Sharks coach John Plumtree has settled on his team early to play the Reds in Saturday's Super Rugby Qualifier in Brisbane, one with a steely and physical edge about it as they head into the knockout phase of the competition.Willem Alberts, who came off the bench last week following an injury sustained with the Springboks, will this week get a start, although with the loose forward trio playing so well last weekend against the Cheetahs (all three scored tries in that match), the Sharks coach has decided to leave it intact and Alberts slips into the lock position.
Steven Sykes, back from his own injury-enforced break, will provide plenty of experience as second row cover off the bench while the Springbok duo of Tendai Mtawarira and Bismarck du Plessis are both named in the front row after Mtawarira missed the game with gastro and Bismarck played for 44 minutes after coming off the bench.
The final two changes are in the backline where the loss of Frans Steyn (he was unable to qualify for the Finals Series) sees Paul Jordaan slot in at outside centre with Tim Whitehead shifting to inside centre, and Louis Ludik replacing Pat Lambie at fullback after the Springbok had a recurrence of the ankle injury he sustained against England during the June Test series.
Interestingly, the last time these two teams met in the knockouts was back in 1996 when the Sharks prevailed in the semi-final, also in Brisbane, winning that match 43-25.
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Keegan Daniel (captain), 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Cobus Reinach, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Odwa Ndungane.
Source: SA Rugby
