Sharks fuel flying Fassi to ground Edinburgh

The aerial threat of Aphelele Fassi, coupled with Lukhanyo Am’s class and composure, is a timely boost for the Sharks in the Scottish capital on Friday.

This is according to Sharks head coach John Plumtree, who on Thursday named Fassi and Am in a Eben Etzebeth-led starting XV that includes 12 Springboks for the Vodacom URC round 15 clash against Edinburgh.

Fullback Fassi returns after recovering from an ankle injury against the Stormers at the end of last year, while centre Am was hurt in the first match of a Lions double-header last month.

Plumtree highlighted Fassi’s prowess under the high ball as a key weapon in the Sharks arsenal on the 4G pitch at Hive Stadium.

“The ball comes out faster from breakdown. The bounce of the ball’s different as well,” the Sharks boss said on Thursday, addressing the challenges of playing on artificial turf. “With the game being quicker, it might be a slightly different mindset around our kicking and how we kick.

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“We’ve played on them [4G pitches] before; it’s not foreign to us but certainly something we don’t do all the time. There are little parts to our game that are important that we nail playing on a pitch like this.”

“Certainly competing in the air around the modern game has just become a massive part of it. 10s and 15s have to be able to get up and compete for that ball,” Plumtree added. “We’ve been struggling in that department over the last five, six weeks so it’s good to have Fassi back; he’s a dangerous, dangerous player.

“If they kick poorly on him, he’s got a fantastic way he can find space just with his running game, and he’s obviously got a long left foot as well, which is handy. He’s done a lot of hard work around his rehab and he’s ready to go.”

Two-time World Cup winner Am provides invaluable experience at outside centre, partnering with the powerful Andre Esterhuizen in a potent midfield combination.

“[Am] is well respected within the group, and has a skill set that he brings to his game that’s very high,” Plumtree said. “He hasn’t played for a while so I don’t think he’ll be out there in the 80th minute [but] his last game against the Bulls in Pretoria, I thought he was outstanding.

“Just the little touches that he can bring with the ball, put players into space, and his calmness on defence and his ability to be able to read the attack in that important 13 position.

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“There’s not too much that Lukhanyo hasn’t seen before; he brings a real steadiness to our group.

“Having a young fellow like Jurenzo [Julius] coming off the bench there with 15, 20 minutes to go, is also exciting. Jurenzo in particular is learning a lot from Lukhanyo, which is great for him.”

The Sharks face a formidable challenge against Sean Everitt’s Edinburgh, who sit eighth on the URC log and are riding high after consecutive wins against the Lions and Bulls in the EPCR Challenge Cup.

“We’re the third South African side that they’re playing in a row now, so they obviously have done a lot of homework around the South African teams,” Plumtree said. “Their pack is full of internationals, and got two outstanding nines. They’re a well-balanced team and very hard to beat at home.

“We know that winning any URC game away from home is always a challenge, especially at this time of year; everyone’s going to be fighting for points and have got their own goals. This is a really big task for us and we’re going to have to play really well.”

Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images