John Plumtree (Gallo)

Durban - The Sharks will be desperately looking to pick up their first win of the Super 14 and their first win in Canberra since 1998 when they go up against the Brumbies on Saturday (10:40 SA time).

It's been a miserable start to the season for the Sharks, who had terrible luck during the pre-season in terms of injuries and other off-field distractions, and with some questionable officiating going against them in their opening matches, they have suffered a number of narrow defeats.

The coastal franchise did impress at times against the Waratahs last weekend, which saw them score a magnificent try after 15 phases, but in the end recently suspended referee Paul Marks denied them victory with some one-eyed decisions.

Nevertheless, coach John Plumtree said the Sharks had put this behind them and were looking to produce more passages of play such as the one that resulted in their second try against the 'Tahs.

"There were some good signs of us getting our game going again but we are still not accurate enough in that we seldom get all facets of our game working well at the same time. Some parts will go well but then it is undone when we under-perform in another area. When we got consistency in our game we put 15 phases together and scored a comfortable team try."

However, last weekend's match saw the Sharks handed two more yellow cards to take their tally to five in the season, and Plumtree made some much-publicised comments about the repercussions his side will face if this continues.

"I was very annoyed with our discipline and have been for a while. I read the riot act to the guys in our post-match analysis. I told the guys that the next player to get a yellow card gets a red card from me. When you are down on luck and trying really hard to get out of a hole, you can't then make it tougher for the team by getting yourself binned. It is just silly and stresses the team unnecessarily."

They will undoubtedly need to be on top of all aspects of their game against the Brumbies, who will not allow ill-discipline to go unpunished, with Wallabies Matt Giteau and Stirling Mortlock proven match-winners.

The Brumbies have also turned their home ground into something of a winning fortress, with few South African sides ever enjoying success in the Australian capital, and the Sharks are no exception, having won just one of their last eight games there.

So a massive task awaits the touring Durbanites yet again, but if they hope to keep their baying critics at bay and turn their season around, they need to find a way to win.

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 John Smit (captain), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Substitutes: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Keegan Daniel, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Waylon Murray.

Brumbies: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Salesi Maafu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.

Substitutes: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Justin Harrison, 19 Mitchell Chapman, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Matt Toomua, 22 Tyrone Smith.