Plumtree: 'The boys are ready to go'
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:34
Hats off to the boys: Sharks coach John Plumtree. (c) Gallo
There are two sides to the selection coin - maintaining continuity or rotating players - and Sharks coach John Plumtree has opted to stick largely with the side that did so well last weekend for Saturday's Currie Cup clash against the Blue Bulls.
The return of Ludik means Monty Dumond slips out of the matchday 22 and the return from the groin injury that kept Hargreaves out last week means the Sharks are well-covered in the second row.
Anton Bresler drops out of the team with Michael Rhodes taking his place on the bench in the final change to the team that beat Griquas last Friday.
"We've picked as close to full-strength a side we're able to," Plumtree told the Sharks' website. 'Alistair Hargreaves has trained positively over the last couple of days, as has Louis Ludik.
"Selection hasn't been too difficult based on consistency of performance as well as injuries," the coach added.
With a seven point buffer on the top of the log, The Sharks have no danger of dropping their position this weekend but Plumtree is adamant that there is no shortage of focus.
"We're taking the competition week by week and there won't be any taking it easy this week. We're playing the Bulls up at Loftus and if we take it easy, we'll get our bums kicked.
"The boys are ready to go, they've trained well, today [Thursday] especially, and they're really excited about the challenge. There has been enough talk of complacency and we're just looking forward to the weekend.
"If you want to win this trophy, you have to be the best in this competition and that's what we are aiming for."
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche (captain), 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Michael Rhodes, 19 Skholiwe Ndlovu, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Andre Pretorius, 22 Riaan Swanepoel.
Date: Saturday, September 4
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Assistant referees: Tiaan Jonker, Johan Greeff
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
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