Blewett gets Sharks start against Lions
The first round match between the Sharks and Golden Lions was an interesting affair as the Durban-based side came from near disaster to win quite comfortably, in the end, 47-31.
But the Golden Lions, after losing another two games, have returned to winning ways and appear to have sewn up a top-four spot.
With Jeremy Ward confirmed injured for this match, having sustained a collarbone injury in the 18-5 Currie Cup victory over the Blue Bulls on Saturday, Tristan Blewett makes his run-on debut, having played off the bench last weekend. Inny Radebe returns to the side for Blewett on the replacement bench.
The only other change sees Franco Marais coming in for Mahlatse Ralepelle with Armand van der Merwe playing back-up at hooker.
For Jean Droste who came to Durban from the Blue Bulls three years ago for a change of environment and to improve his rugby, the move has been a good one.
"Change is always good, having spent all my life in Pretoria and I’m happy to have made the move," he explains.
"Confidence is high, we’ve spoken about complacency but I don’t think this team is in danger of becoming complacent. We’ve set ourselves goals and we want to execute them.
"We’ve been going really well, and there have been a few close games but those are the ones that build character,"
Sharks: 15 Garth April, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Tristan Blewett, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Sibusiso Nkosi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Ruan Botha (captain), 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Jean Droste, 19 Lubabalo Mtembu, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Inny Radebe, 22 Rhyno Smith.
Date: Friday, September 29
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 19.15 (17.15 GMT)
Referee: Stuart Berry
Assistant referees: Archie Sehlako, Vusi Msibi
@TheSharksZA
