Sharks vs Reds match preview

There are a number of intriguing match-ups in round four of Super Rugby, and right up there is the Kings Park clash tomorrow (5pm) between a Sharks side anxious to pack at least four points into their suitcases for their flight to Sydney on Sunday and the champion Reds team who have just unpacked and have targeted their fortnight in South Africa as key to the defence of their title.

The Brisbane team play the Bulls in Pretoria next week, then stop off in Perth on the way home to play the Force and then settle into a “fairly routine second half of the campaign” as coach Ewen McKenzie puts it.

The Reds have been in relaxed mood in Durban, and why not considering they are unbeaten and top of the overall standings yet are operating and about 60 percent of capacity? They are pacing themselves, yet at this early stage of the marathon yare comfortably in the leader pack.

But then beating a side as good as the Reds is easier said than done, and it is curious that possibly for the first time in Super Rugby memory it is the Sharks’ backline that is looking a stronger division that a pack that has a tight five that is undergoing regeneration, while the loose trio remain more than competitive. Trying to beat the best while blooding youngsters is a stiff task, and it has hardly helped the Sharks’ cause that their best lock to date, Ross Skeate has been ruled out with injury, and do not be surprised to see the Reds heavily target the under-fire Sharks lineout and look to use the lineout to launch much of their attack.

Anton Bresler starts for Skeate and Jandre Marais has been called up from the Sharks XV to cover the bench. In another change to the tight five, Jannie du Plessis is back at tighthead for Wiehahn Herbst after spending the last fortnight working on his conditioning and playing off the bench.

The only change to a backline that is much improved from recent years is the recall of Charl McLeod at scrumhalf for Frederic Michalak. While McLeod has provide zip in the last quarter of recent games, there is no reason why the Frenchman won’t do the same when he comes on when the game is looser.

The Reds have made six changes to the team that had to dig deep to beat the Rebels last week and while some are fairly cosmetic as McKenzie “trusts his squad”, there has been some beefing up of the pack as the Reds look to attack a perceived area of vulnerability.

Veterans in loosehead prop Greg Holmes and lock Van Humphries start their first games of the year, and the evergreen (and massive) Fijian Radike Samoa is back at No 8.

In the continued absence of injured maestro Quade Cooper, the Reds have so far relied on another Kiwi, Mike Harris, who has done a good job, but this week is moved to 12 and Ben Lucas gets a start at 10, with Jono Lance droping out of the squad. Rod Davies is named at fullback, with Luke Morahan relegated to the bench.

“Ben has been training at flyhalf since the beginning of pre-season last year and has featured there in all three of our games so far,” McKenzie said. “We have been pleased with the change of tempo and skills he has shown in those opportunities and feel he can offer something different against the Sharks.”

Can the Sharks as an entity add something different? Quite possibly given the form of their backline players, but they need their tight five to muscle up to a clear onslaught coming from the Queenslanders.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan

Sharks: 15 Riaan Viljoen 14 Odwa Ndungane 13 JP Pietersen 12 Tim Whitehead 11 Lwazi Mvovo 10 Patrick Lambie 9 Charl McLeod 8 Keegan Daniel (capt), 7 Willem Alberts 6 Marcell Coetzee 5 Anton Bresler 4 Steven Sykes 3 Jannie du Plessis 2 Bismarck du Plessis 1 Dale Chadwick.
Subs: Craig Burden, Wiehahn Herbst, Jandre Marais, Jacques Botes, Frederic Michalak, Meyer Bosman, Louis Ludik.

Reds:15 Rod Davies 14 Dom Shipperley 13 Ben Tapuai 12 Mike Harris 11 Digby Ioane 10 Ben Lucas 9 Will Genia 8 Radike Samo 7 Beau Robinson 6 Scott Higginbotham 5 Van Humphries 4 James Horwill (capt) 3 James Slipper 2 James Hanson 1 Greg Holmes.
Subs: Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley, Rob Simmons, Jake Schatz, Liam Gill, Nick Frisby, Luke Morahan.

by Mike Greenaway www.iol.co.za