How Sharks will navigate the absence of Giliomee
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Sharks have lost one of their exciting young playmakers, but head coach JP Pietersen believes his side has enough firepower to fill the void left by Luan Giliomee.
The Junior Bok has joined the Bulls this week ahead of the Sharks’ United Rugby Championship Round Three clash against the Stormers at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
Giliomee started at fullback last week but has been replaced by another promising youngster, Zekhethelo Siyaya, for the highly anticipated South African derby.
Siyaya forms an exciting back three alongside Springboks Edwill van der Merwe and Ethan Hooker, while Gianni Lombard is set to make his Sharks debut from the bench.
Lombard joined the Sharks from the Lions in February after eight years with the Johannesburg franchise.
The 28-year-old has endured a frustrating rugby journey, with a series of hamstring and knee injuries disrupting his progress.
However, Pietersen believes the former Junior Springbok is now ready to make his mark.
Speaking to reporters, the Sharks boss revealed that Lombard has impressed since joining the Durban franchise.
“I call him G,” Pietersen said when asked about Lombard, who was once touted as one of South African rugby’s most gifted young playmakers.
“He is gifted and talented, but unfortunately he had injuries and couldn’t get going.
“He had a good pre-season with us, found his feet nicely and showed promising signs of the G we know.
“He can kick with both feet, and he’s a good kicker for poles too. He can find space, and he’s a great communicator.
“Hopefully, on Saturday he gets an opportunity to showcase what he can do.”
View this post on Instagram
Siyaya has also had to manage a hamstring niggle, but Pietersen is excited to have the teenager back in the starting XV.
“We wanted to ease him back into playing, which he did, and it’s good to see that he can go through three weeks of training,” Pietersen said.
“It was actually good timing for him to play the Stormers game. Siyaya, as we saw last year, is an incredibly good rugby player.
“He can play 10 as well. He’s an outstanding kid. He’s still only 19 years old, so I think we must slow down with him and remind ourselves that he’s still a kid. He looks like a very mature player on the field.
“I’m excited that Siyaya is back in the team, and I know what he’s going to produce.”
Aerial battle could decide derby
With both sides boasting dangerous back threes, Pietersen expects the aerial contest to be one of the key battlegrounds at DHL Stadium.
The Sharks will look to Van der Merwe and Hooker to challenge Stormers fullback Damian Willemse, while the Cape side have their own weapons out wide.
“With the forwards, there’s the physicality, and obviously with the backs there’s the flair and the X factor.
“Unbelievable, both backlines are a talented group, very skilful, got speed in both teams, so obviously the technical thing of the aerial battle will be a big contest.
“The Stormers and the Sharks probably play a similar game with the aerial contest battle. Damian Willemse is probably the number one now in fullback for the Springboks, very good.
“Edwill and Ethan showed during the Test series how good they are, and obviously Edwill showed last week against Leinster how good he is in the aerial space.
“They’ve got good wingers too, with Seabelo Senatla and Leolin Zas. It’ll be a great contest.”
Pietersen believes the battle will ultimately come down to how quickly both teams react once possession changes hands.
“Once a team wins the ball, it’s about how quickly you react and set the defensive line. And for the team with the ball, it’s about how quickly you move it and expose the defence.”
