Sharks not distracted by White’s exit

Coach Brad Macleod-Henderson says the Sharks are fully focused on this Friday's Currie Cup challenge against the Lions.

Coach Brad Macleod-Henderson says the Sharks are fully focused on this Friday's Currie Cup challenge against the Lions.

Published Oct 1, 2014

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Coach Brad Macleod-Henderson says the Sharks are fully focused on this Friday’s Currie Cup challenge against the Lions and have managed to remain largely removed from any distractions that may have threatened to stem from Jake White’s shock exit as director of rugby.

“It was a big announcement (on Monday), but we’ve had a good chat about it,” Macleod-Henderson commented yesterday. “We were addressed by our CEO (John Smit) and then in the afternoon before our (training) session we spoke to the players, and the message was that we’ve got a big game coming up, and that the Currie Cup is still up for grabs. So all the attention is really on this Friday’s game, and we've got to be determined to keep our hands on the trophy.”

There aren’t likely to be many changes to the Sharks’ line-up after last Saturday’s comprehensive win over the Kings, although the Durbanites are set to be boosted by the return from injury of Matt Stevens and Thomas du Toit.

Hooker Kyle Cooper is one player battling with a slight niggle, but otherwise Macleod-Henderson said the squad was looking in good shape.

“There are still one or two areas of concern regarding injuries, but there are also a few guys coming back into contention, which is great. The side has played really nicely recently, though, and you don’t want to make too many changes after getting a big win like we had last weekend.”

Macleod-Henderson said he felt the Sharks were beginning to build some important momentum at a timely stage of the season, but he also acknowledged the challenge they expected to face from the in-form Lions.

“We’ve been very pleased with our performances over the last three weeks, but we know it's going to be a different test this weekend. The Lions are one of the front runners in the competition, and they have really set the Currie Cup alight since the first round.”

Interestingly, Lions coach Johan Ackermann has re-shuffled his front row for Friday’s encounter, with Schalk van der Merwe, Robbie Coetzee and Ruan Dreyer coming in to the starting line-up, while in the absence of Bok-bound Warren Whiteley, Willie Britz slots in at No 8.

Among the backs, Bok hopeful Marnitz Boshoff returns at flyhalf, and at inside centre, Stokkies Hanekom takes over from Howard Mnisi.

“The Lions have enjoyed some good continuity from Super Rugby,” Macleod-Henderson commented. “They have a strong pack of forwards, a good scrum and a good maul. They also like to put the ball through the phases, and they put pressure on you defensively, so we know we're going to have to be strong up front. And defensively we're going to have to put up a really good performance.”

Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe (captain), 12 Nicolaas Hanekom, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.

Replacments: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Derick Minnie, 20 Albertus Smith, 21 Mark Richards, 22 Howard Mnisi.

Sharks (probable): 15 SP Marais, 14 S’bura Sithole, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo/ Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Tera Mtembu (captain), 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Marco Wentzel, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Kyle Cooper/ Monde Hadebe, 1 Thomas du Toit

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