Beast out of Shark attack

The Coastal Sharks have taken a gamble by side-lining the feared Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira as they look this weekend to topple Super rugby leaders Waikato Chiefs, who have an under-performing scrum.The Beast’s absence from today’s clash has been attributed to a planned workload for leading Springboks but the absence of the hulking prop and Sharks captain will be a relief to the hosts as they battle to remain competition leaders.The Sharks are in buoyant mood as they look to back up from their narrow win against the defending champions Otago Highlanders.The Highlanders this week host the ACT Brumbies in a clash of two sides suffering a mid-season slump.The Melbourne Rebels, who have replaced the Brumbies as the number one Australian side, should cement their position when they play Auckland Blues who are at the bottom of the New Zealand group.Of the leading South Africa sides, the Golden Lions are at home to a Wellington Hurricanes unit who blew a chance last week to topple the Chiefs, while Western Stormers play the NSW Waratahs.When the Chiefs and Sharks clashed last year, red cards flowed with three players sent off in a dramatic opening half hour when the Sharks came out on top 12-11.But Sharks coach Gary Gold wants no ill-tempered repeat this time.“The win against the Highlanders was a great confidence boost for the players,” he said, adding that against the Chiefs “discipline is going to be key and we need to stay grounded”.The Chiefs retained their competition lead last week but the game ended with uncontested scrums when tight head prop Siate Tokolahi was injured as they clung to a one-point lead and their scrum was under pressure.A New Zealand radio station has since posted a video on Facebook showing Tokolahi running freely from a scrum and a lineout with no contact from any other player before going down injured.The Chiefs have made five changes from that side with Tokolahi named on the bench and a start for Japan Test prop Hiroshi Yamashita. Mtawarira is one of six changes for the Sharks.NAMPA/AFP

Beast out of Shark attack

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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Beast out of Shark attack

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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