DURBAN - If the Sharks’ training session on Tuesday was anything to go by, we could see Curwin Bosch stepping in to play flyhalf against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday and the return of Frenchman Clement Poitrenaud at fullback.
Against the Kings last week, Benhard Janse van Rensburg did not have the best of debuts, albeit behind a struggling pack, and this week Bosch seems poised to start.
His selection at 10, after starting at fullback against the Kings, would be facilitated by the recovery of Poitrenaud from a groin injury.
In other likely changes, rested contracted Springbok props Tendai Mtawarira and Coenie Oosthuizen will return for the earnest business of getting the Sharks back on track after a flat performance against the Kings.
Among the backs, Lwazi Mvovo is over a thigh injury and will be a change on the wing for veteran Odwa Ndungane.
Scrumhalf Cobus Reinach was the first to admit that the Sharks had been “sub-par” against the Kings, a match the home side was fortunate to win 19-17.
“There was a heart-to heart-talk about that performance and we have put it behind us,” Reinach said. “It was not how we want to play, it was not good, and we will shape up against the Cheetahs.”
Reinach said that the coaching staff had prepared the team to snuff out the Kings’ challenge from the outset, but that complacency had set in.
“It came down to attitude,” said Reinach of a match the Kings led until the 71st minute.
“We let ourselves and our supporters down and we will make sure we don’t make that mistake again,” he said.
“There were changes to the side but that is no excuse. We train as a squad, we all know the calls, it was simply down to the players not producing.”
Reinach, a product of Bloemfontein, reckons that mentally the Cheetahs are in the same boat as the Sharks after a big defeat in Buenos Aires.
The Cheetahs were exceptional in beating the Bulls in round two, but have subsequently fallen away with poor matches against the Sunwolves and the Jaguares.
“We expect them to pick up the intensity with which they played against the Bulls for this derby match,” Reinach said. “And we are not at all happy with how we played against the Kings, so it is going to be a full-on confrontation. Both teams have something to prove after not being at their best last weekend.”
Reinach said that new Cheetahs coach Franco Smith had added a new dimension to the team’s attack.
“They do not simply use the width of the field, they attack from angles after keeping the ball for phases,” Reinach said.