The Currie Cup shifts into round two this weekend with the Sharks XV playing back-to-back away games — this time they play the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday at 5pm.
The two teams occupy the top two spots on the log following their narrow, bonus-point victories in round one. The Sharks saw off the Pumas 26-24 and the Cheetahs defeated the Lions 29-27 on Sunday.
“We were very happy to get the win against the Pumas; that performance was really satisfying,” said coach Mike Vowles. “To start the competition with a result like that goes a long way in terms of building confidence, cohesion and belief.”
Vowles has stuck with the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” naming a team that features just one enforced change — Danilo Botha replaces Jannes Potgieter, who suffered a knee injury early in last week’s match.
“We haven’t made many changes. We feel that the more the team plays together, the better we’re going to get. We’ve brought in Danilo, who joined us from the Stormers. He played his age group rugby down there, and we see him as a player with massive potential. He’s incredibly physical and, given some time in our system, I think he’s going to be very good for us and someone to watch.”
For Vowles and his team, the focus is on regular improvement as the tournament progresses.
“We’re looking at the Cheetahs as another opportunity to build a bit of momentum, find some cohesion as a group and measure ourselves against a good team.
“They’re a settled side. They have played a lot of rugby together, they have some experienced players, and we anticipate a physical battle from them.
“But having seen what our group can do, I have no doubt we’ll be able to match them physically,” Vowles said. “But our focus is on ourselves and on improvement, finding cohesion and building on one performance after another. We understand that this competition isn’t won in round one or two — you have to consistently perform to stay at the top.
“There is a really positive culture amongst the group, thanks to (captain) Tom Dyer and his leadership group. They’ve really guided this team well.”
Sharks XV team to play Cheetahs
15 Chijindu Okonta, 14 Christie Grobbelaar, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Lyle Matthews, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Thomas Dyer (captain), 7 Danilo Botha, 6 Willem van den Hever, 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Johan Momsen, 3 Simphiwe Ngobese, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Cameron Dawson.
Replacements: 16 Bryce Calvert, 17 Jaco du Toit, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Sipho Nonyalela, 20 Hanu Pieterse, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Chris Horak, 23 Matthew Fortuin.
