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Civil war Springbok places up for grabs in Super 12 semi
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- With places in the Springbok team on the line, the clash Saturday between the Sharks and the Cats in a Super 12 semifinal at King's Park takes on even more significance than just a regular match between two giants of South African rugby. Springbok coach Harry Viljoen has called up 17 of the players to a two-week training camp in preparation for South Africa's international season which starts against France June 16. Given the fact that homeground advantage has been of critical importance throughout the competition, the Sharks will feel confident in front of 50,000 of their fanatical supporters baying for victory. However, many believe either team could win the Super 12. The last two encounters between the teams were each decided by just a single point. The battle will be fiercest between the forwards. Both teams have formidable tight fives, and have relied on them to secure primary possession throughout the tournament. The clash in the front rows, where Etienne Fynn, Ollie le Roux and John Smit for the Sharks, and Willie Meyer for the Cats are aspirant Springboks, will be particularly ferocious. So will the meeting of the locks, where Springbok veteran Mark Andrews and Albert van den Berg have played with increasing authority for the Sharks. The Cats' duo of Johan Ackermann and Jannes Labuschagne have imposed themselves physically on every team they have played during the tournament, and will relish the match against the probable starting locks for the Springboks. At center, too, there are some great prospective clashes. While the Cats will miss the presence of Springbok Japie Mulder, who is out injured, Eugene Meyer has proved an able deputy on the many occasions Mulder has been missing during the tournament. For the Sharks, Trevor Halstead on the inside will be smarting at being overlooked for the Springbok training squad after a very good tournament. When he has linked with the nippy Springbok Deon Kayser outside him, the Sharks have always looked dangerous out wide. At scrumhalf, two Springbok discards in Werner Swanepoel for the Cats and Craig Davidson for the Sharks will be out to make a point to the selectors who overlooked them for the training camp. They are both dangerous around the fringes of the set pieces, and the loose trios will have to keep them in check. It is perhaps among the loose forwards where the Cats appear to have the edge: With an all-Springbok lineup of Andre Vos, Andre Venter and Johan Erasmus at their disposal, and with Erasmus playing sublime rugby, the game could be broke open by those players.
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