Sharks add some muscle
Sharks coach John Plumtree has made just one change to his team for the Super Rugby encounter with the Stormers in Durban on Saturday.
Plumtree has opted for the muscle of Jean Deysel over the guile of Jacques Botes – with Deysel starting at No.7 and Marcell Coetzee shifting to the other flank.
Botes drops down to the replacement bench.
Despite the impressive (29-22) first-up win over the Cheetahs last week, Plumtree said there were "problem areas" which the Sharks needed to button up for the match at Kings Park on Saturday.
"We were a bit clumsy at the breakdown," the Sharks mentor said.
"We would secure the ball comfortably and then it would pop out the side and we'd ask: 'How did that happen?'
"A couple of times we were short of numbers and got turned over, a couple of times poor carrying into contact.
"The Stormers hit you hard, so you need to make sure you maintain possession when they do.
"We've worked on that in training, it's a big focus, you need to keep the ball."
With just one change, continuity remains a big positive for the team.
Plumtree said, after last Saturday's defeat of the Cheetahs, how thrilled he was that there were no injuries to come out of the game and this has featured in his naming of an almost unchanged line-up for this weekend's match.
"We had a couple of head knocks, and the ground was pretty hard there," Plumtree said of last week's trip to Bleomfontein.
"Meyer Bosman is over his, Jean Deysel took quite a nasty knock but he is ok. Lwazi Mvovo had to come off, he had a problem with his groin, but he is OK for this week."
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Francois Steyn (captain), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19 Jacques Botes, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Odwa Ndungane.
Date: Saturday, March 2
Venue: King's Park, Durban
Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
