The Hollywoodbets Sharks will look to make history on Saturday as they attempt to advance to the EPCR Challenge Cup semi-finals for the first time when they host Edinburgh in the quarter-finals at 13:30 (SA Time).
The Hollywoodbets Sharks will back themselves against Edinburgh in what will mark the second time the sides meet in Durban in three weeks after the KwaZulu-Natalians defeated the Scottish outfit 23-13 in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at the end of March.
The Durbanites are also on a three-match winning streak in the EPCR Challenge Cup – where they have only suffered one defeat to two by Edinburgh – and in Durban respectively, where they registered victories against Ulster and Edinburgh in the Vodacom URC before outplaying Zebre Parma in the European showpiece last weekend.
The hosts will also take comfort from the fact that they boast a superior attack having scored 28 tries in their five matches to Edinburgh’s 20, while they will draw huge inspiration from their passionate crowd as they continue to sway their fortunes after a bitterly disappointing start to the season.
Continuity is the name of the game for the Hollywoodbets Sharks riding a wave of confidence after a run of three straight victories. They’ve come at home, which is where the two teams meet for this knock-out clash, a repeat of a few weeks ago when the Hollywoodbets Sharks downed the visiting Scottish side in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and this weekend is another opportunity to entrench themselves at Fortress Kings Park.
Head coach John Plumtree has an almost full squad to choose from but hasn’t veered away from the motto: ‘If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,’ which is exactly the kind of non-headache a sports coach loves.
There are just two changes to last week’s victorious side [over Zebre Parma], with Eben Etzebeth back from injury, replacing Corne Rahl who moves to the bench, where he is joined by replacement hooker Dan Jooste, in for Kerron van Vuuren.
Hooker Bongi Mbonambi, analysing Edinburgh and the team they will put out for this match, expects a top, challenging encounter from the Scots.
“It’s a quarter-final, they will bring their best team, hoping to advance to the semi-finals,” he admits.
“We’re preparing for their best team.”
From his own team’s point of view, he explains that they are in a good place right now and motivated to be successful this weekend and beyond.
“The mood in the camp is good, there’s a lot of energy and the injured guys coming back, like Emile van Heerden, Eben Etzebeth and Vincent Koch, make a big difference to the forward pack.
“The road to the final won’t be easy, but for now our focus is on the quarter-final and getting over that and that’s how we move forward in this competition, how we get better.”
Edinburgh Rugby welcomes the return of Scotland internationalist Pierre Schoeman.
The club centurion, who missed out on last weekend’s Round of 16 win after suffering a concussion in training, returns at loosehead prop having completed graduated return to play protocol. His inclusion is the only change to the starting XV that claimed victory against Bayonne six days ago.
Lock Grant Gilchrist, who once again co-captains the capital side, makes his 200th appearance for the club, becoming only the fourth player in Edinburgh Rugby history to reach double-centurion status.
Following in the footsteps of capital greats Allan Jacobsen (268), Chris Paterson and current teammate, WP Nel, who made his 200th appearance for the club in Cape Town three weeks ago, Gilchrist’s milestone moment further cements his ranking as one of Edinburgh’s greatest ever players.
Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach, Sean Everitt, said: “I’d firstly like to congratulate Grant [Gilchrist] on reaching 200 appearances for the club. It’s a fantastic achievement for a top professional who truly bleeds Edinburgh. This is his club and I know how much it means to represent this city and our supporters week in, week out
“After arriving in Durban earlier this week, we’ve continued to prepare well for what is a massive fixture for the club. We’ve spoken all week about the collective belief needed to win on the road in tough conditions. We’ve done it before and will need those same levels of energy and commitment once again.
“It’s great to welcome Pierre [Schoeman] back to the starting line-up. He’s a quality player with a huge amount of experience at the very top level of rugby. His return only strengthens our pack.”
He continued: “We’ve taken a lot of belief from last weekend’s knockout win against Bayonne. That second half set the standard of how we want to perform moving forward into the crucial business end of the campaign.”
An unchanged back-three sees Wes Goosen continue at full-back alongside wingers Duhan van der Merwe, a try-scorer against Bayonne last weekend, and Jake Henry.
Centres Matt Currie and Mark Bennett once again link up in the capital midfield as stand-off Ben Healy and scrum-half Ben Vellacott continue at half-back.
Hooker Ewan Ashman packs down alongside Schoeman and WP Nel up front as Sam Skinner and Gilchrist complete an all-Scotland tight-five.
Fijian star Bill Mata once again anchors a back-row featuring flankers Hamish Watson, this week named Scottish Building Society Player of the Month, and Jamie Ritchie.
Edinburgh also welcome the return of Boan Venter, who missed out on the Bayonne win through injury, with the loosehead named among the replacements.
Teams:
Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13. Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Lappies Labuschagne, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Curwin Bosch, 23 Francois Venter.
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Jacob Henry, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Currie, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Ali Price, 22 James Lang, 23 Chris Dean.
