Sharks
Former captain Keegan Daniel will depart the Cell C Sharks at the conclusion of the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament to join Kubota in Japan.
Having joined The Sharks Academy in 2004, Keegan went on to make his Sharks debut in 2006 against the Reds. With 199 caps to date for the Cell C Sharks, 59 of those as captain, he led the team to ABSA Currie Cup glory in 2013.
It will raise some eyebrows, but Sharks Director of Rugby Jake White feels his team selection could be a pointer for Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
While some will debate the decision to name young Fred Zeilinga at flyhalf, in the starting XV to face the Waratahs in Durban on Saturday, it is the selection of Lwazi Mvovo at fullback that sparked the most interest.
The Bok wing, Mvovo, who has seven Test caps for South Africa, was shifted to No 15 and SP Marais dropped to the bench.
The Cell C Sharks half-back pairing of Pat Lambie and Cobus Reinach will not feature in the near future of the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament after sustaining injuries against the Bulls on Saturday night.
Victor Matfield is still valuable, but definitely not the player he was, says Sharks director of rugby Jake White.
White was speaking after his side lost 23-19 to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
Jake White has never been one of those coaches who makes excuses, and he refused to use injuries as an excuse for his Cell C Sharks team’s defeat to the Vodacom Bulls as an excuse, but if he was honest he would probably agree that the disruption has come in the area he can least afford it as his team heads into a critical stage of the Vodacom Super Rugby campaign.
Before the season kicked off, White could well have pinpointed flyhalf and No 5 lock as the areas where depth was a concern. He needed Patrick Lambie to be fit for as many games as possible, and Pieter-Steph du Toit was so far ahead of the rest when it came to leading the lineout and posing a threat to opposition ball that he was near to indispensable.
Bulls (6) 23 / 19 (13) Sharks (Final Score)
THe Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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JP Pietersen will join a select group of Vodacom Super Rugby centurions when he runs out at Loftus for the Cell C Sharks’ fixture against the Bulls, playing in his 100th game for the franchise.
Since making his debut in 2006, he has become a vital member of the team. He has scored 33 tries in Super Rugby and 17 in 42 Currie Cup games and boasts a Rugby World Cup winners medal from 2007 (and has been capped 51 times at Test level).
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke named Sampie Mastriet on the wing and Dewald Potgieter as No 8 in his team to play Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Both players will make their first appearance in the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament this year. Mastriet comes into the team in place of Akona Ndungane after a highly productive stint with the Springbok Sevens team and Potgieter joined up with the team following a season with his Japanese club Yamaha Jubilo and will take the place of Jono Ross.
The Vodacom Bulls will return former captain Dewald Potgieter to the starting line-up immediately in order to win Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Cell C Sharks.
The crucial fortnight that lies ahead can make or break their campaign, and a win against the Sharks will go a long way to bringing the team back into the race for the South African conference.
The Reds bemoaned a number of calls made by South African referee Lourens van der Merwe in their 20-35 loss to the Sharks at the weekend.
Despite an impressive second-half fight back at Kings Park, the reds left Durban empty handed.
Sharks (25) 35 / 20 (6) Reds (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Reds did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT, 01:05 Sunday AEST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Pieter-Steph du Toit underwent a scan to his knee yesterday with the disappointing news that he sustained an ACL injury and will be out for the remainder of the year.
The Sharks were dealt a cruel blow in the build-up top their Super Rugby encounter with the Reds on Saturday.
Springbok lock Pieter-Steph du Toit has been ruled out of the Round Five clash, following a training ground mishap on Thursday.
The Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and Reds have announced their Super Rugby teams for this weekend’s clashes.
The Western Force play the Highlanders in Dunedin.
The Melbourne Rebels play the Crusaders in Melbourne.
The Reds play the Cell C Sharks in Durban.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann has formally asked for “clarity” on certainly questionable rulings made by referee Jaco Peyper in their encounter with the Sharks last week.
Ackermann – who made it clear he is not blaming the match officials for the 23-37 loss in Durban, he laid at the door of a “poor start” by his side and “a lack of discipline” – has written to SANZAR Games Manager Lyndon Bray and South African referees’ boss Andrew Watson.
The Cell C Sharks will lose one player but are expected to get back another one or even two for this Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Reds at Growthpoint KINGS PARK.
Jake White has indicated that any kind of honeymoon period is over for his Cell C Sharks team, with the next three weeks of Vodacom Super Rugby presenting a significant step up from what has gone before for his log-leading side.
The good news for Sharks fans is that their team will be going into the sequence of matches described by White as a massive challenge – against the Reds (home), Vodacom Bulls (away) and Waratahs (home) – with the significant presence of JP Pietersen back in the mix.
The father of Springbok wingers, Odwa and Akona Ndungane, passed away suddenly earlier this week.
The Vodacom Bulls delivered their best performance of the season as the Cell C Sharks kept their grip on the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby table.
The three-time champions from Pretoria scored four tries to one in their impressive victory over the Blues at Loftus Versfeld – their first try-scoring bonus-point of 2014 in a 38-22 win.
