Lambie leads Sharks against Toulon

Editor

Springbok fly-half Pat Lambie will captain the Sharks for their pre-season friendly against Toulon on Friday.

Lambie is part of a strong starting XV which includes Joe Pietersen, Odwa Ndungane, Cobus Reinach and Tendai Mtawarira.

Former Toulon scrum-half Michael Claassens is named amongst the replacements.

Director of rugby Gary Gold told the Sharks website: “This weekend’s game is a nice opportunity to test ourselves and see how far we’ve come, with what’s been quite a lengthy pre-season. We’ve selected a strong side against what should be a good Toulon team.

“It’s a great opportunity for youngsters such as Jean-Luc and Daniel du Preez to get their first start in the Super Rugby squad.

"The guys are really excited and I know that we will be a bit rusty in comparison to a Toulon team that are mid-season and have been playing together for a few months, but’s that the type of challenge we wanted.”

Sharks: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Lwazi Mvovo, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Odwa Ndungane, 10 Pat Lambie (c), 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Dave McDuling, 21 Hyron Andrews, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Michael Claassens, 24 Garth April, 25 Heimar Williams, 26 Johan Deysel, 27 Wandile Mjekevu, 28 S’bura Sithole

Date: Friday, February 5
Venue: Stade Félix Mayol
Kick-off: 20:30 local (19:30 GMT)
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz