Durban – Following their heavy defeat at home last weekend, the Sharks have made no less than eight changes to their team to face the Lions at Ellis Park .
The Sharks were humbled 52-10 at Kings Park in Durban last weekend by a dominant Crusaders side, and director of rugby Gary Gold hope to quickly turn things around.
“Our performance this past weekend was unacceptable and we have taken full responsibility for the result and are determined to fix it this weekend,” Gold said.
Etienne Oosthuizen and Willem Alberts have both returned from injury lay-offs and the pair will start their return to rugby making an impact off the bench.
Odwa Ndungane has been named at fullback, replacing SP Marias who gets a rest after starting all eight matches to date. The move means S’bura Sithole starts on the wing, with Fred Zeilinga replacing the injured Pat Lambie in the final change to the backline.
Upfront, there is an overhaul with Lourens Adriaanse, Franco Marais and Dale Chadwick packing down in the front row after Jannie du Plessis and Beast Mtawarira were rested, while Renaldo Bothma replaces Jean Deysel in the final change.
Marco Wentzel has been named Captain.
“I believe in these players, we have a great group of guys,” said Gold.
“We are just not playing well at the moment and nobody can deny that. We are just going to have to show some character. We are going to have to step up to the plate. It is as simple as that.”
Sharks team: 15.Odwa Ndungane, 14.S’bura Sithole, 13.Waylon Murray, 12.Andre Esterhuizen, 11.Lwazi Mvovo, 10.Fred Zeilinga, 9.Cobus Reinach, 8.Ryan Kankowski, 7.Renaldo Bothma, 6.Marcell Coetzee, 5.Marco Wentzel (captain), 4.Mouritz Botha, 3.Lourens Adriaanse, 2.Franco Marais, 1.Dale Chadwick. Replacements: 16.Monde Hadebe, 17.Thomas du Toit, 18.Matt Stevens, 19.Etienne Oosthuizen, 20.Willem Alberts, 21.Conrad Hoffmann, 22.Lionel Cronje, 23.Jack Wilson. – ANA