DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA - MAY 17: Ox Nche of the Hollywoodbets Sharks with Bongi Mbonambi of the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Vincent Koch of the Hollywoodbets Sharks during the United Rugby Championship match between Hollywoodbets Sharks and Scarlets at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium on May 17, 2025 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images)
Sharks head coach John Plumtree said cohesion will be key as he made sweeping changes to his squad to face Ulster on Saturday, with a whopping 13 Springboks in his starting XV and four more on the bench.
Plumtree named his team on Thursday, bringing five Springboks back from international duty straight into the starting lineup for the 4pm match at Kings Park.
These include Ox Nche, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Grant Williams and André Esterhuizen, with Jordan Hendrikse returning from injury to join the bench.
Plumtree said they managed a similar situation well last October, with several Springboks slotting into the side to beat Glasgow 28-24.
But the Sharks languish at 13th on the table this year. This follows a 35-19 loss to Glasgow, a 17-all draw against Dragons, and a 28-5 loss to Leinster in their opening season tour of Europe.
Sharks bring back the big guns
They have two points on the log and could even slip to the bottom if they do not secure wins in either of their two home games before the November break.
The Sharks have a 2-1 win record both against Ulster, and Scarlets, whom they host next.
They beat Ulster 22-19 in their only clash last season, Makazole Mapimpi, Emmanuel Tshituka, and Jurenzo Julius scoring. All three players will feature this weekend in a side Plumtree said is great on paper and raring to show its strength in front of home fans.
“Our challenge this week has been getting ourselves as organised as possible,” the Sharks coach said. “Luckily the coaches have been very good. They’ve sent a lot of information to the boys coming back in to speed up the learning. We feel like we are ready to go.”
‘We think we can do the job at home’
Plumtree said the Durban side have learned how to integrate their returning Springboks after four years in the URC. Though it was disappointing they only picked up two points on tour, and were without starting locks Jason Jenkins and Emile van Heerden, Plumtree said they were up for the game.
“We are all hurting a little bit. The players are aware of what needs to be done but we’ve shown them how Ulster have come on well as a team, and will be confident at the moment.
“The challenge is for us to gel pretty quickly. But we are pretty desperate to get things back on track and it’s got to show in our performance.”
He described Ulster as a well-organised Irish side bolstered by some strong signings.
“Not a lot of teams are winning away from home at this stage. We think we can do the job at home and then we will be right back where we need to be.”
Sharks starting XV: Edwill van der Merwe, Ethan Hooker, Jurenzo Julius, André Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi, Siya Masuku, Grant Williams, Phepsi Buthelezi, Vincent Tshituka (c), Siya Kolisi, Marvin Orie, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche.
Bench: Fez Mbatha, Simphiwe Matanzima, Ruan Dreyer, Bathobele Hlekani, Emmanuel Tshituka, Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Lukhanyo Am.
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