Sharks to face Leopards, Pumas
3 Jan 2013
The Sharks will use two pre-season friendlies against Vodacom Cup opposition to prepare for Super Rugby.
Keegan Daniel’s side will play the Leopards at the Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on 8 February, before facing the Pumas at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit a week later.
The Sharks start their Super Rugby campaign against the Stormers at Kings Park on 2 March.
Sharks Super Rugby squad:
Fullbacks: Louis Ludik, Gouws Prinsloo, Riaan Viljoen
Wings: Lwazi Mvovo, Odwa Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Sibusiso Sithole
Centres: Meyer Bosman, Paul Jordaan, Wandile Mjekevu, Frans Steyn, Tim Whitehead, Heimar Williams
Flyhalves: Pat Lambie, Butch James
Scrumhalves: Cobus Reinach, Charl McLeod, Conrad Hoffmann
Loose forwards: Willem Alberts, Jacques Botes, Marcell Coetzee, Keegan Daniel (c), Jean Deysel, Ryan Kankowski, Francois Kleinhans, Lubabalo Mtembu
Locks: Anton Bresler, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jaundre Marais, Peet Marais, Franco van der Merwe
Hookers: Craig Burden, Kyle Cooper, Monde Hadebe, Bismarck du Plessis
Props: Dale Chadwick, Jannie du Plessis, Wiehahn Herbst, Tendai Mtawarira, Julian Redelinghuys
464 Comments
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3 Jan 2013, 20:18 pm
Great Team Dragons!!!
3 Jan 2013, 20:22 pm
Not a bad backup team to have:
15. Viljoen
14. Ndugane
13. Whitehead
12. Bosman
11. Sithole
10. James
09. McLeod
08. Kankowski
07. Deysel
06. Botes
05. vd Merwe
04. Marais
03. Herbst
02 Burden
01.Chadwick
4 Jan 2013, 00:06 am
That a guess at the Sharks squad? Don’t think I saw a Sharks pre-season training squad at all?
Would’ve assumed they included the likes of Allan Dell, Franco Marais, Nicolaas van Dyk, Hanco Venter & Fred Zeilinga.
4 Jan 2013, 03:17 am
A new thread?????………………..wooohoooo, was getting sick of that Hore!!
Good Sharks squad, are they all fit? Bissie?
4 Jan 2013, 04:56 am
Very good in the loose forward department.
4 Jan 2013, 06:47 am
odwa’s getting old, still solid yes but in no way ‘flashy’.
mvovo is just never going to be a ‘top two inches’ kind of player so needs his speed.
butch could either be a masterstroke or ‘one season too far’ if anything happens to lambie form/injury wise.
deysel and kankowski the kind of players wh will go through life with ‘question marks’ on their backs.
for the rest they get a pass.
still a good team all in all and should prove a handfull if they maintain last seasons form.
4 Jan 2013, 07:29 am
The depth in the squad makes for exciting times ahead. There are two very good first class Super 15 teams with experience and Frans Steyn adds another X-factor to the already devastating midfield. The Sharks have no excuse to lose another final.
4 Jan 2013, 07:49 am
Beast Mtawarira is on his last legs with the Springboks. With Gurthro overseas, we see more and more that the Beast isn’t a world-class loosehead.
Weak in the locking department. To think some actually think Bresler should be a Springbok is laughable. Pieter-Steph du Toit is the shining light that will hopefully make them something to be reckoned with, if he comes through like we hope he does.
Keegan Daniel does some things brilliantly, but Kankowski, when on form, is still a better option at 8 because of his far superior work at line-out time.
Scrumhalves either lack experience, or in Charl McLeods case, just aren’t any good. Lambie needs to improve his kicking distances out of hand substantially.
Lwazi Mvovo plays shocker after shocker, and would be nowhere without his speed. Ndungane might be slow and getting older, but still a much better option. Won’t start ahead of him though.
And Ludik is overrated. No great kicking game and everything else in his game is average.
4 Jan 2013, 07:55 am
Excellent squad. Good to see Hoffman is back and in the mix. A sweeter pass I never did see. Lock, loosie and centre depth impressive. Sharks win Super Rugby and we will see an influx of players worldwide lining up wanting to play for the most professional team on the planet bar the ABs.
