Vodacom Super Rugby
Sharks shuffle loose trio
2011-05-05 13:22
Durban - Bismarck du Plessis will be back at hooker for the Sharks' Vodacom Super Rugby encounter against the Brumbies in Durban on Saturday, with captain John Smit having been ruled out with a calf strain.
Du Plessis, who has been brought back from injury off the bench over the last couple of weeks, will start in the No 2 jersey.
There is also a re-shuffle in the loose trio, with Jean Deysel starting his first game for the Sharks in 10 months. He slots in at blindside flank, while Willem Alberts moves to No 8 in place of the injured Ryan Kankowski.
Deysel made his return to action as a replacement against the Stormers last week after a lengthy injury layoff, and will add serious physicality to this weekend's match in tandem with Alberts.
Meanwhile, at lock, Alistair Hargreaves - who has also recently recovered from injury - takes the place of Ross Skeate in the No 5 jersey, with Anton Bresler moving up from the Sharks XV side to provide second row cover on the bench.
Skeate appears to have borne the brunt of the Sharks' loss at Newlands last weekend, dropping out the match-22 altogether and into the Sharks XV's Vodacom Cup side.
The backline remains unchanged with Stefan Terblanche taking over the captaincy from Smit.
Jannie du Plessis will play in his 50th Super Rugby match for the Sharks.
Teams:
Sharks:
15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Stefan Terblanche (captain), 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Marcel Coetzee, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Lwazi Mvovo
Brumbies:
15 Pat McCabe, 14 Andrew Smith, 13 Tyrone Smith, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Pat Phibbs, 8 Ita Vaea, 7 Colby Faingaa, 6 Mitch Chapman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Peter Kimlin, 3 Jono Owen, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander
Substitutes: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Salesi Ma’afu, 18 Ben Hand, 19 Michael Hooper, 20 Josh Valentine, 21 Robbie Coleman, 22 Franky Fainifo