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Returning Boks beef up Sharks for Bulls trip

Cape Town - The Sharks have named returning Springboks Andre Esterhuizen and Thomas du Toit in their starting line-up for Saturday's crucial Currie Cup trip to Loftus Versfeld to take on the Blue Bulls.

Both players were released from Rassie Erasmus' Springbok camp in Bloemfontein this week and look set to miss out on a place in the 31-man World Cup squad, but their return is a welcomed boost to the Durbanites under coach Sean Everitt. 

Going into the final round of groups stage fixtures, the Sharks lie in 4th position and with the race for the playoffs incredibly tight, they will need a victory to secure their place in the last four. 

The Blue Bulls, meanwhile, are 6th in the standings and need to beat the Sharks comfortably and with a bonus point to stand any chance of making the semi-finals. 

Du Toit comes into the team in place of Mzamo Majola, who drops to the bench, while Esterhuizen's return sees co-captain Jeremy Ward shift across from No 12 to No 13 with the experienced JP Pietersen among the substitutes. 

There is another Springbok boost in the form of tighthead prop Coenie Oosthuizen, who returns to the side after missing last weekend's clash against the Golden Lions with injury. 

There is also another debutant included, with the uncapped Andisa Ntshila on the bench. 

Flyhalf Curwin Bosch, meanwhile, is still missing with injury as Boeta Chamberlain continues in the No 10 jersey. 

Kick-off is at 19:30

Teams:

Blue Bulls

15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Dylan Sage, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Ivan van Zyl (captain), 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Wian Vosloo, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Lizo Gqoboka

Substitutes: 16 Corne Els, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Jean Droste, 20 Ruan Steenkamp, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Vaughen Isaacs, 23 Stedman Gans

Sharks

15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Jeremy Ward (co-captain), 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Tera Mtembu (co-captain), 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Thomas du Toit

16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Gideon Koegelenburg, 20 Andisa Ntsila, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Rhyno Smith, 23 JP Pietersen

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