CELL C SHARKS VS HARLEQUINS DEC 10 2022

Star Brewed for that refreshing first sip.

EPCR WELCOME MESSAGE

A warm welcome to this Round 1 match in the 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup in what is an historic 28th season as the leading South African clubs make their mark in our world-class tournament.

The quality and tradition of the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks will add a new layer of interest as the Heineken Champions Cup extends its global reach and attracts new fans.

For this groundbreaking season, the 24-club format with two pools of 12 has been retained. The four pool stage rounds will be followed by four knockout stage rounds guaranteeing a series of compelling contests which will culminate in the 2023 final at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 20 May. In addition, two clubs from each pool will qualify for the Round of 16 of the EPCR Challenge Cup.

We are delighted to be joined on the journey to Dublin by our long-standing title partner, Heineken, by our official partners, DHL, IHG and Tissot, by our official supporters, Gilbert and Kappa, and also by our official airline partner in South Africa, Qatar Airways.

BT Sport, beIN SPORTS and France Télévisions, who have all renewed their agreements for the new broadcast cycle, will continue to provide superb coverage, and we welcome SuperSport in South Africa, ITV and RTÉ in the UK and Ireland, and FloRugby in the USA, who in addition to S4C in Wales, will showcase the tournament to even more viewers.

On a more sombre note, everyone at EPCR was deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of our former Chairman and Board member, Paul McNaughton. Paul was a hugely talented all-round sportsman in his heyday and more recently, he proved himself to be equally accomplished as an administrator. He will be sorely missed and we re-extend our condolences to his family and friends. We hope that you enjoy the match and best wishes to you, the fans, as well as to your club’s players and staff for what promises to be another memorable Heineken Champions Cup season.

Yours in rugby, Dominic McKay, EPCR Chairman

MATCH PREVIEW NEXT LEVEL

WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP

The Cell C Sharks enter unchartered space today as they host Harlequins in the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup. It is not only a most historic occasion, for SA Rugby at large, but also vital that the men in black launch this new voyage of theirs with a solid blast off from their Hollywoodbets Kings Park base…

It is rather appropriate that the Cell C Sharks open their maiden Heineken Champions Cup campaign today against Harlequins.

Although it is the first time that Harlequins are entering The Shark Tank, and their Durban visit is somewhat overdue, too, the ties between the Cell C Sharks and the Richmond-based club date back exactly 20 years.

It was early on a bitterly cold London morning, back in February 2002, that The Sharks touched down at Heathrow Airport, and a couple of nights later took to The Stoop (now Twickenham Stoop) to take on Harlequins for the very first time.

With The Sharks still involved in Super Rugby at time, it was merely a pre-season

friendly, which would be repeated for four years in a row (2002-05).

Today, however, it is business, big business, as the Cell C Sharks and Harlequins lock horns in the Group Stage of the top-tier Heineken Champions Cup.

While Harlequins have yet to win the Champions Cup, they have displayed impressive form so far this season in England and are currently sitting pretty in third spot on the Premiership Rugby table, having won six of their first nine matches in the elite English professional rugby competition.

Harlequins exhibited great courage last weekend to beat Bath 19-13 at the Recreation Ground, this after they had been reduced to 13 men during the latter stages of the contest.

The Cell C Sharks, too, displayed encouraging resolve to see off Ospreys 25-10 last Friday night, after a somewhat tumultuous week.

With their pack exhibiting inspirational authority up front, the Cell C Sharks not only achieved a vital albeit hard-fought win in the United Rugby Championship, but they also restored much-needed confidence ahead of their baptism of fire in the Champions Cup.

With most of their international stars back from Springbok duty, the reinforced Cell C Sharks will be intent on maximising homeground advantage this afternoon and get their Champions Cup campaign off to a flying start.

The importance of generating early championship points at home becomes more obvious considering that the Cell C Sharks are next week already flying out to France to play Union Bordeaux Bègles at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux on Friday night.

THE TIES BETWEEN THE CELL C SHARKS AND THE RICHMOND-BASED CLUB DATE

BACK EXACTLY 20 YEARS.

Thereafter, the boys will continue with their URC commitments, throughout the festive season, until the Champions Cup season resumes in mid-January, with the Durbanbased outfit hosting Union Bordeaux Bègles at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on January 14, before the return encounter with Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop a week later.

The Round of 16 phase of the Champions Cup commences in early April, with the final, at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, scheduled for the weekend of May 20 to 23.

The next five months therefore promise to be most exciting and, indeed, hectic, with the Champions Cup and URC to be negotiated alternately.

Fasten your seat belts!

