CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS JUNE 17 2023

OFFICIAL MATCH DAY PROGRAMME

SEMI-FINAL CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS KICK-OFF 17H30

17/06

#SHAvPUM

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CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS

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CHANGING THE GAME is a team effort.

SIYA KOLISI - RUGBY 4

CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS

@OAKLEY INC.

OAKLEY.COM

MESSAGE

PRESIDENT OF SA RUGBY

Welcome to this exciting meeting in the 2023 edition of the Currie Cup, the premier provincial competition on the South African rugby landscape at a time when the process of re-aligning the local season with the northern hemisphere is well underway.

As the oldest provincial rugby competition in the world, the Currie Cup has always provided a magnificent pathway for players to show they have what it takes to step up to high-intensity action at the top level.

As always, we are looking forward to our provincial teams again unearthing the next generation of Springbok stars by providing playing opportunities to the best local talent.

The iconic Currie Cup is about respectful rivalry, provincial passion, ambition, pride and community, with local support always at very high levels.

And then there’s the captivating drama and intrigue associated with the Currie Cup, with eight teams fighting it out for top honours this year after the NovaVit Griffons joined the Premier Division after winning the First Division in 2022.

Will the Airlink Pumas be able to repeat their massive achievement from last year when they defeated Windhoek Draught Griquas in a pulsating final in Kimberley, or will the traditional powerhouses of the competition, DHL Western Province, the

Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks flex their muscles once again?

The Toyota Cheetahs are always a threat especially at home in Bloemfontein, the Fidelity ADT Lions will be looking to make a massive step up and push hard for the final towards the end of June, and the newly promoted NovaVit Griffons will no doubt will be very happy to be back in the Premier Division.

Another exciting competition awaits and the big question is, who will step up this year to lift the coveted gold trophy at the final on Saturday, 24 June?

Good luck to all the teams for what promises to be an exciting and challenging double round of action, culminating in the playoffs late in June.

I’d also like to thank our broadcast partner, SuperSport and all our other stakeholders for their continued support, as well as all the team partners who invest in the local game, ensuring we can deliver a top-class product week in and week out.

Thank you also to everyone who continue to work hard behind the scenes to make the 2023 edition of the Currie Cup a reality.

And good luck to all the players, coaches, management staff and volunteers for their various contributions to ensure this remain our premier local provincial competition.

MARK ALEXANDER

President: SA Rugby

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CONTENTS

POA 13H45 PARKING GATES OPEN 14H00 TURNSTILES OPEN

10 14 20 21 22

14H15 CURTAINRAISER: SHARKS U/18 CRAVEN WEEK TEAM VS. PUMAS U/18 CRAVEN WEEK TEAM

MATCH PREVIEW

CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS KICK OFF 17H30

MAJOR MATCH UP MBATHA VS JACOBS

FIXTURES & LOG CURRIE CUP

SPONSORS THE SHARKS

17H30 CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS

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C E L L C P RO U D LY SU PPO RT S T HE S H ARK S

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MATCH PREVIEW

JOURNEY TO GLORY WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP

The Cell C Sharks embarked on a journey, three months ago, with a new coach, in Joey Mongalo, and squad of mostly young charges. Following a somewhat haphazard start, this team found the necessary character and cohesion to win 10 of their 14 games, of which seven on the trot, to qualify for today’s Currie Cup semi-final against the Pumas at home. And, for captain Reniel Hugo and his “group of desperate men”, the journey is not over; the Cell C Sharks want to go all the way…

From the outset, the biggest challenge that faced Joey Mongalo’s Currie Cup squad was to find cohesion, as well as consistency, as swiftly as possible.

Disruptions due to the ongoing Heineken Champions Cup and Vodacom United Rugby Championship tournaments complicated matters initially, and the first half of the Cell C Sharks’ Currie Cup campaign followed a ‘consistent’ win-lose pattern.

In early April, Mongalo’s men first came up against the defending champions, the Pumas, whom they are hosting again today in the semi-finals, and the Cell C Sharks grinded out an inspirational 19-12 win in The Shark Tank.

“This is a group that is starting to believe 10 CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS

in each other and the journey that this team is on,” Mongalo observed at the time.

