Pienaar a vital cog in Sharks’ arsenal
THE Sharks have a trump card up their sleeves as they head into the unknown tonight when they play Munster in Limerick in their first match of the United Rugby Championship (8.35pm).
Not only is Ruan Pienaar a Sharks old boy – he cut his teeth in professional rugby in Durban between 2005 and 2010 – but he has intimate knowledge of rugby in Ireland, having played 141 games for Ulster between 2010 and 2017.
He then spent two years at Montpelier before returning to his hometown of Bloemfontein in 2019, and now the 37-year-old has completed a full circle by returning to the Sharks on loan from the Cheetahs. And he does so as one of the world’s most experienced players, having played just over 300 first-class games as well as 88 Tests for the Springboks.
It is hardly surprising that coach Sean Everitt drafted Pienaar straight into his starting line-up, a decision admittedly made easier because of the injuries to Jaden Hendrikse and Cameron Wright, plus the national call-up of Grant Williams.
“The reason for Ruan’s selection is obviously because he has so much experience of playing in Ireland, and we are also playing a young 10 in Boeta Chamberlain,” Everitt said from Dublin, where the Sharks have been based. “Ruan has fit in really well with us. He is a leader in his own right, and his experience of what needs to be done to get a result is massive for us.”
Everitt added that Pienaar’s professionalism had impressed the Sharks players.
“You can see why he has had such a long career from the quality of his training, the effort he puts into each session. He has an immense presence and has settled in seamlessly in terms of how we play, because our game is not dissimilar to that of the Cheetahs, as you would have witnessed in the Currie Cup.”
Probably the most interesting of Everitt’s selections for this game is that of youngster Chamberlain at flyhalf, and the continued presence of Curwin Bosch at full-back, now that Lionel Cronje has returned to his Japanese club.
Everitt said there were specific reasons for these selections.
“First, we back Boeta as a skilled all-round player who is a good kicker, a good distributor and a very good counter-attacker,” Everitt said of the 22-year-old from Paarl Boys’ High.
“We have been blooding him slowly over the past 18 months. He had a good game against the Hurricanes (in March last year); he had a good Preparation Series, including a good game in the rain in our win over the Bulls.
“We back Boeta’s skill set and we have surrounded him with experienced players in Ruan at 9 and Marius Louw at 12. He is certainly a guy for the future, and on the day he can change a game.
“It is quite easy to explain why Curwin is at full-back,” Everitt continued. “We are looking for a strong kicking option in that position. Our usual full-back, Aphelele Fassi, has a big left foot, but is with the Boks.
“We are used to having a big leftfooter ... we also relied on Andre Esterhuizen’s huge boot (he is now with Harlequins in London), so we feel that with Curwin’s big kicking and his counter-attacking ability, we have better balance with him at 15. And the way that Munster play (with their territorial game), he will be invaluable for us.”
SHARKS: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Werner Kok, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (captain), 7 Henco Venter, 6 Dylan Richardson,
5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Khwezi Mona
Substitutes: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Mpilo Gumede, 20 Ruben van Heerden, 21 Hyron Andrews, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Jeremy Ward