The Cell C Sharks’ score over the Lions was similar – 37-23 – and they also got a bonus-point for four tries which, as in the Vodacom Bulls’ case, was scored very late in the match.
The two South African teams currently touring Down Under both lost – the Toyota Cheetahs by 43-33 against the Reds in Brisbane, while the DHL Stormers put in a very spirited performance in Christchurch, but ultimately lost by 14-13 against the Crusaders – their 33rd successive home win over teams from the Republic.
Sharks (23) 37 / 23 (9) Lions (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Lions did battle in Super Rugby at
Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Cell C Sharks team remains unchanged for this Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Lions at Growthpoint KINGS PARK to mark the same line-up for three games in succession.
Being able to name the same team from one week to the next is a rare luxury for a coach, never mind this being the third match in a row where Director of Rugby Jake White has been able to stick with the same side that defeated the Bulls in week one and the Hurricanes the week after that.
Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has named his 23-man side to face the Cell C Sharks at Growthpoint Kings Park Stadium on Saturday evening.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann knows he has a massive task getting his charges ready for this weekend’s massive Vodacom Super Rugby showdown with the Sharks, but the weather that has beset Gauteng over the past week certainly isn’t helping.
Ackermann lamented the fact his team couldn’t train because of waterlogged pitches as the rain continued to bucket down for a fifth consecutive day in Johannesburg.
Francois Steyn is happy to see the Lions back in Vodacom Super Rugby – but he has warned that the competition returnees can expect no mercy from his Sharks team when the team’s clash in a derby at Growthpoint Kings Park on Saturday evening.
The Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers both scored their first wins of the season, but this past weekend of Super Rugby action should have confirmed the growing concern among neutrals that the story of the South African conference this year will be that there is the Sharks and then there’s rubbish.
The Sharks, who would hardly have been quaking in their boots as they watched the games featuring South African teams on television during their bye weekend, admittedly weren’t all that flush in their last performance, when they beat the Hurricanes.
It was a weekend of firsts in South African Vodacom Super Rugby history, with bragging rights in two derbies going to the Lions and the Toyota Cheetahs, while the Cell C Sharks cemented their position at the top of the standings.
On Friday evening, the Toyota Cheetahs turned around an 11-match losing streak against the Vodacom Bulls for their first-ever win over the team from Pretoria in this competition. It wasn’t pretty and the conditions were dire, but the side from Central South Africa would not have been too bothered by that as they won 15-9.
Saturday afternoon saw the Cell C Sharks dismantle a spirited Hurricanes side by 27-9 in Durban, after which the Lions were responsible for yet another upset when they trashed the DHL Stormers by 34-10 in Johannesburg – their first win over the Capetonians in 10 attempts.
Cell C Sharks director of rugby Jake White reckons his team has hit the target that was set them for the first segment of the season.
The Sharks beat the Hurricanes 27-9 at Growthpoint Kings Park this past weekend to ensure they go into their first bye week with two wins under the belt. And after picking up a four try bonus point against the Vodacom Bulls in week one, his men have only one point less than a full house and are soaring on the early log standings.
Sharks scrumhalf Charl McLeod has confirmed on Twitter that he’ll be joining Top 14 side Grenoble at the conclusion of the current Super Rugby season.
Sharks (10) 27 / 9 (6) Hurricanes (Final Score)
The Cell C Sharks and Hurricanes did battle in Super Rugby at
Kings Park, Durban at 17:05 SA Time (04:05 Sunday NZ Time, 15:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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In a show of support for the squad that defeated the Bulls last weekend, Director of Rugby Jake White has stuck with the same Cell C Sharks team for this Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby showdown with the Hurricanes.
Continuity is one of the key factors for success and being able to name an unchanged line-up is a rare luck for a coach. It is a reward for outstanding performances and testament to the team’s efforts as well as a thumbs’ up to the medical and conditioning staff who have the players in such good physical shape.
Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett has named the team of 23 players to face the Cell C Sharks at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT) for their Super Rugby season opener.
Four players are set to make their starting debut and a further 2 might make their debut from the bench.
You can’t get better than a four try bonus point win over the Bulls to start your Vodacom Super Rugby campaign, but judging from the talk coming out of the Cell C Sharks camp, the thirst for perfection is a long way from being quenched.
Former England and British & Irish Lions prop Matt Stevens has agreed to return home to Durban and play Super Rugby for the Sharks at the end of this season.
Alan Solomons has lured former IRB Junior World Championship-winning Baby Bok prop Allan Dell to Edinburgh.
Educated at Queens College in Eastern Cape, the promising young prop, who can play on both sides of the scrum, qualifies for Scotland through his grandmother, Joan Carmichael, who was born in Paisley and brought up in Edinburgh.
Governing body Sanzar has confirmed that Television Match Official Deon van Blommenstein made a critical error in awarding Cobus Reinach his try during the Cell C Sharks’ 31 / 16 win over the Vodacom Bulls in their Vodacom Super Rugby match in Durban on the weekend.
Sanzar referees boss Lyndon Bray confirmed the try – which led to repeated replays – should not have been awarded as the ball was knocked-on by Sharks lock Anton Bresler.