Sharks make two changes for Brumbies
Sharks head coach Robert du Preez has made two alterations to his starting line-up to take on the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.
There is one change apiece to the forwards and backline. Thomas du Toit returns to pack down at tighthead prop with John-Hubert Meyer shifting to the bench, and out on the wing, sees a rotational change with Kobus van Wyk replacing Sbu Nkosi.
"After reviewing their game against the Rebels, the Brumbies were unlucky not to have scored a few more tries," Du Preez explained from the team’s base in Australia.
"We know it’s going to be a very tough game in Canberra. They want to get their campaign going and for us it’s really important to have a good start to our tour."
The Brumbies lost 33-10 to the unbeaten Rebels in Melbourne last weekend and du Preez admitted that they won’t be taking the former champions lightly.
"We shouldn’t be reading too much into that loss, this is a really good Brumbies team with a formidable pack of forwards who like to drive and like to play a lot of rugby, it’s going to be a big, big game on Saturday and we want to get our tour off to a great start," he added.
"We’ve seen a lot of lineout driving from them, they probably play a bit more than they did in the past and they’re not scared to run the ball out of their own 22.
"If you give them any opportunities or scraps, they will really pounce on that. We are going to have to be on top of our game to make sure we control it the way we want; we need to dominate, that’s where it’s all going to start. We need to bring big physicality, that’s really important for us."
Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Tera Mtembu, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Wian Vosloo, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Ruan Botha (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Lwazi Mvovo
Date: Saturday, March 17
Venue: GIO Stadium
Kick-off: 19:45 local (08:45 GMT)
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: William Houston (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: Ian Smith (Australia)