The Sharks have announced their side to face the Blue Bulls at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
SP Marais shifts to his more familiar position of Fullback and Odwa Ndungane to his more familiar position of Right Wing. At scrumhalf Cobus Reinach gets a start over Charl McLeod who in turn moves down to the bench. Fred Zeilinga retains his starting spot at Flyhalf over veteran Butch James.
Here are some quotes from Brad Macleod-Henderson:
“The Bulls result took everyone by surprise. I am certain they will come back firing. They are a proud union and a quality team and it will be a very tough game on Saturday. The yellow card to one of their props was a breaking point and then the Lions clicked and played some fantastic rugby.
“Tera Mtembu has a groin strain and therefore was not considered for selection this week.
“Botes will continue at 8 and as captain. He is going nicely. The captaincy thing we will look at week by week. Great to have Keegan back to give us another senior head. Keegan and Jacques are both leaders, so is Jean Deysel and Butch James. We don’t take too seriously who wears the captains arm band and who does not.”
Sharks: 15 SP Marais , 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Louis Ludik, 12 Heimar Williams, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jacques Botes (Captain), 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Peet Marais, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Dale Chadwick
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Edwin Hewitt, 19 Justin Downey, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Butch James, 22 Jaco van Tonder.
| Date | Saturday, 31 August 2013 |
| Time | 17:05 |
| Venue | Growthpoint KINGS PARK |
| Referee | Jonathan Kaplan |
| Assistant Referees | Quinton Immelman, Reuben Rossouw |
| Television Match Official | Shaun Veldsman |
Goooooo young Blue Bullls… take these pretenders apart!
(Not likely though)
Same can be said of the Sharks which was said about WP at the start of the Currie Cup, when WP encountered the Blue Bulls… all of us expected a consumate WP win and I’m sure we expect the Sharks to win easily and handsomly on Saturday, because if they win narrowly or lose, what does it say about the Sharks who will be playing a Blue Bulls side without 18 Springboks PLUS with Wepener out at the Lions, Francois Venter out injured and Travis Ismaiel also out injured, thus missing no less than 21 frontline players… as opposed to 8 or 10 lost by the Sharks.
The Blue Bulls Vodacom Cup side PLUS an iffy sprinkling of Super Rugby fringe players will be taking on a much stronger Sharks side on paper… but beware, the match is not played on paper!
@ grootblousmile:
Eish More GBS,
Ek sien daar is niemand wat ons boytjies back op superbru nie :O
@ grootblousmile:
GBS, I think the young Bulls played above and beyond themselves because it was WP at Newlands. They had a great game! If they can play like that every week, they should make the finals. But that m might be a bit much to ask.
Then again, the Sharks can to be inconsistent at the best of times.
1 @ grootblousmile:
Excuse, excuses and more excuses I see…hahaha. Have you not counted how many players Sharks are missing?
Let me remind you here are the names:
Beast
Bissie
Jannie
Bresler
PSDT
Kanko
Coetzee
Tera
Lambie
Frans Steyn
Tim Whitehead
Paul Jordaan
JPP
I count 13 players out with Boks or away in Japan or injured. So you see we too are without many of our 1st choice players. We also come with plenty youngsters in our team. It could go either way. I just hope my Sharks pick up a win, because this is a home game for us, as we have already lost one at home we should have won.
HUH? What are you saying here? If we don’t win huge we are rubbish??? Hahahaha, no way we are too without many players. It is even stevens here boet both our teams are depleted of their best. All we need is a win, if we win with the bonus point then well and good. For now a win will make me happy tomorrow. Also remember there is plenty rain forecast for later today and tomorrow it will overcast for the day. That is the forecast. It will be wet underfoot which will make it more difficult to get tries for both teams. If the weather goes according to plan that is. For now a win is what we are looking for even my one point. If we get the bonus well that is just it a bonus and I will be even more happy….hahaha.
I am not expecting the bonus point win just a win…. 
2 @ MacroBull:
I think they are correct boet….
Jokes aside it could go either way. Sharks have won two by sneaking a win both against Cheetahs and Lions. We should have won against Kwas had we gone for corners in the last 3 minutes instead of taking the 3 points. Our driving maul was working really well that day. Still had to win our lineout of course and that was not working too well. So we will never know there for sure. The other two games were tough for my Sharks just pleased we came out with a win.
Tomorrow the game will be tough and don’t expect anything like the Lions done to your team. That will not happen. I have Sharks by 5 so expecting a really hard fought battle between our sides.
4 @ Puma:
15 of your Sharks 22 have regular Super Rugby experience…
Banana Peel game for you okes… careful!
@ Puma:
Oh please mate , the Sharks have about 7 springboks in their 22, not too mention a few players that have been with springbok squads before and players who have played superrugby together this year.
Bulls have 3 Springboks? Werner Kruger lol, Murray, Akona and Maku.
You can not even begin to compare the experience vs the lack of experience.
Less we forget, the Bulls have three Kings’ players, Sharks only one!
6 @ grootblousmile:
hahaha. Excuses …
Then if your Bully Boys win it will have been how poop my Sharks are, not because we have players out as well… I am onto your thinking here boeta…. 😛
Look both our teams are without our best it will be a tough game for both sides. I just hope my team come out with a home win.
How many Super Rugby players did the Lions have hey?
They seemed to know how to play awesome against your Bully Boys without SR players…. 
8 @ Pietman:
bwaaahahaha.
7 @ MacroBull:
Excuses from you too boeta….
How many SR rugby and Bok players did the Lions have last week? hehehehehehe….
