Sharks without captain Muller
May 08 2008
Sharks captain Johann Muller has been ruled out of the crucial Super 14 match against the Cheetahs at Absa Stadium on Saturday and has been replaced by recently 'retired' hardman Johan Ackermann.
Injuries, return to fitness and rotation have all played a part in the Sharks' team announced by Dick Muir on Thursday. AJ Venter will captain the side in Muller's absence, while the front row gets a boost with the return of Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis who missed last week's game.
Du Plessis replaces Craig Burden who performed admirably against the Crusaders in the number two jersey. In other changes, Adrian Jacobs gets his first start of the season having made the super-sub role his own - he will play at outside centre in the place of Waylon Murray.
After missing the last two matches, Bradley Barritt returns to the starting 22 and will play off the bench which is once again heavily laden with forwards in a five-two split.
The Sharks Coach admitted that the pressure is on the Sharks with two matches remaining in the pool stages.
"The position we are faced with is that nine teams could qualify for the semis which shows what a great competition this is, where it is right down to the wire again," Muir told the Sharks website.
"It could be like two years ago where it was down to points' difference, which is not quite the position where we wanted to be. I'm told that the Cheetahs aren't out to do us any favours so it should be a great game."
Muir gave fans some food for thought in explaining what an exciting game it should be.
"From an SA rugby perspective, it's a game to look forward to, some real talent on display where we have everything to lose and Cheetahs have nothing to lose. We also need to maximize the points we can achieve, we're going out to play," he said.
Despite their log position, it would be foolhardy to underestimate the Cheetahs and the Sharks are well-aware that their ambitions could be stymied by the Boys from Bloem.
"The Cheetahs have been there or thereabouts all season and have played a positive style even though they are lurking near the bottom of the table," explained Muir who also pointed out that the Sharks are on an upswing.
"We'd like to improve on our Crusaders performance - that was a big improvement from the Waratahs game - and we want to grow that, particularly our phase play as well as the level of retention and respect for the ball."
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 AJ Venter (c), 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johan Ackermann, 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Brendon Botha, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Keegan Daniel, 21 Bradley Barritt, 22 Waylon Murray
Date: Saturday, May 10
Venue: ABSA Stadium, Durban
Kick-off: 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Willie Roos (South Africa)
Touch judges: JC Fortuin (South Africa), Pro Legoete (South Africa)
Assessor: Michael Cupido (South Africa)
Assessor: Banks Yantolo (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Neville Heilbron (South Africa)