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Durban - Sharks Director of Rugby Gary Gold has named his team to tackle the Cheetahs at Kings Park on Saturday (17:05 kick-off):
According to Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick, the players who have either returned or been lured to the Sharks have been largely integrated into the side that Gold has selected for the match.
Waylon Murray will feature at outside centre and Gold has gone with Renaldo Bothma and Mouritz Botha in the pack while Jean Deysel has been named on the bench.
“The Cheetahs are, for me, one of the most dangerous sides to play against and on their day they have the ability to beat any team,” explains Gold. “We are expecting a physical battle against a well-coached team, who have some exciting young players in their squad.
“Our guys have prepared well for the tournament and there is a fantastic spirit in the camp. We want to play an exciting brand of rugby that our fans demand and score tries. The only way to win matches is to score tries and to score tries you need to keep the ball in hand. Our players are determined and will give nothing less than 100% effort on the park.”
While there has been no secret around the fact that the Sharks want to play an exciting brand of rugby, they also want to make sure they are prudent about it.
“We want to play smart and do what’s working for us,” explains assistant coach Brad Macleod-Henderson.
“If the opportunities are there, we want to make sure we take them. But we still need to make sure we do the basics well, that we defend well, our set-pieces are functioning and that we’re accurate at the breakdown. If we do all those things, I’m sure it will be an exciting game.”
Teams:
Sharks
15. SP Marais, 14. S’bura Sithole, 13. Waylon Murray, 12. Heimar Williams, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Tera Mtembu, 7. Renaldo Bothma, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4. Mouritz Botha, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis (captain), 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Matt Stevens, 19. Marco Wentzel,20. Jean Deysel, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Fred Zeilinga, 23. Odwa Ndungane
Cheetahs
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Joe Petersen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Jean Cook, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Danie Minnie.
Substitutes: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 BG Uys, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Boom Prinsloo, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Willie du Plessis, 23 Cornal Hendricks
