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Butch-less Sharks for Cheetahs

Durban - The heavy workload carried by Jacques Botes and Jean Deysel, combined with the timely return from the Springbok squad of Marcell Coetzee, has allowed the Sharks' coaching staff to inject some fresh legs into the team to play the Free State Cheetahs at Kings Park on Saturday (15:00 kick-off).

Tera Mtembu has also been handed a start and together with Coetzee, the pair have taken over from Botes and Deysel, with Keegan Daniel taking over the captaincy and the No 8 jersey.

“Tera is a very good ball-carrier, he has good skills so he will fit the role well,” backline coach Sean Everitt told Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick.

“Free State like to move the ball around so he gives us a bit of pace around the park.”

Commenting on Coetzee's inclusion, Everitt said: “He is a very fit and enthusiastic young man, he has a lot of energy and brings a lot of energy to the team. Despite flying into Durban late on Sunday, he was at rehab training first thing on Monday morning.

"He hasn’t shown any signs of fatigue, he’s got through both training sessions very well, so we expect him to give of his best.

"And it’s a good opportunity for him to prove himself to the Springbok selectors after losing out in Australia and New Zealand; he will be motivated.”

There’s another rotational switch as the coaching team have brought Fred Zeilinga back in for Butch James.

After missing the last two matches, Odwa Ndungane is back to supply added experience while Heimar Williams is recalled to allow Louis Ludik the opportunity of getting a well-earned rest.

“It’s good that Heimar has another opportunity because he did really well in the games he played. He was one of the top performers in the backline in those games.

"On the other hand, Louis Ludik has done exceptionally well, playing out of position at 13. Louis is always very accurate in what he does, he gives of his best at all times. So it is a nice opportunity for him to have a break and it’s also good that we can have a look at other combinations that may carry the can for us in the future.”

Teams:

Sharks:


15. SP Marais, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Tim Whitehead, 12. Heimar Williams, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Fred Zeilinga, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Keegan Daniel (captain), 7. Tera Mtembu, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4. Peet Marais, 3. Wiehahn Herbst, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Dale Chadwick

Substitutes: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Rayno Gerber, 18. Edwin Hewitt, 19. Brynard Stander, 20. Cobus Reinach, 21. Butch James, 22. Jaco van Tonder

Free State Cheetahs:

15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Riaan Smit, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Boom Prinsloo (captain), 5 Waltie Vermeulen, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Rossouw de Klerk, 2 Hercu Liebenberg, 1 Trevor Nyakane

Substitutes: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Schalk van der Merwe, 18 Teboho Mohoje, 19 Philip van der Walt, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Ryno Benjamin, 22 Willie du Plessis
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