PREVIEW: Super Rugby, Round 10 - Part One
JEKYLL AND HYDE: When Robert Louis Stevenson’s penned The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 1886, he would not have thought there would be a real-life reincarnation more than a century later.
The Sharks are that reincarnation.
They have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous this season – smashing the Lions 42-5 in Johannesburg one week and crashing 17-51 to the Jaguares in Durban a week later.
The question is: Will Jekyll or Hyde turn up at Kings Park on Friday, when the Sharks host the Reds?
Before we get to find the answer to that question, we have two other games on Friday – the Chiefs host the Lions in Hamilton in the opening match of the weekend, while the Sunwolves are at home to the Hurricanes in Tokyo.
We look at Friday’s matches!
Friday, April 19:
Chiefs v Lions
(Waikato Stadium, Hamilton – Kick-off: 19.35; 09.35 SA time; 07.35 GMT)
The Chiefs are clear favourites on their home ground, but the last time these two teams went head to head – back in Round Two 2016, ironically at this venue – the Lions created history.
It was the Lions first-ever (and only) win over the Chiefs in New Zealand.
After a dreadful start to Super Rugby in 2019, the Chiefs have turned their season around and have won three games on the bounce.
On the flip side, the Lions sit at the bottom of the South African conference and desperately need a win to save their season.
The Lions are coming off a 20-31 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra, while the Chiefs are flying high after their thrilling 33-29 win over the Blues in Hamilton.
Chiefs coach Colin Cooper said because the Chiefs face the Lions on Friday, a short week, they have concentrated more on the mental preparation than the physical aspects.
Lions coach Swys de Bruin said he will be looking to Springboks Warren Whiteley and Albertus Smith – who missed the last month through injury – to mark their return to the team with inspiring performances.
“They are a boost for the team and bolsters the forwards,” De Bruin said.
“Along with Cyle Brink, it gives us a seasoned loose forward combination.
“We realise the Chiefs have a powerful set of forwards that will challenge us.”
De Bruin added that Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies will play at inside centre when he comes off the bench, in a move that will hopefully at punch to their attack.
The season-ending knee injury of star playmaker Damian McKenzie has left the Chiefs with a tricky poser.
“We’re going to have to work collectively to replace him, him as an individual and the X-factor he brings, and the durability he brings, particularly in the tackle area, is hard to replace,” Cooper said.
Recent results:
2016: Lions won 36-32, Hamilton
2014: Chiefs won 38-8, Hamilton
2012: Chiefs won 34-21, Pukekohe
2011: Chiefs won 34-30, Johannesburg
2010: Chiefs won 72-65, Johannesburg
Prediction: The Lions won on their most recent visit to face the Chiefs in Super Rugby (36-32, Round 2, 2016), the Chiefs had won all five previous home matches against the South African side by an aggregate score of 189-74. This will be the fourth consecutive time that the Chiefs have hosted the Lions in this Super Rugby fixture, the Chiefs haven’t paid a visit to the Lions in Johannesburg since Round 10 2011 (Chiefs won 34-30). The Chiefs have played the Lions 10 times in Super Rugby history for seven wins and three losses, the New Zealand outfit have won five of the last six clashes. In their most recent Super Rugby fixture, against the Blues, the Chiefs lost two scrums on their own feed for the first time since Round 3 2017, they have had a 100% scrum success rate in their last 11 matches against South African sides (73/73). Malcolm Marx (Lions) has played the most minutes (622) of any hooker in Super Rugby 2019, almost 100 more than the next hooker behind him (James Parsons, 529 minutes).
Prediction: Chiefs
Margin: Seven
Teams:
Chiefs: 15 Jack Debreczeni, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Alex Nankivell, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Ataata Moeakiola, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber (captain), 8 Taleni Seu, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Tyler Ardron, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Liam Polwart, 1 Angus Ta’avao.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Atu Moli, 18 Sosefo Kautai, 19 Jesse Parete, 20 Pita Gus Sowakula, 21 Jonathan Taumateine, 22 Tumua Manu, 23 Shaun Stevenson.
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Franco Naude, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Albertus Smith, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Frans Van Wyk, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Ruan Combrinck.
Referee: Brendon Pickerill
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser, Rasta Rasivhenge
TMO: Shane McDermott
Sunwolves v Hurricanes
(Prince Chichibu Stadium, Tokyo – Kick-off: 19.00; 22.00 NZ time; 10.00 GMT)
Fresh from their first bye of the season, the Hurricanes will look for a full haul of five points in Tokyo to close the gap on the tournament’s runaway leaders – the Crusaders.
The Crusaders are on the top of the ladder with 34 points.
The Hurricanes are 11 points adrift in fourth place (second place in the New Zealand conference on 23 points.
“There is no doubt the bye came at a good time for the squad which played 10 games in a row when you include our pre-season matches,” coach John Plumtree said.
“The players came back into work on Saturday and they have enjoyed a freshen up.
“They are really looking forward to facing a Sunwolves side who is also fresh off the bye and will be looking for a good performance in front of their home crowd.”
https://www.facebook.com/hurricanesrugby/videos/675789729523707/
Sunwolves coach Tony Brown has made a left-field selection to play the Hurricanes, picking No.8 Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco at inside centre.
