Jaws v The Meg: Battle for the Deep Blue Sea

Rugby attention shifts this weekend back to the Investec Champions Cup with the second batch of fixtures with the Hollywoodbets Sharks traveling to England to take on Sale Sharks in Manchester on Saturday.

For eighthman Nick Hatton, this is a game that offers his team an element of redemption after a last gasp loss to the Lions last week and an opportunity to not only showcase their abilities but to turn self-belief into success.

“This is an exciting challenge and opportunity for the group, we know the conditions are going to be very different to what we’re used to in Durban and obviously a different tournament, which makes the Investec Champions Cup so special, traveling to Europe to play.”

Their namesake currently sit in seventh place in the English Premiership with three wins from their nine fixtures to date, all secured at their Corpacq Stadium home ground and while home wins are a necessity, picking up points away from home is gold.

“We see this as an awesome opportunity to fight for an away win,” Hatton admitted. “We value this competition and want to put our best foot forward on Saturday.”

Not only do the teams share a common name but the likes of Hyron Andrews, Jacques Vermeulen, Dan du Preez and brother Rob all made the move north, having previously played their rugby out of Durban and now representing the Manchester side.

“Sale is a strong side, especially at home,” Hatton explained, “but we’ve taken our learnings from last weekend’s result against the Lions.

“It was obviously bitterly disappointing to find ourselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard, but it was that one moment in the 80th minute that separated us.

“So we have taken lessons from that game, we’ve had some good prep and looking forward to putting our best foot forward as a group.

“It’s not going to be easy but we believe we can do something over there, that’s the mindset.

“We believe we’re on the right track and we want to improve our game and keep improving and hopefully that will get us on the right side of a result in Sale.”

The Sharks team to take on their English Sharks’ counterparts on Saturday in a third round Investec Champions Cup clash is an exciting team brimming with youthful talent and a number of hardened campaigners to provide just the right mix of exuberance and experience.

Hatton once again leads the team in their away leg pool match overseas, having captained a similar-looking team in their first-round match against Toulouse just over a month ago.

Lee-Marvin Mazibuko and Eduan Swart remain from that fixture, with Springbok Vincent Koch returning to action, adding his vast experience to the young front row, while Corne’ Rahl partners up with Emile van Heerden in the second row, having made his return to action off the bench last week against the Lions.

Hatton partners up with Tinotenda Mavesere and Emmanuel Tshituka in the back row, completing an exciting forward pack.

The backline is completely changed from last week but reminiscent of the team that travelled to France to play Toulouse in round one, with Ross Braude again at scrumhalf, where he partners Siya Masuku as the halfback pairing, Le Roux Malan is on the wing, having previously played at outside centre, with Jurenzo Julius paired with Francois Venter in the midfield and Yaw Penxe and Hakeem Kunene completing the back three alongside Malan.

Both teams come into this clash with a won-one-lost-one record, the Sharks defeating Saracens at home and losing to Toulouse away, while Sale Sharks lost at home to Glasgow Warriors but defeated Clermont Auvergne away, both teams looking to put one over their namesake in a spicy clash that offers so much promise.

Saturday’s match at CorpAcq Stadium in Manchester kicks off at 7.30pm.

Hollywoodbets Sharks starting XV: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Jurenzo Julius, 11 Le Roux Malan; 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ross Braude; 8 Nick Hatton (capt), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Tinotenda Mavesere; 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne’ Rahl; 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko. Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Vincent Tshituka, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Marnus Potgieter.