26 October 2024 Hollywoodbets Sharks vs Munster Rugby by Sharks Uncaged

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MATCH PREVIEW

MUCH, MORE, MUNSTER…

WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP

Seeing off the defending Vodacom URC champions last week was exactly what the doctor had ordered for the Hollywoodbets Sharks upon their return from five weeks on the road. Coach John Plumtree promised that his Bokinjected charges will today be in even more impressive shape against Irish giants Munster…

In addition to getting back on the winning track, the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ homecoming encounter with the Glasgow Warriors last Saturday was also about reintegrating their Springboks returning from Castle Lager Rugby Championship duty.

That they managed to accomplish the dual task with an industrious 28-24 victory over the defending champions from Scotland is a feather in the cap of John Plumtree and his merry men in black.

“The build-up to last week’s win was somewhat nerve-racking,” Plumtree admitted.

“The returning Boks were a bit rusty while, at the same time, we were giving some of the players that had been on tour a rest. We were just trying to pull it all together and get the balance right.

“Playing against Glasgow was always going to be a tough contest. One cannot underestimate how good they are; they are a champion team that competes in all areas and puts you under pressure all the time.

“There were parts of the game where we did manage to gain momentum and look good, but at other times we were rusty. The boys (Boks) hadn’t played for three weeks.

“We will be better for it this week and put together longer periods of quality football.” Plumtree was particularly impressed with the value the returning Boks added, especially concerning experience and providing cool heads under pressure.

“It is always a challenge for the boys to come back and play for the club, yet they all had a big game against Glasgow,” Plumtree observed.

“Eben (Etzebeth) was right up there again, Ox (Nché), Bongi (Mbonambi) and Siya (Kolisi) all had their moments. It’s hard to single out anyone.

“Of course, Aphelele Fassi (Player of the Match) was great. He’s the latest to elevate himself in the rankings, and I’m so pleased to see him back and at his best.

“Just having a young player like Jurenzo Julius rubbing shoulders with someone like Lukhanyo (Am) in midfield, that’s the bonus of having these experienced players back at our disposal. Their mere presence helps the youngsters grow and adds heaps of confidence.

“PLAYING AGAINST GLASGOW WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A TOUGH CONTEST..."

“Having said that, it isn’t a team that wins competitions like the URC, but a squad. We need to build enough confidence to be comfortable without the Boks, too, and ideally ensure that we have a balanced group.”

The confidence-building process continues this afternoon as the Hollywoodbets Sharks host the 2022-23 URC and two-time Heineken Cup (now Investec Challenge Cup) champions, Munster, in the Shark Tank.

As things currently stand on the URC table, the Durban-based outfit is in 13th spot, two positions and a single championship point adrift of Munster, but with a game in hand. A second consecutive win on home soil today will stand the Hollywoodbets Sharks in great stead ahead of the month-long international break and their big local derby against the Stormers in Durban on November 30.

HOLLYWOODBETS

NEXT-LEVEL APHELELE

Following a few frustrating seasons plagued by injury woes, Aphelele Fassi has this year taken his play, both at international and club level, to a new, sophisticated level. More is to come as the Hollywoodbets Sharks fullback flyer appears destined to establish himself amongst the greats of the game…

Fassi returned to the international stage this season following two years and swiftly made up for wasted time by emerging as one of South Africa’s top tryscorers in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship with a tally of four in the four tests he played.

It included a blazing brace of tries in the 48-7 walloping of Argentina in Mbombela, with which the Springboks wrapped up the Rugby Championship title. In addition, Fassi made five clean breaks and gained 292 metres during this year’s southern hemisphere tournament.

Upon returning to the Hollywoodbets Sharks against the Glasgow Warriors last weekend, Fassi didn’t waste any time either making his mark in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship by scooping the Player of the Match award.

“Coming back from a two-week break and playing 80 minutes, in a system that differs somewhat from that at the Boks, is never easy; it does tend to expose rustiness,” Fassi says.

“Although the style of play does differ, the basics of rugby are still in place, like the need to dominate one’s set piece, dominate the territory game and take whatever opportunities come your way. That doesn’t change.

“If one manages to get on the front foot in those areas, you are bound to have a good day.

“We had conversations about how we wanted to play when we reviewed the Benetton game, where we didn’t take our opportunities and failed to get across the gain line. We decided to improve in those areas and take the ball through multiple phases to enable us to create and finish opportunities.

“We also had to be ruthless in defence.

“There were still several opportunities against Glasgow that we missed on the attack while, from a defence perspective, slipping two tries in the last five minutes was not good.

“The more we train as a team, the more cohesion we can create, the better the Sharks will become.”

From that perspective, Fassi is fizzing to take on Irish giants, Munster, in the Shark Tank today.

“Munster is another quality side with many internationals, and they like to play a quick, controlled game. We did our reviews and planning on how we aim to stop them from attaining momentum and implement our game to create opportunities for ourselves.”

On a personal level Fassi, although he is renowned as an accomplished attacking weapon, has spent a lot of time over the past couple of seasons sharpening his aerial game, which is now second to none, and defence.

“What drives me is wanting to be consistent in my game and being able to enjoy my rugby,” he says.

“Every time I get the opportunity to train,

I train in different areas of my game and currently the transition from the training track to the playing field is going well. I like to put all my attributes in one basket and play an allround game.

“As a decision-maker, one needs to think about how your forwards are shaping and how to put them on the front foot. Territory is a huge factor in rugby, and, for me, it’s important to put the team in the right places on the field.

“These are aspects that I’ve tried to grow into my game.

