Sharks seek back-to-back victories against the EP Kings

Aug 27 • General News • 1657 Views • Comments Off on Sharks seek back-to-back victories against the EP Kings

The Cell C Sharks will be looking for back-to-back victories when they meet the EP Kings in their second round Absa Currie Cup match in Port Elizabeth following their 33-25 first round win at Growthpoint KINGS PARK.

They are aware it’s not going to be easy after the Kings showed a much-improved performance against the Pumas last weekend, and they’re playing at home with its added advantages.

The backline that did duty against the Lions last weekend has remained intact following no injury concerns and the desire to develop the cohesion further while amongst the forwards, Gerhard Engelbrecht trades places with Thomas du Toit and will gain his first start of the campaign after two games played off the bench in the only change to the entire starting XV.

On the bench, JC Astle returns from injury while exciting young prospect Garth April is handed his first senior jersey in The Sharks colours.

For assistant coach Sean Everitt, a clinical, passionate performance is what he is hoping for from the Cell C Sharks.

“We didn’t execute our plan against them well enough in the first round, so while it’s important to have a plan, it’s how you arrive on the day: the energy you display and your accuracy in execution that really counts.

“The Kings have improved as the tournament has gone on. They had a shaky start against the Lions, but played well against us and were probably a bit unlucky to lose to the Pumas last weekend, so they are no easy prey down in Port Elizabeth.

“We need to improve on what we’ve done over the last three weeks and we have to take the lessons learned out of the game against EP in Durban two weeks ago.”

The Sharks

15. Joe Pietersen
14. Odwa Ndungane
13. Paul Jordaan
12. Andre Esterhuizen
11. S’bura Sithole
10. Lionel Cronje
9. Michael Claassens
8. Philip van der Walt
7. Daniel du Preez
6. Francois Kleinhans
5. Marco Wentzel (Capt)
4. Etienne Oosthuizen
3. Gerhard Engelbrecht
2. Monde Hadebe
1. Dale Chadwick

Replacements
16. Kyle Cooper
17. Thomas du Toit
18. JC Astle
19. Jean-Luc du Preez
20. Stefan Ungerer
21. Wandile Mjekevu
22. Garth April