Sharks wary of struggling Griquas
Struggling Griquas won t roll ’ over gently on Friday night, Sharks loose forward Phepsi Buthelezi warned, saying he expected a huge fight.
Bottom of the log Griquas have yet to win a Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked game and they will be desperate to end a four-game losing run in Kimberley (kick-off 7pm).
The Sharks are joint second on the log with the Stormers on 13 points after four games, and must beat Griquas to keep their slim title hopes alive. Griquas are a side with a lot “of potential,” Buthelezi said. I know their head coach, “
Scott Mathie quite well. He used to coach me at Durban High School.
I know what he s capable of “’ as a coach, and I know some of the players at Griquas as well. I rate Griquas as a proper “side. Yes, they ve had their ups ’ and downs, but they are a side with a lot of potential.
“We are not looking at this game as an easy game. The Sharks are going to prepare correctly, and we will go out and get the job done, especially since it s in Kimberley.
’ “We all know how difficult it is to go out there and play the Griquas. It s going to be a ’ proper game.”
Buthelezi expects the Griquas loose trio of Gideon van der Merwe, Stefan Willemse and Carl Els to make life difficult.
“They ’ ve got a very good loose trio, so it s going to be a ’ tight battle,” he said.
Their number six Van der “Merwe is very good on the ground.
As a team, we ve battled a bit “’ with our attacking breakdowns. It s been one of our ’ focuses this week, to make sure we get in early on the ballcarrier, making sure there s no ’ daylight between the supporting cleaners and the carrier. We know that the Griquas “are going to go very hard at our breakdowns. If we get their number six 6 to tackle, so he doesn t have the opportunity ’ to poach, that would be good. It doesn t really matter who “’ runs out there for us. I think all the loosies we have at the ‘ ’ Sharks are more than capable of getting the job done.” Buthelezi said his team s win ’ over the Cheetahs last week had been an ideal preparation for the trip to Kimberley.
“It prepared us really well for the battle,” he said.
We knew it was going to be “very humid in Durban at the time we played the Cheetahs; that ’ s why we went for the contestable kicks route,” Buthelezi said.
Friday’s teams:
Griquas: 1 Mox Mxoli, 2 HJ Luus, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 4 Adre Smith, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 7 Stefan Willemse, 8 Johan Momsen, 9 Zak Burger, 10 George Whitehead, (captain), 11 Eduan Keyter, 12 Johnathan Francke, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 14 Ederies Arendse, 15 Masixole Banda. Replacements (from
the following): 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Madot Mabokela, 19 Carl Els, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Theo Maree, 22 Tinus de Beer, 23 Daniel Kasende, 24 Bandisa Ndlovu, 25 Ewan Coetzee, 26 Ashlon Davids. Sharks: 1 Ox Nche, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 3 John-Hubert Meyer, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 5 Hyron Andrews, 6 James Venter, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 10 Curwin Bosch, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 12 Marius Louw, 13 Jeremy Ward (captain), 14 Yaw Penxe, 15 Anthony Volmink. Replacements: 16 Daniel Jooste, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Khwezi Mona, 19 JJ van der Mescht, 20 Dylan Richardson, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Sbu Nkosi.