[2017 Super Rugby] Round 13: Sunwolves vs. Sharks (20/05/2017)

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: Singapore National Stadium​

Time: 13:55 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

If this was Tokyo and Tamura was starting I'd call this a coin flip - something I never thought I'd type in week 1. In Singapore I don't see the Sunwolves being giantkillers though.

 

[Durbanite]

Jeremy Ward, Rhyno Smith, Lambie and Coenie Ooshuizen are all out for this one. My heart says that the wolves don't have a chance but my brain reckons Sharks will wobble and maybe even flop.

 

[Durbanite]

Sunwolves

15. Kotaro Matsushima, 14. Shota Emi, 13. Ryohei Yamanaka, 12. Harumichi Tatekawa (captain), 11. Kenki Fukuoka, 10. Yu Tamura, 9. Fumiaki Tanaka, 8. Willem Britz, 7. Shuhei Matsuhashi, 6. Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 5. Noahiro Kotaki, 4. Sam Wykes, 3. Yasuo Yamaji, 2. Shota Horie, 1. Keita Inagaki

Substitutes: 16. Takeshi Hino, 17. Masataka Mikami, 18. Takuma Asahara, 19. Hitoshi Ono, 20. Rahboni Warren Vosayaco, 21. Keisuka Uchidam 22. Jumpei Ogura, 23. Yasutaka Sasakura


Sharks

15. Lwazi Mvovo, 14. Kobus van Wyk, 13. Lukhanyo Am, 12. Johan Deysel, 11. S'busiso Nkosi, 10. Garth April, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Daniel du Preez, 7. Jean-Luc du Preez, 6. Philip van der Walt (captain), 5. Stephan Lewies, 4. Ruan Botha, 3. Lourens Adriaanse, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Thomas du Toit

Substitutes: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Tendai Mtawarira, 18. John-Hubert Meyer, 19. Etienne Oosthuizen, 20. Tera Mtembu, 21. Rowan Gouws, 22. Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 23. S'bura Sithole

 

[JohnKA]

Sharks will take this one by 10

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

That is a handy Sunwolves lineup with talent at 2, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 15. If April doesnt hit the ground running this could be very interesting. Definitely worth tuning in for.

A shame that exciting winger Lemeki isn't back yet. I'd read he was aiming for late May. He looked pretty fantastic in the November internationals.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Sunwolves making a game of this, and as with most of their games it is entertaining. Sharks well drilled defence and superior physicality should get them comfortably across the line on this. Would settle for a losing bonus point for the Sunwolves.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Well... picking Mvovo in my fantasy team was a good decision!
The Sharks looked good in patches, but made far too many mistakes which prevented them from getting going. J-L Du Preez impressed me, he was everywhere.
I feel for the Sunwolves because they do a lot of good things and play the right way, they just don't have that extra bit of skill and fire-power to capitalize. They were pretty courageous on defence tonight, was unfortunate that they conceded 2 tries in the last 2 minutes, imo they deserved a bonus point.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Never seen that halfback pairing that came on as subs in the last ten minutes. They had a couple of very good moments. Sunwolves losing Horie early was a big factor. They don't have a whole lot of quality up front. That probably cements the Sharks in the playoffs sadly. Was hoping the race would run a few more weeks.

A crowd of 10,700 in Singapore isn't too bad even if it looks terrible in that huge stadium.

 

[unrated]

The Sunwolves were dominated at the front. The Sharks backs could play with freedom and it made for an entertaining game. All credit has to go to the forward pack they won this game by themselves.

 

[Durbanite]

Damn Mvovo is a great 15, makes me wish he had S.P Marais' tenure at 15 instead of wing awhile back, he's just so useful compared to wing. Sbu Nkosi was on fire, so excited to see how long it takes him to become a bok at this rate. Benhard Janse van Rensburg should have been playing 10 weeks ago, it's too late to expect much magic from him, although he made some great steals and has a strong running game, maybe he should go back to centre during CC I think he'd do well. As @unrated pointed out, the forwards had a cracker, particularly Ruan Botha imo. Although it was just the wolves it gives you a bit of an idea of a firing Sharks side, especially if the forwards get ascendancy. All in all, I'm just glad we got our BP FINALLY, the fact that it came from 3 tries in 10min is the cherry on top.

 

[JohnKA]

Sharks sign Cameron wright !!! Awesome

http://m.sport24.co.za/sport24/Rugby/SuperRugby/sharks-signs-kings-schreuder-20170522