4 Jan 2013, 07:55 am
Fatigue has been the killer for all the Bok players. If SARU ever find someone in their gravy train that has a clue on how to manage their players from provincial to test level (like the Kiwis) the Boks will be number one again.
4 Jan 2013, 08:03 am
Alberts will have to up his workrate and be at his very best or he will find himself in the second row. Starting loosies could well be Kanko, Daniel and Coetzee if Bok deprogramming is successful.
4 Jan 2013, 08:06 am
@Heavens Game-9:
that’s what you say every year, HG.
how many finals,semis,q/finals have the sharks made in total over the years?
4 Jan 2013, 08:06 am
Kleinhans is a good’un. Might be a surprise package over a few of the big names in the loosie mix.
4 Jan 2013, 08:10 am
If Keegan Daniel played for a Nz Franchise, he would definitely make the Abs and go on to be a Test playing superstar…..
4 Jan 2013, 08:12 am
lol. Bakkies. More qfs, semis and finals than any other team other than the Crusaders? Just need to get over the finishing line this year and finally relinquish the “best team never to have won Super Rugby” title once and for all.
4 Jan 2013, 08:16 am
anyway, there’ll be no excuses and nowhere to hide for lambie and his supporters this season. which is a good thing mind you.
for his sake as well the answers boks are looking for he needs to tick a number of boxes over the course of a whole season and either put up or shut up at the end of it.
its one thing to say you’re tired of the bench and are hungry for the position and another to prove yourself in it.
4 Jan 2013, 08:18 am
@Heavens Game-15:
hehe
well good luck to them all the same.
4 Jan 2013, 08:20 am
Te Rangi, howzit. I reckon Keegan would play his way into most sides on the planet. In fact I reckon his Bok story is not over yet. If he plays like he did in last years Super Rugby and the Sharks go one step further than last year then he will be an embarrassment to any Bok coach not selecting him.
4 Jan 2013, 08:21 am
This is The Sharks year…they have experience and heaps of talent…their only enemy is self doubt.
4 Jan 2013, 08:21 am
@Te Rangatira-14:
morning TR, you think?
even at 8?
4 Jan 2013, 08:24 am
@Heavens Game-18:
Good Thanks…and yourself? Hope he gets another shot with the Bok this year, by that time they should be playing a little more expansively which will suit his game.
4 Jan 2013, 08:28 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-20:
Would play him on the blindside and he would be backup no8 to Read
4 Jan 2013, 08:29 am
Agree Bakkies about Pat 100%. This is his year to prove exactly how good he is at 10. There can be no excuses. Everything is in place for him to shine – great forward pack, excellent 12 to support him, an experienced 10 as back up who will give him advice, excellent scrummies to give bim good service. He needs to Seize the Day now.
4 Jan 2013, 08:31 am
So hendrikpoes and bakkies reckon that basically this is an average squad with one or two shining lights?
No locks, no wings, average loosies, one fly half who can’t kick far enough, another who is too old…they should basically just give up now.
4 Jan 2013, 08:32 am
Air pumps and Mormon ^5s all around, the Shark wankathon has started!
This is their year.
Defo.
4 Jan 2013, 08:36 am
@Te Rangatira-22:
ok, so form, fitness & availabilty permitting would you rate him ahead of kaino, messam, vito?
4 Jan 2013, 08:40 am
Predawn you are right… the guys that really need to step up are Keegan for leadership, Lambie for game mgt, Bissie to show that the FS fatty got nothing on him, and those players who got fuckedover by the Boks last year… Nothing like winning to give a nice middle finger. Sharks need to play with chips on their shoulders. They also need to get a home semi to give themselves a half decent chance of winning. They do this and they will win.
4 Jan 2013, 08:42 am
@Heavens Game-23:
yip, as you say its his to win or lose.
hopefully it’ll make Meyer’s job a little easier too in terms of his preferred starting 10 as well the order he ranks his 10′s in.
4 Jan 2013, 08:43 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-26:
Not Kaino….but if Kaino were to go down,I think Daniel has the goods to take his chances in the Ab setup, which is better suited to his skillset imo.
4 Jan 2013, 08:44 am
@John Galt-24:
hehehe
take it easy JG, its not nearly as bad as you make it sound.
just offering my honest opinion.
