Gloucester v Sharks - teams and predictions

CHALLENGE CUP FINAL PREVIEW: Sharks coach John Plumtree has called on his senior players to ‘step up’ as his team goes in search of their first-ever victory in an international tournament.

Having featured in four Super Rugby finals, a trophy still eludes the Durban-based team when it appears on a global stage.

However, Plumtree believes he has the right synthesis to end their dry run in major finals.

It is two teams with plenty of quality, but whose domestic seasons have been underwhelming, to say the least, that will face off at the stadium colloquially known as the New White Hart Lane.

This North London venue will be the stage where silverware and a spot in next season’s Champions Cup will be up for grabs.

Gloucester is a seasoned European campaigner – twice winners of the Challenge Cup and twice runners-up.

This is a record fifth appearance in the Final – the same as Toulon.

That is why players like Eben Etzebeth, who leads in what he describes as his ‘biggest club game ever’, Vincent Koch, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche are so vital.

Even Gerbrandt Grobler with five years and 80-odd games of European experience – between Racing 92, Stade Français, Munster and even Gloucester – will have some valuable insights to share with his teammates.

Plumtree spoke of ‘keeping things simple’ and not hype up the game too much.

However, the coach has made no secret that his senior players hold the key.

(John Plumtree and Eben Etzebeth preview the Challenge Cup Final….)

“We want our leaders – players who have been in this position many times before – to show the passion that we will need to win this Final,” he said in the build-up this week.

Plumtree also expects it to be a “very physical contest”, which also brings the Bok bruisers like Etzebeth, Koch, Mbonambi and Nche into the picture.

“We have some players who have worn a Springbok jersey in big finals,” he said, adding: “For a Springbok to wear a franchise jersey and to do well in that jersey means a lot.

“I expect the senior players in this group to have massive games.

“They have been great all week,” he told @rugby365com, adding: “They have all had a hand in the strategy and tactics of the game.

“They do bring a sense of calmness.”

Etzebeth also spoke of the significance of the occasion, given the Sharks have had a rather deflating United Rugby Championship season and are looking to this Final for redemption.

“It comes down to this game to get into the Champions Cup next season,” he said.

Gloucester wasted no time in rushing their Argentinean superstar Santiago Carreras back for the Final, after the fullback recovered from an appendix operation.

The Argentine has scored 51 points in the competition this season, the fifth most, with the majority of his haul coming from a competition-high 13 penalties.

It’s a huge boost to Gloucester, with England international Jonny May starting on the wing in his last ever game for the club.

Flank Lewis Ludlow captains the English Premiership outfit, with Ruan Ackermann on the other side of the pack to face his fellow South Africans.

Gloucester Director of Rugby George Skivington also touched on the ‘star power’ of the South African outfit.

“They have got a lot of high-profile players, a lot of guys who can do things out of nowhere – from backline players to [Eben] Etzebeth in the second row and World Cup-winning front row forwards,” Skivington said.

“They have got a lot of guys who can change a game in a moment, and we have to be ready for that.

“They are a big opposition with lots of household names.

“Like us, their league campaign hasn’t gone to plan, so both teams have a lot to play for.

“There is no getting away from the physicality with the Sharks.

“Guys like Etzebeth are very big, powerful men, and if you are not ready for that physicality battle it is going to be a long day.

“We pride ourselves on our set-piece and we work really hard on it, and so do they.

“It is a South African trait to have a very strong set-piece, so I expect that to be a very competitive area of the game.”

F̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ ̶S̶o̶u̶t̶h̶ ̶A̶f̶r̶i̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶C̶h̶a̶m̶p̶i̶o̶n̶s̶
G̶l̶o̶u̶c̶e̶s̶t̶e̶r̶’̶s̶ ̶T̶e̶a̶m̶ ̶S̶e̶l̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶

Eben Etzebeth has his focus set 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 on the 80 minutes of rugby @SharksRugby play on Friday night ✨

Get your #ChallengeCupRugby Final tickets here 🍿👇

— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) May 21, 2024

Etzebeth, who never reached a major Final during his time with the Stormers, is also looking forward to the occasion.

“We all know the #BIG Final is Saturday [Champions Cup], but for us this one [Challenge Cup] is also big,” he told @rugby365com.

“For me, this is definitely the biggest game I have played in for a South African franchise team.”

Gloucester last won the trophy in 2015 and of the team who beat Edinburgh at the Twickenham Stoop that day, only wing Jonny May is still present.

Nine years later, May is set to have a swansong in this game as he prepares to depart Kingsholm.

In stark contrast, the Sharks will be the first South African team to appear in any major European Final.

Head to head

* These two teams have never clashed in an EPCR match before!

Road to the Final

Prediction

@rugby365com: Gloucester by three points

Teams

Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Jonny May, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Caolan Englefield, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Lewis Ludlow (captain), 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Arthur Clark, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Seb Blake, 1 Jamal Ford-Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Santi Socino, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Kirill Gotovtsev, 19 Albert Tuisue, 20 Jack Clement, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Max Llewellyn, 23 Josh Hathaway.

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Lappies Labuschagne, 20 Dylan Richardson, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Curwin Bosch, 23 Eduan Keyter.

Date: Friday, May 24
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Kick-off: 20.00 (21.00 SA time; 19.00 GMT)
Expected weather: Sunny intervals and light winds from the South-West. Temperature will be 17°C at kick-off
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

@king365ed
@rugby365com

* Additional reporting by @ChallengeCup_