Sharks relish Loftus pressure cooker
Thomas du Toit says the Sharks “live for moments” like Saturday’s “do or die” URC quarter-final against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.
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Thomas du Toit says the Sharks “live for moments” like Saturday’s “do or die” URC quarter-final against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.
It’s do or die for the Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Sharks this week as the countdown to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoffs gets into the single digits.
The Pumas saw red and the Vodacom Bulls responded with 19 unanswered points in the second half to complete a thrilling comeback in a Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.
Two South African midfield veterans, playing for two different teams on two different days in the heart of Welsh regional rugby, took their teams one step closer to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship’s big playoff dance, scheduled for 18 June.
Stormers players feature prominently as Mark Keohane and Zelim Nel compare notes in picking South Africa’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship team of the season.
Ruan Vermaak will make his debut for the Vodacom Bulls when the Currie Cup frontrunners host the Pumas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.
The sudden and dazzling emergence of teenage sensation Canan Moodie in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship caught everyone by surprise. That is, everyone other than Moodie himself.
Ian McGeechan is relishing the “formidable challenge” of the Stormers, Sharks and Vodacom Bulls for Europe’s elite sides in the Champions Cup next season.
Vodacom Bulls lock Ruan Nortje should start alongside Eben Etzebeth for the Springboks against Wales in the July series, according to former Lions coach Johan Ackermann.
Jake White isn’t bothered whether or not the Vodacom Bulls secure a home quarter-final in the United Rugby Championship because “they’ve shown that they can win away from home”.