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Durban - Cell C Sharks coach Brad MacLeod-Henderson has named his team to take on the Golden Lions in their Currie Cup semi-final at Ellis Park on Saturday (14:30 kick-off).
Kyle Cooper’s return from injury that forced him out of last week’s match is the only change to the team that defeated Western Province 28-20 at Newlands last week, with Monde Hadebe shifting to the bench.
The Sharks have qualified for the semi-finals for nine consecutive seasons and this will be their first away from Kings Park since 2006.
They edge the Golden Lions in terms of success rate, having won five of their eight semi-finals in the last 10 years, while the Lions have only won two of their seven last four encounters in the same period.
“We weren’t happy with our first half performance against Western Province but it was great to see us come out in the second half and play some nice rugby and get quite a few points on the board," MacLeod-Henderson said via a statement released to the media on Thursday.
"Hopefully the continuity continues against the Golden Lions. It’s going to be a huge task going up to Ellis Park, but a challenge we’re looking forward to. We will have to play for the full 80 minutes, defensively we need to be strong and our set-piece needs to function well.
“The Lions do have a big strong pack but your set-piece needs to function well every week and the Lions have a good set-piece, so we know it’s going to be a big challenge.
“We played nicely when we beat them in Durban, but that counts for nothing now. It’s a new game, a new challenge, a new week and we are preparing accordingly.”
Teams:
Golden Lions:
15. Jaco van der Walt. 14. Ruan Combrinck, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Courtnall Skosan, 10. Marnitz Boshoff, 9. Ross Cronje, 8. Warren Whiteley (captain), 7. Derick Minnie, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Martin Muller, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Schalk van der Merwe
Substitutes: 16. Armand van der Merwe, 17. Julian Redelinghuys, 18. Willie Britz, 19. Warwick Tecklenburg, 20. Kwagga Smith, 21. Mark Richards, 22. Harold Vorster
Sharks:
15. SP Marais, 14. Tonderai Chavhanga, 13. S’bura Sithole, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Tera Mtembu (captain), 7. Etienne Oosthuizen, 6. Jacques Botes, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Stephan Lewies, 3. Matt Stevens, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Thomas du Toit
Substitutes: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. JC Astle, 20. Khaya Majola, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Fred Zeilinga
Kyle Cooper’s return from injury that forced him out of last week’s match is the only change to the team that defeated Western Province 28-20 at Newlands last week, with Monde Hadebe shifting to the bench.
The Sharks have qualified for the semi-finals for nine consecutive seasons and this will be their first away from Kings Park since 2006.
They edge the Golden Lions in terms of success rate, having won five of their eight semi-finals in the last 10 years, while the Lions have only won two of their seven last four encounters in the same period.
“We weren’t happy with our first half performance against Western Province but it was great to see us come out in the second half and play some nice rugby and get quite a few points on the board," MacLeod-Henderson said via a statement released to the media on Thursday.
"Hopefully the continuity continues against the Golden Lions. It’s going to be a huge task going up to Ellis Park, but a challenge we’re looking forward to. We will have to play for the full 80 minutes, defensively we need to be strong and our set-piece needs to function well.
“The Lions do have a big strong pack but your set-piece needs to function well every week and the Lions have a good set-piece, so we know it’s going to be a big challenge.
“We played nicely when we beat them in Durban, but that counts for nothing now. It’s a new game, a new challenge, a new week and we are preparing accordingly.”
Teams:
Golden Lions:
15. Jaco van der Walt. 14. Ruan Combrinck, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Courtnall Skosan, 10. Marnitz Boshoff, 9. Ross Cronje, 8. Warren Whiteley (captain), 7. Derick Minnie, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Martin Muller, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Schalk van der Merwe
Substitutes: 16. Armand van der Merwe, 17. Julian Redelinghuys, 18. Willie Britz, 19. Warwick Tecklenburg, 20. Kwagga Smith, 21. Mark Richards, 22. Harold Vorster
Sharks:
15. SP Marais, 14. Tonderai Chavhanga, 13. S’bura Sithole, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Tera Mtembu (captain), 7. Etienne Oosthuizen, 6. Jacques Botes, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Stephan Lewies, 3. Matt Stevens, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Thomas du Toit
Substitutes: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. JC Astle, 20. Khaya Majola, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Fred Zeilinga
