Cats, Sharks in must-win encounter

It's one of the quirks of the Super 12 draw that in a year when South African squads are generally struggling to make a consistent impact, the winners of Saturday's fixture at King's Park will effectively end the semifinal prospects of their opponents.

For the visiting Cats and the Sharks it's thus a must-win encounter, carrying extra pressures on players to eliminate silly mistakes. Both camps know the importance of big match temperament in key positions and the need to get selections right.

Hence the return of the most-capped Springbok forward, Mark Andrews, and flanker Wayne Fyvie could have a huge bearing on the upliftment of the Sharks' pack which will be without another Springbok in hooker Chris Rossouw.

They will need to operate at their best against a formidable Cats' forward unit which has been the team's strength, even during the Canberra slump, when the demoralisation process took over and they played like a team without heart or hope.

From a wider Springbok context the return of Andrews, the first of five key Springbok Test players at varying stages on the comeback trail after lengthy injury layoffs, is a boost. For the Sharks, his mere presence gives the pack a more meaningful look and Fyvie's leadership qualities and work-rate are pluses in a season in which his playing time has been badly reduced by injuries.

The return, too, of Springbok backs, Deon Kayser - he plays his first Super 12 game of the year after aggravating the jaw injury sustained during the World Cup in a warm-up match - and Pieter Muller in midfield, gives the Sharks a better backline shape.

South African Sevens player, Rodger Smith, completes an international flavour to the five backs with only halfbacks, Clinton van Rensburg and Craig Davidson not part of the exclusive club.

Yet the youthful pair have been impressive in attack and defence and form a vital part of coach Hugh Reece-Edwards' strategies in sustaining momentum and controlling switches of direction.

The improvement of Van Rensburg's play has catapaulted him to the forefront of local flyhalves and his duel with Louis Koen could be pivotal within the broader contest.

The Cats will again seek to impose their wills up front through big men like Johann Ackermann and Andre Venter, whose consistently high standards would probably make him one of the few local players to be first choice for a competition best Super 12 starting XV.

But the Cats go into the clash after the Brumbies' humiliation and only the King's Park game itself will tell how well the psychological wounds have healed. Similarly the Sharks will need to be mentally sharp after the disappointment of dropping valuable points to the Bulls in Pretoria last week when they failed to end their Super 12 hoodoo of never winning at Loftus.

Home advantage must install the Sharks as favourites but the Cats will be remembering last year's Currie Cup final when the Lions forwards were able to build a platform for a convincing win which stunned most of Durban.

In Brisbane, Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer and his squad face a resurgent Queensland Reds - and that's not good news for SA's least successful squad. They start an arduous four-match trip at one of the toughest away venues. Star Wallaby lock, John Eales, showed in his comeback match last week that his presence does lift them and with so much talent around him, the Reds could put the Bulls to the sword.

Further across the Tasman, the Stormers face the Blues in Auckland, buoyed by the wonderful win against the Chiefs in Pukekohe. It's another match that coach Alan Solomons may have targeted as a win possibility bcause the current Blues' squad does not have the same aura of invincibility enjoyed by great Auckland teams of the past,during the Grant Fox and Zinzan Brooke eras in particular.

If Percy Montgomery is fit to come back, the Springok fullback will add impetus to attacking options because he plays so well with wingers, Bryeton Paulse and Pieter Rossouw.

But it's up front in the forward furnace that the match will be won and the Stormers will look to their solid front row to provide the anvil on which to forge a victory.

Hopefully last week's win against the Chiefs is not a false dawn for the Stormers or SA rugby in general.

Teams

Sharks: Gaffie du Toit; Deon Kayser, Pieter Muller, Stefan Terblanche, Rodger Smith; Clinton van Rensburg, Craig Davidson; AJ Venter, Wayne Fyvie (c), Charl van Rensburg, Albert van den Berg, Mark Andrews, Baksteen Nel, Mornay Visser, Ollie le Roux. Bench to be named.

Cats: Kobus Engelbrecht/Tinus Delport; Chester Williams, Jannie van der Walt, Japie Mulder, Delport/Dean Hall; Louis Koen, Werner Swanepoel; Andre Vos, Andre Venter, Johan Erasmus (c), Jannes Labuschagne, Willie Meyer, Leon Boshoff, Marius Mostert. Bench: Hall/Engelbrecht, Hennie le Roux, Mac Masina, Jimmy Powell, Victor Matfield, Adrian Garvey, Delarey du Pree

Hurricanes: Christian Cullen, Jonah Lomu, Alama Ieremia, Tana Umaga, Jason O'Halloran, David Holwell, Jason Spice, Filo Tiatia, Kupu Vanisi, Dion Waller, Paul Tito, Inoki Afeaki, Gordon Slater, Norm Hewitt (captain), Mike Edwards. Reserves: Joggie Viljoen, Tanner Vili, Daryl Lilley, Tama Tuirirangi, Shane Carter, Semo Sititi, Matua Parkinson.

ACT: Andrew Walker; Mark Bartholomeusz, Stirling Mortlock, Rod Kafer, Joe Roff; Stephen Larkham, George Gregan; Jim Williams, Brett Robinson (captain), Owen Finegan, David Giffin, Justin Harrison; Patricio Noriega, Jeremy Paul, Bill Young.