Sharks look to Freddie to lead Cup defence

15 July 2011 - 01:29 By Craig Ray
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Frederic Michalak of France during a Sharks training session in Durban on Tuesday. He will be expected to play a major role in the Sharks' defence of the Currie Cup Picture: STEVE HAAG/GALLO IMAGES
Frederic Michalak of France during a Sharks training session in Durban on Tuesday. He will be expected to play a major role in the Sharks' defence of the Currie Cup Picture: STEVE HAAG/GALLO IMAGES

French flyhalf Frederic Michalak will be tasked with putting the Sharks on the front foot when the defending champions take on the Blue Bulls in the first round of the Currie Cup.

Michalak began his second stint with the Sharks towards the end of the Super 15 and made an immediate impact with a superb display against the Bulls at Loftus.

He'll be aiming to reprise that performance at King's Park tomorrow, but this time the pack of forwards and halfback in front of him are vastly different.

The entire tight five has changed, while scrumhalf Ross Cronje didn't feature in Super rugby.

But on Michalak's outside he has great experience in former Bok centres Marius Joubert, who will make his Sharks debut, and Meyer Bosman.

As always it will be the forwards who will have the initial say, and with both packs featuring inexperienced players, the ability of senior players such as Bulls skipper and hooker Gary Botha to rally the troops is going to be crucial.

Sharks coach John Plumtree admitted in the week that he was unsure what to expect from the match as both sides have a very different look to them due to national call-ups and injuries.

The Blue Bulls haven't won a Currie Cup match in Durban for five years and with their rebuilding phase beginning under new coach Pine Pienaar, it will be a big task to change that tomorrow.

Certainly the game won't be lacking passion, but when it comes down to it, a game-breaker with the unpredictable skills of Michalak could be the difference.

The Golden Lions and the Pumas kick off the tournament when they clash at Ellis Park tonight. Last season the Pumas upset the Lions at the same venue, but given the home team's improvement under coach John Mitchell this season, it is unlikely to happen again.

The Pumas do have four SA Sevens players in their backline - centres Pieter Engelbrecht and JW Jonker, fullback MJ Mentz and scrumhalf Shaun Venter. With the flair the Pumas possess, they will be aiming to keep structure out of the game as much as possible so that their dangerous runners can attack from broken play.

Western Province, last year's runners-up, begin their campaign against Griquas at Newlands tomorrow and will be aiming to build on the success of the Stormers in the Super 15.

Griquas have shown in recent years that they're not far off the pace of the top sides and last year they were in play-off contention until the penultimate week of group play after a fast start to the season.

The Free State Cheetahs start their campaign against the Leopards in Bloemfontein tomorrow.

CURRIE CUP FIXTURES:

TONIGHT

Ellis Park: Lions vs Pumas (7.10pm)

TOMORROW

Newlands: WP vs Griquas (3pm)

Bloem: Cheetahs vs Leopards (3pm)

King's Park: Sharks vs Bulls (5.05pm)

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