Eben Etzebeth will lead the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their Round 15 Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with Edinburgh in Scotland’s cultural heart on Friday evening.
It has been six months since head coach John Plumtree was able to select his strongest possible side and that is a big plus for the team who also welcome back Lukhanyo Am and Aphelele Fassi to the starting line-up and Grant Williams on the bench.
“The squad is back to full strength for the first time since the game against Glasgow which is good, that was a long time ago, and hopefully we will keep all the bodies nice and healthy in the build-up to the finals,” explained Plumtree on the eve of the match.
“We’ve had good preparation, although we haven’t played for a couple of weeks, and we just want to have a good tour, try and set ourselves up for a home quarter and potentially a home semi if we win our next four games. But for now, our focus is to do well on this tour.”
This side is going to have to pull out all the stops against the high-riding Edinburgh side who last week secured a home EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final clash with Bath, after defeating the Vodacom Bulls in last week’s quarter-final.
“Edinburgh is going to be a tough game, they’re in good form and their confidence will be really high, so we know it’s going to be a tough match,” Plumtree added.
“Winning VURC games away from home isn’t easy and it certainly hasn’t been easy for us as a team in the past, so it would be great if we have a good performance against Edinburgh.”
Hollywoodbets Sharks
- Ox Nche
- Bongi Mbonambi
- Vincent Koch
- Eben Etzebeth (C)
- Emile van Heerden
- Phepsi Buthelezi
- Vincent Tshituka
- Siya Kolisi
- Jaden Hendrikse
- Jordan Hendrikse
- Makazole Mapimpi
- Andre Esterhuizen
- Lukhanyo Am
- Ethan Hooker
- Aphelele Fassi
Replacements
- Fez Mbatha
- Ntuthuko Mchunu
- Hanro Jacobs
- Jason Jenkins
- James Venter
- Grant Williams
- Siya Masuku
- Jurenzo Julius