The Coastal Derby between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers in Durban on Saturday at 17:15 (SA Time) has all the ingredients for a mouth-watering clash after the Capetonians snuck through by a single point at home in their last match, despite the KwaZulu-Natalians being at the foot of the log with nine points in as many matches.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks’ success in the EPCR Challenge Cup up to now, where they topped their pool to host Zebre Parma in their round of 16 match after three wins in four matches, will also boost their confidence.
They will be wary of the pressure on the Capetonians who are in seventh place on the Vodacom URC standings, with their place in the top eight being by only two points, although they will take comfort that they are only eight points behind Leinster, meaning a victory could nudge them into a more comfortable position among the front-runners.
The KwaZulu-Natalians, however, will have to deliver a similarly strong and determined performance to their last Vodacom URC showing against their Cape counterparts to keep alive their hopes of gliding up the log as the opposition have been more effective on attack and defence in the tournament, which will spice up the clash.
“We haven’t found that real consistency to how we want to perform, although there have been periods where we’ve played some of our best rugby, and when we played the Stormers down in Cape Town, it was a really gutsy performance built around pressure and good defences, and we really stood up in that department,” explains head coach John Plumtree.
“We have to be really strong upfront, whether it’s at scrum time or mauls, we know we have a strong pack but I haven’t yet been able to put that pack out onto the park because of injuries to key players which has been probably my biggest frustration.
“In the future, we’ll get that part right, but we’ve had surgeries to six players in the tight five. It’s been a long season and we’ve been handicapped by so many injuries including Eben Etzebeth, who has had a knee procedure and will only be back in a few weeks. So it’s been really frustrating not being able to put out the pack that I’ve wanted to.”
The Hollywoodbets Sharks coach has the good fortune of welcoming back Rugby World Cup winning hooker Bongi Mbonambi from injury where he will feature alongside Coenie Oosthuizen and Vincent Tshituka also returns from a long-term injury off the bench, while replacement flyhalf Siya Masuku gets an opportunity to make his debut in the URC.
Plumtree admits that, “Ultimately, we’re looking for some consistency in our performances to find some real confidence and belief in how we can play this game and at times we have shown that.”
DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that after a month’s break, it will be vital to find some fluency as a group as quickly as possible.
“The break was good for us and it is fantastic to welcome back some top players from injury.
“We go straight into a big derby game away from home, so we understand the size of the task we face in Durban and hopefully we will be able to hit our straps as quickly as possible,” he said.
Teams:
Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Aphiwe Dyantyi.
DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Evan Roos, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Wandisile Simelane, 23 Angelo Davids.
