Ken Borland

The Sharks are happy to cede the favourites’ tag to the Bulls for their United Rugby Championship quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, but there is no doubt they see the match as a golden opportunity to make their mark in Europe by reaching the semi-finals and probably taking on Champions Cup runners-up Leinster.

The Champions Cup final last weekend was a thrilling affair with La Rochelle edging Leinster 24-21 in Marseille, the French club lifting the trophy thanks to a 79^th-minute try. The exciting conclusion was then overshadowed by the extraordinary celebrations in the seaport city on the Atlantic coast.

Those celebrations were seen by the Sharks and gave a taste of the passion they will encounter when they play in the Champions Cup next season.

“That trophy tour by La Rochelle was unbelievable and we know how much hard work goes into winning a competition like that,” Sharks captain Thomas du Toit said on Tuesday.

“There is an expectation from the players that that’s where we want to be competing and we have definitely put ourselves in a position to do that.

“We recognise that the Bulls are probably favourites on Saturday, but that also puts a target on their backs. The Bulls have really got into their stride lately, but we are bettering ourselves every week.

“We’ve had a few hiccups, but we are really going forward now. We have a certain level of confidence going there, yes, altitude makes a difference, but we overcame that last time there,” Du Toit said.

Having struggled to handle the Bulls in the early days of Jake White’s tenure, the Sharks now have two successive wins against their great rivals under their belts. Du Toit and his men were just a couple of points away from finishing in the top three and securing home ground privileges for themselves, but they have embraced the challenges of playing away from home.

“Our best option was playing at home, but next best is staying in South Africa,” Du Toit said. “It’s still going to be a difficult task at Loftus, we’re not underestimating anything.

“Subconsciously, things definitely change when it’s knockout rugby and you’re lying to yourself if you say there is not an extra level of pressure. But it’s good to have, to know it’s do-or-die.

“Normally this squad, when it has its backs against the ropes, knows the only way is to fight our way out. It’s good pressure, we live for it, it’s more exciting to have this different pressure. Embracing it makes it easier to handle.

“We expect the Bulls to have one or two variations at their mauls and lineouts and they’ll be aiming for a stable base at the scrum. They have put some new arrows in their quiver and are not one-dimensional,” Dui Toit warned.

The Lions have a golden opportunity to win their first match at Loftus Versfeld in more than four years when their URC-strength team tackles the Bulls’ Currie Cup side in Pretoria on Saturday evening.

Their 49-35 win on March 3, 2018, gave the Lions a hat-trick of wins to start their Super Rugby campaign that year, and Swys de Bruin’s team would go on to contest the final against the Crusaders.

That was the last year of the De Bruin/Warren Whiteley golden era though and the Lions would now normally be the underdogs when they take on the Bulls, who have qualified for the United Rugby Championship quarterfinals, and have dominated local rugby with back-to-back Currie Cup crowns.

But the importance of securing a home quarterfinal in the URC – they will need to beat the Ospreys next Friday in Swansea to have a chance – means that squad of players has already begun preparations for that vital overseas match and Currie Cup coach Gert Smal has had to make do with the ‘second-stringers’.

The Lions, on the other hand, are out of URC contention and have chosen pretty much their best available team to try and gain their first Currie Cup win after nine straight defeats this season. Smal believes the pressure will be on the visitors in Pretoria on Saturday.

“We have 27 players unavailable due to injuries and the URC team starting their preparation, while the Lions will bring their URC team,” Smal said on Friday.

“We want to put out the best team we can and play the best we can, but I think the pressure will be on the Lions. We knew it would happen at some stage and it’s just where we are right now.

“It’s the best team we could select and the Lions have been playing much better now than at the start of the competition. They like to play and they will test us in all areas,” Smal said.

If the Bulls can cull a couple of bonus points from the game then it will keep them in touch with the Free State Cheetahs, who are expected to beat the Sharks in Bloemfontein, and still have a game in hand on Smal’s team.

While the Lions will field the exciting pairing of livewire scrumhalf Morne van den Berg and talented flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse, the Bulls have chosen a young and relatively untried halfback combination in Keagan Johannes and Juan Mostert, and there will be some uncertainty over their game management and what tempo of rugby the home side wants to play.

Teams

Bulls – James Verity-Amm, David Kriel, Stedman Gans, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Kabelo Mokoena, Juan Mostert, Keagan Johannes, Muller Uys, Reinhardt Ludwig, Jaco Labuschagne, Janko Swanepoel, Raynard Roets, Dylan Smith, Bismarck du Plessis, Lizo Gqoboka (captain). Substitutes: Sidney Tobias, Cebo Dlamini, Francois Kloppers, Ruan Delport, Stephan Smith, Bernard van der Linde, Diego Appollis, Richard Kriel.

