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Bloemfontein – Bismarck du Plessis will have a major impact for the Sharks in Friday night’s Super 14 match against the Cheetahs, but it will be interesting to see whether John Smit will be any more than a third prop.
That is the view of former Springbok prop Ollie le Roux ahead of the match at the Absa Stadium.
While Le Roux does not believe the scrums will determine the outcome of the game, he says that Smit will have to prove that he can play hooker again.
“He was a good hooker, but the question is whether he’ll be able to play hooker the way a prop would do it. It will be interesting to see whether he fulfils the role of a hooker, or will just be another prop on the field,” said Le Roux.
Le Roux believes it was a tactical move to move Smit from tighthead, where he has played for South Africa for the past year, to hooker and pick Du Plessis on the substitutes bench.
He believes Du Plessis is a better hooker than Smit and that he will add to the Sharks’ scrumming power in the second half.
“Bismarck is much stronger than John at hooker, but John is better at hooker than at prop,” said Le Roux, who has played for the Sharks and Cheetahs.
“Bismarck will make a big impact. The Sharks struggled a lot in the second half against the Cheetahs in last year’s Currie Cup,” he said.
The Cheetahs humiliated the Sharks in the scrums in last year’s Currie Cup semifinals, but they were not at their best against the Bulls last week.
On top of that, Cheetahs loosehead prop Wian du Preez will be packing down against old school friend Jannie du Plessis (Sharks tighthead). They matriculated together at Grey College.
Le Roux does not believe that scrums will determine the Super14 championship and thinks that teams with poor scrums will still be able to do well.
The teams:
Sharks:
15. Stefan Terblanche, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Waylon Murray, 12. Adrian Jacobs, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Ruan Pienaar, 9. Rory Kockott, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Jacques Botes, 5. Alistair Hargreaves, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smt (captain), 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. Deon Carstens, 18. Willem Alberts, 19. Keegan Daniel, 20. Charl McLeod, 21. Monty Dumond, 22. Andries Strauss
Cheetahs:
15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Danwel Demas, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Jongi Nokwe, 10. Naas Olivier, 9. Tewis de Bruyn, 8. Frans Viljoen, 7. Juan Smith (captain), 6. Heinrich Brussow, 5. David de Villiers, 4. Nico Breedt, 3. WP Nel, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Wian du Preez
Substitutes: 16. Ryno Barnes, 17. Coenie Oosthuizen, 18. Waltie Vermeulen, 19. Ashley Johnson, 20. Sarel Pretorius, 21. Sias Ebersohn, 22. Hennie Daniller
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan.
Kick-off: 18h00
Bloemfontein – Bismarck du Plessis will have a major impact for the Sharks in Friday night’s Super 14 match against the Cheetahs, but it will be interesting to see whether John Smit will be any more than a third prop.
That is the view of former Springbok prop Ollie le Roux ahead of the match at the Absa Stadium.
While Le Roux does not believe the scrums will determine the outcome of the game, he says that Smit will have to prove that he can play hooker again.
“He was a good hooker, but the question is whether he’ll be able to play hooker the way a prop would do it. It will be interesting to see whether he fulfils the role of a hooker, or will just be another prop on the field,” said Le Roux.
Le Roux believes it was a tactical move to move Smit from tighthead, where he has played for South Africa for the past year, to hooker and pick Du Plessis on the substitutes bench.
He believes Du Plessis is a better hooker than Smit and that he will add to the Sharks’ scrumming power in the second half.
“Bismarck is much stronger than John at hooker, but John is better at hooker than at prop,” said Le Roux, who has played for the Sharks and Cheetahs.
“Bismarck will make a big impact. The Sharks struggled a lot in the second half against the Cheetahs in last year’s Currie Cup,” he said.
The Cheetahs humiliated the Sharks in the scrums in last year’s Currie Cup semifinals, but they were not at their best against the Bulls last week.
On top of that, Cheetahs loosehead prop Wian du Preez will be packing down against old school friend Jannie du Plessis (Sharks tighthead). They matriculated together at Grey College.
Le Roux does not believe that scrums will determine the Super14 championship and thinks that teams with poor scrums will still be able to do well.
The teams:
Sharks:
15. Stefan Terblanche, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Waylon Murray, 12. Adrian Jacobs, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Ruan Pienaar, 9. Rory Kockott, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Jacques Botes, 5. Alistair Hargreaves, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smt (captain), 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. Deon Carstens, 18. Willem Alberts, 19. Keegan Daniel, 20. Charl McLeod, 21. Monty Dumond, 22. Andries Strauss
Cheetahs:
15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Danwel Demas, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Jongi Nokwe, 10. Naas Olivier, 9. Tewis de Bruyn, 8. Frans Viljoen, 7. Juan Smith (captain), 6. Heinrich Brussow, 5. David de Villiers, 4. Nico Breedt, 3. WP Nel, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Wian du Preez
Substitutes: 16. Ryno Barnes, 17. Coenie Oosthuizen, 18. Waltie Vermeulen, 19. Ashley Johnson, 20. Sarel Pretorius, 21. Sias Ebersohn, 22. Hennie Daniller
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan.
Kick-off: 18h00
