the Stormers and they will give everything,” White said.

The Bulls will be without scrumhalf Embrose Papier, one of the main success stories in last weekend’s win over the Dragons, because he is still going through the concussion protocols.

They will continue to back Chris Smith as the starting flyhalf, with what White described as “the luxury of having all Morne Steyn’s experience to come off the bench”.

And even though Saturday’s encounter is looking to be a tight one, White was hopeful that fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse could be a not-so-secret weapon for them on attack.

“We’re hoping we can use him differently when we’ve got the ball, try bring him into the game and not just wait for Ulster to give him the ball.

“As we’ve seen, he’s very difficult to stop when he’s on-song,” White said.

Bulls team:Kurt-Lee Arendse,Canan Moodie,Cornal Hendricks,Harold Vorster,Madosh Tambwe,Chris Smith,Zak Burger;Elrigh Louw,Cyle Brink,Marcell Coetzee (CAPT),Ruan Nortje,Walt Steenkamp,Mornay Smith,Johan Grobbelaar,Gerhard Steenekamp. IMPACT – Joe van Zyl,Simphiwe Matanzima,Robert Hunt,Reinhardt Ludwig,Arno Botha;Keagan Johannes,Morne Steyn,Lionel Mapoe.