Cape Town - It’s going to be two very different sides going head-to-head when the Sharks take on Zebre Parma at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in their United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday.
While the Sharks are the top South African team in the competition and sixth on the overall log, the Italian side are at the bottom of the 16-team standings.
Last weekend, the Bok-laden Durban franchise jumped to a season-high sixth spot after a 37-20 victory over Scarlets at the start of a series of home matches in Durban. Zebre, on the other hand, were hammered 55-7 by the Stormers in Cape Town.
Sharks coach Sean Everitt has made three changes to their line-up for Saturday’s clash, and it’s again a strong side which features a formidable contingent of Springboks.
ALSO READ: Bulls too strong for Scarlets in United Rugby Championship clash at Loftus
Given Zebre’s struggling run (they haven’t won a game in over a year) and the strength of this Sharks outfit, there is little chance of the Italian side triumphing.
The Stormers put on a solid attacking display to run in nine tries against them and the Sharks are well adapted to do the same – that and completely dominate them with their heavy Bok-flavoured pack.
Everitt, however, was cautious in his assessment of Zebre.
“They [Zebre] are not a bad side as the scoreline suggested,” Everitt pointed out when asked about the Italian team’s form.
“A couple of weeks ago they ran Ospreys close and lost narrowly to them.
“They have a good maul, a good two-sided attack and attack from both sides of the ruck. It is a team that is unpredictable and we have to be accurate in our execution.
“For us it’s not about the points, it’s about the performance. The focus this week is on us so that we can stay in the top eight and be a threat in the quarter-finals.”
The match kicks off at 6.30pm.
Sharks team: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Jeremy Ward
Zebre team: 15 Michelangelo Biondelli 14 Jacopo Trulla 13 Erich Cronjé 12 Timothy O’Malley 11 Simone Gesi 10 Antonio Rizzi 9 Nicolò Casilio 8 Renato Giammarioli (captain) 7 Iacopo Bianchi 6 Luca Andreani 5 Liam Mitchell 4 Potu Junior Leavasa 3 Ion Neculai 2 Massimo Ceciliani 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo 17 Juan Pitinari 18 Eduardo Bello 19 Andrea Zambonin 20 Maxime Mbandà 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Carlo Canna 23 Giulio Bisegni