The Sharks have a brand new centre pairing for their home clash with the Leopards on Friday, with Meyer Bosman and Marius Joubert starting in the midfield.
The Sharks are unbeaten at home so far this season and will want to stamp their dominance on proceedings from the very beginning against a Leopards outfit without any big names.
Pat Lambie and Lwazi Mvovo have been called up to the Springbok squad having played in the 21-19 victory over Western Province last weekend.
Veteran Stefan Terblanche, who started at centre with Lambie, is rested and takes up a place on the bench.
“I’m giving Stefan Terblanche a bit of a break to give Meyer Bosman and Marius Joubert the opportunity to work together, I’d like to see what they can show me as a partnership as well as individually,” Sharks coach John Plumtree told the club’s website.
Mvovo’s Bok call up has opened the door for promising young talent Sibusiso Sithole to come back into the side on the left wing.
There are also changes in the halfback pairing, where Conrad Hoffmann is handed a rare opportunity to start at scrumhalf alongside Freddie Michalak, who shook off a hamstring niggle picked up in his man of the match performance last week.
“It’s an opportunity to see what he [Hoffmann] can do after a long lay-off, he’s keen to show me what he’s capable of,” says Plumtree.
Captain Keegan Daniel is rested and climbs onto the bench, with Jacques Botes taking over the No.6 jersey and will skipper the side.
“Keegan will take a break, he has a bit of wear and tear, but he’ll come off the bench later in the game, but I want to give him a little less time on the field this week,” Plumtree said.
The final change to the starting line-up sees Wiehahn Herbst start for Eugene van Staden at tighthead prop with Alistair Hargreaves coming into the team for the first time in the current campaign.
“The Leopards have conceded a few points this year, but they’ve also scored a few, so they have plenty of attacking threats and will come here with an attitude of wanting to attack and put on a good show,” Plumtree added. “Defensively, we’re going to have to be really up for it.
“Our defence was good against Western Province, but it was easier in the rain. Hopefully there won’t be any on Friday. They will look to stress us and we have to make sure defensively we’re on target – defence is a big focus for us this weekend.”
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Marius Joubert, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Conrad Hoffmann, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes (captain), 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Adrian Jacobs, 22 Stefan Terblanche.
Date: Friday, August 19
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe
Assistant referees: Matt Kemp, Reuben Rossouw