Ken Borland

Sharks coach Sean Everitt would have been apprehensive when his team went 7-28 down late in the first half against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Wednesday night, but in the end the KwaZulu-Natalians fought back superbly and it took a 40-metre penalty by Frans Steyn in the 80^th minute to scrape a 39-38 win for the Free Staters.

The Sharks had actually played decent rugby in the first half, but mistakes and turnovers allowed the Cheetahs to show their attacking brilliance as they ran in four tries to lead 28-12 at the break.

But in the second half the Sharks showed their attacking abilities, giving the Cheetahs defence a torrid time. The Sharks replacement front row of Michael Kumbirai, Ntuthuko Mchunu and Fez Mbatha showed they can perform at this level as they earned scrum penalties that helped pile on the pressure on the home side in the second half, while Manie Libbok came on at flyhalf and showed he will be a fine back-up to Curwin Bosch when serious competition resumes.

His linking and passing game constantly had the defence guessing and it was his brilliant individual play in slipping through a gap, regathering his own grubber and then kicking ahead again before passing to substitute flank Celimpilo Gumede for the try that gave the Sharks the lead with 13 minutes remaining.

The Cheetahs certainly played their part in a match that featured 11 tries and seemed to be played at a billion miles an hour at times, but eventually ensured they secured the win rather than risking whatever rewards would come from a more expansive approach.

Steyn was a pillar of strength at inside centre and once again showed why he is considered rugby royalty and he was bang on the money with the final kick at goal after a high tackle by the Sharks.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt has warned that South Africa’s top rugby players could be facing 12 months of non-stop action which is why the current preparation series has seen all four of the bigger franchises fielding second-string line-ups.

The Sharks play the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Wednesday and Everitt, for the second week running, has left more than 60% of the 23-man squad that featured in the Currie Cup final at the end of January on the sidelines. The Bulls, Western Province and Lions have similarly rested their leading stars.

“There’s not going to be too much time for a pre-season and we could be playing rugby for the next 12 months, so that means we won’t be able to top up the players in terms of strength and conditioning. So the Currie Cup guys can’t just keep on playing, we need them to try and develop more resilient bodies to prevent injury later on. We also need to grow our depth and prepare for the Rainbow Cup.

“Our motivation in these matches is slightly different to that of the Cheetahs, so we’ve split our squad into two groups of 33 and 12. The 12 are doing strength and conditioning work and at the end of the Free State game, those 12 will come back into the playing squad and another 12 will go into the conditioning camp. So when we play the Lions away from home it will be a vastly different starting line-up,” Everitt eplained.

Everitt said the plan in the opening two weeks of the preparation series was to give all the fringe players an equal opportunity to impress.

“We’re trying to balance selection because I would like everyone to have had equal game time after the first two matches and then we will rotate the bigger group. The preparation series is an opportunity to see where we might need to add some depth. We have explored some options already to bolster the squad, but we have nothing definite to announce to the public.

“Siya Kolisi has come along very well and went straight into team training. He’s found it a bit difficult with the severe heat on the coast at the moment, but it’s been tough on all the players. He’s also provided good leadership off the field, as you’d expect of the Springbok captain. At the moment we are building something really special here,” Everitt said.

The Sharks team announced by Sean Everitt on Friday for their preparation fixture against Griquas in Durban on Sunday spans the gamut of experience from captain Jeremy Ward, in his fifth season at Kings Park, to his centre partner Murray Koster, who will don the Black and White for the first time.

But the two most interesting selections are at openside flank and flyhalf.

James Venter has been out of action for the duration of the post-Lockdown season, but the 24-year-old was in superb form a year ago in Super Rugby. The No.6 flank was rightly praised for his ability to cover the field from side-to-side and his skill at the breakdown. And then he got injured, opening the door for Dylan Richardson, who performed the fetcher role so well he was one of the finds of the 2020/21 season.

