Sharks return key players for Bordeaux in Champions Cup

Neil Powell has selected a strong team to face Bordeaux Bègles in Saturday’s Champions Cup return leg at Kings Park.

Due to a hard workload and participation in two parallel championships, player rotation and wellbeing have become South African franchises’ top priorities. The Sharks gave their first team players a week off last week, creating opportunity for peripheral players in the United Rugby Championship.

The rotation has kept the Sharks fresh for this week’s Champions Cup match against the French team.

Vincent Tshituka replaces Henco Venter on the wing as the lone change to the pack from the Springbok-heavy squad that overcame the Bulls at home in their previous match.

Jaden Hendrikse replaces Grant Williams at scrumhalf, and Ben Tapuai returns at inside centre in place of Rohan Janse van Rensburg, who will start on the bench.

“We’re putting a lot of emphasis on the Champions Cup, but we’re also under some pressure in the URC due to the next rest time for some of the Boks.

Thomas du Toit, a Sharks prop, admitted prior to the match, “We also need to perform well in the URC, and there is equal emphasis on performing well in both competitions.”

“However, we are not looking too far ahead; the upcoming match is the most significant and we are treating it as such.

“Winning at home is important, and winning this match at home will be crucial in this competition, and we are confident that if we get points this weekend and more points next weekend [against Harlequins], we will be in good shape in the competition.”

“We will want to play the complete 80 minutes, which is something we came close to doing against the Bulls when we started and concluded brilliantly.

It’s something we’ve discussed and attempted to improve, and it’s a major objective for most teams: to have a flawless 80-minute performance.

SHARKS LINEUP FOR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP MATCH AGAINST BORDEAUX BGLES: Henry Chamberlain, Marnus Potgieter, and Marnus van der Merwe. 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nche.
Subs: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Phendulani Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg.