Springbok scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse has answered an SOS call from the Sharks and will start for the Durbanites in tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship match against the Dragons at Rodney Parade (8.35pm kick-off).
Coach John Plumtree said from Wales yesterday that Hendrikse is the only Rugby Championship Bok that he will call up for a tour that began last week in Galway and concludes next week in Italy against Benetton.
“Jaden is coming off a long-term (shoulder) injury and has not had a lot of rugby over the last year or so,” Plumtree explained.
“That is why we got him going in the Currie Cup, and he then played a role for the Springboks (last week in Mbombela).
“He is fresh, he has had a lot of rest and he needs to get going. Also, we need him because we don’t have experience at scrumhalf,” Plumtree added, referring to Hendrikse coming in for youngster Bradley Davids.
“We need Jaden. He will help us run the ship. He is a very good game-driver and it is important that we have him back.
“But we will leave our other Springboks to get some rest. We have a lot of big name Boks (Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche et al), and they have carried a big workload for their country.
“They have been given a rest, and we won’t call on them until we get back from this three-week tour. We want them to have a good break.”
Plumtree said that the big talking point this week has been the team’s spectacular fade-out in the second half of their tour opener against Connacht.
The Sharks led 27-7 at halftime, but fell away alarmingly to lose 36-30.
“It was not an ideal week of preparation in that we left on the Monday for a long journey to Galway after the Currie Cup final,” Plumtree said.
“We tried to keep the plan simple for the week in terms of resting bodies, and we felt we went into the game in good nick.
“But in the second half, we lost momentum. They aggressively attacked our breakdown, and I think they rolled the dice a bit and got away with some things.
“I wasn’t happy with some of the stuff, but good on them for coming up with a plan to slow us down and managing to do it.”
Plumtree was asked if the epic Currie Cup semi-final against the Bulls and the final against the Lions had taken a physical toll on his players.
“It is hard to say, but yes, there was a lack of energy in terms of our carries. In fact, all the physical stuff fell away. Hopefully it will change this week, because we will be much better prepared.
“This week we are focusing on maintaining urgency over 80 minutes. We are a dangerous team when we get good ball.
Exciting month ahead! 💪
— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) October 2, 2024
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“The good news is that we are a much better place than this time last year.
“Few teams go 27-7 up in Galway. We could never have done that this time last year. We take confidence from that, and now we must go the full 80 against the Dragons.”
Sharks Team
15 Jordan Hendrikse 14 Eduan Keyter 13 Jurenzo Julius 12 André Esterhuizen 11 Ethan Hooker 10 Siya Masuku 9 Jaden Hendrikse 8 Emmanuel Tshituka 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain) 6 James Venter 5 Gerbrandt Grobler 4 Jason Jenkins 3 Ruan Dreyer 2 Dylan Richardson 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Bench: 16 Fez Mbatha 17 Trevor Nyakane 18 Hanro Jacobs 19 Corné Rahl 20 Phepsi Buthelezi Cameron Wright 22 Lionel Cronjé 23 Francois Venter.