HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS VS BENETTON RUGBY MAY 11 2024

IT COMES DOWN TO CHARACTER

WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP

Following the high of last Saturday’s EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final triumph over Clermont at The Stoop, it is back to the business of negotiating the Vodacom UCR for the Hollywoodbets Sharks. Certainly, the character displayed by John Plumtree’s charges, both in the sensational Challenge Cup playoff and their previous two URC outings, bodes well for the future…

The Hollywoodbets Sharks became the first South African side to qualify for a European league final, when they saw off Clermont Auvergne 32-31 in last weekend’s heartstopping EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final in London.

In the end, it all came down to character, self-confidence, determination and desire.

“The occasion was always going to be big, it was a typical knockout game and Clermont is a very good side,” coach John Plumtree observed afterwards.

“We looked nervous during the first 45 minutes and gifted them too many opportunities; we allowed Clermont to build pressure through our errors.

“After the break, we limited the mistakes,

started moving the ball around and our confidence grew. I always felt that if we could get our game going we could clinch the contest.

“It was a titanic tussle, nevertheless, and the boys never gave up. They showed lots of character.”

Character was exactly what a relatively young and inexperienced Hollywoodbets Sharks outfit displayed in Scotstoun three weeks ago too.

Although they were under strength, without half a dozen Springboks who were given a well-deserved breather, the Durban-based team showed heaps of character in going down 10-21 to the Glasgow Warriors in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash.

As a matter of fact, the Hollywoodbets Sharks, who won the second half 5-0, could even have emerged from Scotland with a shock win against the top-of-the-table Warriors, had it not been for a few botched opportunities on attack.

Offensive defence was the hallmark of that stirring performance, with the visitors putting in 192 tackles with which they ultimately prevented the Warriors from scoring any points in the second spell.

“I was proud of the boys’ effort; they showed that they weren’t intimidated in that environment, which is obviously a fortress for the Warriors,” Plumtree said.

“We couldn’t capitalise on some of the territory that we eventually got in the second half, yet I was very impressed with our defence. We really swamped them, and I’m proud of that effort.”

“WE LOOKED NERVOUS DURING THE FIRST 45 MINUTES AND GIFTED THEM TOO MANY..."

Back to full strength the following week, ahead of their Challenge Cup playoff date with Clermont, the Hollywoodbets Sharks again dug deep for a well-deserved 32-27 away win in the URC against the Scarlets in Llanelli.

With more personnel changes, from the lineup that triumphed at The Stoop last Saturday, to be expected for this week, the same character and commitment on display over the past month will be required to carry the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ magnificent momentum into today’s URC encounter with eighth-placed Benetton, next week’s outing against Cardiff and, ultimately, the Challenge Cup final against Gloucester at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the 24th of this month.

COLLECTIVE BUYIN KEY IN SHARKS’ RESURGENCE

True grit won the day for the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their nailbiting EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final win against Clermont last Saturday. That resolve was never more evident than when the forwards for once managed to gain the upper hand at scrum time during the tense last minutes of the battle. The cornerstone of that courageous effort was big, young Hanro Jacobs…

Even with an all-Springbok front row, comprising Vincent Koch, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nché, the Hollywoodbets Sharks scrum was surprisingly given a torrid time all afternoon by the Clermont Auvergne pack.

With barely 15 minutes left on the clock, the Durbanbased outfit brought on their version of a “bomb squad”, and shortly thereafter, with the Hollywoodbets Sharks clinging desperately to their 32-31 lead, Clermont was awarded a scrum within kicking range.

“I was pretty psyched at that stage,” admits 24-year-old tighthead prop, Hanro Jacobs.

“I just told Fez (Mbatha) and (Ntuthuko) Mchunu: ‘Boys, we simply can’t afford to concede another scrum penalty!

“And, everybody just bought into that scrummaging effort.”

Jacobs and Co staged a superlative shove that ultimately nipped the Clermont challenge in the bud and helped pave the way for the Hollywoodbets Sharks to advance to the EPCR Challenge Cup final in a fortnight.

“It was amazing, really special,” Jacobs enthuses. “The guys did exceptionally well.”

After all, who would’ve thought something like this possible barely a month ago?

“We always knew that the way the Hollywoodbets Sharks had kicked off the Vodacom URC season wasn’t who we are,” Jacobs says.

“We knew we would get through that and become the best we can be. That’s where we are now; we’re just continually growing and improving.”

On a personal level, Jacobs’ growth, since he arrived in The Shark Tank four years ago, has also been mighty impressive and recently culminated in a call-up to the Bok alignment camp.

Although born and initially bred in the Kalahari town of Upington, Jacobs was educated at the Bok factory, Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch, which has, to date, not only produced the most Springboks (54) of all schools but, in particular, also Bok tightheads of the

calibre of Hempies du Toit (1981-84) and, more recently, Cobus Visagie (1999-2003).

“I started my high school career at Hoër Landbouskool Boland in Paarl, but I wasn’t content there,” Jacobs recalls.

