Cape Town - New Sharks captain Ruan Botha has called on fans to fill up Kings Park in the upcoming Super Rugby season.
Botha was on Thursday named captain of the Sharks for the 2018 season as coach Robert du Preez named a 45-man squad.
The 26-year-old Botha addressed Sharks on Friday and said he was looking forward to the season ahead.
Via a video clip on the Sharks' official Twitter account, Botha had a special message for the fans:
“I’m really proud and honoured to be captaining the Sharks this season. We’re looking forward to seeing you guys at Kings Park to fill up the stadium and playing the rugby fans will enjoy. I hope to see you guys here and we hope to entertain you guys."
A message to #OurSharks fans from our 2018 Captain @ruan5botha before the season ahead. pic.twitter.com/ItJNDqu05m
— The Sharks (@TheSharksZA) January 26, 2018
Du Preez meanwhile, also named two teams to play in warm-up clash against the Bulls in Polokwane on Saturday (18:00 kick-off).
The coach announced a first half team and a second half team for the encounter at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Both teams have been shuffled, with a mixture of youth and experience
Botha will captain the first half team, while hooker Franco Marais will captain the second half team.
Teams:
Sharks
First half: 15 Lwazi Mvovo, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 S'busiso Nkosi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ruan Botha (captain), 4 Hyron Andrews, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Juan Schoeman
Second half: 15 Garth April, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Tristan Blewett, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Courtney Winnaar, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Tera Mtembu, 7 Wian Vosloo, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 John-Hubert Meyer, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Mzamo Majola
Extra players: Chiliboy Ralepelle, Khuta Mchunu
Bulls
15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Burger Odendaal (captain), 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Aston Fortuin, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Jano Venter, 21 Roelof Smit, 22 Andre Warner, 23 Marnitz Boshoff, 24 Franco Naude, 25 Jamba Ulengo, 26 Duncan Matthews