Veterans to steady younger Sharks
The presence of three veteran Sharks players will steady the nerves of their teammates featuring in their first Currie Cup final.
Keegan Daniel, Odwa Ndungane and Sharks skipper Ruan Botha are no strangers to finals rugby. All three senior players have lifted the Currie Cup themselves, while Daniel has played in an incredible six Currie Cup finals in his career.
Ndungane has featured in five while Botha has tasted both victory and defeat, having beaten the Sharks with Western Province in 2012 before losing to the Durban outfit in the 2013 final in Cape Town.
Experience like that is invaluable and there is no doubt that all three will help temper the nerves of their teammates going into the grand finale of the historic domestic rugby tournament.
“I’ve won one and lost one, but this is the first final as a captain. I’m looking forward to the challenge, it’s been an enjoyable week and I don’t think there is extra pressure on the guys. We’ve said that we want to go out and enjoy the occasion,” the skipper said on Thursday.
“We’ve got a lot of senior guys in the squad. Especially with Keegan and Odwa having played in a number of finals. Keegan helps out keeping the forwards calm and composed and Odwa, Michael Claassens and Louis Schreuder handle the backs – Louis has been in a few finals as well.
“We’ve got a great mix of guys playing their first final alongside a few seasoned campaigners – it’s a nice balance," the captain added.
The only change made to the Sharks starting lineup is injury-enforced, as form wing S’bu Nkosi misses out due to a serious elbow injury. However the Sharks couldn’t have asked for a more experienced player than Ndungane to step up for the final.
“We’re sad to lose a guy like Sbu who’s had a fantastic season but we have Oddie who will be playing his 251st game for the Union, he’s an absolute stalwart. It’s great to have him to fill that position and Rhyno comes onto the bench, he’s done well in the games he’s played for us,” coach Rob du Preez said.
“The senior guys have played a massive role – it’s been great.”
Du Preez vs Bosch
Plenty has been made of the upcoming battle between Western Province flyhalf Rob du Preez and Sharks pivot Curwin Bosch. The Sharks coach’s eldest son arguably had the upper hand over Bosch when Province beat the Sharks a couple of weeks ago.
With that being said, Du Preez said his charges will be putting the pressure on the visiting flyhalf.
“He’s played well. I’ve had enough of him now,” the coach joked.
“He’s been playing really good rugby, he’s managed their game really well and we know he’s going to be a threat on Saturday. We’re going to have to close his space down. Having said that, in Curwin we’ve got a fantastic youngster who has played really good rugby and I think it’s going to be a great match-up.”
The Sharks host Western Province in the final on Saturday. Kickoff is at 16h00.
Sharks team (15-1):
Garth April, Kobus van Wyk, Lukhanyo Am, Marius Louw, Odwa Ndungane, Curwin Bosch, Louis Schreuder, Dan du Preez, Jean-Luc du Preez, Keegan Daniel, Ruan Botha, Tyler Paul, Ross Geldenhuys, Franco Marais, Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Juan Schoeman, John-Hubert Meyer, Jean Droste, Jacques Vermeulen, Michael Claassens, Tristan Blewett, Rhyno Smith.