Sharks coach John Plumtree has made seven changes to the Sharks team to face the rebels this coming weekend, Poor performances by some have forced the coach’s hand and it has led to the good performances by youngsters getting rewarded with a start.
The seven changes show new combinations throughout as Plumtree explains that there was no shying away from last weekends disappointing showing by the Sharks and everything that was needed to be said, was said.
The changes were forced due to poor performances as well as an injury or two, Sharks coach John Plumtree. “I was really happy with what Pieter-Steph du Toit brought to the team last week and we’re continuing his development by giving him a start, it’s the same with Kyle Cooper. Meyer Bosman deserves an opportunity too and we’ve taken Frans out to give him quite a big week of conditioning.”
Jannie du Plessis has a minor knee injury and his wife is about to have a baby, “so he’s had a difficult week and Wiehahn Herbst starts at tighthead prop. Jacques Botes has been in great form so he gets a start this week and Ryan Kankowski will get a rest this week, the same as Craig Burden. They can show me what they have when they come off the bench.”
The Sharks are missing quite a few strike runners as well as the grunt needed to enforce plays at stages in the game where needed, this does not take anything away from the current players doing duty, but no one can argue the fact that the Likes of Willem Alberts, Jean Deysel, Bismark du Plessis would add greatly to the sharks effectiveness.
He adds that this week has been all about themselves: making sure they do what they need to in training and then translate that into accuracy and intensity on game day.
“We’re in a situation where we’ve put a huge focus into what we’re trying to achieve as a team because we haven’t clicked yet. So no disrespect to the Rebels but we have to worry about ourselves.”
The Sharks:
1. Tendai Mtawarira
2. Kyle Cooper
3. Wiehahn Herbst
4. Pieter-Steph du Toit
5. Franco van der Merwe
6. Jacques Botes
7. Marcell Coetzee
8. Keegan Daniel (Captain)
9. Cobus Reinach
10. Patrick Lambie
11. Lwazi Mvovo
12. Meyer Bosman
13. Paul Jordaan
14. JP Pietersen
15. Louis Ludik
Replacements:
16. Craig Burden
17. Jannie du Plessis
18. Jandre Marais
19. Ryan Kankowski
20. Charl McLeod
21. Francois Steyn
22. Riaan Viljoen
Not a bad team, Bresler injured so I guess it was easy to change at lock, VD Merwe has been poor for 2 weeks and it could well have been him dropped.
Kanko was our best loose forward last weekend so a little surprise he is dropped but with Fransie out of sought and bench it was a must for Keegan to play as he is the captain.
I been calling for Burden to wake up or get dropped for about 3 weeks now and it has happened, so no surprise there,
@ Sharks_forever:
There has been a Van Der Merwe in the Sharks team?
2 @ Loosehead:
Whoops, it seems as if there has.
Steyn is fat. No surprise there. They gave Turbo Mvovo a rest last week so I don’t see what is the problem of giving some a rest against weaker opposition. Surely Sharks have enough firepower to beat the Rebels at home
If the Sharks don’t show some urgency and trail at half time the Rebels are more than capable of punishing them on the break. A response is needed before the Crusaders come and visit. You don’t find your form against such a team.
Regarding Mvovo, I like him (and any truly quick winger for that matter) but our fastest wingers have no guts in defence. Arm tackles all the way. My poor Cheaters have to always get some handy cover defense in for Rhule (bless him) and it pisses me off greatly. Go low or go home.
Interesting how many Cheetahs there are on the Bok Barometer on SS, most of them are there justifiably imo. Willie le Roux is one of the Cheetahs who I’ll back with money to make it at the top level.
@ Die Valk:
This game might just be the shock of our Saffa’s weekend!
Agree also on Willie le Roux, good point.
Far better team, but have said this on another thread as there was no Sharks team thread at the time. Why Kanko is dropped is just plain daft. He was one of the players that actually played well last week. I feel it is a mistake and he should have started and bench Keegan. Keegan was totally out of form last week. I know he is our captain, but he was really not great at all against the Brumbies at all. He looked exhausted as well. I would have made Kanko the captain for this game and brought Keegan off the bench later to replace Botes with 30 min or os to go. WE will miss Kanko in the lineouts that is for sure.
Sorry to see Fransie on the bench, then he has been struggling a bit. Could the captaincy have been just too much for him? Have no idea, as when he played in the wc 2011 he was bigger than he is now and played brillian there, he was our best player of wc 2011 no doubt about that. So no idea why he is struggling. I know he had a bit of a neck niggle as well. Anyhow he will come right has too much class not too. Bosman has come on leaps and bounds during the CC last year and expect a big game from him. Bosman’s distrution is very good, not as great as Whitehead, but still very good. Expect us to score some tries this week, well hoping…..lol.
Pleased to see Viljoen back as well.
For me Franco is lucky that Bresler got injured otherwise feel he would be on the bench. Has not been great in in the last two games now. Then he does our lineout calls so not sure if Plum would have dropped him, unless he started Kanko.
Go Sharks just do it this weekend.
Really pleased to see Cooper getting a start, he was way better than Burden last week, way better. Herbst too was very good when he came on. So expecting big games from from these two.
@ Puma:
Jeeprs just too early for me… meant – Bosman’s distribution 🙄 not sure where distrution came from…. 🙄
3 @ Loosehead:
@ Die Valk:
Go low or go home. That is what Michael Catt did and he got bulldozed
@ Bliksem:
Haha, going low doesn’t mean bending over and waiting for impact. That’s left to homosexuals… 😉
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