Springbok winger Aphiwe Dyantyi will make his first start for the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Friday night’s historic Vodacom United Rugby clash with the Ospreys at the Stoop in London.
Dyantyi played off the bench for the Sharks in their defeat to Leinster in Dublin last weekend, thus making his first foray back into competitive rugby since being suspended from the sport for being tested positive for a banned substance four years ago. This will be his first start though in Sharks colours and is an indication that coach John Plumtree reckons he’s ready to start the return back to the form that made him the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2018.
Friday’s will be the first URC game to be played in London and both coaches, Plumtree and the Ospreys’ Toby Booth, have expressed a desire to play the type of rugby that will entertain people and bring people to the sport. That being so, Dyantyi will be looking forward to high involvement in the game, depending on the weather. Plumtree this week intimated that his team might be expecting a wet weather game given the rain that has hung around the UK over the past week or so.
Dyantyi’s selection at wing ahead of Marnus Potgieter is one of four changes to the side that played last week. Former Bok prop Coenie Oosthuizen, who turned in a busy performance in the first game against Munster in Limerick, comes back into the front row, while a significant selection is that of Dylan Richardson at hooker.
It will be Richardson’s first start of the season and also the first time he wears the No 2 jersey for quite a while. The Scotland international has played most of his recent rugby on the flank but he has been training at hooker through the pre-season and has apparently impressed there, with the Sharks coaches expecting a big season from him.
Richardson is replacubg Kerron van Vuuren, with the pair effectively swapping roles as Richardson came on for Van Vuuren to finish the game at the RDS Arena last Saturday.
In another change Sikhumbuzo Notshe comes in for his first game of the season at No 8, with Phepsi Buthelezi shifting from the back of the scrum into the No 7 jersey worn by Vincent Tshituka in the game against Leinster.
Cell C Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Francois Venter (captain), Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Curwin Bosch, Cameron Wright, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Phepsi Buthelezi, James Venter, Emile van Heerden, Corne Rahl, Coenie Oosthuizen, Dylan Richardson, Nthuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: Kerron van Vuuren, Dian Bleuler, Hanro Jacobs, Hyron Andrews, George Cronje, Zee Mkhabela, Boeta Chamberlain, Murray Koster.