Two Springboks will be making their debuts for the Hollywoodbets Sharks off the bench in Saturday’s second Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with Leinster at the RDS Arena in Dublin.
 Aphiwe Dyantyi, who was the Bok first choice at left wing before he tested for a banned substance four years ago, will play his first competitive game in four years if he comes off the bench against Leinster. And Francois Hougaard, a former Vodacom Bulls and Springbok scrumhalf and wing, will be making his return to South African rugby after many years playing overseas.
The Sharks lost Reniel Hugo to injury during the week but the return to fitness of the highly promising Corne Rahl has off-set that loss. Rahl’s selection in Hugo’s place is one of five changes to the team that lost 34-21 in the competition opener against Munster at Thomond Park in Limerick last Saturday. There is also a positional switch, with Vincent Tshituka coming in for George Cronje, but slotting in at flank. Cronje was at No 8 last week. For this game Phepsi Buthelezi lines up at the back of the scrum.
In the other change to the pack, Hanro Jacobs comes in at tighthead in what looks like a rotation with Coenie Oosthuizen, who produced a busy performance against Munster.
That selection aside, the Sharks team for this game arguably has a more exciting look to it than last week, with Aphelele Fassi being selected at fullback ahead of Boeta Chamberlain, who drops to the bench. Rohan Janse van Rensburg is back at inside centre where he will want to continue bringing the go forward he gave the Sharks when he came on as a replacement last week. The team will again be led by former Bok centre Francois Venter.
That means that Buthelezi, who has led the Sharks in the past, continues as a foot soldier, but he’s an invaluable member of the line-up and still one of the leaders in the team. He says the Sharks are on a growth trajectory and that their supporters can expect a lot to come from the team once they start to pick up some momentum.
“There was a bit of rustiness against Munster, but we have a new plan with new coaching staff and there were lot of positives to take from last week’s performance,” said the former national age-group captain.
“We are going in with more of an attacking mindset, and coach Plum has come in and drives what the jersey means to us and the fans back home: that whenever we step out onto the park, to be mindful of who we’re representing and to never take that opportunity for granted. That’s our biggest focus, to make ourselves and the people of KwaZulu-Natal proud every time we play.
“Leinster are a quality side with so much depth, we know we certainly have our work cut out for us. We’re really looking forward to Saturday’s challenge, it’s an opportunity for us to keep growing and developing going forward”.
Hollywoodbets Sharks team: Aphelele Fassi, Werner Kok, Francois Venter (captain), Marnus Potgieter, Curwin Bosch, Cameron Wright, Phepsi Buthelezi, Vincent Tshituka, James Venter, Emile van Heerden, Corne Rahl, Hanro Jacobs, Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: Dylan Richardson, Dian Bleuler, Khwezi Mona, Hyron Andrews, George Cronje, Francois Houggard, Boeta Chamberlain, Aphiwe Dyantyi.