Gold goes with youth and experience
IT IS MORE by design than accident that the Sharks have put together their most experienced team possible for tomorrow’s big Currie Cup clash against the pace-setting Lions at Kings Park (5pm).
The Sharks’ coaching staff have stressed the need to back their youngsters in a competition that is now accepted as a breeding ground for Super Rugby, and to be fair to Gary Gold and Co, there has not been a major overhaul from the team that battled to a victory over the struggling Kings last week. Instead there are changes in key positions such as scrumhalf, where the hugely experienced Michael Claassens makes his first start of the season at scrumhalf.
The Sharks will also be fielding arguably their best midfield so far in this thirdround match of the campaign, with Paul Jordaan back from injury at 13 and blockbusting Andre Esterhuizen brought in from the wing to play 12.
Esterhuizen is an exciting player and many feel he is best utilised as a “Ma’a Nonutype” crash-baller at inside centre, and he is at last being brought closer to the ball.
The player making way is Wandile Mjekevu, the former Lions wing who has had his problems on defence at 13.
Jordaan and Esterhuizen will be tasked with fixing an area of defence where the Sharks were found wanting in their defeat to the Pumas and in their win over the Kings last week.
There is valuable experience returning to the front row in the form of Dale Chadwick and at openside flank in Francois Kleinhans.
Marco Wentzel, the Sharks captain, stated that this match would give the Sharks a gauge as to how good (or bad) they are.
“This is pretty much the Lions’ Super Rugby team and they will definitely show us where we are as a side going forward,” Wentzel said.
“We can’t hide behind the fact that we’re a work in progress. We were always going to find the Pumas difficult in Nelspruit given that we were a brand-new team, and then, let’s be honest, we played poorly against the Kings last week.”
Wentzel that it was an unenviable task to rebuild with eight uncapped players while at the same time being expected to win.
“We’re putting on the Sharks jersey and we want to win, and our fans expect us to win,” he said. “We are a work in progress, but that’s not an excuse. We’ve played two games and there was a lot of nervous energy, but that has passed now. We have to pitch up this weekend.”
The selection of Claassens is no slur on Stefan Ungerer, but in this match against a Lions team that is so assured in how they want to play, coach Gold wants an experienced head to keep the Sharks from falling into the trap of playing the Lions at their unrelenting, attacking game.
“We cannot match the way they play and we don’t want to try,” Wentzel said. “A cool head like Michael will help keep us sticking to our own game plan.”