No changes for Sharks
It was a rousing display of commitment and passion and everyone involved will be hoping they repeat that, sort out the areas of their own they have identified, and contain a very big and physical Waratahs team.
“There is a lot of pride at stake,” said Gold of this match. “We’ve been bitterly disappointed this year, for various reasons, and it’s important for us to show that we’re still in this fight to the end.”
Assessing the Waratahs strengths and threats, he immediately points to their physicality.
“They’re a very physical team, probably the most physical Australian team. We saw what the Force did to them on the weekend by matching them from a physical point of view, so that’s the challenge for us. And then the likes of Beale, Folau and Ashley-Cooper - they have some fantastic play-makers in the backline. A big strong pack but they move the ball well so we’re really going to have to get our defensive shape right. Their front row has played probably 80 or 90 times together and all of them Wallabies. Then you add the likes of [140kg] Will Skelton into the mix, Dave Dennis and others, you can see why they’re the reigning champions. They’re a formidable team, one through 15, they’re a very well-balanced team with threats everywhere; this is possibly our toughest challenge to date.”
Kickoff is at 11h40 in the morning - South African time.
The Cell C Sharks
15. Lwazi Mvovo
14. Odwa Ndungane
13. JP Pietersen
12. Francois Steyn
11. S'bura Sithole
10. Lionel Cronje
9. Stefan Ungerer
8. Renaldo Bothma
7. Etienne Oosthuizen
6. Marcell Coetzee
5. Marco Wentzel (Captain)
4. Stephan Lewies
3. Jannie du Plessis
2. Bismarck du Plessis
1. Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements
16. Franco Marais
17. Dale Chadwick
18. Lourens Adriaanse
19. Mouritz Botha
20. Kyle Cooper
21. Conrad Hoffmann
22. Andre Esterhuizen
23. Waylon Murray
(File Photo: Gallo Images)
Twitter - @skytshabalala @SportswaveAndre