Rugby news from KwaZulu-Natal:
TEAM RELEASE: East Coast vs. West Coast:
Saturday’s return leg Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers at Hollywoodbets Kings Park promises to bring fireworks for the fans.
Derby matches always bring out the best in the two coastal teams and this match should be no different. The Stormers have enjoyed a good run in the tournament while the Hollywoodbets Sharks will be out to prove to their fans that amongst the frustrations, good things are coming.
“We haven’t found that real consistency to how we want to perform, although there have been periods where we’ve played some of our best rugby, and when we played the Stormers down in Cape Town, it was a really gutsy performance built around pressure and good defences, and we really stood up in that department,” explains head coach John Plumtree.
“We have to be really strong upfront, whether it’s at scrum time or mauls, we know we have a strong pack but I haven’t yet been able to put that pack out onto the park because of injuries to key players which has been probably my biggest frustration.
“In the future, we’ll get that part right, but we’ve had surgeries to six players in the tight five. It’s been a long season and we’ve been handicapped by so many injuries including Eben Etzebeth, who has had a knee procedure and will only be back in a few weeks. So it’s been really frustrating not being able to put out the pack that I’ve wanted to.”
The Hollywoodbets Sharks coach has the good fortune of welcoming back Rugby World Cup winning hooker Bongi Mbonambi from injury where he will feature alongside Coenie Oosthuizen and Vincent Tshituka also returns from a long-term injury off the bench, while replacement flyhalf Siya Masuku gets an opportunity to make his debut in the URC.
Plumtree admits that, “Ultimately, we’re looking for some consistency in our performances to find some real confidence and belief in how we can play this game and at times we have shown that.”
Saturday is Sharksfest at the tank and we are all geared for an exciting game in front of a packed crowd. The match kicks off at 17h05.
Hollywoodbets Sharks
- Ox Nche
- Fez Mbatha
- Hanro Jacobs
- Le Roux Roets
- Gerbrandt Grobler
- James Venter
- Lappies Labuschagne
- Phepsi Buthelezi
- Jaden Hendrikse
- Curwin Bosch
- Makazole Mapimpi
- Francois Venter
- Lukhanyo Am (C)
- Werner Kok
- Aphelele Fassi
Replacements
- Bongi Mbonambi
- Ntuthuko Mchunu
- Coenie Oosthuizen
- Hyron Andrews
- Vincent Tshituka
- Bradley Davids
- Siya Masuku
- Aphiwe Dyantyi
The post TEAM RELEASE: East Coast vs. West Coast appeared first on The Sharks Durban.
Time to Feast:
The Hollywoodbets Sharks return to Vodacom United Rugby Championship action after a five week break in their tournament commitments as they welcome the DHL Stormers to Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday afternoon.
Sharks Fest is coming to Durban and the Hollywoodbet Sharks and Red Bull are bringing you Summer Vibes at the DJ Stage where tickets start from just R50.
But not only are we in for a huge party, but there’s the matter of a rugby match to take care of first.
Hollywoodbets Sharks head coach John Plumtree is back from a trip home to New Zealand as the team tackle on their coastal rivals.
“It was lovely seeing my family, my wife and boys, after six months away from home,” he admitted. “I bought my son his first car and had heaps of chores to do around the house!”
The team will be named later in the week, but Plumtree hinted that not all the Boks will be available for this match, including inspirational lock Eben Etzebeth.
“There are some Springboks being rested and some that are injured, but some are playing. It’s not ideal, but we understand the importance of giving them a break, these boys have a long season.”
After coming close in the away leg match against the Stormers in Cape Town, losing by just one point, Plumtree outlined where the game will be won and lost.
“The set-piece battle is massive against the Stormers and an area of our game we’ve been working really hard on and showing some good signs of improvement. You can’t afford to not win your own ball, so that’s probably been our big focus.
“They also bring a lot of heat in terms of their line speed defensively, so you have to have a good strategy around how you want to play against them, while they also have a lot of dynamic attacking players so we have to be really good defensively.
“It needs to be a big team performance, we were pretty good in that last game at times, but there were elements of our game that lets us down. We were leading at 71 minutes before they went ahead a couple of minutes later and that’s not good enough.
“We know what to expect and we’re working hard on our game to cope with that they have.”
At this stage of the competition, the Hollywoodbets Sharks have battled but there is a positive sense that they are on the right track and there is no complacency or a feeling of simply giving up.
“It’s not the ideal position we would have liked to be in,” admitted captain Lukhanyo Am.
“The intention doesn’t change, we’ll continue to work hard and we will go out there and do our best. We want to improve, we are showing signs of improvement and there are areas we are getting stronger.
“Our mindset remains to win every game we play, try get the points and climb up the ladder.”
Saturday’s kick-off is scheduled for 5.05pm.
The post Time to Feast appeared first on The Sharks Durban.