4 Jan 2013, 08:46 am
@WP-Forever-25:
hahaha
coming from a stormers supporter that’s rich
4 Jan 2013, 08:47 am
John Galt, chuckles… Hendrik either under the bridge trolling, on some goodshit, fuckedin the head or got no idea… Bakkies we all know has a form of Aspergers… He cannot be deprogrammed from Bulls tunnel vision… But he makes a good point about Pat needing to remove all doubts about his ability to be the general for the Sharks and the Boks.
4 Jan 2013, 08:49 am
@Te Rangatira-29:
ok, interesting.
i think he’s smaller than messam though, no? just guessing.
4 Jan 2013, 08:51 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-31:
Let me fix that for you:
“Coming from a supporter of the current Currie Cup champions that’s not quite so rich.”
Hehehehehe.
4 Jan 2013, 08:51 am
Happy New Year everybody.
@Heavens Game-27:
“Chips on their shoulders.” You mean, like their supporters.
4 Jan 2013, 08:53 am
Te Rangi, I would truly enjoy seeing Read, McCaw and Daniel being the loose trio for Baa Baas against England at the end of this season. Fark me now that would be Dynamite. A game that I would give my left ball to see.
4 Jan 2013, 08:55 am
IAAS… lol. Fuckyou too along with the Happy Happy…
4 Jan 2013, 08:57 am
@John Galt-24:
Necessary? Least I don’t resort to silly name calling that your family would surely be ashamed of.
Anyway… I was ‘trolling’ a tad.
End of the day though I think the Sharks are the most well-balanced side in SA, if not Super Rugby, and could well go on to win the Super Rugby competition this year.
They definitely aren’t invincible though. There is always room for improvement.
4 Jan 2013, 08:57 am
Oh! Some rugby news…
4 Jan 2013, 09:00 am
Sensitive Sharks supporters spoiling for something…
4 Jan 2013, 09:00 am
WP Forever… You do have the right this year at least after an 11 year wait… Until the final is done and dusted this year… Some kind advice – dont get too attached because its onlh going to be heartache and nostalgia for another 11… BOOM!
4 Jan 2013, 09:00 am
I love the way the Sharks play ,they are definitely my second side. And I disagree with Hendrikp with almost everything. The fact that he thinks Beast is on his last legs LOL; is just not true ,pushing ones own agenda much?
However we’ve seen it all before ,the Sharks always have a good squad but battle to make the best selections. They also battle for consistency throughout the season.
4 Jan 2013, 09:02 am
Give me size and substance over a smaller headless chicken any day of the week.
Daniel with an extra 15kg’s would have made a helluva player.
At this stage he looks like he should be playing sevens.
4 Jan 2013, 09:03 am
@WP-Forever-34:
sure you’ve won a CC after a rather long wait
now lets see you step it up a notch.
lets see score some tries in super rugby.
4 Jan 2013, 09:03 am
@Heavens Game-41:
OK.
4 Jan 2013, 09:03 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-44:
Defence wins trophies, bakkies.
Just ask Jake White.
4 Jan 2013, 09:05 am
@wpallday-42:
Beast had a shocking 2012. Had me praying for the return of Gurthro (who I rated as the best loosehead in world rugby at the time of 2011 World Cup).
Little workrate. Hardly carried the ball in 2012 and has never had a high workrate on defense. Scrummaging alright though. Sorry but I don’t see how he can remain in the team ahead of Kitshoff, Janse van Rensburg or Steenkamp unless he steps it up DRASTICALLY.
4 Jan 2013, 09:06 am
@hendrikp-43:
my feeling too but i wouldn’t say 15kg
perhaps 10 (12 max).
4 Jan 2013, 09:08 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-44: Winning the CC is far better than lingering around 6th place ,as the Bulls do so often ,for most of the competition.
And ,oh the irony ,that a Bulls player is to pick holes in a game-plan for its conservative nature. Its like the Ruby giving weight loss tips -she never loses weight but thinks shes entitled to dish out advice HA HA
4 Jan 2013, 09:08 am
@hendrikp-38:
i suppose you could say well balanced, to a point, but if the stormers knew how to attack and score i would have given them the honour of being ‘well balanced’.
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