Lions – Quan Horn, Stean Pienaar, Wandisile Simelane, Burger Odendaal (captain), Edwill van der Merwe, Jordan Hendrikse, Morne van den Berg, Francke Horn, Ruan Venter, Sibusiso Sangweni, Reinhard Nothnagel, Ruben Schoeman, Ruan Dreyer, Jaco Visagie, Sti Sithole. Substitutes: PJ Botha, Heiko Pohlmann, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Cal Smid, Jarod Cairns, Andre Warner, Henko van Wyk, Tiaan Swanepoel.

Western Province captain Nama Xaba is one of the most exciting young loose forwards in the country, but for now he is focused on trying to lead his team out of the Currie Cup doldrums and gobbling up every opportunity he gets for the high-flying Stormers side in the United Rugby Championship.

The 24-year-old Xaba is a turnover specialist of note, but his place in the Stormers team is blocked by the evergreen Deon Fourie, who has been in phenomenal form this year. But the respect with which the Durban-born player is held in Cape Town is shown by him being appointed captain of the Currie Cup team, which is struggling to stay in semi-final contention with just nine points from eight matches.

“It’s been a baptism of fire for me but a great honour to captain Western Province,” Xaba said. “It hasn’t gone too well on the field, but we have a young side and we will take a lot of learnings out of it.

“We know what exciting players we have in the union and we’re just waiting for everything to click, we’re trying to get our competitiveness back, we feel like we can touch it, it’s so close.

“There are a few players swinging between the URC and the Currie Cup, like myself, Ben-Jason Dixon and Juan de Jongh. In a way I’m fortunate that I know I’m not in John Dobson’s direct URC plans and I won’t be starting every week.

“But I just try and use whatever opportunity I get in the URC to the best of my ability. It’s tricky when players come down to the Currie Cup side, but obviously their experience is very helpful,” Xaba said.

The Western Province Rugby Union was in disarray a couple of years ago, but the superb success of the Stormers – fourth in the URC log – has improved the mood considerably. Xaba said the team management have been able to drive a focus on what is happening inside the squad and on the field, but not allowing all the administrative controversy and chaos to distract them.

“The management have brought a lot of change in attitude and we should give them credit. What’s happening in the newspapers is not being allowed to creep into the team space.

“The coaches have done really well because it is our job security on the line. We have focused just on what we need to do, which has freed up the players and we are training well. They’ve done well to shield us.

“Winning is also a big thing. There are a lot of external pressures if you don’t win, because people think those off-field issues are creeping in. But it takes a lot of pressure off when you have the Stormers being so successful in the URC,” Xaba said.

It seems like on an almost hourly basis someone in the media, whether traditional or social, will question the wisdom of the Sharks using Curwin Bosch as their starting flyhalf and for many, Aphelele Fassi’s ankle injury provided an opportunity to shift the mercurial Springbok to fullback and try someone else at No.10.

Fassi has indeed been ruled out of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash with Edinburgh at Kings Park, but the Sharks have elected to keep Bosch at flyhalf and bring Anthony Volmink back into the starting line-up in the No.15 jersey.

“Obviously we did discuss moving Curwin to fullback,” coach Sean Everitt said at their team announcement press conference on Thursday, “but we felt he is getting better every week at flyhalf.

“Anthony is a left-footed kicking option and he has always performed whenever he has put on the Sharks jersey. Overseas he was particularly good against Ospreys.

“So it was quite straightforward in the end. Curwin will be making his fourth start in a row at flyhalf and he has shown some great signs.

“He distributed well against Zebre last weekend and he had a 100% tackle completion rate. We are pleased with his growth at flyhalf,” Everitt said.

But with 23-year-old reserve flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain still learning his trade at this level and Tito Bonilla making some grim, crucial mistakes in the Sharks’ midweek Currie Cup loss to the Free State Cheetahs, Everitt does not have much choice really.

The Sharks are hoping Fassi will be fit for their local derby against the Lions on April 9.

Edinburgh will be the first real big guns of the tournament that the Sharks have met for a while, and whoever wins on Saturday will stay in contact with the top four on the log. Edinburgh are currently fifth in the standings, three points ahead of the sixth-placed Sharks, who have a game in hand.

“There’s a lot at stake because Edinburgh are just ahead of us on the log and the guys are amped,” Everitt said. “Our team has gained confidence from four bonus point victories on the trot.

“I thought it was also a better performance last weekend although we did not finish all the opportunities we created. We’ve had good consistency of selection, which helps.”

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