Ken Borland

The Titans took a bruise to their pride in their opening RamSlam T20 Challenge loss to the Dolphins, but successive victories have lifted the mood and left them eager to maintain their momentum as they head into a vital weekend.

The Titans travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Knights on Friday night, before returning home to face the Warriors on Sunday at Centurion in a double-header that also features the Dolphins playing the Cape Cobras.

“We weren’t happy with our performance in that first game against the Dolphins, we just didn’t adapt to conditions, we weren’t smart enough. So we’re very happy with our progression through the last two matches, but we’re still playing at only 70% of our capability. We’re executing better game plans and we’re very happy that the workload is being shared in terms of both batting and bowling,” senior batsman Farhaan Behardien said at SuperSport Park on Wednesday.

The inclusion of players like Graeme van Buuren and Lungi Ngidi has helped the change in fortunes, but there is likely to be another shake-up of the team this weekend with the return of all-rounder David Wiese after recovering from a hand injury.

While other captains are stumbling around in the fog when the pressure is on, Albie Morkel can chuckle and consider the luxury of fielding eight batsmen and nine bowlers – five pacemen, a dibbly-dobbler in Behardien, wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, a slow left-armer in Van Buuren and offie Henry Davids.

“We’re seeing in T20 now that you need eight batsmen, you need that depth if you go five or six down. The last two games, we’ve had enough batting to win and that takes the pressure off Albie and myself, everyone is chipping in. It’s where the game is going and we’ve taken a leaf out of Australia’s book – they have guys like James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Johnson; Chris Morris, Albie and David are a wonderful addition to our team. We have three frontline bowlers and three all-rounders with a wealth of experience internationally,” Behardien said.

“There are so many different combinations and it’s a quality 15-man squad. Anyone on their day can perform, we probably have more variety with our bowling than any other team and a lot of guys who love batting under pressure,” Van Buuren said.

The departure of Jake White has been dealt with and the Cell C Sharks team is fully focused on the vital Absa Currie Cup match against the Xerox Golden Lions at King’s Park tonight, according to the coach Brad Macleod-Henderson.

The meeting with the high-riding Lions is crucial for the Sharks because defeat will end their hopes of hosting a semi-final.

“The news about Jake broke on Monday and we had a team meeting and that issue has now been dealt with. We all know it’s a huge game against the Lions and the focus is now on that,” Macleod-Henderson told The Citizen yesterday.

The Sharks received good news yesterday with Kyle Cooper passing a fitness test on his knee and the experienced hooker will be important in the scrums, where the Sharks will have to match the powerful Lions unit, and the lineouts, where the KwaZulu-Natalians have been the form team in the Currie Cup.

“In the last couple of games, the lineout has worked very well for us, but we want to put pressure on the Lions all over the field. We want to limit their opportunities to get the ball because they’re not shy to attack, even from their own half. There will always be opportunities for us to move our ball or kick the ball, and we want to get the balance right,” Macleod-Henderson said.

The excellence of the Sharks’ lineout, led by veteran Marco Wentzel and now featuring another Springbok in Stephan Lewies, has caused Lions coach Johan Ackermann to field Willie Britz, who has regularly played lock for the Gautengers, at eighthman.

“The more lineout options we have the better because then we’ll be under less pressure. The Sharks have an old head there in Marco Wentzel and he has been one of the best lineout jumpers for a long time. Lewies is a Springbok as well, so it’s a quality lineout and Willie Britz will be important for us,” Ackermann said yesterday.

The Lions coach is certainly expecting the forwards to be the big workers tomorrow night and has once again named a complete front row on the bench, with the versatility of Mark Richards, Howard Mnisi and even Kwagga Smith enabling him to go for a five-two split.

But Ackermann is also keen on his team maintaining their attacking mindset and the instinctive, energetic linking play between forwards and backs that has served them so well.

The Sharks have also been producing good all-round rugby and the stage is set for one of the most intriguing clashes of the season.

Teams
Sharks: 15-SP Marais, 14-S’bura Sithole, 13-Paul Jordaan, 12-Andre Esterhuizen, 11-Lwazi Mvovo, 10-Lionel Cronje, 9-Cameron Wright, 8-Tera Mtembu, 7-Etienne Oosthuizen, 6-Jacques Botes, 5-Marco Wentzel, 4-Stephan Lewies, 3-Lourens Adriaanse, 2-Kyle Cooper, 1-Thomas du Toit. Replacements – 16-Monde Hadebe, 17-Dale Chadwick, 18-Matt Stevens, 19-JC Astle, 20-Khaya Majola, 21-Conrad Hoffmann, 22-Fred Zeilinga.

Lions: 15-Andries Coetzee, 14-Ruan Combrinck, 13-Lionel Mapoe, 12-Stokkies Hanekom, 11-Courtnall Skosan, 10-Marnitz Boshoff, 9-Ross Cronje, 8-Willie Britz, 7-Warwick Tecklenburg, 6-Jaco Kriel, 5-Franco Mostert, 4-Martin Muller, 3-Ruan Dreyer, 2-Robbie Coetzee, 1-Schalk van der Merwe. Bench – 16-Armand van der Merwe, 17-Julian Redelinghuys, 18-Jacques van Rooyen, 19-Derick Minnie, 20-Kwagga Smith, 21-Mark Richards, 22-Howard Mnisi.