A Sydney product, Warren-Vosayaco is a destructive ball-carrier and his head-to-head battle with Hurricanes wrecking ball Ngani Laumape promises to be a beauty.
The Hurricanes have taken a gamble with the decision to rest their star All Blacks trio for their visit to Tokyo.
Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett and Ardie Savea were all omitted from the touring party – along with captain Dane Coles who continues to recover from his calf strain.
Previous results:
2018: Hurricanes won 43-15, Wellington
2017: Hurricanes won 83-17, Tokyo
Prediction: This will be the third Super Rugby meeting between the Sunwolves and the Hurricanes, the side from Wellington winning the previous two by an aggregate score of 126-32. The Hurricanes have lost just one of their last six games in Super Rugby, however, on the road they’ve won just twice in their last nine. The Sunwolves are still chasing their first victory at home in Super Rugby 2019, they’ve only lost five games in a row on their own turf once before (February-April 2018). The Sunwolves have had single figure penalty counts in their last two Super Rugby games, they haven’t managed this in three consecutive games since July 2017. Vince Aso (Hurricanes) has bagged four tries, 267 metres, 11 clean breaks, seven offloads and beaten eight defenders in two previous appearances against the Sunwolves.
Prediction: Hurricanes
Margin: 17
Teams:
Hurricanes: 15 Chase Tiatia, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 Thomas Perenara (captain), 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Liam Mitchell, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Ben May, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Fraser Armstrong.
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Jeff To’omaga-Allen, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Sam Henwood, 21 Richard Judd, 22 James Marshall, 23 Billy Proctor
Sunwolves: 15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Gerhard Van den Heever, 13 Josh Timu, 12 Rahboni Vosayaco, 11 Semisi Masirewa, 10 Hayden Parker, 9 Jamie Booth, 8 Hendrik Tui, 7 Dan Pryor (captain), 6 Ben Gunter, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Mark Abbott, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Nathan Vella, 1 Pauliasi Manu.
Replacements: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Tom Rowe, 20 Shuhei Matshuhashi, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Jason Emery, 23 Jamie Henry
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO: Minoru Fuji (Japan)
Sharks v Reds
(Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 15.05; 13.05 GMT; 23.05 Brisbane time)
The Reds, chasing their first win in South Africa since 2015, will be up against a Sharks team desperate to atone for last week’s capitulation (17-51 loss) to the Jaguares.
It would be a monumental achievement for the Reds, considering April 2004 was the last time the Brisbane-based franchise won in Durban.
Despite last week’s disaster, the Sharks have won 21 of their last 26 home games against Australian opposition.
“After last week’s result, they’ll be hungry and looking to put in a big performance in front of their home fans,” Reds coach Brad Thorn said of the Sharks.
Sharks coach Robert du Preez said taking responsibility for fixing things after last week is everyone’s duty.
“We had a good discussion in the changeroom after the game,” Du Preez told a media briefing in the build-up to Friday’s game, adding: “First and foremost the accountability starts with me and with the coaching team but it’s everyone’s responsibility and accountability, from management to players.”
There are some key changes – Springboks Coenie Oosthuizen and Tendai Mtawarira return to the front row, while Kobus van Wyk forms a new midfield partnership with Andre Esterhuizen.
However, consistency remains a key part.
“The decision was to give the players an opportunity at setting the record straight,” Du Preez said.
“We couldn’t single out any individuals who had performed badly, the team as a whole performed badly.
“This is an opportunity for them to rectify it on Friday.”
Recent results:
2017: Reds won 28-26, Brisbane
2015: Sharks won 21-14, Brisbane
2014: Sharks won 35-20, Durban
2013: Reds won 32-17, Brisbane
2012: Sharks won 30-17, Brisbane
Prediction: The Sharks have won eight of their last 11 Super Rugby encounters with the Reds, each of those wins has seen them score 21 points or more against the Queenslanders. The Sharks have won 21 of their last 26 Super Rugby home games against Australian opposition, going undefeated in the last 10 fixtures of that span. The Reds are pursuing a Super Rugby win in South Africa for the first time since Round 10 2015 (v Cheetahs), they haven’t toppled an existing South African club since Round 8 2011 against the Stormers. April 2004 was the last time the Reds triumphed in Super Rugby visiting the Sharks, three of the Reds’ four away wins against the Sharks have come by a single point. Samu Kerevi (Reds) and Daniel du Preez (Sharks) have carried the ball the most often in Super Rugby 2019, with 108 and 96 carries respectively.
Prediction: Sharks
Margin: 11
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Sibusiso Nkosi, 13 Kobus van Wyk, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder (captain), 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Aphelele Fassi.
Reds: 15 Hamish Stewart, 14 Sefa Naivalu, 13 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12 Samu Kerevi (captain), 11 Jack Hardy, 10 Bryce Hegarty, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Liam Wright, 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Alex Mafi, 1 Harry Hoopert.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 JP Smith, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Harry Hockings, 20 Adam Korczyk, 21 Moses Sorovi, 22 Duncan Paia’aua, 23 Jock Campbell.
Referee: Frederico Anselmi
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper, Glen Jackson
TMO: Marius Jonker
Compiled by Jan de Koning
@king365ed
@rugby365com
* Statistics provided by Opta Sports
