CELL C SHARKS VS OSPREYS DEC 02 2022

CHANGING THE GAME

SIYA KOLISI - RUGBY

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MATCH PREVIEW

BEWARE THE WOUNDED SHARKS

WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP

The Ospreys, named after a sea hawk nesting near a body of water, have flown into Durban to ‘feast’ on the ‘leftovers’ following their fellow countrymen from Cardiff’s comprehensive win here on Sunday. The Swansea-based Welshmen are entering treacherous waters, though, with the wounded Cell C Sharks certain to be a different beast tonight…

“We will turn it around.”

This is the resolute reassurance the Cell C Sharks offered following their 0-35 defeat at the hands of Cardiff Rugby in Sunday night’s Round 8 Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture.

It certainly was a totally uncharacteristic performance by the Durban-based franchise, and, quite frankly, rather inexplicable - especially when one examines the official match statistics.

Possession was evenly shared at 50% each, as were the number of defenders beaten and missed tackles (both 9-9).

The only areas of the game where Cardiff was slightly better off, were clean breaks (4-3), tackle success (92-91) and turnovers

won (12-7).

As a matter of fact, the Cell C Sharks were superior in terms of both offloads (11-2) and territory (54% - 46%), and made 12 less tackles than Cardiff.

And, yet, the visitors from Wales managed to outscore their hosts by four tries to nil.

The conditions on Sunday were rather atrocious and, as Cardiff Director of Rugby, Dai Young, conceded, did suit the Welshmen more than it did the Cell C Sharks.

Cardiff got off to a magnificent start to the contest, and played the percentages to near perfection to practically rack up an unassailable 23-0 lead at the break.

“We knew we had to have a good start,”

Young observed afterwards.

“If you give the Cell C Sharks, with the quality that they have in their team, field position and plenty of possession, you're going to come unstuck.

"I thought we controlled the first 25 minutes really well.

“It was always going to be a night that, if you got your noses in front, it would be hard for the opposition to turn it around.”

The Cell C Sharks, however, are leaving no stone unturned in rectifying the current situation, and in turning their VURC campaign around.

And, it all starts here tonight, against yet another Welsh outfit, the Ospreys.

The focus in today’s outing, from a Cell C Sharks’ perspective, will be to restore their normal high level of precision, especially when it comes to game management and accuracy, both on attack and in defence.

This Cell C Sharks’ group boasts heaps of character and, with several of the 10 Springboks, who were absent last week, set to return to VURC action tonight, the passion of the men in black is bound to come shining through and set Hollywoodbets Kings Park alight.

Today’s game also serves as timely preparation for the Cell C Sharks’ Heineken Champions Cup debut at home against

Harlequins next Saturday.

Six days later, the boys head back north, to the Stade Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux, to take on Union Bordeaux Bègles, before returning to The Shark Tank to resume their VURC campaign at home against the Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls, on December 23 and 31 respectively.

Buckle in for an exciting festive season jampacked with rugby action!

THE CELL C SHARKS, HOWEVER, ARE LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED IN RECTIFYING THE CURRENT SITUATION, AND IN TURNING THEIR VURC CAMPAIGN AROUND.

LIFE IS ABOUT TIMING

Carl Lewis, one of the most decorated athletes of all time, coined the above phrase. It certainly applies to the life of Grant Williams. As scrumhalf of the Cell C Sharks, the timing of both his passes and breaks is of great importance. More importantly, timing has played a profound role in the career of Williams, as he had to graft his way from club player to Bok over the past five years…

In May this year, Grant Williams set the United Rugby Championship alight with a sensational solo performance in the 21-24 away loss to Ulster in Belfast, to nearly snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for the Cell C Sharks.

Coming off the bench, he not only ran almost the length of the field for a stupendous try of his own, but also carved the Ulster defence open to create one for Marius Louw.

“It wasn’t only me, though,” Williams observes modestly.

“It was a collective effort from everyone off the bench.

“Being far behind at that stage, the only option left was to express ourselves. It resulted in three tries within 10 minutes.

“Unfortunately, we just ran out of time.”

Barely a couple of months later, Williams again made an appearance off the bench to earn his maiden test cap for South Africa, against Wales in Bloemfontein on July 9, 2022. It capped a five-year journey for the 26-yearold, that had started in the club rugby scene of Stellenbosch.

Born and bred in Paarl, Grant Williams was exposed to rugby from an early age.