TAKING THE TANK BY STORM

This Bok giant has, over the past 10 years, established a reputation as not only one of the hard men of rugby, but indeed as one of the best, if not the best, locks in the world. Having exchanged his native Cape Town for the warmer, Shark-infested waters of Durban, Eben Etzebeth lived up to that reputation in his debut for the Cell C Sharks two months ago…

Etzebeth claimed the Man-of-the-Match award in October almost just as forcibly as he snatched lineout possession and high balls from under the noses of the Glasgow Warriors.

Since then, Etzebeth has been in action for South Africa on their tour of the northern hemisphere during November, which culminated in the 27-13 win against England at Twickenham a fortnight ago.

Etzebeth has over the years made a habit of rising to the occasion, as was the case earlier this year when he became, at 30 years of age, the youngest Springbok player to achieve a century of test caps for South Africa - against Wales on July 16.

Etzebeth delivered a typically fired-up performance that again bagged him the Manof-the-Match spoils.

“Playing my 100th test, with the family in attendance and my fiancée Anlia van Rensburg singing the anthem, was super special,” he admits.

Etzebeth has joined an elite group of only six Boks who have passed the 100-test mark, and one member of this esteemed fellowship, who was there when Etzebeth made his test debut against England at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on June 9, 2021, is Sharks legend Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira.

“I was privileged to have been part of Eben’s journey from the beginning,” Mtawarira says. “His commitment, his focus and dedication to the Springbok jersey, is second to none.

“Eben has grown by leaps and bounds as an ultimate leader, as well as an enforcer.

“He’s become a dear friend, and I always felt very confident scrumming when I had Eben behind me. He’s the kind of guy that you can rely on 100%.

“Eben brings it all the time - the energy, the vigour, the aggression.

“He’s definitely the best No 4 lock in the world, and the best lock I ever played with.

“Playing against Eben, of course, was pretty awkward.

“It was always a daunting task to tackle him, and, for some reason, he always used to charge down my channel, probably about five or six times in a game, and I’d be like: ‘Dude, we are friends! Really! (Laughs)

“He always made jokes too. When we packed down to scrum, he would try to tease me, saying something funny to make me laugh. But, I’m so serious; he knew that I couldn’t smile, I couldn’t joke around, especially at scrum time.

“Still, he would try to put me off.

“We always had respect for each other, though. We’re brothers.”

Etzebeth, incidentally, was discovered by another Springbok second row from yesteryear.

Hennie Bekker, who locked the Bok scrum against the All Blacks on the demo tour of New Zealand in 1981, in later years headed up the WP School of Excellence.

“It was in that capacity that I noticed this big boy galloping around in the backline of Tygerberg’s U16 C-team,” Bekker recalls.

“I thought by myself that a player with his physique should not be wasting his time in the backs. Of course, when I heard that his surname was Etzebeth, I knew that we were onto something big… literally and figuratively.

“At WP, I’d played a lot of rugby with and against (at club level) Eben’s uncle, the late Cliffie Etzebeth. Apart from the fact that he was a great character, Cliffie knew how to keep the opposition occupied.

“I invited Eben to join our Elite Squad, on condition that he switched to lock.

“His response was simply: ‘Yes, Sir, that’s fine; I’ll give it a go…’

“And, the rest, as they say, is history.”

Later, Bekker’s son, Andries Bekker, who played 29 tests for South Africa from 2008 to 2012, would become a role model for the young Etzebeth.

“As a youngster at the Stormers, Andries really showed me the ropes,” Etzebeth says.

“Apart from Gavin Beresford, our First XV coach at Tygerberg, and my brother, Ryan, who always used to pass rugby balls with me after school, Andries probably had the biggest influence on my career.”

And, now, with 61 caps for the Stormers and 40 for Toulon, France, under his belt, Etzebeth has joined forces with the Cell C Sharks.

“I was granted an early release from my contract with Toulon, as I need to be closer to my family,” Etzebeth explains.

“And, the Cell C Sharks offered me the best opportunity to return to the Republic.”

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MAJOR MATCHUP

SADIE V MARLER

Carlu Sadie arrived in Durban earlier this year from the Lions, to further bolster the already formidable Cell C Sharks front-row arsenal.

A powerhouse tighthead prop with the ability to almost singlehandedly demolish opposition scrums, like he did for the Lions against Connacht during the previous United Rugby Championship, Sadie not only brings scrummaging prowess to the party, but the 25-year-old is also a smashing defender in close-quarter exchanges. Capped for SA U20 (2016-17), Sadie made his Carling Currie Cup debut for WP and also turned out for Stade Francais, prior to moving to the Lions in 2019.

Joe Marler today returns, for the first time, to the scene of his international baptism of fire 10 years ago.

