Cape Town - Steven Sykes will captain the Southern Kings in their Super Rugby opener against the Sharks in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Sykes will pack down in the second row alongside fellow former Sharks lock JC Astle, while Tom Botha, Martin Ferreira and Schalk Ferreira complete the tight five.
Chris Cloete, Thembelani Bholi and Jacques Engelbrecht will make up the loose trio.
Ntando Kebe and Elgar Watts are the halfbacks, with Shane Gates and JP du Plessis combining in the midfield.
Malcolm Jaer, Luzuko Vulindlu and former Bulls fullback Jurgen Visser make up the back three.
Kick-off for Saturday’s clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is scheduled for 15:00.
Teams:
Southern Kings
15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Luzuko Vulindlu, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Ntando Kebe, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 JC Astle, 4 Steven Sykes (captain), 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Substitutes: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 TBC, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 Cyril-John Velleman, 21 Leighton Eksteen, 22 Louis Fouche, 23 Charles Radebe
Sharks
TBA