Durban — The Sharks will be bidding for their fifth consecutive Currie Cup victory when they host the Cheetahs at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Friday evening (7pm kick-off) and they need no reminding that the Free Staters will be thirsting for revenge.
It was in Bloemfontein that the Sharks got on to their hot run when they shocked the table-topping home side in the first round of the competition and this time there is no chance of Sharks old boy Ruan Pienaar and his Cheetahs team underestimating the men in black and white.
“The win over the Pumas last week keeps momentum and the team vibes up and that psychological stuff matters, it is important,” Sharks coach Joey Mongalo said.
“It’s also good for the boys to have been in a place where they’ve won a game that looked unlikely, and somewhere in the back-end of the season, they may find themselves in a similar position. So the fact that they’ve been there before is a massive thing for the group.”
Looking at the Cheetahs, Mongalo suggests that a good team doesn’t lead the log without good reason.
“There’s an explanation for them leading the ladder and that’s because they’re a very good team, one of the better teams who are likely to score from their maul when they get into your 22.
“They’re a team that focuses on position-based attack, so our defence will have to stand up, but we have a proud defensive record, especially at home, so we want to ensure that we match fire with fire. We must match on defence what they bring on the attack. We can do that because we have the right resources, planning, heart, desire, and character in players who really care about the Sharks brand.
“This Currie Cup is unrelenting, so it’s more of the same for us, every week you have the opportunity to keep momentum, or you can lose it and we can’t afford to lose any momentum.”
With reference to team selection, the coach points out that continuity is key. “We’re trying to stick as much as possible with the same group to give those guys an opportunity to improve on their performances of the previous week. Any other changes are due to injury, but apart from that, we’re trying to build consistency and momentum for the rest of the competition.”
Sharks starting XV: 15 Nevaldo Fleurs, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Murray Koster, 12 Alwayno Visagie, 11 Aphelele Fassi, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Tiaan Fourie; 8 Henco Venter, 7 James Venter, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Reniel Hugo (capt), 4 Jeandre Labuschagne, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Khwezi Mona. Replacements: 16 Dameon Venter, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Marco de Witt, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Celimphilo Gumede, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Marnus Potgieter.
IOL Sport