Sharks wary of bogey side Griquas
THE Sharks have almost been as famous for their bogey sides as they have for missing out in Super Rugby finals, and along with the Cheetahs, the Griquas, who they face this evening at 7pm, have often made the men from Durban their bunnies.
The stats back this up, too. In the last 10 games, including the SuperSport challenge that recently concluded, the Sharks have won five games, and the Griquas four, with the most recent result being a draw.
The Griquas have also won three of those four games at Kings Park, so they are not scared of leaving the hinterland at all.
It is something that has not escaped head coach Robert du Preez. In his first year in charge of the team, in last year’s Currie Cup, the Sharks won 46-24, at home, but subsequently, in the SuperSport Challenge this year, it is advantage Griquas with a 28-7 loss, and a 28-all draw.
Even in the Currie Cup proper this year, the Griquas have shown their strength. They may have lost both their opening games against the Bulls and Lions, but they managed to score over 40 points in each encounter.
“They are a very good attacking side,” Du Preez murmured before this important clash.
“We have to be up for it. We have said to ourselves, we cannot disrespect the opposition and this is an important game for us to do well in.”
For the Sharks, they will be focusing on shutting out the Griquas, who could, like the Pumas, think they are in the game if the home team does not dominate quick enough.
“They are a competitive side, and if you let a team like the Griquas into the game you will be in for a hard day at the office,” Du Preez went on. “We saw that against the Pumas. Those first 40 minutes… we only scored three points. They are tough sides to play against.”
Captain of the team, lock
15 Garth April, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Sibusiso Nkosi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Ruan Botha (captain), 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Thomas du Toit.
16 Franco Marais, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Jean Droste, 20 Lubabalo Mtembu, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Inny Radebe
15 George Whitehead, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Jonathan Francke, 11 Adriaan Coertzen (captain), 10 Andre Swarts, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 7 Shaun McDonald, 6 RJ Liebenberg, 5 Pieter Janse van Vuren, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 Abraham le Roux, 1 Devon Martinus.
16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 18 Wandile Putuma, 19 DeWet Kruger, 20 Sias Koen, 21 Renier Botha, 22 Eric Zana. 7pm (today). Ruan Botha, was also looking to take lessons out of their game of two halves against the Pumas. There was a lot of dew on the ball apparently, but the players are not looking to use that as an excuse tonight as they rather focus on cutting out the forced passes.
“The first 40 minutes we just played against ourselves,” Botha said of the Pumas match.
“There were too many unforced errors that cost us in the first half, and if we could have kept the ball in hand with multiple phases we could have scored in that half as well. That was the focus for this week, to keep the ball, stop the 50-50 stuff, and build the phases, because the wall must break somewhere.
The Sharks face the Griquas tonight, then in a strange scheduling move by SA Rugby, take on the Bulls on Wednesday, Women’s Day, before a clash with the Lions on Saturday.