Five key matchups when the Sharks meet Stade Toulousain

The star-studded Sharks will clash with serial winners Stade Toulousain in the Champions Cup in Durban on Saturday. Here are some key matchups.

Bongi Mbonambi v Peato Mauvaka

The Bok hooker is back from injury and he will need to hit the deck running against France's first choice No2. Mauvaka is a energetic, mobile and deceptively powerful hooker whose affect is felt equally in the tight as it is in the loose. His dynamism is often destructive.

Mbonambi is a powerhouse who does not back down from a challenge. Mbonambi and Mauvaka have been in opposite line-ups twice before, though on the first occasion the Bok hooker had departed the scene with injury by the time Mauvaka was unleashed in Marseille in 2022.

A year later they again came to grips but this time the Boks prevailed in a memorably tight and tetchy Rugby World Cup quarterfinal.

Corne Rahl v Thibaud Flament

The line-out will be a key battle ground in this clash. Both teams possess a powerful maul but its most effective deployment has to come off secure line-out ball. Toulouse in particular turn to their maul when they opt to make their size advantage count.

The beanpole Flament is a reliable source of line-out ball and his elasticity in that facet will make him the visitors' go-to man.

At 2.03m the equally elongated Rahl is one of the brightest young talents at the Sharks. The 22-year-old however has big boots to fill and will be under enormous pressure. Eben Etzebeth remains unavailable through injury and it now falls to Rahl to bring energy and unremitting intensity.

Makazole Mapimpi v Blair Kinghorn

Mapimpi's voracious appetite for scoring is undiminished. When the Bok speedster gets a sniff of the try line he rarely comes up short.

Mapimpi may have reached the autumn of his career but he has retained the spring in his step. That could prove handy against the lanky Kinghorn who is a highly accomplished outside back. Kinghorn has a vast skill set. The Scotsman has a polished boot but it is his aerial ability that perhaps sets him apart.

He is the player most likely to rise to the occasion under a contestable kick and the Sharks will have to wary of his kick-chase. Mapimpi's aerial skills are vastly improved which should make this one of the captivating sub plots in the contest.

Jordan Hendrikse v Romain Ntamack

Hendrikse enjoyed a stellar 2024 and a solid performance against star studded Toulouse will help propel him into the new year. His raking boot remains a potentially destructive asset but it is with ball in hand that his game has made the most recent progress. Hendrikse operates with confidence and unlike his linking role he played at the Lions, he can now confront the first line of defence.

In Ntamack however he will have a formidable foe. The highly pedigreed pivot has been the perfect foil for the exploits of halfback partner Antoine DuPont. Ntamack is a cunning first receiver and he possesses the range of pass and boot to test the Sharks from different angles.

Jaden Hendrikse v Antoine DuPont

This is perhaps the matchup on which the result of the match hinges. Hendrikse is a shrewd operator and much of the Sharks' battle plan will be channelled through him. His kicking from the base, in particular his contestable kicks will be a key feature in this match.

In DuPont however, he is squaring up against the most celebrated player of our time. A talisman for club and country DuPont has the habit of asserting himself and the hosts will have to marshal him with care. Apart from his other worldly individualism DuPont, it is often overlooked, also dictates the pulse and rhythm at which Toulouse operate. In humid Durban there will be an even greater need to keep his teammates in step.