Team Announcement: Cell C Sharks vs Steval Pumas
After starting our Currie Cup campaign on the road last weekend, the Cell C Sharks host the Pumas at Growthpoint KINGS PARK on Saturday in the first of six home games in the competition.
In last year’s competition – with a different structure where each team played each other only once during the regular season – these two teams met at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit in the opening round.
A 33-10 win ensued for the Cell C Sharks, a five try to one victory, with Curwin Bosch the kicker in that game.
He is back in the hot seat at flyhalf (the same as last year) and will be looking to continue his development.
Our side shows a lot of continuity from Super Rugby and head coach Robert du Preez is thrilled with the players he has available to him.
“We’ve assembled a fantastic squad, I’m very happy with it, although we’re sad to see the guys going to Japan, but it’s a new adventure for them, as well as the players leaving for England and France,” he explained.
There is also a new captain in Ruan Botha who has the full backing of his coach.
“We believe that Ruan can do a job for us, we’re looking for some continuity at captain and I think he’s a great choice.”
He did play the leadership role at age-group level with Western Province before making the move to Durban, so it not completely new for him.
Speaking about his selection as captain, Ruan Botha said: “You don’t arrive here [from Western Province] and think you’re going to be first choice captain, but I am happy to have been chosen and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead as well as the season. There are a great bunch of leaders behind me, so there isn’t much that can go wrong.”
Although Super Rugby has an intensity of its own, winning the Currie Cup remains an important goal for the Cell C Sharks.
“This is a premier tournament in South Africa, it’s really important for us to do well,” said du Preez.
“We had a good week of training and our focus has been on trying to take the positivity from last week into this week’s game. We want to work really hard on our consistency this competition.”
After defeating the Lions last week, the Pumas will be brimming with confidence heading into week two. While the Lions, like the Cell C Sharks last weekend, were without their Super Rugby players, this weekend is different, but that doesn’t mean we can be over-confident against the Pumas.
“One thing we’ve learnt is that you can never underestimate the opposition,” said du Preez.
“We’ve learnt some hard lessons in Super Rugby and we don’t want that to happen again in the Currie Cup, so we’re certainly treating the Pumas with respect.
“They’re coming off a win against the Lions, they’re a formidable side and it will be no different this Saturday; it’s going to be a tough one.”
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