Bordeaux will give Sharks a challenge
STRENGTHS
The Springboks would have taken plenty of heart from their 2-1 series win over England in June and with the Lions making the Super Rugby final for the third time it’s sure to be a confident Bok side going into the competition.
Also, with stalwarts like Warren Whiteley, Eben Etzebeth and Malcolm Marx back after missing out in June, Erasmus’s side will have more experience, depth and skill in it.
Also, the players will know Erasmus – and his assistant – a little better now than they did in June, which will help when it comes to understanding what the coaches want from them.
The Boks will be able to send out a quality pack, no matter who gets the nod from Erasmus – the forwards being the Bok squad’s biggest asset.
At the back, the availability of Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux is a big boost, while Aphiwe Dyantyi has shown he is a player with X-factor.
WEAKNESSES
The Boks go into the competition knowing they won only twice against these teams last year, and they didn’t end well against England, going down in the third Test.
It’s also a Bok squad that is missing several key players, among them Duane Vermeulen – the best player in the June series – Lood de Jager, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Coenie Oosthuizen, Damian de Allende, Jan Serfontein, Frans Steyn, Bismarck du Plessis, Sbu Nkosi, Warrick Gelant ... and so on.
The injury list is a massive one, despite the fact the Boks are still able to put out a classy group of players.
Travelling well and winning will be a challenge again, especially in New Zealand, while question marks remain around the back division, with few settled combinations.
Their aerial skills will also, again, come under scrutiny.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Malcolm Marx, above, is the best hooker in the world right now and he’ll be key for the Boks if they’re to challenge for the title.
RG Snyman and Marco van Staden are two players who could cement their Bok spots in the coming weeks, while Aphiwe Dyantyi, Makazole Mapimpi and Damian Willemse also have a chance to impress. IF IT is a warm-up the Sharks want for the Currie Cup, then a fullstrength Bordeaux-begles side will certainly oblige when the two teams meet in the Durban Challenge at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.
The match is a curtain-raiser of sorts to the match between the Springboks and Argentina the next day at Kings Park. The Sharks v Bordeaux match is the inaugural Durban Challenge, with the Sharks and Durban Tourism set to bring other top European clubs to the same venue to play the Sharks over the next two years at least – the likes of Munster, Leicester and Stade Francais, according to Sharks chief operating office Eduard Coetzee.
The Sharks begin their Currie Cup campaign a week after the Durban Challenge when they host the Bulls at Kings Park and coach Robert du Preez is viewing the match as vital preparation for his team’s opener against the Bulls.
In turn, Bordeaux begin the French Top 14 competition also a week later, and thus are taking Friday’s match very seriously.
“They are bringing a very strong squad to Durban and it is indeed going to be a challenge between two teams fine-tuning preparations for their respective domestic competitions,” Coetzee explained.
As well as a host of France internationals, Bordeaux boast a number of New Zealand, Australian and South African players, including Crusaders and All Blacks wing Seta Tamanivalu; Wallabies Nick Frisby and Leroy Houston, and former Sharks lock Jandre Marais.
The latter was in the Sharks team that won the 2011 Currie Cup title and, since joining Bordeaux that year, has built an impressive reputation as a combative lock.
“Bordeaux are one of the great French clubs and they have the biggest following in French rugby,” Coetzee said.
“Bordeaux is in a historic rugby stronghold in the southwest of the country. The club president (Laurent Marti) was a former Bordeaux player. Rugby is really strong in this region.”
The legions of fanatical Bordeaux supporters are colourfully nick-named Les Girondins or The Girondists, after a particularly blood-thirsty faction of the same name that was active in the French Revolution.
Tickets for this match can be bought separately or there is an attractive package that covers the Sharks match and the Test match. For details, go to sharksrugby.co.za.