Sharks keep it in the family
DERBY: BROTHERS NAMED IN SQUAD FOR BULLS CLASH
History could be made in South African rugby tomorrow as the three Du Preez brothers, flyhalf Robert and loose forward twins Jean-Luc and Daniel, could all be on the field at the same time in the Sharks’ Super Rugby derby against the Bulls at King’s Park.
The potential first in local Super Rugby history became a possibility yesterday when Sharks coach Robert du Preez named his three sons in the 23-man squad for the crunch encounter.
While Daniel du Preez has only been named on the bench after being out of action since the first round with torn shoulder ligaments, the abrasive Springbok will almost certainly come on as an impact player in the latter stages of the game.
Coach Du Preez has not made any changes to his starting lineup for the third week in succession, it being stupid to fiddle with something that has just started clicking, but he has rotated his bench with livewire hooker Akker van der Merwe the other new face among the replacements.
“Over the past two weeks we really started to click as a unit onfield and we want to carry on that momentum going into our next two matches before the break. This is going to be a typical local derby match and it’s important we stick to our plans and execute them accurately on the day,” Du Preez senior said yesterday.
“We are happy to be back home and it’s always a special feeling to play in front of our home fans. We should have closed our last game out in the end, that’s a negative to me because we had every opportunity to do that and we didn’t. But overall, although we lost, it was a very positive effort from the boys on tour and I’m proud of them.”