Easy decision as Everitt sticks with winning Sharks team

Barring two unfortunate injuries to World Cup winners, selection was clean and simple for Sharks coach Sean Everitt this week as he rewarded the effort of the players who saw off the Pumas in a comprehensive 42-19 win last weekend by choosing an otherwise unchanged side for Friday night’s Super Rugby Unlocked clash with the Free State Cheetahs in Durban.

Regular skipper Lukhanyo Am has a broken right hand and will be out of action for a month, while wing Sbu Nkosi has a hamstring strain but he should be over it soon.

Jeremy Ward will now play at outside centre and Yaw Penje starts on the wing, with flank Henco Venter taking over the captaincy.

“We worked really hard last week and showed a huge improvement against the Pumas,” Everitt said on Wednesday.

“Because of that effort I’ve decided to stick to the same team because the players need to be rewarded. It’s not ideal losing two Springboks from the backline ahead of the Cheetahs game, but we have good replacements in Jeremy and Yaw, and I’m excited about giving them the opportunity to start.

“Yaw is a special talent – quick and exciting – and he was impressive off the bench against the Pumas. Jeremy has been in our system for quite a while, and he filled the outside centre role when we rested Lukhanyo in Super Rugby and played very well. Lukhanyo was always due to rest at some stage and Jeremy and Marius Louw are very close friends and a settled combination at centre.”

The relatively lightweight but extremely nimble Sharks loose trio may be slightly at odds with the big hitters that are mod in South African rugby at the moment, but Everitt gave a flowing assessment of their performance against the Pumas, and he has added another ball-playing, agile loosie to a 6-2 bench in the form of returning Springbok Sikhumbuzo Notshe.

Dull rugby is clearly not going to be the order of the day against the always entertaining Cheetahs.

“We’ve got quality coming off the bench and the way Phepsi Buthelezi played last weekend warranted another start for him,” Everitt said.

“Sikhumbuzo is a Springbok who has been in great form this year, and now that he’s recovered from injury, he will strengthen that bench. It’d going to be a high-tempo game and we need to have an impact off the bench, and those guys will certainly have that and they have the opportunity to change the game.

“We had dominance in the majority of the set-pieces last week, and although the Pumas turned over four balls, we got six turnovers and Phepsi and Dylan Richardson were very good at the breakdown. I believe in a specialist openside flank, and Dylan played there for the SA U-20s, so it was an easy decision to move him from hooker when James Venter got injured.”

Sharks team: Manie Libbok, Yaw Penxe, Jeremy Ward, Marius Louw, Madosh Tambwe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Phendulani Buthelezi, Henco Venter, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, JJ van der Mescht, John-Hubert Meyer, Dan Jooste, Ox Nche.

Bench: Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, Michael Kumbirai, Ruben van Heerden, Thembelani Bholi, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Grant Williams, Werner Kok.

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