CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – MAY 01: Reniel Hugo of The Sharks during the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA match between DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks at Cape Town Stadium on May 01, 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Thinus Maritz/Gallo Images)
PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA Preview: Sharks vs Stormers
The Sharks will be hunting a return to the summit of the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA when they host the Stormers in Durban.
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – MAY 01: Reniel Hugo of The Sharks during the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA match between DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks at Cape Town Stadium on May 01, 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Thinus Maritz/Gallo Images)
The Sharks will be hunting a return to the summit of the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA when they host the Stormers in Durban in the fourth round on Saturday afternoon.
Last time out
Sean Everitt’s men were well beaten by a rampant Bulls side last weekend and they will be eager to bounce back to winning ways against their coastal rivals in this early afternoon fixture. Kick-off at Jonsson Kings Park is 13:00 and the action will be televised live on the SuperSport Rugby and Grandstand channels.
The Stormers, meanwhile, arrive on the back of a dramatic late victory in their clash with the Lions last weekend, who were downed by a last-gasp penalty from Tim Swiel in a 10-try thriller in Johannesburg.
Towering lock Reniel Hugo scored a hat-trick of tries as the Durbanites recovered from a 23-7 deficit to snatch a win 33-30 when these sides met in Cape Town in the opening round.
The Cape side have been involved in another two tight affairs since then, losing 20-16 to Jake White’s team before downing the Highvelders 39-37, but they have not won back-to-back away games since beating the Toyota Cheetahs and the Bulls in Vodacom Super Rugby in July 2017.
The head-to-head record between these sides is fairly even, with the coastal Sharks edging it with 18 victories from 32 fixtures, although the Capetonians are heading to a venue where the hosts have won their last eight matches.
What they said
“The guys are proud, they have a lot of fight in them,” said Sharks coach Sean Everitt.
“Despite last week’s loss, there is still a lot of rugby to be played, we have three games and it starts with our come-back this Saturday and we’re certainly not out of the race.”
“We want to make the best use of the opportunities that we create, which means that we must be focused and as accurate as possible in everything that we do,” reckons Stormers mentor John Dobson.
“All of the players coming in this week have played a role in this campaign already and we are looking forward to a cohesive team performance.”
Match information – Sharks vs Stormers
Date: Saturday 22 May
Time: 13h00
Venue: Jonsson Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, Ashleigh Murray-Pretorius
Television Match Official: Stuart Berry
TV: SuperSport Rugby and Grandstand channels
Sharks vs Stormers – Teams
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Marius Louw, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 JJ van der Mescht, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Werner Kok.
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Abner van Reenen, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain). Replacements (from): 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Adre Smith, 21 Juarno Augustus, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Tim Swiel, 24 Marcel Theunissen, 25 Dan du Plessis.
