- Sharks coach Sean Everitt has recognised Lions flank Vincent Tshituka as a clear and present threat for Saturday's Rainbow Cup SA encounter at Kings Park.
- Everitt says their breakdown work against the Stormers was sloppy despite the win.
- Everitt also expects lock Reniel Hugo to reprise his sublime all-round showing from the Stormers game.
Sharks coach Sean Everitt said they couldn't afford to let the Lions fire a shot and let Vincent Tshituka run amok in Saturday's PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA clash at Kings Park.
Everitt identified the 22-year-old as a threat at the breakdown and said they'll take care of him as he holds the hopes for the Lions' success in Durban.
"We can't allow them to fire a shot, but for us to play well, that means we need to look after the ball better," Everitt said.
"The biggest threat coming our way is the breakdown and Vincent was outstanding in that facet of the game during the Preparation Series. He also played well against the Bulls.
"We'll have to look after him at the breakdown, from where we'll play our free-flowing game, but we can't have a stop-start affair that'll play into their hands."
While the Sharks got away with a 33-30 win against the Stormers in Cape Town last week, Everitt remained concerned by how profligate they were at the breakdown.
"The biggest factor in the Stormers game was the number of turnovers we conceded. It wasn't about the specific area, but it was all-round," Everitt said.
"We're looking to tighten up in that department. We conceded five breakdown turnovers, which isn't good enough coming into a game against the Lions where they've got two guys who are good on the ball."
"In order to enjoy our attacking rugby, we need to fix that area."
One of the positives from that game, despite the Sharks' wonky lineout, was lock Reniel Hugo. Everitt said the 30-year-old wasn't only influential in open play but marshalled the set-piece very well.
Hugo scored a hat-trick that went a long way in helping the Sharks secure a come from behind win even though Ruhan Nel fluffed a match-winning chance for the Stormers late in the game.
"Reniel is a guy we identified as a person we would like to have in our system and we're a young group," Everitt said.
"At the age of 30, he's got a lot of lineout calling experience, and what a debut he had. It's a dream for any five lock to score three tries in a game, but he showed good game awareness."
Kick-off is at 16:00 on Saturday.
Teams:
Sharks
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Werner Kok
Lions
15 EW Viljoen, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 MJ Pelser, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Sti Sithole
Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Len Massyn, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Burger Odendaal