150-up for Beast as Sharks look to spoil Crusaders' party

Cape Town - The Sharks will look to give veteran prop Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira the perfect celebration when he plays his 150th Super Rugby match against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.

Kick-off is at 09:35 SA time.

Mtawarira currently holds the record for being the most capped Super Rugby player for a single franchise - with 149 caps - and is just behind  now retired Bulls hooker Adriaan Strauss who is the most capped South African Super Rugby player of all time - with 156 caps.

Meanwhile, the Sharks named an unchanged matchday 23 for the match, while the Crusaders welcomed back a number of rested All Blacks stars.

The Sharks finished in eighth place in the final standings, a full 27 points behind the eight-time title triumphing Crusaders, winning exactly half the number of matches (14 v 7).

In a quirk of the tournament format, the Crusaders and Sharks didn't face each other this season, nor did they clash last year.

In fact, it's been a full 28 months since the sides last faced off against one another, in Durban, with the Crusaders edging a close encounter 19-14.

BET.co.za have the Crusaders as 19.5-point handicap favourites and 7/100 for the outright victory. The Sharks are 8/1 for an upset victory, while the draw can be taken at 33/1.

Teams:

Crusaders

15 David Havili, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Sam Whitelock (captain), 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tim Perry

Substitutes: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Manasa Mataele

Sharks

15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira

Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Wian Vosloo, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Makazole Mapimpi