“I just want to enjoy my rugby, and being able to play at the highest level is everyone’s dream. For me to play at that level, I need to perform for the Hollywoodbets Sharks and be able to help put the team on top.

“It is important right now to put the Hollywoodbets Sharks in the best possible position ahead of the international break.”

2/08/1999

HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS

MUNSTER RUGBY

APHELELE FASSI

MIKE

MAKAZOLE MAPIMPI

JORDEN

VINCENT TSHITUKA JAMES VENTER

EMILE VAN HEERDEN

EBEN ETZEBETH (C)

BONGI MBONAMBI

PHEPSI BUTHELEZI

JADEN HENDRIKSE

FINEEN WYCHERLEY

RUADHAN QUINN

ETHAN COUGHLAN

BILLY BURNS

ALEX

ASSISTANT REFEREES

MUNSTER RUBGY PLAYER PROFILES

BORN: 02/08/1988 HEIGHT: 1.83 m WEIGHT: 120KG

BORN: 08/04/1992 HEIGHT: 1.85 m BORN: 29/01/1988 HEIGHT: 1.88 m WEIGHT: 110KG

BORN: 26/08/1993 HEIGHT: 2.03 m WEIGHT: 120KG

BORN: 22/02/2000 HEIGHT:2.06m WEIGHT: 115KG

118KG BORN: 08/02/1994 HEIGHT: 1.91m BORN: 08/01/1992 HEIGHT: 1.98 m WEIGHT: 109KG

BORN: 01/10/1993 HEIGHT: 1.88 m WEIGHT: 100KG

BORN: 06/08/1998 HEIGHT: 1.83m

WEIGHT: 98KG

BORN: 08/08/1997 HEIGHT: 1.78 m WEIGHT: 90KG

BORN: 30/01/2002, HEIGHT: 1.83m

WEIGHT: 110KG

BORN: 28/06/1994 HEIGHT: 1.91m

WEIGHT: 93KG

BORN: 14/03/2001 HEIGHT: 1.88m

WEIGHT: 122KG

BORN: 19/04/1999 HEIGHT: 1.65m WEIGHT: 75KG

BORN: 12/05/1998 HEIGHT: 1.88m BORN: 13/01/2000 HEIGHT: 1.85m

BORN: 10/01/1999 HEIGHT: 1.83m WEIGHT: 105KG BORN: 22/12/1993 HEIGHT: 1.78 m WEIGHT: 95KG JACK O'DONOGHUE

BORN:17/10/2003 HEIGHT: 1.91m

BORN: 11/12/1997 HEIGHT: 1.93m WEIGHT: 113KG WEIGHT: 110KG

BORN: 13/06/1994 HEIGHT: 1.83m

WEIGHT: 86KG

BORN: 13/04/2002 HEIGHT: 1.73m

WEIGHT: 80KG

BORN: 03/03/2001 HEIGHT: 1.88m

WEIGHT: 105KG

NIALL SCANNELL

STEPHEN ARCHER

TADHG BEIRNE (C)

CRAIG CASEY

JEAN KLEYN

JOHN HODNETT

RUADHAN QUINN

FINEEN WYCHERLEY

CALVIN NASH

TOM FARRELL

MIKE HALEY

KIERAN RYAN

DIARMUID BARRON

RONAN FOXE

BILLY BURNS ALEX KENDELLEN

ETHAN COUGHLAN

MAJOR MATCHUP

SIYA KOLISI VS JACK O’DONOGHUE

Kolisi is the most decorated Springbok captain of all time and one of the leading openside flankers in world rugby.

Today, however, the 33-year-old legend will wear the No. 8 jumper for the Hollywoodbets Sharks, and he is fizzing to make his mark from the back of the scrum.

Kolisi this year led South Africa, back-to-back RWC champions, to four consecutive victories over the All Blacks for the first time in 75 years, en route to their first Rugby Championship title in five years.

Experts described his tearaway performance in the 18-12 against N ew Zealand in Cape Town as the most stunning of his 89-test careerand that with a broken nose!

A regular and reliable member of the Munster back row for the past decade, O’Donoghue earned his test debut for Ireland against Canada at the Aviva Stadium in 2016.

He was a stellar performer for Munster in their 2021-22 campaign, starring in 23 of the 26 matches, and was deservedly voted Munster Player of the Year that season.

O’Donoghue was also a standout performer in 2022-23 when Munster clinched the Vodacom URC title.

The 30-year-old became the youngest player to reach 200 caps for Munster in May this year, in an away game against Edinburgh.

“ANDRÉ

THE GIANT”

SLAYING THE STATS FACTS, STATS & TRIVIA

As the Vodacom URC is about to take a month-long break to accom-modate the November internationals, the player stats provide insight-ful reading with Hollywoodbets Sharks’ centre André Esterhuizen right up there with the best of the best after the first five rounds of the URC…

Did you know:

* Described as a “fearsome centre destructive either side of the ball” on the official Harle-quins website, Esterhuizen was one of the standout performers in Premiership Rugby over the past four seasons, and he has carried that fantastic form back across to the Hollywood-bets Sharks in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

* Esterhuizen currently ranks amongst the top 10 performers in the URC in terms of carries (24), defenders beaten (17) and offloads (7).

* He is also the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ top try-scorer, having recorded two of the team’s 12 tries to date.

* Other Hollywoodbets Sharks featuring prominently in the stats currently include Ethan Hooker (7 clean breaks), Eduan Keyter (225 metres gained) and Jordan Hendrikse (6 of-floads).

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