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| Image © sharksrugby.co.za |
As hinted during the week, Patrick Lambie has been named in the midfield, wearing the Number 12 jersey and with the return from injury of JP Pietersen – named on the wing – Louis Ludik shifts back to fullback.
In the final change, Charl McLeod replaces Rory Kockott at scrumhalf.
Plumtree explained that, despite making a few changes, the team still enjoys plenty of continuity with the pack remaining unchanged. Ross Skeate is the new face and has been named on the bench, having joined up with The Sharks at the start of the month as one of the latest signings.
“We have JP Pietersen back from injury, Patrick Lambie gets an opportunity in the midfield and we'll see what Louis Ludik can do for us at fullback in his favourite position. Charl McLeod is at 9. So there are a couple of tactical changes, but at the same time, I'm excited about them.
“We're looking forward to a positive performance against the Blue Bulls on Saturday. We're better than the performance we gave against Griquas last week and there are a few things we ironed out in training this week which hopefully won't be problems for us on the weekend.”
Playing at home brings a different form of pressure – the need, desire and expectation that you have to win – and Plumtree agreed that this game is “very important for us. We need to get a result and the players understand the responsibility. We're playing against a champion team and we have to make sure we go out there and perform well.”
The Sharks
15. Louis Ludik
14. JP Pietersen
13. Stefan Terblanche (Capt)
12. Patrick Lambie
11. Lwazi Mvovo
10. Steve Meyer
9. Charl McLeod
8. Keegan Daniel
7. Michael Rhodes
6. Jacques Botes
5. Alistair Hargreaves
4. Steven Sykes
3. Wiehahn Herbst
2. Craig Burden
1. Patric Cilliers
Replacements
16. Kyle Cooper
17. Eugene van Staden
18. Ross Skeate
19. Skholiwe Ndlovu
20. Rory Kockott
21. Monty Dumond
22. Andries Strauss
