Smit at loosehead for Sharks

Durban - John Smit will captain the Sharks from loosehead prop in their first game of the Super Rugby season against the Cheetahs in Durban this Saturday.

The Springbok and Sharks skipper will wear the No 1 jersey alongside the Du Plessis brothers, Jannie and Bismarck, with "Beast" Mtawarira playing off the bench.

It's a powerful all-round team coach John Plumtree has named, with the fit-again duo of Steven Sykes and Alistair Hargreaves starting in the second row, while the loose-trio that started in the warm-up matches being retained.

This means Jacques Botes starts at openside flank ahead of Keegan Daniel, while Willlem Alberts and Ryan Kankowski complete the back row.

JP Pietersen has failed to recover from a hamstring injury, but the backline is a strong and settled unit.

Charl McLeod and Patrick Lambie are retained as the 9-10 combination, while Lwazi Mvovo, Odwa Ndungane and Louis Ludik will once again make-up the back three.

There is a new pairing in the midfield, though, with Stefan Terblanche combining with inside centre Meyer Bosman, who will come up against opposite number Andries Strauss on Saturday, with the two players having virtually swapped No 12 jerseys at the respective teams.

Saturday's match kicks-off at 17:05 at the recently re-named Mr Price Kings Park.

Teams

Sharks:
15. Louis Ludik, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Stefan Terblanche, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Jacques Botes, 5. Alistair Hargreaves, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. John Smit (Captain)

Substitutes: 16. Tendai Mtawarira, 17. Eugene van Staden, 18. Anton Bresler, 19. Keegan Daniel, 20. Conrad Hoffmann, 21. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22. Adrian Jacobs


Cheetahs:
15. Hennie Daniller, 14. Philip Burger, 13. Robert Ebersohn, 12. Andries Strauss, 11. Ryno Benjamin, 10. Naas Olivier, 9. Sarel Pretorius, 8. Kabamba Floors, 7. Philip van der Walt, 6. Frans Viljoen, 5. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4. Francois Uys, 3. WP Nel, 2. Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1. Coenie Oosthuizen

Substitutes: 16. Ryno Barnes, 17. Kobus Calldo, 18. Waltie Vermeulen, 19. Ashley Johnson, 20. Tewis de Bruyn, 21. Sias Ebersohn, 22. Riaan Viljoen