Sharks keep changes to a minimum

Durban - Sharks Director of Rugby Gary Gold has named his team for their Currie Cup clash against the Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday (14:30 kick-off).

Gold only made one change to the starting team that went down to Western Province at Kings Park last week.

The change is at hooker, with Franco Marais and Monde Hadebe swapping jerseys, with the former getting his first start this season.

On the bench, Daniel du Preez also returns from a brief injury layoff.

"The Lions are a fantastic side and have shown what they are capable off and how devastating they can be against opposition teams. Our performance in this competition has not been good enough,” commented Gold.

"We have a lot to prove and we are still in the fight. Nothing less than an 80 minute performance will do on Saturday."

Teams:

Golden Lions:

15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Ruan Combrinck, 13. Stokkies Hanekom, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Courtnall Skosan, 10. Marnitz Boshoff, 9. Ross Cronje, 8. Fabian Booysen, 7. Kwagga Smith, 6. Jaco Kriel (captain), 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Lourens Erasmus, 3. Julian Redelinghuys, 2. Malcolm Marx, 1. Ruan Dreyer

Substitutes: 16. Robbie Coetzee, 17. Jacques van Rooyen, 18. MB Lusaseni, 19. Stephan de Witt, 20. Jaco van der Walt, 21. Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 22. Antony Volmink

Sharks:

15. Odwa Ndungane, 14. Wandile Mjekevu, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. S'bura Sithole, 10. Joe Pietersen, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Philip van der Walt, 7. Jean-Luc du Preez, 6. Francois Kleinhans, 5. Marco Wentzel (captain), 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 3. Gerhard Engelbrecht, 2. Franco Marais, 1. Thomas du Toit

Substitutes: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Dave McDuling, 19. Daniel du Preez, 20. Michael Claassens, 21. Heimar Williams, 22. Garth April