Ken Borland

Apart from the daunting task of trying to make the Rainbow Cup final, the Sharks are adamant that they cannot brook the thought of the Bulls beating them on their home turf when they meet in the crunch final round of South African Pro14 fixtures in Durban on Saturday.

In order to top the South African standings and get to travel to Italy to take on Benneton Treviso, the Sharks have to win the game with a bonus point and deny the Bulls any log points. And they need to do that with a side weakened by what coach Sean Everitt described as “a few niggles we are trying to push through”.

Because of that, their bench will only be announced on Friday, “once we have more clarity on injuries”, but the starting line-up revealed on Thursday is missing wing Sbu Nkosi and loose forward Henco Venter and there are concerns over the two reserve props, Ntuthuko Mchunu and Wiehahn Herbst.

But Everitt says the Sharks will not be lying down even if their Rainbow Cup hopes are dashed because they have endured some painful defeats in Pretoria over the last year and they don’t want to suffer the same fate at home.

“Psychologically it’s important that we lead on the scoreboard at the end of the day, and I’ve told the players that we first have to win the game anyway and then go for the bonus point. The players want to make Kings Park a fortress, although we narrowly let that slip against the Stormers. They were disappointed with how we went down in the last 20 minutes of the last game against the Bulls in Pretoria.

“But we have also won games coming from behind at the death and the players want to show their character. It’s important we get one over the Bulls regardless of whether we qualify for the final or not. We were narrowly beaten by the Bulls in the Currie Cup final and we want to bounce back and turn the tide against them. The energy and motivation this week is the best it’s been,” Everitt said.

After the impressive win over the Lions last weekend, it has taken a bit of finesse in selection for Everitt to both reward the players who shone at Ellis Park and reintegrate his Springboks.

“We took a changed team to the Lions, where we had to get the bonus point win which is never easy, and the guys really turned up and did very well. So this is another opportunity for many of them and they are good enough for that, we just want to build on that performance.

“But it’s also about my relationship with the international players and I never question their efforts. They got us to where we are now, many of them are world champions and a guy like Lukhanyo Am is our captain who has played well every week,” Everitt said.

Sharks – Aphelele Fassi, Anthony Volmink, Lukhanyo Am (C), Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Curwin Bosch, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Thembelani Bholi, Siya Kolisi, Hyron Andrews, JJ van der Mescht, Khutha Mchunu, Kerron van Vuuren, Khwezi Mona. Bench: *To be confirmed.

Gratitude was the first emotion Marco van Staden felt when he heard his name called out at the weekend for the Springbok squad to play in the series against the British and Irish Lions, and not just because he has not been a part of the national squad for a while.

Van Staden watched the live announcement with his parents and grandparents in the Magaliesberg mountains and he was delighted to share the best moment in his career thus far with the family members who sacrificed much so he could put rugby first, making it all the way to the top from a little agricultural school called Hoerskool Bekker. Especially since he is on his way overseas to play for English club Leicester Tigers as soon as his Springbok commitments are over.

“I was with my parents and grandparents and it was quite a celebration. I’m spending all the time I can with them because I’m going to be going overseas in a bit and I won’t be able to see them for a while. They sacrificed so much for me just to get me here, so it was wonderful to be able to share my selection with them.

“I was just very grateful, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it only comes every 12 years, so it is a big privilege and I am very honoured to be chosen. I’ve missed out on the Springboks in the last couple of years, I’ve only played three Tests and the last one was against Argentina just before they left for Japan for the World Cup,” Van Staden said on Tuesday.

On Saturday he will play his last game for the Bulls, in their decisive Rainbow Cup match against the Sharks in Durban, and adding to the poignancy is the fact that Duane Vermeulen and Elrigh Louw, the two players with whom Van Staden has bedded in so well as a loose trio, will both be missing through injury.

“It’s probably my last game for the Bulls so I want to make the most of it. It will be disappointing to not play together with Duane and Elrigh, because I think we have gelled together well. But Marcell Coetzee will be there and it’s an honour to play with him, he also gives his all out on the field. We’re all just trying to play for the guys next to us,” Van Staden said.

The 25-year-old also said there was no room for individual battles in Saturday’s match, which will see the Bulls needing to collect just one bonus point to book a place in the Rainbow Cup final, although there will be much jostling for places in the Test 23 amongst the 46 players in the Springbok squad.

“My focus is not on playing against Siya Kolisi. The team has a plan to execute and you don’t want to be out of position to make a point of your own. I will be staying within the plan and there’s no question of holding back because I don’t see the benefit in that. I just remember how we could not play any rugby in Lockdown and to not give 100% would be disappointing my team-mates,” Van Staden said.

Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus said on Saturday night that he is comfortable with nearly 50% of the Springbok squad for the British and Irish Lions series being based overseas and he believes the South African public will be okay with so many ‘prodigal sons’ as well when they see how well they play.

