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Cape Town - Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold says facing a Test-laden Jaguares outfit will thoroughly test his side at Kings Park on Saturday (19:20 kick-off).
The Sharks were impressive in pre-season, beating French clubs Toulon and Toulouse and also thrashed the Southern Kings in their Super Rugby opener last weekend.
However, this weekend they face a Jaguares outfit not too dissimilar from the Argentina Test side that made the Rugby World Cup semi-finals last year.
“There were a lot of positives to take away from our match last weekend,” Gold said after naming his side on Thursday.
“I was happy with our intent, skill level and the way we executed our tries.”
But the Sharks mentor knows the team from Argentina will pose a more significant threat then the Kings.
“The Jaguares are a brilliant team full of internationals. Many of these guys are hugely experienced and had good success at the World Cup. Last week against the Cheetahs, this Argentine side showed that they have adapted well to the competition.
“We’ve had a good week and are preparing to take on a full battle of international players and we’re excited about the challenge ahead. This match is really going to test us to see how far we’ve come this year.
“The new generation of players we have right now are really putting up their hands. They’re bringing an unbelievable enthusiasm and excitement to the team environment. We can most definitely use this to build on to something big moving forward.”
Teams:
Sharks
15. Willie le Roux, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Joe Pietersen, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Daniel du Preez , 7. Jean-Luc du Preez, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Stephan Lewies, 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 3. Coenie Oosthuizen, 2. Franco Marais, 1. Tendai Mtawarira (captain)
Substitutes: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Juan Schoeman, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Hyron Andrews, 20. Philip van der Walt, 21. Michael Claassens, 22. Garth April, 23. S’bura Sithole
Jaguares
TBA