But Venter is back now and has the chance to remind everyone of his qualities as he adds to the Sharks’ loose forward depth.

“James has got experience and unfortunately he was injured at the start of Super Rugby Unlocked, then he got concussed and then he caught Covid. So it was not a happy end-of-season for him. But he will bring leadership and experience and he is, of course, a fantastic rugby player,” Everitt said on Friday.

Manie Libbok can do things on a rugby field that can make a spectator squawk with delight, but all his previous appearances for the Sharks have been at fullback. Now he gets to call the shots at flyhalf, his opportunity coming as Curwin Bosch, one of the heroes of the last season, gets a well-deserved break. How Libbok handles the pressure of an abrasive Griquas defence in his face, as opposed to the space he gets at fullback, will be interesting to see.

“Manie was signed as a utility player and we actually didn’t expect him to play so many games at fullback, but Aphelele Fassi got injured. And then when Manie was meant to be getting a run as a replacement flyhalf against Griquas in Kimberley last year in Super Rugby Unlocked, Anthony Volmink got injured and he played fullback again.

“But flyhalf is Manie’s favourite position and he’s trained very well there, it’s just with Curwin in such good form he never got a chance. But last year against the Hurricanes, Curwin missed the game because of a family bereavement and we struggled without him because we haven’t really been able to build a second flyhalf who can challenge him,” Everitt explained.

Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Jeremy Ward (C), Murray Koster, Anthony Volmink, Manie Libbok, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Thembelani Bholi, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, JJ vd Mescht, Michael Kumbirai, Kerron van Vuuren, Khwezi Mona. Bench – Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuka Mchunu, John-Hubert Meyer, Reniel Hugo, Mpilo Gumede, Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Chait, Thaakir Abrahams.

A gutted Sean Everitt praised his Sharks team for a courageous effort in the Currie Cup final against the Bulls but said a piling up of mistakes in the final stages ultimately cost his side as they lost to a try right at the end of extra time.

The Sharks were leading 19-9 with 15 minutes of regular time remaining, but the Bulls scored a converted try and then a penalty in the 79^th minute to draw level. Replacement flank Arno Botha’s try with 72 seconds of extra time left then gave the Bulls a thrilling 26-19 win and the famous trophy for the first time since 2009.

“It was very disappointing, the players are gutted and I am gutted for them. They played their hearts out for 100 minutes, to be able to push the Bulls for that long, to keep them out for so long, made me really proud. But at the end of the day we let it slip. It wasn’t an isolated moment, just an accumulation of many mistakes. Our kicking accuracy wasn’t where we wanted it to be today.

“And one can debate kicking for touch instead of the poles, making it 22-9 maybe was the right way to go, but the players have a feeling on the field and last week in the semi-final we scored a try from that and no-one questioned that. Today we were a few inches short and then we had a baulk in the lineout when we were planning a trick play,” coach Everitt said after the heartbreaking defeat.

Flyhalf Curwin Bosch also missed five of his 10 kicks at goal, but a large number of those were from a long way out.

“Curwin has done it time and again for us this season, but today he was maybe not up to the standard we are used to. It was not his day, but all the kickers struggled, Morne Steyn and Chris Smith missed kicks too. Curwin is a great rugby player, missed kicks don’t make him a bad player. He has been outstanding for us this season and his game-management was generally excellent today,” Everitt said.

With a large financial injection now on the way from equity partners MVM Holdings, the future looks exciting for the Sharks and Everitt said the 2020/21 season had been a big success despite having no trophies to show for it.

“You can’t base the success of a season on one game and a helluva lot happened in 2020/21. We’ve also given a large number of players opportunities and they have grown and matured, the culture and leadership of the team has also grown, so the season was definitely a success.

“Lukhanyo Am has been a great captain, he has tremendous respect from his peers and the coaching staff do too. Through tough times, Lukhanyo has shown outstanding leadership and I would say we have had a lot of success this season,” Everitt said.