Springboks Marcell Coetzee, Cobus Reinach and Patrick Lambie will all start for the Sharks when they face the Crusaders in Durban on Saturday.
Lambie and Reinach are straight swaps for Frans Steyn and Conrad Hoffmann, with Lambie also taking over the captaincy.
Back-row forward Renaldo Bothma gets a deserved rest after starting all but one match so far this season.
He will take great comfort from his man of the match award against the Force last week and will provide ample firepower off the bench, with Coetzee taking his place after enjoying a week’s rest.
Kyle Cooper continues at hooker in the absence of the suspended Bismarck du Plessis.
Cell C Sharks: 15 SP Marais, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie (c), 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20. Renaldo Bothma, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Waylon Murray.
Date: Saturday 4 April
Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time (13:00 GMT, Sunday 02.00 NZST, Sunday 00:00 AEST)
Venue: Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Ben Crouse, Rodney Bonaparte
TMO: Johan Greeff
Notes:
Quotes from Director of Rugby, Gary Gold:
“The Crusaders are a fantastic team, loaded with All Blacks. They have not won this competition as many times as they have by accident. They can never be taken lightly and we all know what a dangerous side they are when they hit their straps. “It’s fantastic to play against a team of this quality; every team wants to be measured against the best. We are confident with our group of players and are excited about the match-up this weekend.”
The Cell C Sharks to play in special jerseys:
On Tuesday, The Sharks launched their legacy campaign ‘Sharks Forever Fans’, which sees The Sharks team up with the Organ Donor Foundation of South Africa to raise awareness and promote the need for organ donation, which ultimately saves lives. To launch this initiative, the Cell C Sharks will be wearing a limited edition jersey for their match against the Crusaders this Saturday. After the match these jerseys will be auctioned to raise funds for the project.
STATS AND INTERESTING FACTS Cell C Sharks vs Crusaders:
Super Rugby Head-to-head:
- Played: 21, Cell C Sharks won 5
- Crusaders won 15
- Drawn 1 In 2014
- Cell C Sharks won 30 / 25 (Christchurch) & Crusaders won 38 / 6 (Semi-final)
- The Cell C Sharks have averaged more kicks from hand per game (29.3) but are also the recipients of more kicks from hand (28.9)
- The Cell C Sharks have scored the most tries in the 2nd quarter (7)
- The Crusaders have scored the most tries in the 3rd quarter (8)
- The Crusaders concede the most turnovers per game (18.2)
- Marcell Coetzee is the joint top-try scorer this season and the top-scoring forward after crossing the whitewash 4 times in 6 games.