Sharks aiming for full marks
The Sharks will be going all-out to secure a bonus-point victory against the Leopards in Rustenburg this weekend as the defending champions seek to secure a spot in the Currie Cup play-offs.
Coach John Plumtree has handed an opportunity to exciting Under-21 fullback Gouws Prinsloo in the clash with the Currie Cup bottom-dwellers on Saturday.
“Gouws Prinsloo starts for us at fullback this week, he’s a very big talent for the future for us and I’d like to give him an opportunity,” said Plumtree.
Veteran Stefan Terblanche drops down to the bench and will win his 100th Currie Cup cap for the Sharks if he takes the field. In other changes to the backline Meyer Bosman replaces Marius Joubert at inside centre while scrumhalf Conrad Hoffman takes the place of the injured Charl McLeod.
The Sharks boss admitted that it was crucial for his team to gel this weekend against what will be a determined Leopards outfit in order to gain valuable momentum ahead of the knockout phase of the competition.
He commented: “It’s coming to crunch time for us, obviously we need to get some points if we want to get into the play-offs. This is a huge match for us, there are only 10 points available in the next two weeks and we need them.
“The Leopards will want to knock off a bigger team in one of their last two games. It’s going to be a pretty intense battle,” said Plumtree.
The Sharks coach was very pleased to be able to name the same pack that did battle against Western Province in Durban last week as his team has not had any continuity this season.
“I’m pretty sure that this year I haven’t picked the same side for consecutive matches, that’s been part of our problem, not too much continuity. But we’re not worried about the past now, we’re looking to the future and that starts on Saturday.
“The players have trained really well this week, it’s been probably one of our better weeks this year. They’re excited about the opportunity and they’ve trained like that. Now, the proof of the pudding will be in the performance,” added the Kiwi mentor.
Sharks: 15 Gouws Prinsloo, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Conrad Hoffmann, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Jean Deysel, 3 Eugene van Staden, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Jan Andre Marais, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 Stefan Terblanche.
Date: Saturday, October 8
Venue: Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng
Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)
Referee: Joey Salmans
Assistant referees: Marius Jonker, Sieg van Staden
TMO: Johan Greeff