We all equal here in the CC. Look at the log and it will tell you. It is that close…
@ Puma:
haha no they have been playing together all year, so they had that experience, the Bulls loosies were just outgunned, like they will be this week.
We are massive underdogs… Sharks are not even close. 🙂
1 @ MacroBull:
Out of the Boks in my team only really one was a regular Bok and he is sitting on the bench.. Butch.
The others only made it once or twice for Boks and not against the strong test sides. So don’t count them. Our top Boks are not there… 😛
7 @ MacroBull:
Yip, Sharks have 7 players with Springbok blazers in their 22 PLUS 3 players who have been involved in Springbok training groups this year (Reinach, Herbst, Burden) PLUS of course guys like Puma have touted Louis Ludik as Springbok material and the best fullback in SA for yonks too.
Add to that the experience of Jacques Botes (lots and lots and lots of Super Rugby & Currie Cup), Kyle Cooper (Super Rugby hooker 2013), plus SP Marais, Peet Marais, Dale Chadwick, Edwin Hewitt & Justin Downey have all played Super Rugby.
The least experienced Sharks are Fred Zeilinga (rated highly by Sharks supporters), Heimar Williams & Jaco van Tonder… that is only 3 from 22.
Pull another one if you want to compare the Blue Bulls young team against this side… but hey, we’ll take it. We will build a side, like we always do and the results speak for themselves against these “Glory Boys”.
@ Puma:
Sharks will likely win because of Botes, Deysel and Daniel, the Bulls should have no excuse in the set pieces, but on the basis on quality ball and getting momentum the Bulls need a miracle. Especially when you have
8. Ross, 7. Jacque Dup, 6. Casper
vs
8. Botes, 7. Deysel,6. Daniel.
@ Puma:
If anyone is making excuses it is you Puma 😛
Fact is the Bulls are like a puppylike underdog for this game.
The Sharks have it all to lose. 🙂
Gooooooooo Young Blue Bulls…. moer the Guppie Pretenders!
17 @ grootblousmile:
hehehe…
16 @ MacroBull:
17 @ grootblousmile:
If you guys don’t carrying on about your YOUNG Bully Boys… I am gonna send in the Pride of Lions instead of my team… bwaaaaaaaahaaaaaaa. They know how to maul you lot well…. without SR players…. hehehehe
@ Puma:
At least they dont pretend to be young.
The Lions players have more superrugby experience from playing for the sharks this year than the Bulls do. 😛
19 @ Puma:
The Lions surprised us all… but that’s not the question… do you lot Sharks “Lamsakke” have the combined will and capacity to beat the young Blue Bulls well… or not?
THAT is the question!
16 @ grootblousmile:
17 @ MacroBull:
To be honest. Last week I thought Bulls were stronger in the first half. They played well there. It was until the yellow card came and that brilliant try by Wille Brits that started the Lions brilliant play. So until the half Bulls were playing well. I am going on what I saw in the first half and they also played well against WP. It will not be a easy game for my Sharks will be a lot closer than you think. We also have plenty new players in our side that are still getting used to this level of Rugby.
21 @ grootblousmile:
We don’t have to beat you well. We just have to BEAT you that is all that is needed. 😛
20 @ MacroBull:
We only had Franco play the full season. Minnie came from the bench in two or 3 games and JC Van Rensburg who is not with the Lions any longer. Hell they played well in the 2nd half. Felt great for them to be honest especially after the way they were dropped from SR. Also they had to build again with plenty new players.
That game was the only one this season that wasn’t close and as Puma said it was only after the Yellow Cr that the wheels came off.
I expect “normality” to return and the Bulls/Sharks encounter as well as the Lions/WP one to be tighter contests.
@ Puma:
The thing is the Lions have played together the whole year, then youget guys like Franco and Elton coming in.
Because of the Bulls inexperience they got rattled, they were all like headless chickens, confirm this buy when they got blown for not clearing the ball from the ruck, that was absolutely insane.
Sharks have an experienced front row, marco, loose forwards 2 of the most promising 9s in the country, Zelinga is at 10, but if that doesnt work out bring butch on, 2 springbok wings, Marais who played superrugby all year, Weakness maybe in the centers, but Ludik has also been punted by you as a great player.
bulls have our best available front row, willemse is good, but hattingh cant hold on to a ball, we dont have an opensider, we dont have a blindsider that makes 2 carrys in a game, ross who I like, but who completely fell apart under pressure, Ruan is is average, paige who is below average, Pollard making his debut(lot of promise but average year), another debutant flyhalf replacement, 2 13s at center, Exciting prospect in mastriet, Akona with ex (probably our most valuable player, but he is playing wing) and visser, who has been good, but tries too much himself with those willey chip kicks that most of the time just gives the ball back.
Cant even begin to compare
23 @ Puma:
Oompie Puma, the reality is that the Sharks have and probably will never, ever, ever again play againt such an inexperienced and disrupted Blue Bulls side… not in your and my lifetime again!
So, if the Sharks barely beat the Blue Bulls, start to worry… and worry hard and long!
… and the game is in your backyard….
grootblousmile wrote:
GBS… lol, scaring the supporters now, new Bulls tactic
24 @ Gena_ZA:
Then Lions went and mauled them! Never saw that one coming for sure.
For sure all the teams are sitting close on the log at this stage. All the games this weekend will be close. Well think they will be. I had Bulls to win last week!
Bulls were the better side in the first half and then the yellow card and the Lions just stepped it up and ran away with it.
27 @ Gena_ZA:
What do you mean I’m scaring supporters??
I’m just giving them a Reality Pill!
@ Puma:
We all believe the Bulls side is promising, but they don’t know how to handle pressure yet, that is the biggest weakness.
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