The Emirates Lions will be hunting their first victory in three outings when they line up against the Hollywoodbets Sharks at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday at 15:00 (SATime), well aware of the significance of a victory to stay within range of the top eight teams after dropping to five points behind the eighth-placed Ulster following their defeat against the Vodacom Bulls two weekends ago.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks, meanwhile, will give everything to change their fortunes after slumping to their ninth defeat in 10 matches in the last round despite a brave display against the DHL Stormers. This result saw the KwaZulu-Natalians remain at the foot of the log.
The Emirates Lions have been more effective on attack this season scoring 74 more points than the Durbanites, but only one point separates them on defence, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks will draw some encouragement from the fact that they have earned six bonus points in the tournament so far.
They will also draw some comfort from the fact that the Emirates Lions have a 50% win record at home this season, setting the scene for a stirring encounter.
Emirates Lions mentor Ivan van Rooyen has re-organised his half-back combination for this weekend’s crucial Round 11 Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash against the Hollywoodbets Sharks. Kick-off in Johannesburg is at 15:00.
Pivot Jordan Hendrikse makes his way back into the starting XV where he will be responsible for his side’s attack, alongside Sanele Nohamba as his halfback partner.
Elsewhere, JC Pretorius gets his opportunity to add a different dimension to a loose trio consisting of the powerful Ruan Venter and elusive Francke Horn at eighth man.
After a disappointing outcome against the Vodacom Bulls a fortnight ago, the Johannesburg franchise will be looking to remedy that performance this Saturday in front of their home fans at the iconic Emirates Airline Park, where a win would bode well for their quest towards a play-off spot come end of the season.
Speaking earlier this week, the team’s lineout guru Barend Pieterse identified set piece dominance as the key pressure reliever for his side ahead of Saturday, especially against a Sharks outfit who have the quality to disrupt that aspect of the game.
“I think the biggest takeout for us after the Bulls game was that we let ourselves down in our execution; from our set piece to general defence, down to work rate,” he said.
“If you don’t win your set piece, you are always going to be on the backfoot which makes it harder to execute general set plays. For us, that was big learning two weeks ago and hopefully we can improve on that come Saturday,” Pieterse concluded.
This is an important game for the Hollywoodbets Sharks as they look to show their potential against their old foes.
“This is a proud place, a proud rugby province and we go into every game looking to represent this badge to the best of our abilities,” explained Hollywoodbets Sharks defence coach Joey Mongalo in the build-up to the game.
“We want to see how far up [the table] we can finish, we want to challenge ourselves to climb from where we are at the moment and the way we do that is to continue to fight, to put in performances we can be proud of, that are the result of the efforts we put in during the week.”
Although there have been some tough times for the Hollywoodbets Sharks in this season’s VURC tournament, the players have come together to change that.
“We’re in a space where the players are so connected to one another, we know that they can look each other in the eye and say, we stuck together. We’re in a tough stage, a transition period and this is a time for us to show our courage and commitment. We want people to see that there is hope and ambition in this team, we want to be sure we represent ourselves well and acknowledge our supporters.
“There’s enough evidence to show that this group is going somewhere and we take encouragement from that. Hopefully, we will take steps forward and the close losses we’ve suffered this season will become wins. That will help to build confidence and take us towards where we want to be.”
Rugby World Cup winner Bongi Mbonambi captains the side in the absence of Lukhanyo Am, with the highly rated young Ethan Hooker taking Am’s place at outside centre, with George Cronje back in the side, Grant Williams and Siya Masuku partnering at half-back and Eduan Keyter also named amongst an exciting back three that features Aphiwe Dyanti and Aphelele Fassi.
Teams:
Emirates Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith. Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Hanru Sirgel, 22 Morné van den Berg, 23 Erich Cronje.
Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 George Cronje, 7 Vince Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Bongi Mbonambi (c), 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Khwezi Mona, 19 Jeandre Labuschagne, 20 Tino Mavesere, 21 Phepsi Buthelezi, 22 Tiaan Fourie, 23 Curwin Bosch.