Ken Borland

The Cheetahs are famous for the expansive, running rugby they can bring, but Sharks coach Sean Everitt has warned that the Free Staters also have some industrial-strength forward power that his team will need to combat in their Super Rugby Unlocked match at Kings Park on Friday night.

Playing at a high tempo is something the Sharks are comfortable with, but matching big, powerful packs in the set-pieces and the collisions has been something they have struggled with at times this year, and the Cheetahs will surely be aiming to use physicality as a weapon on Friday night.

“I think the Cheetahs are going to pose the same challenge up front as the Pumas and Bulls did. They have a lot of synergy in their lineout and scrum, so those are an obvious threat then. Plus with Frans Steyn at 12 it gives them a different dimension in terms of his kicking, carrying and his running from set-piece. We’re going to have to keep them out with really aggressive defence.

“The Cheetahs also like to maul a lot, from all areas of the field, but fortunately JJ van der Mescht was outstanding for us in that department against the Pumas – he pretty much stopped three mauls on his own. But I think the break will have motivated the Cheetahs, they won’t be happy about just getting two points against the Lions and they’ll be raring to go after that abandoned game and a bye,” Everitt said.

Despite dominating the Super Rugby competition at the start of the year, the Sharks have been taking baby steps since the return-to-play. Everitt showed patience by not prematurely throwing his toys out of the pram, but he believes his team are now settled and have laid the platform to now improve every week. He does not expect to see any more signs of rust from the Sharks.

“We’re no longer finding our feet, we’ve been together for a while now. Our confidence is back and we should be improving weekly now. I’m expecting a high-tempo game and we need guys who are going to have an impact, and I’m certain our bench will bring that and give us the opportunity to change the game if necessary. There’s healthy competition in our squad.

“But this competition as a whole is really strong and everyone has strengthened their squads since the start of the year. It’s been a great platform for South African rugby and every one of the our players knows they have the opportunity to get noticed now. We’ve settled in well now,” Everitt said.

Teams

Sharks: Manie Libbok, Yaw Penxe, Jeremy Ward, Marius Louw, Madosh Tambwe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Phendulani Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, JJ van der Mescht, John-Hubert Meyer, Dan Jooste, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, Ruben van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Werner Kok.

Cheetahs: Clayton Blommetjies, Malcolm Jaer, William Small-Smith, Francois Steyn, Rosko Specman, Tian Schoeman, Tian Meyer, Aidon Davis, Junior Pokomela (captain), Andisa Ntsila, JP du Preez, Carl Wegner, Luan de Bruin, Reinach Venter, Charles Marais. Replacements – Jacques du Toit, Boan Venter, Khutha Mchunu, Oupa Mohoje, Jeandré Rudolph, Ruben de Haas, Reinhardt Fortuin, Chris Smit.

Kickoff: 19h00

The Lions are famous for the high tempo of their play, but Sharks openside flank James Venter has the gas to make their lives difficult when they restart competitive rugby in South Africa with their Super Rugby Unlocked clash at Kings Park on Durban on Friday night.

Venter, a former Lions player, said the new areas of focus in refereeing the breakdowns also favour the defender getting there first, so he is excited about the impact he could have in ensuring the Sharks have the momentum and the Lions do not. Momentum was what the Sharks most obviously lacked in their SuperFan Saturday warm-up against the Bulls, but Venter did not play in that game because he was still recovering from a concussion.

“We have a referee that’s part of our training and we’ve been working closely with him. The new interpretations really favour the fetcher staying on his feet, so it’s about setting hard and quickly. I know I have a big role to play and I’m excited about that. The forward pack as a whole has a big role to play and we need to assert ourselves early on, we know that’s our job.

“The Lions love to play, they love to play running rugby, they have a running, expansive style. But sometimes the conditions can be wet in Durban and the ball doesn’t bounce your way, and you can’t play the running game. So if we front up physically and do what we do well, then they will find it tough,” Venter said on Tuesday.

And denying the Lions that momentum up front will also make it harder for their key man, Elton Jantjies, to dominate proceedings.

“We’ve looked at the Lions depth and the games we’ve had against them recently and Elton is obviously the leader and controls their game at flyhalf. That’s where a lot of their strengths lie, so we’re going to concentrate on our efforts to try and nullify or control his abilities,” the exciting Venter, who will no doubt be at the forefront of closing down the Springbok pivot’s time and space, added.

The Sharks lost badly in that warm-up game against the Bulls, trailing 35-0 after just half-an-hour before rallying to eventually go down 49-28. Having been the form team in South African rugby before action was ended by the Covid-19 pandemic, it was embarrassing, but a valuable wake-up call before the serious games start.

“We took the Bulls warm-up in our stride and we learnt a lot. Now the camp is really excited to bounce back and the vibe is great. We learnt that rugby is an 80-minute game and if you start slowly then it’s really hard to catch up. Intensity is what we thrive on and we mustn’t lose accuracy either. In pre-season it all looked really good and we executed well, but the Bulls game was like a punch in the face,” the 24-year-old Venter said.