Eben Etzebeth returns as Springboks look to reignite Sharks' URC campaign

It says a great deal about how seriously the Sharks view their precarious United Rugby Championship (URC) position that they have rushed back Eben Etzebeth for Saturday’s crucial home clash with Ulster.

Etzebeth had seemed certain to take paternity leave this week as his family welcomes a baby daughter — the second girl in the Etzebeth household — but the Springbok enforcer has chosen to play on for a Sharks side that will be delighted to have his presence. The Durban outfit currently sit 14th on the URC log.

The Sharks host Ulster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday, in a match of growing importance given that they returned home from a winless tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. They lost to the Glasgow Warriors and Leinster, and drew with the Dragons.

Joining Etzebeth in bolstering the side are heavyweight forwards Ox Nche and Siya Kolisi, alongside scrumhalf Grant Williams and inside centre Andre Esterhuizen. At flyhalf, Siya Masuku — the hero of last season’s EPCR Challenge Cup triumph — makes his first start of the campaign after coming off the bench last week. Jordan Hendrikse, returning from injury, provides cover from what looks a powerful bench.

The Sharks began their season with defeats to Glasgow and Leinster, followed by a draw with the Dragons, while Ulster are coming off a convincing 28–7 victory over the Bulls in Belfast.

“Bringing the guys back is a challenge, isn’t it?” said coach John Plumtree. “Last year, we did it really well. It was a similar situation — the Boks came back in, we played Glasgow, and we won pretty well. So the challenge is there again. Ulster are confident, they’ve started well, and they’re a well-organised team.

“But we’re a couple of years down the track now with a better understanding of what we’re faced with in this competition, and how to integrate the Boks back into our systems. The coaches sent out a lot of information to the players before they returned, so the learning process has been much faster. We feel ready to go.”

Plumtree admitted the tour had not gone as planned.

“We didn’t pick up the points we wanted. Nine or 10 guys only came into our environment two weeks before we flew out — that’s not much time to get organised. We were also missing key players like Jordan Hendrikse, Siya Masuku, Jason Jenkins, and Emile van Heerden. We were on the back foot when we left. But I was proud of how everyone stuck to the task.”

The coach also highlighted the ongoing challenge of managing a squad heavily reliant on Springboks.

“(Leinster coach) Leo Cullen and I chatted after our game. He was frustrated about not having his Lions players in pre-season, and I said to him, ‘Mate, that’s how we live every year.’ It’s frustrating because you can’t grow your game or develop your systems the way you want.

“What we need is a squad that can win without the Boks. I think this is the best squad we’ve had, but injuries have made it tough. Until you have 25 URC-quality players and then your Springboks on top of that, it’s always going to be a challenge. But the players have been good this week — guys like Siya, Eben, Ox, and Andre. There’s a lot of leadership in the group.”

Plumtree is confident that the returning internationals will spark a turnaround in form.

“You can expect a pretty passionate performance,” he said. “We’re all hurting a little bit. The players know what needs to be done. But Ulster are confident too, so the challenge is for us to gel quickly. We’re desperate to get things back on track, and it’s got to show in our performance.”

Sharks team for Ulster

15 Edwill van der Merwe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka (c), 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.

Bench: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Bathobele Hlekani, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Lukhanyo Am.