The Cell C Sharks will be looking for back-to-back victories when they meet the EP Kings in their 2nd encounter of ABSA Currie Cup matches in Port Elizabeth following their 33 / 25 1st Round win at Growthpoint Kings Park.
They are aware it’s not going to be easy after the EP Kings showed a much-improved performance against the Steval Pumas last weekend and they’re playing at home with its added advantages.
The backline that did duty against the Xerox Golden Lions last weekend has remained in tact following no injury concerns and they have a desire to develop the cohesion further, while amongst the forwards Gerhard Engelbrecht trades places with Thomas du Toit and will gain his 1st start of the campaign after 2 games played off the bench in the only change to the entire starting XV.
On the bench, JC Astle returns from injury while exciting young prospect Garth April is handed his 1st senior jersey in Cell C Sharks colours.
For assistant coach Sean Everitt a clinical, passionate performance is what he is hoping for from the Cell C Sharks.
“We didn’t execute our plan against them well enough in the 1st Round, so while it’s important to have a plan, it’s how you arrive on the day, the energy you display and your accuracy in execution that really counts.
“The Kings have improved as the tournament has gone on. They had a shaky start against the Lions, but played well against us and were probably a bit unlucky to lose to the Pumas last weekend, so they are no easy prey down in Port Elizabeth.
“We need to improve on what we’ve done over the last 3 weeks and we have to take the lessons learned out of the game against EP in Durban 2 weeks ago.”
Cell C Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 S’bura Sithole, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Dan du Preez, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Marco Wentzel (Captain), 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Gerhard Engelbrecht, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Dale Chadwick
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 JC Astle, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Stefan Ungerer, 21 Wandile Mjekevu, 22 Garth April.
Date: Saturday 29 August
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-Off: 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant Referees: Jaco Pretorius, Jacques Nieuwenhuis
TMO: Christie du Preez