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

Bulls scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl has warned that their brilliant victory over the Sharks is worth nothing unless they build on it and maintain that momentum in their huge games coming up against the Stormers in Pretoria on Saturday and versus the Lions at Ellis Park the following weekend.

Top spot on the log is their’s at the moment, but the Bulls will need to keep winning to hold off the thus far unbeaten Free State Cheetahs and Stormers, who have won both their matches, because Jake White’s team then have a bye.

“As a team we took a lot of confidence from the Sharks game and that performance couldn’t have come at a better time. Before that we had been a bit stop-start, we didn’t have much flow in our first two games. Every game is important but now it’s really important that we build on that display and move forward, otherwise that win won’t help us.

“We have a couple of massive games coming up, but at least we were more clinical at the right times, there was better decision-making and we identified space better. Better decisions lead to better play, and this time we rounded off our chances. Coach Jake is very good at making sure that it is all about getting the team to win and we all understand our roles every week,” Van Zyl said.

While the Bulls were much more accurate with ball in hand, and also off the boot, their defence was also highly impressive against the Sharks as they conceded just one try.

“We’re very happy with our defence and the combination of scoring six tries and just conceding one is massive for us. The more consistent we are in our defence, the more opportunities we’ll have to win, so it’s something we continue to work on and against the Stormers we’ll come up against different players with different skill-sets. But we take a lot of confidence from the defensive effort against the Sharks.

“Joey Mongalo has been great for us as defence coach, he has great energy and clearly loves what he does, he’s passionate about defence and that rubs off on the team. We are eager to get better every week. The basics of our defensive system haven’t changed that much, but there’s a new energy,” Van Zyl said.

New Presidents Cup Internationals team captain Trevor Immelman is keen to build on the foundation laid by Ernie Els and has warned that his side will have a lot of exciting youngsters providing great depth as they look to end the eight-match winning streak of the United States.

Els led the Internationals to one of their best ever showings in December as they were edged out 16-14 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club by the Americans, captained by Tiger Woods. Immelman is the youngest ever captain to be appointed – he will be 41 when the Presidents Cup is played again in September 2021 at Quail Hollow, beating the mark set by Woods, who was coming to the end of his 44th year in December.

And Immelman is banking on an injection of youth to make the International team even more competitive next year.

“I was part of Ernie’s team for the last Presidents Cup and I will try and continue his legacy and I really look forward to building on the platform he created. It’s an amazing honour to follow in the footsteps of Ernie Els and Gary Player as the Internationals captain. They have both been mentors and great friends of mine, whose advice I have relied on through my life.

“In the last two years we’ve had a number of youngsters step up as some of the best golfers in the world. We have a lot of different players starting to play really well, guys who were on the fringes of the team last time around. We had a group of 12 in Melbourne and now I can cast a bigger net and create a group of 30 to 40 golfers, and start to get the camaraderie going,” Immelman told OFM radio’s Morgan Piek this week.

The 2008 Masters (again beating Woods) and two-time SA Open champion mentioned players such as Koreans Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun-An, Cameron Smith, Jazz Janewattananond, Pebble Beach winner Nick Taylor and Corey Conners as being amongst the young talent that is making him excited about being the seventh Internationals captain.

Not that the Cape Town-born Immelman is discounting a healthy contingent of his countrymen making the cut in 2021.

“There are the more experienced guys I grew up with like Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen, but South Africa has such a rich history of golfers performing at the highest level and winning the biggest championships – guys like Charl Schwartzel, who is coming back from injury and showing good form, and Branden Grace, who won the SA Open recently.

“Plus there’s someone like Erik van Rooyen, who has been playing some beautiful golf on the PGA Tour, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who is competing against the best in the world and showing what he can do,” Immelman said.

Temba Bavuma is the new captain of the Highveld Lions and the Proteas batsman warned that the franchise is dead-set on returning to their previous status as one of the powerhouses of domestic cricket.

The 28-year-old Bavuma is back at the Lions after just one season away with the Cape Cobras and, linking up with new coach Enoch Nkwe, is the sort of inspirational, high-profile figure who can drive a renaissance in Central Gauteng cricket.

“Enoch’s expectation is excellence and we will do everything in our might to fulfil that. But the players have their own expectations and we want to get back to the levels expected of us, get back to the top. We need to put up a performance and fight for the brand of cricket we want to play. We’re coming!” Bavuma said when he was unveiled as the new skipper at the Wanderers on Wednesday night.

Rassie van der Dussen, the leading run-scorer across all formats last season, has been named as the official vice-captain and Bavuma’s Proteas commitments means that he will have a vital leadership role to play as well.

Bavuma said that his return to the Lions was primarily motivated by personal reasons – his fiancée lives in Johannesburg – but it is clear that even though he left to play at his birthplace, his heart remained with his old team-mates.

“I really missed being part of this team and it was quite painful to watch their performances from the side. As captain, I won’t be doing anything different, I’m there to serve the team and inspire the players to perform their best. I know all the guys, we have a good relationship. But I’m not one to speak a lot, my focus is on just going out and doing what we have to do.

“It’s a massive honour and privilege to be given the responsibility of captain. I played under Alviro Petersen and Stephen Cook and I learnt a great deal from them and will try to live up to their legacy. I will have a strong hand in the culture of the team, how we go about achieving excellence starts there, and we have to do that on a daily basis,” Bavuma said.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-kzn/20180622/282226601449013