The 46-man squad announced on Saturday night includes 22 overseas-based players – seven from England, eight from France, five from Japan and two from Ireland. While many of them are seasoned Springboks and World Cup winners, eyebrows will be raised at the inclusion of debutants like Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg and Jasper Wiese, and an out-of-sight, out-of-mind player like Coenie Oosthuizen.

Especially when it seems they are taking the place of locally-based stars like JD Schickerling, Marcell Coetzee or Lizo Gqoboka, who have been shining in South Africa.

“I think we ended with a pretty even split between overseas and local and I think the public should still associate with the overseas players. They will definitely appreciate them when they see how well they play. It’s been wonderful to see youngsters step up in South African rugby, like locks and scrumhalves, but we cannot afford not to have these guys from overseas.

“The only guy the public might not know is Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg of Montpellier. He’s in the squad for a specific reason and that’s because Franco Mostert is our lineout caller but if we have one injury we’re in trouble because Eben Etzebeth is not a No.5 lock. Some people might not know Rynhardt Elstadt, but he’s won the European Cup. Jasper we couldn’t ignore because he has been outstanding in the Premiership, he knocked the door down,” Erasmus said.

The Springboks will spend their first three weeks together in the sun but freezing cold of Bloemfontein. Coach Jacques Nienaber said the coming week will see the players filter into camp as their club commitments are completed, with only a half-a-dozen expected on Monday and a dozen by the end of the week.

But by their second week in Bloemfontein, almost everyone should be there. Erasmus confirmed that all the locally-based players will appear for their franchises in the final round of Rainbow Cup games that will decide whether the Bulls or the Sharks make it to the final against the winners of the European competition. But they will not be available for that final on June 19.

While Siya Kolisi has been confirmed as captain, his next-in-command Duane Vermeulen will be travelling to Cape Town to have scans on the ankle he twisted playing for the Bulls against the Stormers.

“Duane has to be doubtful with his ankle. He’s on his way to Cape Town for scans. I spoke to Jake White [Bulls coach] and it looked bad. For Duane to limp off so early in a match is very unusual, so we are fearing the worst,” Erasmus admitted.

Overseas based players in the Springbok squad – Lood de Jager (Sale, England); Dan du Preez (Sale, England); Coenie Oosthuizen (Sale, England); Jean-Luc du Preez (Sale, England); Kwagga Smith (Jubilo, Japan); RG Snyman (Munster, Ireland); Joseph Dweba (Bordeaux, France); Rynhardt Elstadt (Toulouse, France); Eben Etzebeth (Toulon, France); Jasper Wiese (Leicester, England); Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (Montpellier, France); Vincent Koch (Saracens, England); Malcolm Marx (Kubota, Japan); Franco Mostert (Honda, Japan); Damian de Allende (Munster, Ireland); Faf de Klerk (Sale, England); Elton Jantjies (Pau, France); Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse, France); Willie le Roux (Verblitz, Japan); Handre Pollard (Montpellier, France); Cobus Reinach (Montpellier, France).

Late lapses cost the Sharks victory against the Bulls and the Stormers, and also made their game against the Lions before that closer than it should have been, and that is a key area of improvement coach Sean Everitt is looking for when his team travel to Ellis Park on Saturday for their Rainbow Cup encounter with the Gautengers.

And even though the Sharks are resting several Springboks as per the agreement with SA Rugby, Everitt has been able to name a powerful bench that should be able to have a late impact against the Lions. Their first-choice front row is amongst the replacements, Ruben van Heerden and Thembelani Bholi are seasoned forwards now, centre Jeremy Ward is an exciting runner and scrumhalf Grant Williams’ ability to lift the pace is perhaps his greatest attribute.

“When we played the Lions here at Kings Park, we had a lapse in the last 10 minutes, but the game was basically won. Fez Mbatha, Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit can hopefully be a bit of a bomb squad for us in Joburg and we can finish stronger than we have in the last few weeks, so things have worked out nicely in that regard. We’ve had a good break and have been able to work on the aspects that have let us down,” Everitt said.

The impressive coaching methods of Everitt have seen him create a real family atmosphere within the Sharks squad and he has always focused on ensuring the levels of performance are right rather than results. Now that the Sharks are under pressure to deliver a result against the Lions to keep them contending for the Rainbow Cup final, nothing will change.

“There is pressure to perform in all areas, not just to win. In some games our scrum hasn’t functioned and then our scrum will be good but the lineout fails. Results come with performance, ensuring we get those processes right first; performance goes hand-in-hand with results. We are still in the race and we have played good rugby up there recently.

“The conditions suit the exciting brand of rugby we want to play and in the last 18 months we have got the mental aspect of playing on the Highveld right. We know that the Lions have improved a lot over the last four weeks though, since our last game against them, and I am expecting a tough tussle,” Everitt said.

The Sharks have won their last four matches at Ellis Park, dating back to their defeat in the opening game of Super Rugby in 2018.