“We regularly went to watch my cousin Darryl play for the Labori High School First XV,” he recalls.

Williams attended Paulus Joubert Secondary School, and impressed enough that he was awarded a rugby bursary at the prestigious Paarl Gymnasium.

“Paarl Gym has rich traditions, it’s a proud school and I was privileged to have been part of that. It gave me some bragging rights,” Williams quips.

However, despite representing the First XV, he never got the nod to represent his province

at either the Grant Khomo or Craven Week. “That set me back,” he agrees.

“It meant that I didn’t receive any contract after school, which would have made life easier, and I had to resort to playing club rugby.

“I’m grateful for the experience, though. It made me hungrier than ever to succeed.”

Williams made the Maties First XV, before heading to the promised land of KZN in 2017, where he would eventually realise his dreams.

“Although playing for Maties was massive, things just didn’t happen for me in the Cape,” he says.

“That’s when my brother, Marco, made a few phone calls to Durban. He managed to get hold of College Rovers chairman, Paddy Doyle, who invited me to join the club.

“That opened the door for me.

“Initially, I had to crash with a mate, but our Rovers manager, Kirwin Jean-Louis, put measures in place to make life as comfortable as possible for me in Durban.

“The following season, Ricardo Loubscher and Paul Anthony invited me to join the High Performance squad, and, after a few games for the U21s, Cell C Sharks coach Robert du Preez drafted me into the Super Rugby squad.”

His Super Rugby debut was against the Lions in Johannesburg, and his room-mate was none other than the ‘Beast’, Tendai Mtawarira.

“We still joke about that,” Williams chuckles. “I was pretty nervous, but Beast didn’t turn out as ‘mean’ as I had been made to believe.

In fact, he motivated me quite a bit in his calm, laidback manner.

“He even brought me some snacks from Woolies!”

Williams’ game time was restricted over the past few seasons due to a combination of injuries and Covid-19, but courtesy of an injury-free season last year, he was drafted into South Africa’s Rugby Championship squad.

“The Cell C Sharks had just returned from Jo’burg, where we’d played the Lions, when Sean Everitt and Trevor Barnes called me in to notify me that I had to pack my bags and join the Bok squad,” he recalls.

“It felt like I was walking in a dream, but being able to tour with the Boks to Australia was a matchless learning experience.”

Less than a year later, his test debut followed, and Williams agrees that, considering the long and winding road he had to follow, it was a massive moment for both him and his family.

“If anyone knows what it took to eventually attain Springbok colours, my family do.

“And, none of this would have been possible if I hadn’t stayed faithful.

“I have always been guided by God, and, Him willing, I believe there are even bigger things in store,” says the man, whose WhatsApp profile image reads:

“‘God’s timing is perfect…’”

BORN: 27/03/1992 HEIGHT: 1.92m

MAX NAGY LUKE MORGAN MICHAEL COLLINS TIAAN THOMAS-WHEELER KEELAN GILES JACK WALSH RHYS WEBB (C) MORGAN MORRIS WILL HICKEY ETHAN ROOTS HUW SUTTON BRADLEY DAVIES TOM BOTHA SAM PARRY RHYS HENRY SCOTT BALDWIN GARYN PHILLIPS BEN WARREN JACK REGAN HARRI DEAVES REUBEN MORGAN-WILLIAMS LUKE SCULLY CAI EVANS

HEAD COACH TOBY BOOTH MANAGER DAI DAVIES ASSISTANT REFEREES STEPHAN GELDENHUYS & GRIFFIN COLBY TMO SAM GROVE-WHITE

OSPREYS PLAYER PROFILES

BORN:08/09/1998

HEIGHT: 1.78 m WEIGHT: 114KG

BRADLEY DAVIES

BORN:9/01/1987 HEIGHT: 1.98 m WEIGHT: 122KG

SAM PARRY

WILL HICKEY

HEIGHT: 1.91m WEIGHT: 103KG

BORN: 11/01/2000 HEIGHT: 1.80m

BORN:17/12/1991 HEIGHT: 1.86m WEIGHT: 113KG

BORN: 31/08/1990 HEIGHT: 1.79 m

HUW SUTTON

HEIGHT: 1.81 m WEIGHT: 112KG

MORGAN MORRIS

BORN: 28/08/1998 HEIGHT: 1.83m WEIGHT: 109KG

ETHAN ROOTS

BORN: 10/11/1999 HEIGHT: 1.88 m WEIGHT: 110KG

RHYS WEBB (C)

