Jake's Sharks shake-up

 

Sharks Director of Rugby has shuffled his side for this Super Rugby Round Seven encounter, after the 19-23 loss to the Bulls last week because of injuries and to refresh the line-up.

 

The 21-year-old number 10 comes into the starting team to replace the injured Pat Lambie who is out of action for the rest of the season with a bicep injury. 

 

Zeilinga features in the Sharks squad for the first time this season, and will make his run-on debut after winning his only cap off the bench against the Kings last season.

 

There are other changes to the backline as Lwazi Mvovo, who has impressed on the left wing so far this season, starts at fullback – with SP Marais dropping to the bench.

 

JP Pietersen shifts from right wing to the left hand side to replace Mvovo while Odwa Ndungane returns and slots into the number 14 jersey after missing the last two games.

 

Charl McLeod comes in for the injured Cobus Reinach at scrumhalf, while last year's SA Under-20 number 9 Stefan Ungerer takes his place on the bench.

 

There are two changes in the forward pack as Willem Alberts moves from blindside flank to lock to replace the injured Anton Bresler who falls out of the matchday 23, and Jean Deysel comes into the starting line-up.

 

Albert's move into the second row was neccesitated by Bresler failing to recover from a knock he took to his shoulder against the Bulls last week.

 

Keegan Daniel earns a spot on the bench and could make his first Super Rugby apperance of the season.

 

White said he side was keen to move on from last week's defeat and put in a good performance against a strong Waratahs before their bye week coming up.

 

"It’s a new week, a new opportunity and we have a bye next week, so there is a lot to play for and no reason why we don’t give everything this weekend.

 

"The Waratahs are a good team, they have a lot of Wallabies in their squad and they have been on a good roll so far in the competition. 

 

"Like us, they’ve only lost just one game and they have a really well-balanced team. 

 

"Of the three games they’ve won, they’ve scored bonus points in all three victories, so they can obviously score tries. 

 

"That means it’s going to be a tough game for us," White said. 

 

White said that his team is fully aware of the importance of getting back onto the winning trail, so that they have their destiny in their own hands towards the end of the season. 

 

"The nice thing is that we’re still in control of what happens to us; the one thing you want to do in this competition is to be able to control your own destiny. 

 

"You don’t want to get into a situation where other teams dictate where you end and who you play against. 

 

"That’s what every team aspires to in this competition, making sure you control your own destiny, and the only way you can make sure of that is by winning," White added.

 

Sharks: 15 Lwazi Mvovo, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Sibusiso Sithole, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Keegan Daniel, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Heimar Williams, 23 SP Marais.

 

Date: Saturday, March 29

Venue: Kings Park, Durban

Kick-off: 17.05 (15.05 GMT; 02.00 Sunday, March 30 EDT)

Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Marius Jonker (South Africa)

TMO: Deon van Blommestein (South Africa)