Giliomee debuts against Munster

Coach JPP has selected 19 year old Blitzbok Luan Giliomee at fullback against Munster. He has kept big guns Ox Nche and Vincent Koch on the bench. Grant Williams will partner Jordan Hendrikse with Ethan Hooker next to Andre Esterhuizen in the midfield. Overall it is a pretty decent team – can they gel on attack and defense?

The Sharks are currently 11th on the log with 24 log points (6 log points behind the Bulls in 8th place). They really cannot afford to drop any more games if they want to feature in the quarter finals. The Sharks showed some promise by getting bonus point wins twice in a row against the Stormers, but were pretty poor against the Lions and Bulls. They could not even manage losing / 4 try bonus points in either game.

The biggest issue for me is the leaky defense with the lowest tackle success of 75% in the URC. This allows the opposition to make far too much ground creating momentum that either eventually results in tries or penalties taken in our half. The Sharks also have won the fewest turnovers (48) which makes it difficult to stop phase attacks or create counter attack opportunities. The Sharks have conceded 43 tries while scoring 38. Munster has a better tackle success rate of 84% and conceded only 30 tries while scoring 36.

The second issue is all the turnovers conceded on attack (186) through mistakes and poor decisions. The Sharks struggle to sustain pressure on the opposition – therefore making it difficult to score points.

1.    Phatu Ganyane
2.    Fez Mbatha
3.    Hanro Jacobs
4.    Jason Jenkins
5.    Emile van Heerden
6.    Siya Kolisi
7.    Vincent Tshituka
8.    Phepsi Buthelezi
9.    Grant Williams
10.    Jordan Hendrikse
11.    Makazole Mapimpi
12.    Andre Esterhuizen (C)
13.    Ethan Hooker
14.    Yaw Penxe
15.    Luan Giliomee *

Replacements
16.    Eduan Swart
17.    Ox Nche
18.    Vincent Koch
19.    Corne Rahl
20.    Nick Hatton
21.    Bradley Davids
22.    Jean Smith
23.    Hakeen Kunene

Players not considered due to injury:

Aphelele Fassi, Bongi Mbonambi, Bryce Calvert, Ethan Bester, Francois Venter, Jaco Williams, Jaden Hendrikse, Jurenzo Julius, Lili Bester, Manu Tshituka, Marvin Orie, Matt Romao, Ruan Dreyer, Siya Masuku, Tinotenda Mavesere, Trevor Nyakane