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Durban - The Sharks side named to take on the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in their Vodacom Super Rugby clash on Saturday has been bolstered by the return from injury of Ryan Kankowski and Adrian Jacobs as well as the inclusion of a fan favourite, Frederic Michalak.
Kick-off is at 17:05 SA time.
With teams facing a devil of a time keeping their squads intact given the attrition rate in the extended competition, the Sharks are in the enviable position of being able to bring in three internationals to bolster them ahead of the first of three away derby games, writes Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick.
There have been a few changes introduced by coach John Plumtree as he has had to work around injuries, suspension and player rotation.
Most of the changes come in the forward pack where Gerhard Mostert and Alistair Hargreaves swap positions at lock with Mostert getting his second start of the campaign and Hargreaves getting a break after having started 10 of his 11 games this season.
The loss of Jean Deysel and the return of Ryan Kankowski from injury sees the eighthman back in position with Keegan Daniel and Willem Alberts completing the loose forward trio, the latter having played off the bench last week; Jacques Botes this week will come on as a reserve.
Among the backs, as expected, Charl McLeod replaces the injured Conrad Hoffmann at scrumhalf in the only change there.
The big news, of course, is the naming of Michalak on the bench after the surprise announcement earlier this week that he was joining the Sharks once more after helping them to lift the Absa Currie Cup back in 2008. Although used as a flyhalf during that stint, he will play back-up as scrumhalf with the option of having him available to cover at 10 should the need arise during his second stay in Durban.
The final change sees Adrian Jacobs in for Riaan Swanepoel after passing a fitness test.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Riaan Viljoen, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Corne Uys, 11 Philip Snyman, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Ashley Johnson, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Naas Olivier, 22 Riaan Smit
Sharks:
15. Louis Ludik, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Stefan Terblanche, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Gerhard Mostert, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Eugene van Staden, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. John Smit (captain)
Substitutes: 16. Tendai Mtawarira, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Alistair Hargreaves, 19. Jacques Botes, 20. Frederic Michalak, 21. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22. Adrian Jacobs
Kick-off is at 17:05 SA time.
With teams facing a devil of a time keeping their squads intact given the attrition rate in the extended competition, the Sharks are in the enviable position of being able to bring in three internationals to bolster them ahead of the first of three away derby games, writes Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick.
There have been a few changes introduced by coach John Plumtree as he has had to work around injuries, suspension and player rotation.
Most of the changes come in the forward pack where Gerhard Mostert and Alistair Hargreaves swap positions at lock with Mostert getting his second start of the campaign and Hargreaves getting a break after having started 10 of his 11 games this season.
The loss of Jean Deysel and the return of Ryan Kankowski from injury sees the eighthman back in position with Keegan Daniel and Willem Alberts completing the loose forward trio, the latter having played off the bench last week; Jacques Botes this week will come on as a reserve.
Among the backs, as expected, Charl McLeod replaces the injured Conrad Hoffmann at scrumhalf in the only change there.
The big news, of course, is the naming of Michalak on the bench after the surprise announcement earlier this week that he was joining the Sharks once more after helping them to lift the Absa Currie Cup back in 2008. Although used as a flyhalf during that stint, he will play back-up as scrumhalf with the option of having him available to cover at 10 should the need arise during his second stay in Durban.
The final change sees Adrian Jacobs in for Riaan Swanepoel after passing a fitness test.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Riaan Viljoen, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Corne Uys, 11 Philip Snyman, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Ashley Johnson, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Naas Olivier, 22 Riaan Smit
Sharks:
15. Louis Ludik, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Stefan Terblanche, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Gerhard Mostert, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Eugene van Staden, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. John Smit (captain)
Substitutes: 16. Tendai Mtawarira, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Alistair Hargreaves, 19. Jacques Botes, 20. Frederic Michalak, 21. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22. Adrian Jacobs
