Ken Borland

Eben Etzebeth is up from the Cape and excited to be making his Sharks debut against Glasgow Warriors at Kings Park on Saturday, with coach Sean Everitt expecting some superhero stuff from the Springbok legend as the home side look to lay down the law up front from the start against their Scottish opposition.

Etzebeth is joining his fellow former Stormers legends Siya Kolisi and Bongi Mbonambi, both of whom will come off the bench and give Glasgow no respite from the physical onslaught.

“Eben is the best lock in the world and we are starting with him because we want to improve our lineout and our ball-carrying ability,” Everitt said on Friday. “A good start is going to be crucial for us.

“He is very excited to be part of the Sharks, he’s settled in well and made Durban his home. He’s in a good place and looks at home. Eben will bring a wealth of experience and leadership, and the younger guys can really learn from him.

“Glasgow have an extremely good lineout, they have some tall timber, and we learnt that the hard way last season. They like to speed the game up and they blew the Bulls away with that pace last weekend.

“They’ll be aggressive at the breakdown too and they like to love the ball around, but a 4G pitch is a lot quicker than grass and I’m sure playing at Kings Park will be a challenge for them,” Everitt said.

With the Sharks now back in town after they began their United Rugby Championship campaign on tour, Etzebeth is one of six current Springboks that will unleashed in Durban on Saturday.

Jaden Hendrikse is back to drive things from scrumhalf, and prop Ox Nche and wing Makazole Mapimpi are also on the bench, so the Sharks will be targeting high-intensity play for 80 minutes, if not high-speed.

“It makes for a very strong match-day 23,” Everitt said. “We are blessed with our front row resources and we have Ox, Bongi and Carlu Sadie to call on off the bench, which will certainly help our cause.

“It’s also better to get Vincent Tshituka back into the mix at flank sooner rather than later after injury. He was the top flank in the URC last season and having him and Eben will certainly improve our lineout options.”

Sharks – Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Marnus Potgieter, Ben Tapuai, Anthony Volmink, Boeta Chamberlain, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Vincent Tshituka, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, Eben Etzebeth, Thomas du Toit (c), Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Bench: Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche, Carlu Sadie, Reniel Hugo, Siya Kolisi, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Cameron Wright, Makazole Mapimpi.

The Proteas will want to continue to lay down the law as they have been doing recently in T20 cricket as their final dress rehearsal before the World Cup starts in Sri Lanka on Friday, with South Africa having won six of their last seven matches in the format.

The figures for the year overall are slightly less impressive, with eight wins from 15 matches, but it was in the West Indies in June when their fortunes began to turn around, largely due to some continuity in selection as the commitment was made to start choosing the best XI with October’s World Cup in mind.

Spin-bowling all-rounder George Linde might want to call his lawyer over his omission on Thursday from that 15-man World Cup squad, having played an integral role in the recent run of success, but it probably makes sense for the Proteas to now leave him out and play the two orthodox left-armers they have earmarked for the UAE – Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin.

It was confirmed on Thursday that Maharaj, who will be making his T20 International debut, will also continue captaining the side in the absence of Temba Bavuma, who was injured in the first ODI. Although Maharaj has no experience in this format at this level, judging by his form in the ODIs, one can bet their house that he will be as reliable as ever with the ball.

The third ODI showed just how tough playing Sri Lanka at home can be, which will be great preparation for the tough conditions expected in the T20 World Cup.

“It’s never easy coming here. The pitches in the UAE won’t be as slow as here at first, but they will deteriorate with all the IPL and World Cup games being played on them. So there’s going to be a lot of emphasis on playing spin, we’ve been working on different ideas and options. There’s no substitute for winning and winning the series is our primary objective,” senior batsman David Miller, who is back from injury, said on Thursday.

“We want more of the same as we come off good performances in T20 cricket in Ireland and the West Indies. We want to build on that momentum and confidence, and role-definition is going to be quite crucial. Spinners ad all-rounders is what we will rely heavily on and we need to assess and adjust to conditions. Our strength is playing as a team, being as smart as we can and combinations are key,” Bavuma said from Johannesburg on Thursday.

SuperRugby may have ended negatively for the team from Loftus Versfeld, but much the same group of players will be eager to lay down an early marker for the Currie Cup trophy when the Blue Bulls open that campaign against Western Province at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.

Coach Nollis Marais named a team on Tuesday that features just two debutants and only three players on the bench (lock Eli Snyman, scrumhalf Andre Warner and flyhalf Tony Jantjies) who did not feature in the SuperRugby campaign which ended with the Bulls just two points off the playoffs.

With Travis Ismaiel still recovering from a niggling injury, 23-year-old Jade Stighling comes in on the wing, while former Western Province prop Entienne Swanepoel will make his senior debut as the starting tighthead.

Springbok Bjorn Basson starting at fullback is the only other change to the regular backline that played in Super Rugby, the move forced due to the absence of Jesse Kriel on national duty and SP Marais coming to the end of his short-term contract.

“There are only two changes to the Super Rugby backline and just two debutants in the team overall. Bjorn was always an option at fullback, where we also have Manie Libbok. But Bjorn is a bit more experienced and is good in the air, and it’s just about getting the best players on the field. He was good for his Japanese team [Honda Heat] at fullback.

“Jade was very good in the Currie Cup qualifiers and has been waiting for a chance. Travis is not quite ready yet, but I’m happy that we will still have a good attacking back three. It’s a young team overall, but they have more Super Rugby experience, guys like Jason Jenkins, Jannes Kirsten and Pierre Schoeman up front are all a lot better players now,” Marais said on Tuesday at Loftus Versfeld.

Eighthman Arno Botha has been named as the new Currie Cup captain and the Springbok loose forward said he would be impacting more through actions than by words.

“The coach kept the announcement till the end, which is good because it keeps us on our toes. But it’s not a competition to be captain, it’s not about me as an individual, it’s about the team and I want to get the guys together and playing for each other. I won’t speak too much, most of the time I will let my actions do the work. Most of leadership is in what you do,” Botha said.

Team: Bjorn Basson, Jade Stighling, Dries Swanepoel, Burger Odendaal, Jamba Ulengo, Tian Schoeman, Piet van Zyl, Arno Botha (c), Jannes Kirsten, Ruan Steenkamp, Marvin Orie, Jason Jenkins, Entienne Swanepoel, Jaco Visagie, Pierre Schoeman. Bench – Bandise Maku, Nqoba Mxoli, Eli Snyman, Hanro Liebenberg, Andre Warner, Tony Jantjies, Dan Kriel.