Image © sharksrugby.co.za

29 July 2010 (13:47) - Whilst John Plumtree has resisted the urge to tinker too much with last week's starting line-up, he has made a couple of changes to a team bolstered by players returning from Bok duty or injury for Saturday's crucial Absa Currie Cup first round outing against Free State.

Steve Meyer is back in the starting line-up after going over on his ankle in training and playing off the bench last week. With a 5-2 split on the bench, Dumond drops out of the match 22 entirely with Ruan Pienaar and Andries Strauss providing back-up.

Amongst the forwards, Alistair Hargreaves has picked up an injury which means Ross Skeate will start his first match for The Sharks since signing with the Union. Ryan Kankowski replaces Michael Rhodes while Keegan Daniel, hat-trick hero last week, shifts to flank to accommodate the Springbok eighthman.

“Keegan Daniel and Jacques Botes have done well,” explains coach John Plumtree of the decision to retain the pair despite the return of three loose-forwards in Kankowski, Alberts and Jean Deysel, back from injury. Players being rewarded for good form is what this campaign is all about.

“We've left Alistair Hargreaves out because he's struggling with a calf muscle injury, so Ross Skeate comes in for him. We wanted to bring Beast Mtawarira off the bench because it takes a while to learn everything when you come back into a team again, but he will play a big role for us in the second half.”

With the likes of Mtawarira, Alberts, Deysel and Pienaar on the bench, The Sharks reserves offer the coach formidable attacking weaponry when they come onto the field, something Plumtree admits is of immense value.

“If you can have a bench that comes on and increases the tempo of the game, that's crucial. If they can come on and perform accurately, obviously that's gold for any team.”

Both teams have a few good results in the bag this season and as always, matches between the two are hard-fought affairs. Expect nothing different on Saturday.

“The Cheetahs are coming off the high of beating the Blue Bulls at Loftus and they will be very confident,” says Plumtree. We're starting to develop our programme as well. We were disappointing last week but it was a good wake up call for us in the same respect after beating the Bulls. I guess both teams will be equally motivated for this game.”

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. Ryan Kankowski
7. Keegan Daniel
6. Jacques Botes
5. Ross Skeate
4. Steven Sykes
3. Wiehahn Herbst
2. Craig Burden
1. Patric Cilliers

Replacements
16. Kyle Cooper
17. Tendai Mtawarira
18. Eugene van Staden
19. Willem Alberts
20. Jean Deysel
21. Ruan Pienaar
22. Andries Strauss