BIG GAME FOR PROVINCE AND SHARKS TOMORROW
WESTERN Province coach John Dobson has recalled Springboks Dillyn Leyds and Wilco Louw for the must-win Currie Cup clash against the Sharks in Durban tomorrow.
The Western Cape side need to win, to ensure a semifinal place, and Dobson has turned to every available weapon to achieve the desired result.
Dobson’s team made a dog’s breakfast of a decent opportunity of clinching a home semifinal when they allowed the Golden Lions to overturn a 10-point deficit into a 29-20 bonus point win at Ellis Park last weekend.
Leyds and Louw both featured during the Boks’ 25-24 loss to the All Blacks at Newlands last weekend‚ with the latter making his test debut.
The Sharks are already safely into the semifinals and will host the final if they progress that far after a season in which they won 10 matches in a row.
Louw is at tighthead prop‚ alongside Bongi Mbonambi and JC Janse van Rensburg, and Jaco Coetzee is on the flank.
Leyds will feature on the wing and Ruhan Nel moves to inside centre to partner Huw Jones.
Coach Dobson said: “We know that we need to raise our game and the players will be going flat out.”
Sharks coach Robert du Preez has resisted the urge to rest players even though no team can usurp their log lead.
Lukhanyo Am returns from injury to take his place at centre‚ with Tristan Blewett shifting to the bench in the only change to the side that defeated the Lions two weeks ago.
Chiliboy Ralepelle and JeanLuc du Preez return from Bok commitments to the bench‚ while Louis Schreuder is back and Kobus van Wyk has recovered.
Sharks wing Odwa Ndungane said: “The last thing you want is to go into a semifinal having lost the last game. “But winning is not all we’re focused on‚ but getting better than we did at the Lions.”
Tomorrow’s kickoff, at 3pm, will be poignant for the Sharks as it will be Ndungane’s 249th game ahead of his retirement at the end of the campaign. ý Tonight, the Blue Bulls and the Pumas have a virtual quarterfinal in Pretoria‚ but both sides could find themselves out of the running.
The Bulls are fifth on the log with 27 points and the Pumas sixth with 26.
The most those teams can finish with is 32 and 31 respectively – the points WP (second) and the Cheetahs (third) already have.
Blue Bulls head coach John Mitchell has confidence in his charges after their big 64-36 win against the Cheetahs.
“They’ll take strength and heart from their performance in Nelspruit‚” Mitchell said.
“They’ll come for our heart and they’ll come for our forwards. It’ll be a good measure in terms of how we’ve grown.” ý The Cheetahs meet the Lions at Ellis Park tomorrow.
With the PRO14 on a short hiatus‚ Human has included a few players to fortify his team.
We know that we need to raise our game and the players will be going flat out