DURBAN – The Sharks have named their strongest available squad to take on the Bulls in Saturday’s warm-up match at Ashton College in Ballito in preparation for the 2019 Super Rugby competition.
There were no injury concerns aside from a few minor niggles out of the SuperHero Sunday clash with the Lions, and Sharks coach Robert du Preez admitted that “we’re all good to go for Saturday”.
Explaining his selection, Du Preez said: “The plan is to potentially start the same team against the Bulls that we would pick to play in our opening Super Rugby game.
“This match is very much a dress rehearsal for the Sunwolves game next Saturday.
“We have two full teams, and when the game is finished on Saturday, everyone involved in the pre-season would have played, rewarding each one of them for the hard work they’ve put into this pre-season.”
The Sharks have the good fortune of having an almost full squad of players at its disposal, with just a handful of players unavailable due to injury, but who are making steady progress and will return to action not too long from now.
Sharks Team
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Louis Schreuder (captain), 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Hyron Andrews, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Bench:16 Juan Schoeman, 17 Fezo Mbatha, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Gideon Koegelenberg, 21 Wian Vosloo, 22 Luke Stringer, 23 Phepsi Buthelezi, 24 Cameron Wright, 25 Robert du Preez, 26 Lwazi Mvovo, 27 Andre Esterhuizen, 28 Jeremy Ward, 29 Leolin Zas, 30 Courtney Winnaar, 31 Kerron van Vuuren, 32 Grant Williams, 33 Rhyno Smith.
We caught up with @CellC Sharks centre, @JeremyWard_, ahead of #OurSharks next pre-season experiment, the Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby.🐂
They play at Ashton College on Saturday 9 Feb, and kick-off is 2pm, so be sure not to miss the action!🏉 #OurSharksForever🦈 pic.twitter.com/hLst4ShwI7
— The Sharks (@TheSharksZA) February 7, 2019