The Cell C Sharks have named a strong lineup for the Currie Cup Premier Division Semi-Final against the Xerox Golden Lions on the weekend.
“We weren’t happy with our first half performance against Western Province but it was great to see us come out in the second half and play some nice rugby and get quite a few points on the board. Hopefully the continuity continues against the Golden Lions. It’s going to be a huge task going up to Ellis Park, but a challenge we’re looking forward to. We will have to play for the full 80 minutes, defensively we need to be strong and our set-piece needs to function well.
“The Lions do have a big strong pack but your set-piece needs to function well every week and the Lions have a good set-piece, so we know it’s going to be a big challenge.
“We played nicely when we beat them in Durban, but that counts for nothing now. It’s a new game, a new challenge, a new week and we are preparing accordingly.”
Cell C Sharks: 15 SP Marais, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 S’bura Sithole, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Tera Mtembu (Captain), 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 JC Astle, 20 Khaya Majola, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Fred Zeilinga
Venue: Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant Referees: Ben Crouse, Sieg van Staden
Interesting facts:
- Head-to-head since 1996: Played: 36, Golden Lions won: 14, Cell C Sharks won: 22
- Average points / match since 1996: Golden Lions 22 – 27 Cell C Sharks
- This season: Cell C Sharks won 26 – 23 in Durban
- Most points for Golden Lions vs Cell C Sharks since 1996 (49): won 49 – 35 in 2004
- Most points for Cell C Sharks vs Golden Lions 1996 (53): won 53 – 9 in 2011
- Largest victory margin for Golden Lions vs Cell C Sharks since 1996 (26): won 42 – 16 in 2011 (Final)
- Largest victory margin for Cell C Sharks vs Golden Lions since 1996 (44): won 53 – 9 in 2011
- This will be the Cell C Sharks 1st semi-final away from Growthpoint KINGS PARK since 2006
- The Cell C Sharks have qualified for the semi-finals for 9 consecutive seasons
- In the last 10 seasons the Golden Lions and the Cell C Sharks have met in two semi-finals with each province winning once.