Steve Meyer. Image © sharksrugby.co.za

28 January 2010 (14:44) - The Sharks conclude their Neo Africa Tri Series commitments with a tough encounter against the Stormers on Friday night at Newlands in Cape Town with a good opportunity to gauge where the team are in terms of their preparations.

The preseason games invariably produce a number of upsets – The Bulls lost all preseason games last year but went on to win the Vodacom Super 14 – and not much should be read into previous results.

The Stormers come into the game with a good victory over an inexperienced Western Force side behind them, while The Sharks side still has an experimental element about it as coach John Plumtree continues to assess his options and combinations with a strong starting line-up as well as a full bench that also includes Steve Meyer who arrived at the team’s hotel this morning from Perpignan in France.

The original 28 man touring squad is missing Jacques Botes and Adi Jacobs who are not going to be involved in the match, otherwise the 12-man bench provides ample cover.

John Smit captains the side.

The Sharks:
15 Patrick Lambie
14 Odwa Ndungane
13 Waylon Murray
12 Andries Strauss
11. JP Pietersen
10 Monty Dumond
9 Rory Kockott
8 Willem Alberts
7 Jean Deysel
6 Keegan Daniel
5, Johann Muller
4 Gerhard Mostert
3 John Smit (captain)
2 Bismarck du Plessis
1 Jannie du Plessis.

Replacements
Craig Burden, Tendai Mtawarira, Steven Sykes, Ryan Kankowski, Charl McLeod, Riaan Swanepoel, Stefan Terblanche, Patric Cilliers, Alistair Hargreaves, Steve Meyer, Luzuko Vulindlu, Lwazi Mvovo
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 19.00
Referee: Craig Joubert
TV: SuperSport