Sharks’ big guns are back.
Friday night in Wales, the Sharks, led by two-time World Cup champion Lukhanyo Am, will field a strong squad of Springboks to take on the Scarlets.
In search of their leadership and capacity to produce a winning performance, head coach John Plumtree has called back a number of his more seasoned players for the Vodacom URC match at Parc y Scarlets after a week-long hiatus.
As the likes of enforcer lock Eben Etzebeth and fellow world champions Am, Makazole Mapimpi, and Ox Nche return following last week’s defeat by the Glasgow Warriors in Scotland, right winger Werner Kok—who will play for Irish team Ulster the following season—is expected to make his 50th appearance for the Durbanites.
While there is a lot of focus on the Sharks’ historic Challenge Cup semi-final that takes place next week, it is evident that the club is primarily focused on their loose forward, Phepsi Buthelezi.
“The Scarlets are our only priority, and we will address any issues that arise the following week. Our primary goal in camp at the moment is to go out and perform exceptionally well against Scarlets,” he stated.
Executing our procedures and game plan is currently the main priority.
Because some of the early-season results weren’t good enough or up to our standards, we wish to improve our URC performances.
14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 15 Aphelelele Fassi, Ten Siya Masuku, Grant Williams, nine 8 Tshituka Vincent, Seven Labuschagne Lappies, Six Phepsi Buthelezi, Five Emile van Heerden, Four Eben Etzebeth, Three Vincent Koch, Two Fez Mbatha, and One Ox Nche.
17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Gerbrandt Grobler, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, and 23 Francois Venter are the substitutes.
