Durban - The Sharks side to host the Lions at Kings Park in Friday’s Absa Currie Cup clash remains relatively unchanged, aside from two enforced changes that were hinted at earlier in the week.
According to Sharks website Editor, Michael Marenwick, SP Marais will gain his first start after arriving from a successful Super Rugby season with the Kings. He takes over from Sizo Maseko on the wing after the latter complained of a hamstring strain. The other change sees Heimar Williams start at inside centre after Tim Whitehead picked up a rib and ankle knock against Griquas last Friday.
Jacques Botes retains the No 8 jersey and the captaincy with Keegan Daniel not yet over his niggle.
Sharks backline coach Sean Everitt warns that the Lions will be a tough prospect after losing narrowly to the Cheetahs, although it’s no different for the Sharks who will also want to reverse that opening loss.
“The Lions will want to get onto the winning track, likewise with us as well,” explains Everitt.
“They’re a tough team to play against, they contest the breakdown really well and they defend well around the fringes of the rucks. If we’re to be on top of our game, we’ll have to improve a lot from Friday night and I think, in the Lions, we’ll be dealing with the same animal that we had in Griquas.
“The Lions are physical but they also like to move the ball around, so defensively, we’ll need to hold our width as well as contain them around the edges.”
The match kicks off at 17:05 and tickets are available from the Sharks ticket office as well as from Computicket.
Teams:
Sharks
15. Odwa Ndungane, 14. SP Marais, 13. Louis Ludik, 12. Heimar Williams, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Butch James, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Jacques Botes (captain), 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Brynard Stander, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Edwin Hewitt, 3. Wiehahn Herbst, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16. Craig Burden, 17. Rayno Gerber, 18. Peet Marais, 19. Tera Mtembu, 20. Cobus Reinach, 21. Fred Zeilinga, 22. Jaco van Tonder
Lions
15 Marnitz Boshoff, 14 Deon Helberg, 13 Robert De Bruin, 12 Dylan Des Fountain, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Guy Cronje, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Derick Minnie (captain), 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Jacques Van Rooyen
Substitutes: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Lambert Groenewald, 19 Warwick Tecklenburg, 20 Tian Meyer, 21 Lionel Cronje, 22 Chrysander Botha
According to Sharks website Editor, Michael Marenwick, SP Marais will gain his first start after arriving from a successful Super Rugby season with the Kings. He takes over from Sizo Maseko on the wing after the latter complained of a hamstring strain. The other change sees Heimar Williams start at inside centre after Tim Whitehead picked up a rib and ankle knock against Griquas last Friday.
Jacques Botes retains the No 8 jersey and the captaincy with Keegan Daniel not yet over his niggle.
Sharks backline coach Sean Everitt warns that the Lions will be a tough prospect after losing narrowly to the Cheetahs, although it’s no different for the Sharks who will also want to reverse that opening loss.
“The Lions will want to get onto the winning track, likewise with us as well,” explains Everitt.
“They’re a tough team to play against, they contest the breakdown really well and they defend well around the fringes of the rucks. If we’re to be on top of our game, we’ll have to improve a lot from Friday night and I think, in the Lions, we’ll be dealing with the same animal that we had in Griquas.
“The Lions are physical but they also like to move the ball around, so defensively, we’ll need to hold our width as well as contain them around the edges.”
The match kicks off at 17:05 and tickets are available from the Sharks ticket office as well as from Computicket.
Teams:
Sharks
15. Odwa Ndungane, 14. SP Marais, 13. Louis Ludik, 12. Heimar Williams, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Butch James, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Jacques Botes (captain), 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Brynard Stander, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Edwin Hewitt, 3. Wiehahn Herbst, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16. Craig Burden, 17. Rayno Gerber, 18. Peet Marais, 19. Tera Mtembu, 20. Cobus Reinach, 21. Fred Zeilinga, 22. Jaco van Tonder
Lions
15 Marnitz Boshoff, 14 Deon Helberg, 13 Robert De Bruin, 12 Dylan Des Fountain, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Guy Cronje, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Derick Minnie (captain), 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Jacques Van Rooyen
Substitutes: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Lambert Groenewald, 19 Warwick Tecklenburg, 20 Tian Meyer, 21 Lionel Cronje, 22 Chrysander Botha