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Durban - The Sharks are back home at Kings Park after their four week overseas tour, with coach John Plumtree sticking largely with the same team to take on the Bulls in their South African derby clash on Saturday (19:10 kick-off).
According to Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick, there is minimal changes to the team that beat the Force last weekend.
Amongst the backs, wing JP Pietersen is out with a groin injury, which opens the door for Piet Lindeque to start at outside centre.
There are only two changes to the forward pack, with prop Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira back to full fitness and included in the starting line-up, as JC Janse van Rensburg, on loan from the Lions, drops out.
In the second row, Anton Bresler injured himself in training on Thursday, hurting his shoulder, which means Pieter-Steph du Toit will partner Franco van der Merwe, with Jandre Marais providing cover off the bench.
The loose forward trio of Marcell Coetzee, Willem Alberts and captain Keegan Daniel remains unchanged, as does the halfback pairing of Charl McLeod and Patrick Lambie.
The only other change sees Sean Robinson back in the 22-man squad, covering the back three off the bench.
Plumtree confirmed that although Butch James and Bismarck du Plessis had been training with the team this week, they haven’t been considered for selection.
“They aren’t fit yet so they haven’t been included,” he explained.
“This is a big game for both teams, the Bulls have been playing really well lately, their forwards have dominated and they’re enjoying momentum. They’ve also dominated territory through their kicking game, they’ve dominated upfront and we know it’s going to be a really tough game for us.
“Although our preparation this week has been quite short, we have trained well, and we’re looking forward to putting our plans into place and the boys can go out there and enjoy the massive clash that this game is.”
“It’s great to be back home, to play at our stadium and hopefully we’ll get a really nice crowd on Saturday.”
Teams:
Sharks:
15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Piet Lindeque, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Keegan Daniel (captain), 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Jandre Marais, 19. Jean Deysel, 20. Tera Mtembu, 21. Tian Meyer, 22. Sean Robinson
Bulls:
15 Jürgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouché/Jan Serfontein, 22 Lionel Mapoe
According to Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick, there is minimal changes to the team that beat the Force last weekend.
Amongst the backs, wing JP Pietersen is out with a groin injury, which opens the door for Piet Lindeque to start at outside centre.
There are only two changes to the forward pack, with prop Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira back to full fitness and included in the starting line-up, as JC Janse van Rensburg, on loan from the Lions, drops out.
In the second row, Anton Bresler injured himself in training on Thursday, hurting his shoulder, which means Pieter-Steph du Toit will partner Franco van der Merwe, with Jandre Marais providing cover off the bench.
The loose forward trio of Marcell Coetzee, Willem Alberts and captain Keegan Daniel remains unchanged, as does the halfback pairing of Charl McLeod and Patrick Lambie.
The only other change sees Sean Robinson back in the 22-man squad, covering the back three off the bench.
Plumtree confirmed that although Butch James and Bismarck du Plessis had been training with the team this week, they haven’t been considered for selection.
“They aren’t fit yet so they haven’t been included,” he explained.
“This is a big game for both teams, the Bulls have been playing really well lately, their forwards have dominated and they’re enjoying momentum. They’ve also dominated territory through their kicking game, they’ve dominated upfront and we know it’s going to be a really tough game for us.
“Although our preparation this week has been quite short, we have trained well, and we’re looking forward to putting our plans into place and the boys can go out there and enjoy the massive clash that this game is.”
“It’s great to be back home, to play at our stadium and hopefully we’ll get a really nice crowd on Saturday.”
Teams:
Sharks:
15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Piet Lindeque, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Keegan Daniel (captain), 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Jandre Marais, 19. Jean Deysel, 20. Tera Mtembu, 21. Tian Meyer, 22. Sean Robinson
Bulls:
15 Jürgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouché/Jan Serfontein, 22 Lionel Mapoe
