Odwa feels wily ‘Professor’ White has it all in hand
VETERAN winger Odwa Ndungane said he was excited by this year’s Sharks backline, more so because of the experiments coach Jake White has undertaken.
They called White “The Professor” during his time in Canberra with the Brumbies and it seems he has brought his white coat and protective goggles back with him from Australia. While he’s inherited a fearsome forward pack, White has done most of his tinkering in the backline, moving Sibusiso Sithole to outside centre and Lwazi Mvovo to fullback, that feature among his experiments. Ndungane, who is poised to make 100 Super Rugby appearances if he runs on against the Lions at Ellis Park this weekend, believes the JP PietersenMvovo-Ndungane back-three could do some damage.
“That backline wing and fullback combination is quite exciting,” said Ndungane.
“We’ve played together before but in different positions whereby either myself or JP is at the back. We play well together and we communicate well and this weekend will be another opportunity to display our skills.
“There are a lot of players that can play different positions in our team and the competition within the team is quite healthy. Jake believes he needs a left-footed player at the back and on top of giving the coach that, Lwazi is an exciting player.
“This is a great opportunity for Mvovo to be a utility back – something White has stressed within the team. Sithole has also proved a success in his shift to centre and he improves every week.”
Paul Jordaan returns from a knee injury that kept him out for a month to upset the bit of a brotherhood that has formed in the backline.
The versatile former Grey College pupil will give the coach either the option of playing Frans Steyn at flyhalf and pairing Jordaan with Sithole in the middle or replacing Sithole altogether with Jordaan at number 13. Although the Sharks are sitting pretty atop the Super Rugby log, Ndungane said the Lions could respond strongly after their home 28-7 defeat to the Crusaders last weekend.
“The Lions will definitely be disappointed with the past result because they are a team that always plays well at home,” said Ndungane.
“And to lose like that against the Crusaders will psyche them up for this week’s game. We are expecting quite a tough challenge from them.
“They showed in the last encounter against them that we must play for the full 80 minutes even if you go into the break with a handsome back.”
Ndungane said it was critical that the Sharks collected as many wins as they could from the three matches before their tour of Australasia.
After the Lions they host the Cheetahs and the Highlanders at home before flying out to Melbourne to face the Rebels early next month.
“This period before the overseas tour is massive for us. We will have a tough tour and it will be important for us to go overseas with a few wins under our belts.
“We’ve got one away game and two at home before we tour and hopefully we can get some momentum this weekend.”
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