BORN: 9/12/1988 HEIGHT: 1.83 m

WEIGHT: 93KG

WEIGHT: 110KG WEIGHT: 76KG WEIGHT: 88KG

BORN: 29/01/1998 HEIGHT: 1.73m

BORN: 19/11/1999 HEIGHT: 1.89 m WEIGHT: 98KG

TOM BOTHA

KEELAN GILES

JACK WALSH

TIAAN THOMAS-WHEELER

RHYS HENRY

BORN: 7/06/1993

HEIGHT: 1.86 m

OSPREYS PLAYER PROFILES

HOOKER

BORN: 12/07/1988

HEIGHT: 1.91 m

WEIGHT: 99KG

BORN:16/05/1992

HEIGHT: 1.75m

CENTRE PROP

WEIGHT: 114KG

BORN: 14/05/2001 HEIGHT: 1.83m

WEIGHT: 81KG

BORN:13/06/1996

WING PROP

HEIGHT: 1.93m WEIGHT: 95KG

BORN: 2/04/2000 HEIGHT: 1.85 m

LOCK FLYHALF

WEIGHT: 113KG WEIGHT: 118KG

WEIGHT: 114KG

BORN: 13/06/2001

HEIGHT: 1.80m

FULL BACK SCRUM-HALF

LUKE SCULLY

BORN: 28/02/2000

HEIGHT: 1.80m

LOOSE FORWARD FLANK

WEIGHT: 80KG

WEIGHT: 91KG

BORN: 3/02/1998 HEIGHT: 1.80m WEIGHT: 117KG

CAI EVANS

BORN:7/05/1997 HEIGHT: 1.98 m WEIGHT:83KG

BORN: 23/06/1999

HEIGHT: 1.84 m

HARRI DEAVES

MAX NAGY

MICHAEL COLLINS

LUKE MORGAN

GARYN PHILLIPS

SCOTT BALDWIN

BEN WARREN

JACK REGAN

REUBEN MORGAN-WILLIAMS

MAJOR MATCHUP

BUTHELEZI V MORRIS

At only 23 years of age, Phepsi Buthelezi has once again been entrusted with the responsibility of leading the Cell C Sharks in the URC arena tonight.

The strapping No 8 has, since his introduction to the big stage three years ago, consistently performed with the dedication and drive of a seasoned International.

This has backed up the view, held by many, that Buthelezi is destined to attain Springbok colours in the not-too-distant future.

The Hluhluwe-born prodigy has indeed knuckled down to perform so effectively in the Cell C Sharks back row, every week without exception, that, despite a plethora of Boks to pick from, his name is often the very first to be pencilled in when the matchday 23 has to be selected.

Morgan Morris, like Buthelezi, is a player tipped to gain international selection, for Wales, sooner rather than later.

This highly-rated No 8 first turned out in the colours of Ospreys in 2018, having previously represented the Ospreys Academy and Swansea RFC.

A powerful carrier of the ball, Morris recorded an impressive hat-trick of tries in Ospreys’ 50-31 win against the Dragons in May this year.

Currently, Morris ranks fourth in terms of ball carries (72), and has, in fact, carried the ball more than any other Welsh player in the URC competition this season, while he has also put in more than 70 tackles to date.

CROESO I DURBAN! FACTS, STATS & TRIVIA

HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK IS DELIGHTED TO WELCOME, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE LAST OF THE FOUR WELSH PROFESSIONAL OUTFITS, OS-PREYS, TO DURBAN.…

Did you know that…

* The Ospreys were established when Neath RFC (est. 1871), the oldest rugby club in Wales, and Swansea RFC (est. 1872) merged, as part of the new re-gional structure of Welsh rugby in 2003.

* Based in Swansea, Ospreys are the most successful Welsh team in the history of the Celtic League or Pro12 tournament, having won the competition on four occasions.

* Notable Ospreys’ representatives include Alun Wyn Jones OBE, the world's most-capped Rugby Union player with 161 caps (149 for Wales and 12 for the British & Irish Lions), and Shane Williams MBE, Wales’ record try-scorer of all time with a tally of 58.

* Former Cell C Sharks and Springbok legend Stefan Terblanche turned out on 87 occasions for Ospreys (2003-07), and was a member of the champion Os-preys squad that clinched the 2006-07 Celtic League.