Bobo squares up to his old mates

Bobo will be playing only his second game for the Stormers on Saturday and wil partner captain Jean de Villiers at midfield in Durban. Opposing them will be the talented Sharks duo of Brad Barritt and Waylon Murray.

Murray won his Springbok colours last year and many critics are of the opinion Barritt would soon too be a Bok.

De Villiers this week said Bobo was the form centre of the moment and also that the Sharks could regret allowing him to sign for the Stormers.

When Bobo conveyed his intentions to leave the Sharks last year to management there, they were reluctant to let him go. The player stuck to his guns though and De Villiers on Wednesday said: “They’ve lost him and we got him!

“I thought Gcobani played fantastically well on Saturday. The Sharks will probably regret having let him go. They will definitely try to attack his channel, but we are concentrating on what we as a centre combination have to do to get on top.

“We do feel that we are on the right path.”

Sharks coach Dick Muir this week started the verbal jousting by saying people shouldn’t forget the “good old Sharks-Stormers rivalry” and added that it was still very strong.

“It has been stoked a bit by them taking Gcobani Bobo from us. We are under no illusions as to the mood of the Stormers.”

Another interesting match-up would be the duel of the hookers. Tiaan Liebenberg impressed with a fiery performance against the Bulls, but so did Bismark du Plessis for the Sharks against the Western Force.

Liebenberg said he wouldn’t focus on an individual battle with Du Plessis. “It is not about me against Bismarck. Our focus is on a team effort. We don’t worry about individuals.”