Durban — Kimberley has been the graveyard of many a Sharks team stronger than the one that Joey Mongalo will be fielding there on Sunday but the chipper young coach reckons his team has the goods to topple last season’s finalists.
It is true that coach Mongalo’s side is stronger than the one that beat the Griffons in last week’s opening round of the Currie Cup but Griquas lost last week at home and they are going to be one heck of a handful as they look to bounce back.
The notable changes for the Sharks are 9 and 10. Cameron Wright adds URC experience at scrumhalf and veteran Fred Zeilinga is recalled following Lionel Cronje’s unfortunate performance last week.
The pack has a serious injection of quality in flankers James and Henco Venter and second rowers Reniel Hugo and Hyron Andrews.
A third Venter, Francois is at 13 and Thaakir Abrahams returns from injury to play fullback.
“I have to thank (director of rugby) Neil Powell for entrusting us with a really good side on paper,” Mongalo said. “There are quite a few guys with URC experience and a number of them went to Connacht. Those guys will take some confidence from playing together.
“The flip side of it is that any good side needs time together. This week we would have had less than three hours of training together. To say the same thing as I said last week, we need cohesion as soon as possible. It can’t take us 30 or 40 minutes like against the Griffons. We won’t be able to come back if we start like that again.”
Mongalo stressed that he is under no illusions about how tough it will be in Kimberley. He said that as an assistant coach with the Lions and later with the Bulls, he never won a game there.
“This could be the most brutal and unforgiving Currie Cup ever. This is one tournament where you don’t want to lose momentum because getting it back won’t be easy,” he said.
“For myself personally as a coach, I lost some big games in Kimberley. We asked (injured Sharks wing) Eduan Keyter, an ex-Kimberley guy, to speak to us about the heart and soul of these guys and how they think. I’m hoping that helps us understand the depth of the challenge ahead. We have to be at our very best.”
Mongalo said the biggest threat posed by Griquas is their potent counter-attack.
“If you look at their coaching team, Melusi Mthethwa is busy doing really good things with the CUT team and he is their attack coach. We have been coaching against each other since 2016. I know they are going to employ a counter-attacking game, when you look at their team and back three, with Malcolm Jaer, Rosko Specman and Luther Obi, that tells you how they want to play. That will be a massive defensive challenge for us.
“It is going to be 34 degrees in Kimberley. But this is the best test of the character we want to build in this team. We aren’t expecting any favours from them.
“I am not going to be sleeping so great between now and Sunday morning, because I know what is coming in terms of that.”
Sharks – 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Murray Koster (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Marnus Potgieter, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Dylan Richardson, 6 James Venter, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Hyron Andrews, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Khwezi Mona.
Subs: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Athenkosi Khetani, 20 Marco de Witt, 21 Damon Royle, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Lionel Cronje.
IOL Sport