April deserves a start - Everitt
Cell C Sharks backline coach Sean Everitt believes Garth April
deserves his spot in the starting lineup for their must-win Currie Cup clash
against the Cheetahs.
April has been elevated to the starting XV after wing Wandile Mjekevu was ruled out through injury this week. After a number of impressive cameos as a reserve, Everitt believes April has earned his starting berth.
“Garth has had opportunities to come off the bench over the last four weeks and has done incredibly well and he had another good game last week. We are quite excited for him, he came in as a new boy not saying too much and he’s grown as an individual, so we’re delighted to give him a chance in the 15 jersey,” Everitt said.
“Garth comes from a pedigree. He’s played SA U20 and I coached against him when he was playing for the Lions and he actually ripped us to pieces in the one game that we played.”
“He went through a bit of adversity with injuries and probably lost a bit of form. He then had an opportunity to prove himself in the Community Cup which he did and that’s why he’s here at the Sharks. We are pleased with the progress he’s made and we’re looking forward to seeing him play on Saturday,” Everitt said.
The 24-year-old April was the only change to the Sharks starting lineup after their win over the Griquas last weekend. With Saturday’s match a must-win, Everitt said that continuity in selection was a no-brainer.
“We’ve been talking about cohesion being a problem all season and it being a new team so the more consistency in selection for us the better. The team has grown and improved every week,” Everitt said.
“We showed glimpses of what we can do on Saturday against the Griquas. Our set piece performed really well and with that our attack seemed to gel a lot better than it has in previous weeks and we also reduced the number of unforced errors.”
“We believe we are on that right track with the guys that we’ve got and we back them 100 percent. They certainly will be the guys that will take us through to the end," Everitt added.
The Sharks face the Cheetahs at 14h00 on Saturday in Bloemfontein.
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(File Photo: Gallo Images)