“This win does give us enormous confidence, and I’m hoping that this confidence will breed more and more belief.

“This group is probably one win away from understanding just how good they can possibly be.”

The important win that Mongalo alluded to followed a fortnight later against the Cheetahs, who would end up top of the standings in this year’s domestic showcase.

In addition, the 24-17 victory, which saw the boys having to weather a fierce second half comeback from the Cheetahs, was their first away win in this year’s tournament.

However, consistency still eluded the Cell C Sharks at that stage, prompting Mongalo

to state that “if we can somehow string together a series of wins, it will make a massive difference.”

The team obliged and went on to win no fewer than seven matches in a row, which included another profound, bonus-point victory away from home, pipping the Pumas 24-22 in Mbombela.

“The fight in the last 10 minutes or so was the one highlight from the game,” admitted Mongalo, although the overall performance was still somewhat below par.

“We are growing in cohesion and that is why we can still win games like the one against the Pumas; good teams can still win games, even though they might play poorly.”

THIS IS A GROUP THAT IS STARTING TO BELIEVE IN EACH OTHER AND THE JOURNEY THAT THIS TEAM IS ON The Cell C Sharks have thus beaten the defending champions on both occasions during the regular season this year, and are fizzing to make it three in a row in the semifinal at Hollywoodbets Kings Park tonight.

Captain Reniel Hugo, nevertheless, is fully aware that his team again have a huge battle on their hands today.

“The Pumas are defending champions and will be hungry,” he said at a press conference earlier this week.

“The Pumas pride themselves on the set piece, they are well coached by Jimmy Stonehouse and they are a hard, physical team. They also have X-factor players like Devon Williams at the back, and guys who are good at the kicking game.

“You can’t rest for a single minute against a team like the Pumas, and not expect to be hurt by that.

“We are fortunate, though, to be playing in front of our fans.

“We are a group of desperate men, and we want to go all the way in the Currie Cup.” CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS

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CELL C SHARKS

HEAD COACH

JOEY MONGALO

NEVALDO FLEURS

15

YAW PENXE

14

MURRAY KOSTER

13

ALWAYNO VISAGIE

12

APHELELE FASSI

11

LIONEL CRONJE

10

BRADLEY DAVIDS

09

HENCO VENTER

08

VINCENT TSHITUKA

07

JAMES VENTER

06

RENIEL HUGO (C)

05

CORNE RAHL

04

KHUTHA MCHUNU

03

FEZ MBATHA

02

KHWEZI MONA

01

KERRON VAN VUUREN

16

NTUTHUKO MCHUNU

17

CARLU SADIE

18

OCKIE BARNARD

19

MARCO DE WITT

20

SIKHUMBUZO NOTSHE

21

TIAAN FOURIE

22

CURWIN BOSCH

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MANAGER

ANDRE BARNARD

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KICK OFF 17H30 REFEREE MARIUS VAN DER WESTHUIZEN

AIRLINK PUMAS

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DEVON WILLIAMS

4

ANDREW KOTA

3

DIEGO APPOLLIS

2

ALI MGIJIMA

1

ETIENNE TALJAARD

0

TINUS DE BEER

9

CHRISWILL SEPTEMBER

8

KWANDA DIMAZA

7

FRANNA KLEINHANS

6

ANDRE FOUCHE

5

SHANE KIRKWOOD (C)

4

DEON SLABBERT

3

SIMON RAW

2

PJ JACOBS

1

CORNE FOURIE

6

DARNELL OSUAGWA

7

ETIENNE JANEKE

8

DEWALD MARITZ

9

MALEMBE MPOFU

0

RUWALD VAN DER MERWE

1

GIOVAN SNYMAN

2

GENE WILLEMSE

3

WIAN VAN NIEKERK REFEREE GRIFFON COLBY & PAUL MENTE TMO QUINTON IMMELMAN

HEAD COACH

JIMMY STONEHOUSE

MANAGER

SAMUEL SIKIWE

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THE ULTIMATE TEAM

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MAJOR MATCHUP

MBATHA VS JACOBS With a current tally of six touchdowns already to his name, Fez Mbatha is one of the top try-scorers in this year’s Currie Cup competition.

