Rotation key for Sharks campaign

As the southern hemisphere showpiece enters week four of the competition, the Sharks have finally rotated a number of players in their starting line up in an effort to keep their players fresh.

While Lwazi Mvovo returns to the starting lineup after a short injury break, director of rugby Gary Gold made four other changes as the Sharks gear up for Friday night’s derby against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

Three of those changes are purely rotational, affording those players that have come off the bench a chance to prove their worth in the starting XV. Michael Claassens swaps with Cobus Reinach for his first start of the season at scrumhalf. Meanwhile Kyle Cooper wears the number two jersey in place of Franco Marais while Lourens Adriaanse gets his first start at tighthead prop.

The only injury change this week has given Philip van der Walt a starting berth at blindside flank. The industrious Jean-Luc du Preez has been given a week to recover from a foot injury.

It is a welcome relief that Gold hasn’t had to deal with a lot of injuries so early in the season. However the current situation is arguably tougher, as the Sharks coaching staff deliberate over when to rotate their players and who gets a shot.

“We’ve got a set of five-seven-five in terms of the way our games work so we know when the breaks are. Then there are loads of factors you have to take into consideration,” Gold explained.

“One of the things you can’t plan for is when you get injuries. In a weird way, planning is made easier when you’re not hit with loads of injuries, because you are forced to rotate when you have them.

“The issue with rotation is not about resting the guys now, because they could play the fourth and fifth week. It’s about stopping the rot early enough for three or four guys so they get a break, allowing then to come back a bit later and we will do the same for the other guys. So by week 12 when it really starts to get rigorous, the guys don’t feel then that the overload is too late to manage and that is really how it works.”

Another factor that weighs in is the midyear international window as well as the U20 World Cup. Furthermore, a South African A side will take a Saxon XV in two clashes. That potentially means that eight or more Sharks players will have no break in June.

While the Sharks brains trust bear that in mind, Gold believes there won’t be a break in continuity with the changes he’s made this weekend.

“The key thing is that every single one of the guys who’ve been rotated have come off the bench every week and have played rugby. The difference is they’re starting as opposed to coming off the bench. There is actually no disruption from the team that finished the game against the Stormers.”

The only new face in this weekend’s squad is Keegan Daniel. It’s been two years since the former Sharks captain played Super Rugby but he comes into the side off the back of a season in Japan, a main factor in his selection over Jean Deysel, who is also fit for selection.

“I would say it came down to the amount of game time and fitness Keegan has had over the last couple of months versus Deysie,” Gold said.

“Keegs has been playing week in and week out in Japan. He came here match fit, he’s been at every training session, played against the Griquas on the weekend as well – that’s really what pipped it, no other reason.”

The Sharks take on the Bulls on Friday night. Kickoff is at 19h00.

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