The strength of the situation the Sharks were in when they found themselves with an unassailable lead at the top of the Currie Cup log with one match to play was that they could use their final league match to ask the questions that needed answering.

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They did that, and before the trip to Newlands there was a strong possibility that Andre Pretorius would be lining up at flyhalf in the knockout matches. This after the former Lions Springbok had played so well in a big win over the Leopards in Durban.

However coach John Plumtree always said that he would need to see Pretorius against tougher opposition before deciding, and tough opposition is what Western Province provided this past week in Cape Town.

While there were aspects of the 33-21 defeat which should disturb Sharks fans, the exercise was nonetheless a good one for the Sharks — the questions were posed, they received their answers. It would not have gone unnoticed, for instance, that the Sharks were much more settled and less rushed and mistake-prone when Patrick Lambie and Charl McLeod came onto the field as a replacement halfback pairing for Rory Kockott and Pretorius.

To be fair to Pretorius, it might have been the wrong day for him to be tried at flyhalf for it was one of those rare occasions when the Sharks forwards took a backward step to the Province pack — something the Sharks probably weren’t anticipating given the way they had dominated their Cape opponents in the forward battle in recent meetings.

But even taking that disadvantage into account, Pretorius knocked on a couple of balls and generally did not play with the assurance that the Sharks management would have liked from him ahead of a semifinal and possible final.

The upshot is that the Sharks will revert to Plan A for Saturday’s semifinal against the Blue Bulls, with McLeod and Lambie being asked to continue where they left off in Cape Town. As anticipated, they will also recall Willem Alberts to blindside flank now that he is over his injury niggle, with Keegan Daniel slotting in on the other flank.

Both players were missed against Province, as was Steven Sykes, who will return at lock, while Louis Ludik will come back at fullback in place of Lambie, who started there at Newlands.

There is still an outside chance that Springbok JP Pietersen might be declared fit to play, and, if he is, there could be a rethink in the back three as both wings, Odwa Ndungane and Lwazi Mvovo, are in good form at the moment. Pietersen has played fullback, though it would be a risk to play him there in a high pressure semifinal against a team with Morne Steyn in it.

Probable Sharks team: Louis Ludik, Odwa Ndungane, Stefan Terblanche (captain), Andries Strauss, Lwazi Mvovo, Patrick Lambie, Charl McLeod, Ryan Kankowski, Willem Alberts, Keegan Daniel, Alistair Hargreaves, Steven Sykes, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Beast Mtawarira.