There are two extremes to the Hollywoodbets Sharks team that has been selected for Saturday’s crucial Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with Munster - one is the milestones celebrated by two legends of South African rugby, and the other the debut of a possible future star.
Luan Gilliomee, a 19-year-old product of Ceres in the Western Cape who was called up by the Blitzboks in December, is the latter player, with his promotion to the starting team for such an important game ahead of Hakeen Kunene a clear indication that he is extremely highly rated by Sharks coach JP Pietersen.
The Sharks needed a new fullback because Springbok starting No 15 Aphelele Fassi has been ruled out of rugby for what Pietersen expects to be “between two and three months” after undergoing a shoulder operation following an injury sustained against the Lions in Johannesburg four weeks ago.
As the more experienced player at this level the smart money would have been on Kunene being backed, but instead Pietersen has given Gilliomee his first senior cap.
“We have a lot of injuries in the backline and you will remember that Jaco Williams was fullback against the Bulls and he sustained a hamstring problem,” said Pietersen.
“I have known Luan since he arrived at the Sharks and he is a really talented kid. He can play scrumhalf, flyhalf or fullback. He has done well for the Blitzboks and is also in the South Africa under-21 mix too. Seeing him play will help us see what our future looks like. I am looking forward to seeing how he goes.”
On the other end of the senior experience scale. 2019 World Cup winning winger Makazole Mapimpi will be running onto Hollywoodbets Kings Park for his landmark 100th appearance in the black and white.
His captain at the Boks, Siya Kolisi, will reach half that number in the same game as he returns to the team after missing out on the loss to the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria due to national resting protocols.
Another current Bok, scrumhalf Grant Williams, is also back in the starting team, as is centre Ethan Hooker, who will resume the partnership with skipper Andre Esterhuizen that was successful in the two URC wins over the Stormers.
However, generally the team is not as star studded as might have been hoped for against a good team like Munster and in what effectively is a quasi knockout game, with Pietersen electing not to play Bok wing Edwill van der Merwe, who would also have been an option at fullback, while the Bok props Ox Nche and Vincent Koch are only playing off the bench.
Eben Etzebeth’s return from suspension is imminent but understood to only be happening when the Sharks go to Galway to face Connacht in their EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16 tie in the first weekend of April.
Jordan Hendrikse would have been a fullback option were it not for the hamstring injury that kept the other top flyhalf on the Sharks’ books, Siya Masuku, from being available for the round 13 game. Jean Smith, destined to be continuing his career in Italy next season, is the flyhalf backup for the Munster game.
Your Hollywoodbets Sharks to take on Munster this weekend 🦈🖤 pic.twitter.com/VvoR7C0NNh
— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) March 19, 2026
'TOUGH GAME'
Pietersen explained his decision to leave Nche and Koch on the bench by stressing the need to have experience coming onto the field later in the game, plus the form shown by Phatu Ganyane and Hanro Jacobs during the derby phase of the competition.
“Phatu, Fez (Mbatha) and Hanro will start with the experienced guys coming on to close the game off,” said Pietersen.
“Phatu scrummed really well in the games against the Stormers and also against a Springbok prop when we played the Lions, and also against Wilco Louw when we played the Bulls so he deserves an opportunity to start and continue growing. The three of them have been scrumming nicely together.”
Pietersen would not be drawn on whether he sees Saturday’s game as a knock-out fixture if his team wants to make the top eight, which is six log points away, but said he knew it was going to be a really tough game against a team that has tremendous pride and showed it when they took last year’s “Winkgate” quarterfinal into extra time.
“You will recall that there were several times in that game where we looked like we were going to put them away but they kept coming back at us. That is Munster. They are a very proud team, very proud of their history and their jersey, and they never give up. They will also no doubt be motivated by their memory of what happened last time so we know we are going to have to play really well to beat them.”
Hollywoodbets Sharks team: Luan Gilliomee, Yaw Penxe, Ethan Hooker, Andre Esterhuizen (captain), Makazole Mapimpi, Jordan Hendrikse, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Vincent Tshituka, Siya Kolisi, Emile van Heerden, Jason Jenkins, Hanro Jacobs, Fez Mbatha, Phatu Ganyane.
Replacements: Eduan Swart, Ox Nche, Vincent Koch, Corne Rahl, Nick Hatton, Bradley Davids, Jean Smith, Hakeen Kunene.