Makazole Mapimpi is among the nine Springboks to be named in the Sharks 28-man squad for the SuperHero Sunday friendly against the Stormers in Soweto.
The Sharks chose to rest most of their Springboks for last week’s warm-up match against Russia, but now coach Sean Everitt has a full squad to chose from. He has, however, decided not to name his starting lineup for Sunday’s clash.
World Cup-winners Mapimpi, Sbu Nkosi and Lukhanyo Am are all in the squad, as are new signings Madosh Tambwe, Ox Nche and James and Henco Venter.
‘We are on track and pleased with where we are at the moment,’ Everitt said. ‘The new things we introduced in the off-season came through in the match against Russia, we just need to polish that up a bit. We also expect the returning Springboks to lift the standard, they’ve come to training with a fantastic attitude and they’re keen to get going. The World Cup finished in November and they’re excited about playing again and to show why they are World Cup champions.’
Everitt added that although this was being labelled as a friendly, he expects the match to be played at full intensity.
‘There are no friendly games in rugby – we probably call this a friendly because there are no log points at stake – but we want to show a lot of intensity, it’s something we’ve worked on, we want a high work rate, we want a lot of energy and that’s what we want the crowd to judge us on.
‘I think it will be an unforgiving game. It’s a big day for everyone; the players will feel that they’re on trial and it will be a full-on contest.’
Sharks squad for SuperHero Sunday
Forwards: Hyron Andrews, Thomas du Toit, Mzamo Majola, JJ van der Mescht, John-Hubert Meyer, Tera Mtembu, Ox Nche, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Tyler Paul, Dylan Richardson, Le Roux Roets, Kerron van Vuuren, Ruben van Heerden, Henco Venter, James Venter.
Backs: Lukhanyo Am, Curwin Bosch, Boeta Chamberlain, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Marius Louw, Makazole Mapimpi, Lwazi Mvovo, Sbu Nkosi, Sanele Nohamba, Louis Schreuder, Madosh Tambwe, Jeremy Ward.
Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