“So Brendan Venter (former Bok centre and Sharks coach) suggested I contact Paul Roos, who was interested in having me. I had been at Lochnerhof Primary School, in Strand, with Brendan’s son, and Brendan was also our house doctor, so I knew him well.

“My uncle, Charl Pretorius, however, had the biggest influence on my rugby career. He bought me a small rugby ball when I was born and instilled in me the love and passion for the game. He took me to Newlands for the first time, helped me train and attended all my games.”

A product of SA Rugby’s Elite Player Development programme, Jacobs represented WP at the U13 and U18 Craven Weeks, prior to being selected for SA Schools in 2018.

Sadly, he missed out on Junior Springbok colours in 2019 and 2020 due to an ankle injury and the Covid pandemic respectively

- despite being included in the national squad on both occasions.

In 2020 Jacobs joined the Hollywoodbets Sharks, yet his initial experience in Durban was frustrating.

“I battled a series of injury woes. Following the ankle injury, I was sidelined for more than a year through successive neck, shoulder and wrist injuries.

“As a result, I wasn’t able to feel part of the Hollywoodbets Sharks squad, until two seasons ago when I was at long last able to start playing regularly.

“The coaches are amazing, the best that I’ve experienced. Coach Plum, in particular, is highly professional, while forwards coach, Phillip Lemmer, is most supportive and wants to be part of one’s journey.

“Playing and training with Boks like Vincent (Koch) is a great learning experience, too; he is someone that I can look up to. And, having to scrum against Ox (Nché) on the training track week in and week out, it doesn’t get tougher than that.

“I have made so many friends, and can even speak English now!”

122KG BORN: 14/03/2000 HEIGHT: 1.82 m

06/02/1992 HEIGHT: 2.01 m BORN: 10/11/1998 HEIGHT: 1.95m WEIGHT: 119KG WEIGHT: 107KG GRANT WILLIAMS BORN: 22/06/1996 HEIGHT: 1.74m WEIGHT: 77KG

HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS PLAYER PROFILES

AM

BORN: 28/11/1993 HEIGHT: 1.86 m WEIGHT: 93KG

WERNER KOK

BORN: 17/01/1993 HEIGHT: 1.79 m WEIGHT: 94KG

FEZ MBATHA NTUTHUKO MCHUNU

APHELELE FASSI BORN: 23/01/1998 HEIGHT: 1.89 m WEIGHT: 87KG

HANRO JACOBS

BORN: 2/08/1999 HEIGHT: 1.82 m BORN: 05/04/1999 HEIGHT: 1.88m WEIGHT: 104KG WEIGHT: 114KG BORN: 14/03/2000 HEIGHT: 1.82 m WEIGHT: 122KG

LAPPIES LABUSCHAGNE TINO MAVESERE CAMERON WRIGHT

BORN: 17/07/1999 HEIGHT: 1.92m BORN: 17/10/1998 HEIGHT: 1.89m BORN: 20/04/1994 HEIGHT: 1.81m WEIGHT: 104KG WEIGHT: 105KG WEIGHT: 92KG

DIEGO APPOLLIS

BORN: 27/08/2000 HEIGHT: 1.80 m WEIGHT: 86KG

HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS

BENETTON RUGBY

APHELELE FASSI

WERNER KOK

LUKHANYO AM (C)

FRANCOIS VENTER

MAKAZOLE MAPIMPI

SIYA MASUKU

GRANT WILLIAMS

VINCENT TSHITUKA

GERBRANDT GROBLER

JAMES VENTER

CORNE' RAHL

EBEN ETZEBETH

VINCENT KOCH

BONGI MBONAMBI

HEAD COACH

JOHN PLUMTREE

MANAGER

TREVOR BARNES

OX NCHE FEZ MBATHA

NTUTHUKO MCHUNU

HANRO JACOBS

LAPPIES LABUSCHAGNE

TINO MAVESERE

CAMERON WRIGHT

BOETA CHAMBERLAIN

BIEGO APPOLIS

KICK OFF 16H05

REFEREE

MIKE ADAMSON

RHYNO SMITH

IGNACIO MENDY

TOMMASO MENONCELLO

IGNACIO BREX

ONISI RATAVE

LEONARDO MARIN

ANDY UREN

LORENZO CANNONE

SEBASTIAN NEGRI

ALESSANDRO IZEKOR

ELI SNYMAN (C)

