No Eben and Siya benched: We need to manage their minutes, says Sharks' Powell

The Sharks return to United Rugby Championship (URC) action on Friday when they take on the Lions in Durban.

After two wins in the Champions Cup, director of rugby Neil Powell raised a few eyebrows when lock Eben Etzebeth didn't make the squad for the clash, while Siya Kolisi is only on the bench.

Powell says that the Sharks must manage their players effectively, especially as they are playing for 11 consecutive weeks.

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"I think it is part of our rotational policy [leaving out Etzebeth and benching Kolisi], but obviously [there] are some other reasons as well why we have not selected in terms of maybe just to give them a bit of a break," Powell told reporters on Thursday afternoon.

"If you look at the amount of game minutes that Eben and Siya have got over the last few months, not just for the Sharks but also for South Africa, it is crucially important to manage them well because we are in a block where we are going to play 11 consecutive games."

Powell said that because the Sharks are not even halfway through their long run of consecutive matches, the game against the Lions was an ideal time to rest the pair. 

"We are only at the fifth game, so there are another six games after this. I think, again, it is going to be important to us that we manage our squad well so that we can get through these 11 weeks of consecutive games. I think it's an ideal opportunity for a guy to get a break [Etzebeth], [and] to play Siya off the bench."

The match on Friday at Kings Park kicks off at 17:00.