Africa-Press – South-Africa. Director of rugby Neil Powell says they expect the same world-class performances that lock Eben Etzebeth has displayed all of 2022 in Springbok colours when the Sharks face Harlequins in the European Champions Cup on Saturday (15:00).
Etzebeth was unlucky not to be among the World Rugby Men’s Player-of-the-Year contenders this year after a hallmark body of work in the Springbok second row.
He was given a week off when the Sharks faced the Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship last Friday, but returns for what will be only his second Sharks appearance since his blockbuster moved from France.
The 31-year-old Test centurion featured in all 13 internationals this year, coming off the bench only once – against Italy in Genoa last month.
In almost all of them, he’s played 80 minutes, but Powell expects nothing less than the usual barnstorming performance Etzebeth has shown this year, including in his Sharks debut when he won man-of-the-match against Glasgow at Kings Park in October.
“We do expect that same performance and that’s what Eben brings to this team,” said Powell.
“He puts high standards for himself and he wants to be successful in everything he does and he’s got that internal drive to be the best in the world, whether he plays in a Springbok or Sharks jersey, or when he used to play in a Stormers jersey.
“I think he’s just that type of person. Even if he hasn’t played for one match and comes back, he’s an athlete that gets back onto the field and it looks like he’s played the whole time.
“We knew that he’s had quite a lot of game time for the Boks in the Autumn Nations Series and that’s why we didn’t select him against Ospreys last weekend.
“We wanted to give him a bit of a breather after a long trip up to the north in November.”
Powell went with former Lions blindside flank Vincent Tshituka at first lock last Friday, an unfamiliar position for the talented loose forward.
The move raised some eyebrows as Tshituka, who returns to his familiar backrow slot this weekend, is not known for his second-row prowess.
“We felt like Vince would be the best in that No 4 jersey last week against the Ospreys,” said Powell.
“With Eben returning, we moved him back out to the No 7 jersey.
“It’s obviously horses for courses for us, looking at the team we’ll come up against on the weekend and selecting a team that we think is going to help us to be successful at the weekend.
“I’m happy that we can have both those players on the field because they bring a lot of physicality to the team.”
Sharks team:
15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg
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