THE fourth round of the Currie Cup takes place this weekend and already it is make-or-break time for some teams, including a winless Sharks team that is visiting the undefeated Lions this afternoon (3pm kick-off).
The Lions and the Bulls are riding high at the top of the standings and are yet to be beaten, while Western Province picked up their first win last weekend.
The Sharks, though, are in trouble in terms of the competition, but to be fair, are looking good in terms of the talent they are unearthing under coach JP Pietersen.
Supporters of the Durban team are getting a look at a new generation of players because the players who contested the United Rugby Championship are either on compulsory leave or on duty with the Springboks.
Pietersen has a few old-timers here and there, like flyhalf Lionel Cronje and lock Renier Hugo, but the average age of his team is 23 or younger.
For the Sharks, the Currie Cup is all about testing their youngsters and discovering which of them will make it at a higher level. Despite the experimentation, Pietersen’s young guns have come close to winning their three games.
“We have had three very close losses,” Pietersen says.
“Our work as a young coaching staff is to encourage these guys and to tell them that they can win a game. They must believe that they can win.
“Each week, we are giving debuts to young players and it is touching to see how disappointed they are after the losses. They understand the value of the jersey and are very proud to wear it.
“They can win, they understand rugby. It’s just to make them believe that they can do it. You never know what’s around the corner.”
For the Lions, Springbok flank Ruan Venter returns to strengthen their pack. Venter, who made his Test debut as a replacement against Portugal in Bloemfontein last weekend, starts at blindside flank in a powerful loose trio with Jarod Cairns and Ruhan Straeuli.
Etienne Oosthuizen is set to provide cover at lock in the only change among the substitutes.
“We were happy with the win last week against Griquas, but it was far from a satisfactory performance,” said coach Mziwakhe Nkosi.
“We’ve worked on one or two things ahead of the Sharks this weekend, so hopefully we can make the people of Joburg proud.
“Looking back at our first encounter against the Sharks in round one, they went down albeit narrowly to us, so they’ll probably feel like they owe us one. We’ve got to be up for it come Saturday.”
Teams
Lions: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Kelly Mpeku, 10 Sam Francis, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Ruhan Straeuli, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Raynard Roets, 3 Conrad van Vuuren, 2 Jaco Visagie (capt), 1 Morgan Naude
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Luca Ribbens, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Layton Horn, 23 Zander du Plessis
Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Lili Bester, 12 Jurenzo Julius, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton (capt), 7 Jannes Potgieter, 6 Siya Ningiza, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Batho Hlekani, 3 Mawande Mdanda, 2 Daniel Jooste, 1 Abraham Reyneke
Replacements: 16 Bryce Calvert, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Kabous Bezuidenhout, 19 Hennie Sieberhagen, 20 Tino Mavesere, 21 Tiaan Meyer, 22 Scott Nel, 23 Eduan Keyter