When the Cell C Sharks host Dragons Rugby at Hollywoodbets Kings Park tonight, they will be hoping to produce a complete Vodacom United Rugby Championship performance against the Welsh.
The Durban side will look to return to winning ways following a four match bonus point winning streak, but the Dragons, reinforced by returning Welsh internationals, will also be hoping to produce a strong performance.
With just five matches remaining in the pool stages, the result of this game is vitally important for a Cell C Sharks side still in the top 8 and looking to entrench their position on the log.
The Dragons’ only victory in the tournament, against Connacht, was back in October and they come to Hollywoodbets Kings Park looking to shrug off their most recent loss, a 55-20 defeat to the Vodacom Bulls last Saturday.
Discussing the changes he has made to the team for this match, Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt explained that the rotation was premeditated.
“It’s not as a consequence of the loss because the team did everything in their power to win the game,” he said.
“We know fatigue is starting to set in and this was a good opportunity to freshen up after a tough three weeks.”
He added that the Dragons’ loss to the Bulls had nothing to do with his team selection, “We expect Dragons to be a different kettle of fish down here in Durban, they’ve flown in four international players and we’re expecting a physical onslaught from them. They’re not to be underestimated at all.”
Giving senior back row players a break from starting and installing a young trio of players
“I’m very confident in their abilities, James Venter showed that when he’s on form he’s probably one of the best sixes in South Africa. He’s been outstanding in the Carling Currie Cup, leading the team with aplomb and played well when he came off the bench. He’s not really a youngster and brings a lot of experience tot he two 23 year olds.
“Phepsi Buthelezi has performed well, we felt we needed to give Sikhumbuzo Notshe a string of games to get back into full fitness because of his long injury lay-off and this is another opportunity for Phepsi to continue the form he left when Notshe came in.
“Jeandre Labuschagne is a good line-out option for us, he also performed exceptionally well in the URC up until his injury against the Bulls in February.
“So it’s great that they’re able to return and that we have depth in that position.”
With Dragons well-acquainted with wet weather rugby, and the prediction of rain for tonight’s match, the conditions may well favour the Welsh side. For Everitt, it’s about taking opportunities and limiting the opponents’.
“In last week’s game, we can look at the opportunities we created on attack and didn’t finish, but we must also look at the points we conceded and three tries we could have handled normally which meant we would have had to score four. In these conditions, to score four tries you have to do something special and that was a massive issue last week.
“We’ve been working on those opportunities, concentrated on small detail where we feel we fell short and I know that it will be better tonight.”