NICCOLÒ CANNONE

SIMONE FERRARI

GIANMARCO LUCCHESI

FEDERICO ZANI

BAUTISTA BERNASCONI

DESTINY AMINU

GIOSUÉ ZILOCCHI

EDOARDO IACHIZZI

RICCARDO FAVRETTO

DEWALDT DUVENAGE

JACOB UMAGA

MARCO ZANON

ASSISTANT REFEREES

MORNE FERREIRA & HANRU VAN ROOYEN

HOLLIE DAVIDSON

HEAD COACH

MARCO BORTOLAMI

MANAGER ENRICO CECCATO

BENETTON RUGBY PLAYER PROFILES

BORN: 04/08/1994 HEIGHT: 1.98 m WEIGHT: 108KG

BORN: 12/10/1998 HEIGHT: 1.81 m WEIGHT: 84KG

SEBASTIAN NEGRI

BORN: 30/06/1994 HEIGHT: 1.95m WEIGHT: 110KG

BORN: 10/09/2000 HEIGHT: 1.84 m BORN: 03/28/1994 HEIGHT: 1.84 m WEIGHT: 1102KG WEIGHT: 120KG

BENETTON RUGBY PLAYER PROFILES

BORN: 20/08/2002 HEIGHT: 1.87 m WEIGHT: 90KG

BORN: 29/06/2000 HEIGHT: 1.85 m WEIGHT: 81KG

BORN: 11/02/1993 HEIGHT: 1.73m

WEIGHT: 83KG

BORN: 23/02/2002 HEIGHT: 1.88m

BORN: 28/01/2001 HEIGHT: 1.90m

BORN: 01/25/1996 HEIGHT: 2.01 m WEIGHT: 102KG WEIGHT: 111KG

BORN: 06/06/1992 HEIGHT: 1.79m

BORN: 11/04/2002 HEIGHT: 1.74 m WEIGHT: 83KG

BORN: 20/02/1996 HEIGHT: 1.77m WEIGHT: 92KG

BORN: 26/05/1992 HEIGHT: 1.89 m WEIGHT: 99KG

BORN: 14/09/2001 HEIGHT: 1.76m

WEIGHT: 113KG

BORN: 19/10/2002 HEIGHT: 1.85m

WEIGHT: 120KG

BORN: 15/01/1997 HEIGHT: 1.86m

WEIGHT: 115KG

BORN: 18/10/2001 HEIGHT: 2.00m

BORN: 26/05/1998 HEIGHT: 1.96m WEIGHT: 105KG WEIGHT: 112KG

BORN: 08/07/1998 HEIGHT: 1.82m

BORN:22/05/1988 HEIGHT: 1.75m

WEIGHT: 79KG

BORN: 03/10/1997 HEIGHT: 1.88m

WEIGHT: 97KG

SNYMAN

ANDY UREN

FEDERICO ZANI

RICCARDO FAVRETTO

EDOARDO IACHIZZI

IGNACIO MENDY

TOMMASO MENONCELLO

RHYNO SMITH

DESTINY AMINU

BAUTISTA BERNASCONI

GIOSUÉ ZILOCCHI

JACOB UMAGA MARCO ZANON

DEWALDT DUVENAGE

PROUD SPONSOR OF THE SHARKS

MAJOR MATCHUP RAHL VS SNYMAN

Undoubtedly one of the big Hollywoodbets Sharks stars of the future, 21-yearold Corné Rahl has earned yet another start in the Vodacom URC, alongside Springbok bruiser, Eben Etzebeth.

One of the standout performers in last year’s Currie Cup competition, Rahl made his URC debut against Connacht in early 2023.

Educated at Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale in Riversdal, Southern Cape, which, incidentally is also the alma mater of former Sharks and Springbok lock Johann Muller, Rahl is a big unit (2.03 m, 103 kg) who combines impressive athleticism with a hard-grafting demeanour that prove most valuable for the Hollywoodbets Sharks whenever he takes to the field.

Yet another product of Pretoria’s famous lock factory, Eli Snyman gained selection for the Junior Springboks and made his Currie Cup debut for the Blue Bulls in 2016.

The 28-year-old, who skippers Benetton today, originally left for Italy in 2019, when he joined the Treviso-based club for the first time.

After a couple of seasons and almost 30 caps, Snyman signed with Leicester Tigers in 2021 and established himself as a tower of strength in the Tigers’ pack that laid the platform for back-to-back Premiership glory in 2022.

The big lock rejoined Benetton last year, assuming the captaincy role for the URC.

THE “TALL” AND THE SHORT OF IT FACTS, STATS & TRIVIA

The Hollywoodbets Sharks’ stunning EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final win against Clermont in London last weekend required a mammoth team effort. It nevertheless also produced a couple of sensational so-lo performances…

Did you know:

* Through winning their EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final, the Hollywoodbets Sharks created rugby history as the first South African side to qualify for a European league final.

* Springbok bruiser, Eben Etzebeth, who this past week added the SA Sportsman of the Year award to his already awe-inspiring array of honours, delivered yet another standout per-formance against Clermont Auvergne.

* The Hollywoodbets Sharks giant made six dominant carries, beat four defenders, made two clean breaks, performed two dominant tackles and won a crucial turnover.

* Back in the stand-off slot, Siya Masuku was on target with eight out of eight attempts at goal, including the match-winning conversion from up against the touchline, to rack up 22 points of his own.

* Masuku also walked off with the Man of the Match spoils, meaning that he has now earned four successive MotM awards in the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ last four wins - against Zebre Parma, Edinburgh, Scarlets and Clermont.

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THE SHARKS ACADEMY

THE SHARKS ACADEMY IS A WORLD-CLASS SOCCER AND RUGBY ACADEMY WHICH IS BACKED BY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SHARKS.

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