Head coach Joey Mongalo has named a re-jigged Sharks 23 to face the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup at Kings Park on Friday.
Mongalo has tweaked the starting XV, with tighthead prop Carlu Sadie, openside flanker Dylan Richardson, lock Jeandre Labuschagne, centres Murray Koster and Alwayno Visagie named to run out the tunnel for the opening whistle in Durban.
Springbok Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who featured prominently in the 2022-23 Vodacom United Rugby Championship, is set to make an impact off the replacements bench.
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Mongalo acknowledges the strength of the Cheetahs and the need for a strong defence at the Shark Tank, and wants his troops to match the attacking prowess of the visitors.
“The win over the Pumas last week keeps momentum and the team vibe up and that psychological stuff matters, it is important,” he said.
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“It’s also good for the boys to have been in a place where they’ve won a game that looked unlikely, and somewhere in the backend of the season, they may find themselves in a similar position. So the fact that they’ve been there before is a massive thing for the group.
“This Currie Cup is unrelenting, so it’s more of the same for us, every week you have the opportunity to keep momentum, or you can lose it and we can’t afford to lose any momentum.
“We’re trying to stick as much as possible with the same group to give those guys an opportunity to improve on their performances last weekend. Any other changes are due to injury, but apart from that, we’re trying to build consistency and momentum for the rest of the competition.”
Sharks – 15 Nevaldo Fleurs, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Murray Koster, 12 Alwayno Visagie, 11 Aphelele Fassi, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Tiaan Fourie, 8 Henco Venter, 7 James Venter, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Reniel Hugo (c), 4 Jeandre Labuschagne, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Khwezi Mona.
Subs: 16 Dameon Venter, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Marco de Witt, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Celimphilo Gumede, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Marnus Potgieter.
Photo: Jana Kotze/BackpagePix