The Cell C Sharks play their first home game in this year’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign when they host the Glasgow Warriors from Scotland at Hollywoodbets Kings Park this afternoon.
Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt avoided the temptation to throw all of his returning Springboks into the starting line-up to bolster the team against a very strong Warriors’ side, instead playing most of the Boks off the bench.
“We’ve been away for three weeks and the Boks came back into training last week after a week off, so it was an integration period for them because there hadn’t been any opportunity for them to train with the team before this week,” Everitt explained of his motivation behind the team selection.
“We know that cohesion is important, we also know that making too many changes at once can disrupt things a bit, so it was part of our plan to play some of the Boks off the bench, but at the same time it’s also to reward some of the players who have played extremely well for us while we’ve been overseas.”
The coach believes that the impact off the bench is likely to play a huge role in the game.
“Looking at our front row stocks, we’re blessed with the quality of players we have, and then to be able to call on the likes of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Carlu Sadie certainly helps our cause. Then we have the leadership of Siya Kolisi and Makazole Mapimpi who is a leader in his own right.
“It makes for a strong matchday 23. A good start is crucial to getting a victory over Glasgow and cohesion plays a big part in that and that’s why we’re phasing in our Springboks.”
Then of course there’s the Eben Etzebeth factor.
“Like his fellow Boks, he’s world class and we know he’s the best lock in the world,” Everitt admitted. “It’s great to have him and it’s one of the reasons why we’re starting him because we feel we can improve our lineout and Eben will bring a lot there as well as his ball-carrying ability.
“He’s very excited to be a part of the Cell C Sharks, he has settled in with us well and made Durban his home. He certainly does bring a wealth of experience to the team and leadership, and the younger guys are learning from him.
“He’s in a good place and everyone has made him feel welcome; he certainly looks at home.”
Another new face sees Vincent Tshituka earning his first cap for the Cell C Sharks in the back row.
“He’s struggled with injuries of late, so we’re very happy to see him making his return,” Everitt said. “He does bring a different dimension, he was a top loose forward in the URC last season, achieving a number of man of the match awards, so we’re certainly excited to see what he can bring.”
The Warriors come to Durban off the back of a good win over the Vodacom Bulls last week and Everitt warned that they will be tough. But ultimately, the Cell C Sharks are looking inward and at delivering a match-winning performance, rather than focusing too much on their opponents.
“They have an extremely good lineout with some tall timber, so they’re a threat here and it’s something we learned when we played them last season in Glasgow.
“They like to play a speed game, they like to move the ball around and we’re expecting a big tussle. We know the challenge we have with Glasgow, but I’m sure that coming to Hollywoodbets Kings Park is going to be a challenge for them as well.
“What we need to improve on is the areas we struggled in last week – our defence at the back. It’s about us getting our rugby fundamentals right and executing, we’ve got certain areas of our game right from week to week, but there has been some inconsistency, so for us, it’s about focusing on what we can do.”