It is quite an accomplishment for the hooker dynamo of the Cell C Sharks, considering that the other four top try-scorers are all backs.

Coach Joey Mongalo has already gone on record stating that 23-year-old Mbatha has the potential to represent South Africa at RWC 2027.

“There is no reason he can’t become a future Springbok,” Mongalo observed.

Hailing from Esikhawini near Empangeni, Mbatha was South Africa’s firstchoice hooker at the 2019 World Rugby U20 Championship and already invited to a Springbok alignment camp, prior to the 2021 British & Irish Lions series.

Pumas hooker PJ Jacobs forms a formidable front row with the highly experienced Corné Fourie, who is also a highly capable hooker, alongside him in the loosehead prop position.

Both can be expected to play key roles in the huge forward battle anticipated today.

Jacobs (23), who recorded a hat-trick of tries in the Pumas’ 64-6 annihilation of the Griffons recently, signed with the Pumas Rugby Institute last year.

Educated at Monument, Jacobs represented the Lions as a loose forward at the U18 Craven Week in 2016 and 2017, and it was only when he transferred to the Bulls after school that he shifted to hooker.

Interestingly, Jacobs used to be quite an accomplished, long-distance goalkicker, too, at school.

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CURRIE CUP LOG TEAM TOYOTA CHEETAHS

P

W

D

L

PD

PTS

14

9

1

4

115

51

CELL C SHARKS

14

7

0

4

60

48

AIRLINK PUMAS

14

7

0

6

144

40

VODACOM BLUE BULLS

14

6

0

7

-16

38

DHL WESTERN PROVINCE

14

5

0

7

42

37

FIDELITY ADT LIONS

14

6

0

8

-4

36

THE WINDHOEK DRAUGHT GRIQUAS

14

6

1

6

-35

35

NOVAVIT GRIFFONS

14

1

0

13

-306

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CURRIE CUP FIXTURES / RESULTS R0UND 1R

SAT, 11 MAR

CELL C SHARKS VS NOVAVIT GRIFFONS | 32-16

ROUND 2

SUN, 19 MAR

WINDHOEK DRAUGHT GRIQUAS VS CELL C SHARKS | 48-40

R0UND 3

SUN, 26 MAR R0UND 4

SAT, 1 APR R0UND 5

FRI, 7 APR R0UND 6

FRI, 14 APR

CELL C SHARKS VS DHL WESTERN PROVINCE | 20-7 CELL C SHARKS VS FIDELITY ADT LIONS | 34-22 CELL C SHARKS VS AIRLINK PUMAS | 19-12 CELL C SHARKS VS VODACOM BULLS | 20-24

R0UND 7

SUN, 23 APR R0UND 8

SAT, 29 APR R0UND 9

SAT, 6 MAY

TOYOTA CHEETAHS VS CELL C SHARKS | 17-24 CELL C SHARKS VS WINDHOEK DRAUGHT GRIQUAS | 24-6 VODACOM BULLS VS CELL C SHARKS | 27-41

R0UND 10

FRI, 12 MAY R0UND 11

FRI, 19 MAY

AIRLINK PUMAS VS CELL C SHARKS | 22-24 CELL C SHARKS VS TOYOTA CHEETAHS | 35-23

R0UND 12

SAT, 26 MAY R0UND 13

SAT, 3 JUN

NOVAVIT GRIFFONS VS CELL C SHARKS | 9-35 FIDELITY ADT LIONS VS CELL C SHARKS | 29-21

R0UND 14

SAT, 10 JUN

DHL WESTERN PROVINCE VS CELL C SHARKS | 44-5

HOME HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK, DURBAN AWAY TAFEL LAGER PARK, KIMBERLEY HOME HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK, DURBAN AWAY EMIRATES AIRLINE PARK, JHB HOME HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK, DURBAN HOME HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK, DURBAN AWAY TOYOTA STADIUM, BLOEMFONTEIN HOME HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK, DURBAN AWAY LOFTUS VERSFELD, PRETORIA AWAY MBOMBELA STADIUM, NELSPRUIT HOME HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK, DURBAN AWAY DOWN TOUCH INVESTMENT STADIUM, WELKOM AWAY EMIRATES AIRLINE PARK, JHB AWAY DHL STADIUM, CPT

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