The Cell C Sharks host coastal rivals DHL Western Province at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in an enticing Currie Cup derby clash on Sunday afternoon.
Head coach Joey Mongalo believes that the loss to Griquas must have a galvanising effect on his team looking to bounce back this weekend, and has full confidence that his team will use their disappointment as motivation against a very strong Province side.
“It was a tough week for us after that performance against Griquas because I thought we did very well in the first half of that game, so we’re obviously disappointed with how we dealt with it after half time,” he explains.
With the challenges involved in competing in three simultaneous tournaments, there are going to be times when team selection follows the needs of the franchise and there will always be the goal of integration and cohesion.
“But weeks of adversity also have a way of bringing groups together, we don’t want adversity to divide us, but to bring us closer together and there are definitely guys in the group, especially those who played in the Griquas game, will want to set the record straight.”
Province have had a good start to their campaign and Mongalo has no illusions as to the stern test his team faces.
“We as a group realise the magnitude of the game, this Province team won away at the Lions and also beat the Bulls URC team, so they’re a side with a lot of confidence.
“But we’re looking forward to the challenge, for us it’s round three of this heavyweight boxing clash, and we’re a team that’s building, we believe that the longer we are together, the better we will play for extended periods of time. At the moment we’re playing well in short bursts and we want that connection and cohesion to last longer in games.”
Sunday’s clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park kicks off at 2pm.
Cell C Sharks
1. Khwezi Mona
2. Fez Mbatha
3. Khutha Mchunu
4. Corne Rahl
5. Reniel Hugo
6. James Venter
7. Thembelani Bholi
8. Henco Venter
9. Bradley Davids
10. Fred Zeilinga
11. Marnus Potgieter
12. Francois Venter
13. Murray Koster (c)
14. Phikolomzi Sobahle
15. Yaw Penxe
Replacements
16. Jason Alexander
17. Dian Bleuler
18. Marco Palvie
19. Hyron Andrews
20. Dylan Richardson
21. Tiaan Fourie
22. Lionel Cronje
23. Alwayno Visagie
