Johannesburg – The Sharks have beefed up their front row with the return of Springbok prop duo Jannie du Plessis and Beast Mtawarira to their starting lineup for their Super Rugby clash against the Bulls at Kings Park, in Durban, on Saturday.
The Sharks went down 23-21 in their previous outing against the Lions at Ellis Park last week, but the Bok pair make a welcome return after they were rested as part of the Saru arrangement to keep the national players fresh.
Lock Marco Wentzel retains the captaincy while, the backline remained unchanged.
The Sharks’ stuttering campaign which included a heavy 52-10 defeat to Crusaders in Durban two weeks ago, has seen the outfit slip to ninth on the overall log and fourth on the SA conference.
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. Renaldo Bothma, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Marco Wentzel (captain), 4. Mouritz Botha, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Franco Marais, 1. Beast Mtawarira. Replacements: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Thomas du Toit, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20. Etienne Oosthuizen, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Lionel Cronje, 23. SP Marais – ANA