The Phakisa Pumas team named to play the reigning champions, The Cell C Sharks, at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday is almost entirely unchanged from the team that suffered a defeat to the Vodacom Blue Bulls last Friday.

Coach Jimmy Stonehouse kept the side together by making only one change. Ginter Smuts, a former EG Jansen pupil, will make his Currie Cup debut for the Pumas, and will wear the number 20 jersey. He replaces Reynier van Rooyen.

IN PHOTOS: All of the action between the Bulls and the Pumas
Halfway through the round-robin phase, the Pumas are bottom of the log after losing all three games.
“The fact that the Pumas are currently in last place on the Premier Division log has motivated us to work even harder,” said Stonehouse.

He added that they will maintain their game plan, which proved to be successful, but to keep their errors to a minimum which in contrary has cost them dearly in the last three games. “If we stay composed, points will come. If we rush it, the opposite happens,” said Stonehouse, adding that the Pumas are, at this stage, their own worst enemy.

“Losing against a team that deserves it is one thing, but losing against yourself is something that we will avoid at all costs,” he said.
“We are so close I can taste it, we just need to seal the deal, stick to the basics, keep errors to the absolute minimum,” he said.

There’s been a week’s bye for The Sharks, but that only meant a break from playing, as the team continued to put in the hard yards on the training field in their quest to maintain the form that provided the foundation for such an important win in round two.

Following up on the result against Western Province with another victory will only enhance the reigning champion Cell C Sharks’ efforts to emulate the heroics of the successful 2018 competition, when they defeated Western Province in the final at Newlands.

But there is no focus on the outcome, rather the performance. The coaching staff and players have been hard at work over the last week – despite the bye – in preparing for Saturday’s round three match against tricky opposition that has yet to register a win but which deserves plenty of respect.

Head coach of the Cell C Sharks, Sean Everitt has, like the last match, also made just one change, this time among the forwards where Phepsi Buthelezi will start at flank with Jacques Vermeulen shifting to the bench.

“The team is in a super-excited mood and keen to get the campaign back on track after the break and following a good finish against Western Province two weeks ago,” explained Everitt in the build-up to the match.

“It’s important that we keep the momentum going into the next round against the Pumas, who we’re expecting to prove to be difficult opponents so we’re going to have to be on top of our game on Saturday to be able to get the result.”

Phakisa Pumas
1. Andrew Beerwinkel
2. Marko Janse van Rensburg
3. Marné Coetzee
4. Le Roux Roets
5. Stefan Willemse
6. Francois Kleinhans
7. Willie Engelbrecht
8. Jeandré Rudolph
9. Ashlon Davids
10. Chris Smith
11. Etienne Taljaard
12. Henko Marais
13. Ryan Nell (C)
14. Morné Joubert
15. Devon Williams

Replacements
16. Simon Westraadt
17. De-Jay Terblanche
18. Hilton Lobberts
19. Phumzile Maqondwana
20. Ginter Smuts
21. Jacobus Marais
22. Alwayno Visagie
23. Morgan Naudé

Cell C Sharks
1. Juan Schoeman
2. Kerron van Vuuren
3. Coenie Oosthuizen
4. Ruben van Heerden
5. Hyron Andrews
6. Luke Stringer
7. Phepsi Buthelezi
8. Tera Mtembu (co-captain)
9. Cameron Wright
10. Curwin Bosch
11. Lwazi Mvovo
12. Jeremy Ward (co-captain)
13. JP Pietersen
14. Kobus van Wyk
15. Rhyno Smith

Replacements
16. Craig Burden
17. Mzamo Majola
18. John-Hubert Meyer
19. Gideon Koegelenberg
20. Jacques Vermeulen
21. Sanele Nohamba
22. Marius Louw
23. Aphelele Fassi