Clash of experience in Currie Cup
TODAY’s Currie Cup clash between the Sharks and the Pumas will pit two captains at the opposite end of the experience spectrum against each other.
TODAY’s Currie Cup clash between the Sharks and the Pumas will pit two captains at the opposite end of the experience spectrum against each other.
In his 12 years with the Pumas, where he has accrued 150 matches in the different sponsorship incarnations, 32-year-old Corne Steenkamp has seen the best and the worst of the union. One of the few things he has not done very often is play in a Currie Cup premier division fixture at King’s Park, something that has become second nature to Sharks captain Lubabalo “Tera” Mtembu.
The 22-year-old boasts less than a fifth of Steenkamp’s experience but has proved to be one of SA’s most underrated, yet efficient, loose forwards. While Mtembu is surrounded by grizzled team members in Odwa Ndungane, Jacques Botes and Marco Wentzel, who boast a wealth of domestic and international experience, the young loose forward is champing at the bit for a confrontation with one of SA’s most experienced, No 8 Renaldo Bothma, of whom he speaks highly.
Mtembu was wary too of the overall gruffness of the Pumas pack and their never-say-die attitude, which saw them sneak a surprise but deserved 28-21 win against the Cheetahs last Saturday evening.
“Look, they are a very solid unit and they have played together for a very long time. As a forward pack, they will be very tough to deal with. We do take things game by game but things will not be easy for us, especially in terms of winning the game,” Mtembu said. “Renaldo is a great player and one of the toughest guys I have played against. I know him from our days at the Sharks academy and even then he was quite difficult to deal with, but I will be focusing on what I need to do.”
A keenly awaited battle will be in the scrum, where the Pumas had the best of the Cheetahs front row of Kevin Stevens, Torsten van Jaarsveld and Luan de Bruin.
The Sharks had a sluggish start in the set piece against the Griquas, but capitalising on their one-man advan- tage, which was worsened by dodgy officiating by the normally excellent Craig Joubert, they turned on the heat on what was a competent Griquas scrum.
Not even a 44th minute Thomas du Toit yellow card had a marked effect on them as they were able to call on Dale Chadwick, who ensured that Du Toit’s absence was not felt.
Stephan Lewies’ injury-enforced absence will give an indication of how deep the Sharks’ lock stocks are, even though Wentzel is vastly experienced, with JC Astle being an excellent up-and-coming lock.
The Pumas’ selection of Lubabalo “Giant” Mtyanda is a clear indication of how the Mpumalanga side want to blunt the Sharks physical threat and give their lineout a thorough working over. While both sides may boast fleet-footed backlines, with the Sharks shading the visitors in terms of big names and experience, it will be the battle up front that will have a big say in deciding the victors. In a Springbok-less Currie Cup, the Pumas showed last week that anything is possible and should the Sharks take them lightly, an upset cannot be ruled out.