The charismatic 83-test England loosehead earned his test debut against South Africa at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on June 9, 2012. Having long established himself as, indeed, a ‘Mighty Quin’, Marler boasts more than 200 caps for the famous Richmond-based club.

While also known for his colourful and creative hairstyles, Marler’s formidable exploits at scrum time have become world-renowned over the past decade.

He retired from international rugby in 2018, to spend more time with his family, but was lured out of retirement to rejoin the England squad for RWC 2019.

HARLEQUINS PLAYER PROFILES

JOE MARLER

PROP

HEIGHT: 1.83 m WEIGHT: 120KG

DINO LAMB

BORN:18/04/1998 HEIGHT: 1.98 m WEIGHT: 119KG

JACK WALKER

BORN:06/05/1996 HEIGHT: 1.85m WEIGHT: 109KG

IRNE HERBST

BORN:04/05/1993 HEIGHT: 1.98 m WEIGHT: 117KG

WILCO LOUW

BORN: 20/07/1994 HEIGHT: 1.85 m

WILL EVANS

BORN: 28/01/1997 HEIGHT: 1.83m WEIGHT: 102KG

BORN: 26/04/1993 HEIGHT: 1.84m

ALEX DOMBRANDT (C)

BORN: 29/04/1997 HEIGHT: 1.93m WEIGHT: 120KG

JOSH BASSETT

BORN: 17/03/1992 HEIGHT: 1.73m

DANNY CARE

BORN: 2/01/1987 HEIGHT: 1.84 m

WEIGHT: 84KG

ANDRE ESTERHUIZEN

BORN: 30/03/1994 HEIGHT: 1.93 m WEIGHT: 113KG

TOMMY ALLAN

BORN: 19/11/1999 HEIGHT: 1.92 m WEIGHT: 108KG

BORN:07/07/1990

BORN:18/07/1996

HEIGHT: 1.83 m

HARLEQUINS PLAYER PROFILES

BORN: 04/08/1999 HEIGHT: 1.85 m

WEIGHT: 89KG

BORN:31/07/1999

HEIGHT: 1.75m

CENTRE PROP HOOKER

WEIGHT: 114KG

BORN:31/07/2000 HEIGHT: 1.98 m

LOCK FLYHALF

WEIGHT: 110KG

BORN: 12/02/2002 HEIGHT: 1.82m

OSCAR BEARD

BORN: 20/11/2001

HEIGHT: 1.81m

WING PROP

BORN: 11/11/1993

HEIGHT: 1.88m

WEIGHT: 96KG

WEIGHT: 116KG

WEIGHT: 97KG

LOOSE FORWARD FLANK

WEIGHT: 109KG

BORN:04/11/1998 HEIGHT: 1.83m WEIGHT: 90KG

BORN: 25/08/1992 HEIGHT: 1.82 m

FULL BACK SCRUM-HALF

WEIGHT: 121KG

BORN: 11/12/1997 HEIGHT: 1.74m WEIGHT: 87KG

WILL EDWARDS

BORN: 17/11/1995

HEIGHT: 1.73 m

WEIGHT:89KG

TOM LAWDAY

NICK DAVID

JOE MARCHANT

CADAN MURLEY

FIN BAXTER

GEORGE HEAD SIMON KERROD

GEORGE HAMMOND

LEWIS GJALTEMA

STATS & TRIVIA

THE GREATEST CLUB COMPETITION FACTS,

HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK HAS THE HONOUR OF INTRODUCING SA RUGBY TO THE TOP-TIER HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP COMPETITION TODAY, WITH THE CELL C SHARKS HOSTING HARLEQUINS DURING THE OPENING ROUND.…

Did you know that…

* The Heineken Champions Cup has, since 1995, been the top-tier competition for clubs that compete in a predominantly European league.

* Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national or regional leagues (English Premiership, French Top 14 and United Rugby Championship), or through winning the second-tier Challenge Cup.

* Toulouse has won the most Champions Cup titles (5), with the first during the inaugural 1995-96 competition. Leinster is second with four titles to their name.

* The current champions are La Rochelle, who claimed their maiden title in May this year, by seeing off Leinster 24-21 in sensational fashion in front of 60,000 frenzied spectators at the Orange Vélodrome in the Marseille final - dubbed as ‘one of European rugby’s great fairytales’.

* France and England are tied with 10 wins apiece as the countries to have won the most Champions Cup titles.

* The beautiful trophy, crafted by Thomas Lyte, consists of mixed metals including sterling silver and 18ct gold plating. It is designed around the idea of the star representing European rugby…

CHANGING THE GAME

SIYA KOLISI - RUGBY

is a team effort.

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Star Brewed for that refreshing first sip.