Powell wants Sharks to control tempo in URC clash against Lions

The return of speedy Grant Williams in the No 9 jersey and six loose forwards in the 23-man squad shows that the Sharks will be out to make sure they can match the tempo and intensity of the game in the rarefied Ellis Park atmosphere when they take on the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday in a crucial United Rugby Championship derby.

Read more: URC back with a bang with Highveld double header this weekend

Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell announced six changes in his squad on Thursday, following the thoroughly uninspired showing against the Stormers at home a fortnight ago.

The same starting loose trio of James and Henco Venter and captain Phepsi Buthelezi will be starting, however, and Powell was happy to have Vincent Tshituka and Dylan Richardson back in harness after injury, joining Springbok Sikhumbuzo Notshe on the bench.

Powell admitted that a big goal of the Sharks on Saturday afternoon will be to control the tempo of the match, with the Lions traditionally trying to stretch teams with a fast-paced game in the dry heat and altitude.

Read more: Desperate Lions ready to ‘chance their arm’ against Sharks in effort to win again

“It’s important for us to control the tempo and that does not necessarily mean speeding the game up, sometimes you want to slow it down,” Powell said.

“It’s great to have Vincent back and also Dylan, the quality of them as players, and also Werner Kok who has struggled for the last two-to-three weeks with his knee. Also having Grant Williams back is a massive positive.

“It’s not about chasing intensity though, but rather driving the management of the game, that’s crucial. It also might rain a bit and be more wet than what we’re used to up on the Highveld.

“We’ve done our analysis of the Lions’ strengths and obviously we’ve planned and selected accordingly, but the big focus is on our game and making sure we mentally and physically pitch up,” Powell said.

Restaurateur

Like a restaurateur who knows that it doesn’t matter how good his dishes are in preparation if the diner does not love them, Powell says bringing a much better performance than what they dished up against the Stormers is all that matters.

“All that matters is what happens on the field on Saturday, we have to make sure we pitch up,” Powell said. “We looked at ourselves after the Stormers game and as a system and a team, we take responsibility for it.

“We only arrived back from Edinburgh on the Monday morning and we could have managed the week a bit better. But we were very disappointed with the outcome and we know that we are a lot better team than we showed against the Stormers.

“We’ve shut the door on that now, we won’t dwell on it and our focus now is only on our performance on Saturday, we can only control this weekend.

“And it’s always good to start well, that gives you the foundation. It’s crucial we don’t wake up 20 minutes into the game when we’re already 21-0 down,” Powell said.

Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Francois Venter, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Thaakir Abrahams, Curwin Bosch, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi (c), Henco Venter, James Venter, Gerbrandt Grobler, Reniel Hugo, Carlu Sadie, Dan Jooste, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Bench – Fez Mbatha, Dian Bleuler, Hanro Jacobs, Vincent Tshituka, Dylan Richardson, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Cameron Wright, Ben Tapuai.