Elephants never forget

Telkom Park as it now is, Boet Erasmus Stadium as it used to be - neither one has ever been what might be termed a happy hunting ground for KZN rugby teams. With cold and rain invading the Eastern Cape, it's unlikely to be any different today.

The Sharks, bolstered by the return of their hugely influential captain Mark Andrews, are well aware of this, however and will be treading warily this afternoon in their second Currie Cup engagement against Eastern Province's Mighty Elephants in Port Elizabeth.

There is always a special kind of needle in the matches between the two provinces, stemming partly from the resentment EP have always felt at being the "poor relation" of the Sharks Super 12 franchise.

Indeed, a famous EP victory over their more affluent cousins sprang directly from that resentment when in 1999, the last year of Ian McIntosh's tenure as provincial coach, Natal were toppled by a last-minute try. Fired up over a perceived prejudice against EP players in the Sharks Super 12 selections, the Natal visitors that day were on the receiving end of a persistent onslaught led by the tireless efforts of scrumhalf Chad Alcock.

As the teams scrummed on the halfway line with a minute to go, the Sharks appeared to be home and dry. They didn't reckon, however, with blond-haired No 8 and current EP captain Jacques Greeff. Snapping up the ball at the back of the scrum, he ran half the length of the field to score.

Both he and Alcock are in today's EP line-up, and the Sharks will be expecting more of the same, even though the Elephants have made anything but a rampant start to the Currie Cup. Greeff's side, though impressive in friendlies, have so far not registered a Currie Cup win.

Elephants coach Alistair Coetzee has warned some of his players, whom he believes are playing on reputation, that this match for them is very much a last chance saloon. He has dropped wing Wonga Joka for Lubabulo Mzwakale and made two injury-enforced changes, with centre Huw Jones replacing Sam Gerber and Wayne Bennett taking Ondela Kiva's place, while fit-again flanker Wayne van Heerden ousts veteran Barry Pinnock.

But Coetzee's team hardly need this kind of warning in that for EP every fixture against the Sharks is their own private Currie Cup final. And today's game, particularly with the weather lending a levelling hand, will be no exception.

Andrews, having survived the most miserable of injury-related seasons, must be bursting with impatience to take his side on to the Telkom Park turf and get on with it. At his best he always makes so much difference to the Sharks pack.

Sharks coach Kevin Putt plans to use him for the first half only - "so we can see just how much we can get out of him". Brad Macleod-Henderson will take over the reins in the second half.

Charl van Rensburg gets a well-deserved run on the flank in place of injured Shaun Sowerby; Andre Snyman is back to partner the consistently impressive Rudi Keil in midfield, and Deon Kayser who must still have his eye on a place in the national squad and is comfortable almost anywhere in the backline, moves to right wing.

It's nice to have Ricardo Loubscher at fullback where he belongs, and Putt says he is confident Butch James "can go whatever distance we ask of him". The burly flyhalf, like Philip Smit who will take over from Andrews, is likely to play a major second half role.