Have the Sharks unearthed another Beast?
REACTION: Remember the name Ntuthuko Mchunu. He may just be the next ‘Beast’ to come out of Durban.
Barely two years out of school and still just 21, the converted loose forward made a serious statement of intent in Bloemfontein this week.
Coming off the bench – along with Fez Mbatha, and Michael Kumbirai – they earned the Sharks three crucial scrum penalties – which saw the Durban outfit come back from trailing 12-28 at half-time, to grab the lead (38-36) with just over 10 minutes remaining.
A late Frans Steyn penalty saw the Cheetahs claimed the win, but the young Mchunu showed enough in his cameo to earn him a special mention from Sharks coach Sean Everitt.
“Depth in your front row is vitally important,” Everitt said in his post-match reaction – following the midweek trip to Bloemfontein.
“We learnt hard lessons in the Currie Cup, particularly because the guys didn’t have much game time. With the COVID restrictions and social distancing, the guys weren’t able to scrum at training as much as they would normally.”
The coach was particularly pleased with the showing of Mbatha and Mchunu, who still featured for the Sharks Under-21 team last year, along with the more senior (24-year-old) Kumbirai, an import from the Stormers.
“It was particularly pleasing to see Ntuthuko Mchunu come through the way he has,” Everitt said of the young man that still played No.8 when he captained the Maritzburg College First XV in 2018.
Just like legendary World Cup-winning Springbok prop Tendai Mtawarira, he was moved to the front row after school.
It is early days yet, but he showed some early promise.
“It was only his second senior game at prop,” Everitt said, adding: “He has been a powerhouse in the last two games, not only in scrumming, but his ball carries as well.
“It was very pleasing that we were able to get three scrum penalties, as that [scrums] were a problem in the first half against the Cheetahs.
“It is pleasing that we are growing depth in those positions.”
The coach said he was ‘very pleased’ with how his team came back after the break – especially the players coming off the bench.
He said they let themselves down with their ‘accuracy in execution’ throughout the game.
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