Durban - Pat Lambie's continued injury-enforced absence will provide Garth April with another opportunity to boost his Springbok claims while playing for the Sharks this weekend.
Lambie has not yet recovered from concussion following his clash with Irish flank CJ Stander in the Boks' first Test at Newlands on June 11.
Stander was red-carded for the incident and Lambie left the field on a stretcher but has not yet been back on the field since. Sharks coach Gary Gold would've been hopeful of seeing his captain return for Saturday's match against the Cheetahs at Kings Park, but Lambie is out for at least another week at what is a crucial juncture for the Durban team as they try to qualify for the Super Rugby playoffs with two weeks to go.
So it will be up to April to steer the Sharks' ship this weekend and put his hand up for Springbok selection for the upcoming Rugby Championship. The talented 24-year-old was playing club rugby in Cape Town last year, and was a star in the national club championships.
He was snapped up by the Sharks and has been in sparkling form in his debut Super Rugby season. That saw him win a surprise call-up to the Springbok squad for the three-Test series against Ireland in June. He didn't get any game time, though, as following Lambie's injury, Bok coach Allister Coetzee picked Morne Steyn as a back-up flyhalf to Elton Jantjies.
April did turn out for the South African A side in a friendly against the England Saxons on June 10, but had a nightmare game in Bloemfontein. Returning to the Sharks for last week's showdown with the Lions at Ellis Park, April started in the No 10 jersey in the absence of Lambie, but made a number of mistakes and also missed a few kicks at goal in a comprehensive 37-10 defeat.
There is no doubt that April has the all-around ability to become a Test player, but he will want to make a big impression against the Cheetahs, particularly with regards to his goal-kicking.
Inconsistency in that regard is one of the reasons why Coetzee actually prefers Lambie in the Bok flyhalf position over Jantjies, who has blown hot and cold with the boot this year. April is a brilliant attacking flyhalf who can unlock the most well-organised defences, as he showed when scoring a brilliant individual try against the Chiefs in New Zealand.
He also proved that he has the big-match temperament when slotting five penalties in a 15-14 victory over the Highlanders in Dunedin on what was his first Super Rugby tour. But April will have to take charge of a backline that will be missing outside centre Paul Jordaan (knee), fullback Willie le Roux (shoulder) and utility Joe Pietersen.
Gold was able to recall No 12 Andre Esterhuizen on Thursday when naming his team, with the big youngster returning from a hamstring strain. Bok wing JP Pietersen will shift to outside-centre, with S'bura Sithole and Lwazi Mvovo out wide and former Pukke Varsity Cup star Rhyno Smith making his first start at fullback after coming on for his Super Rugby last week.
SA Under-20 playmaker Curwin Bosch is in line to make his debut off the bench.
Sharks Team:15 Rhyno Smith, 14 S'bura Sithole, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Garth April, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Ruan Botha, 20 Tera Mtembu, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Heimar Williams, 23 Curwin Bosch.
African News Agency