Phepsi starts at 8 in Cape Town
Emile van Heerden will again feature at 5 lock with Lappies Labuschagne adding some beef to the loose trio with Phepsi moving to the back of the scrum. Jaden Hendrikse swaps with Grant Williams with the rest of the backline remaining the same as the one that lost against the Cheetahs.
Kiwi prop Joel Hintz will likely make his debut for the Sharks in the second half. Corne Rahl, George Cronje and Boeta Chamberlain will get some more game time from the bench later on.
John Dobson has decided to keep continuity from the team that beat the Bulls last week and has selected a very strong Stormers team – Deon Fourie especially has been the Sharks kryptonite over the years.
The Sharks team on paper should be very competitive but in their current state I can’t see them pulling off this win. I would like improvement in the set pieces and more accurate rugby for longer periods in the game. Also the overall work rate and intensity at the breakdown and tackles will need to improve drastically.
- Ox Nche
- Kerron van Vuuren
- Coenie Oosthuizen
- Eben Etzebeth
- Emile van Heerden
- James Venter
- Lappies Labuschagne
- Phepsi Buthelezi
- Jaden Hendrikse
- Curwin Bosch
- Makazole Mapimpi
- Francois Venter
- Lukhanyo Am (c)
- Werner Kok
- Aphelele Fassi
Replacements
- Daniel Jooste
- Ntuthuko Mchunu
- Joel Hintz
- Corne Rahl
- George Cronje
- Grant Williams
- Boeta Chamberlain
- Ethan Hooker