The Sharks have axed lock Alistair Hargreaves from the team for their Currie Cup clash against Western Province on Saturday.
Ross Skeate replaces the Springbok lock who has struggled to produce the form he showcased in the Super Rugby competition following an abdominal muscle injury.
The other change sees the elevation of another national player, Charl McLeod, into the scrumhalf position.
McLeod – in ahead of Ross Cronje – and Skeate are both returning from short stints on the sidelines last week, missing the game against Griquas with Hargreaves and Cronje missing out on match 22 selection altogether.
Second rower Jan Andre Marais, instead, comes in on the bench along with Conrad Hoffmann as reserve scrumhalf.
The only other change among the replacements is the inclusion of Jacques-Louis Potgieter for Louis Ludik, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after breaking a bone in his foot.
The hosts, currently second on the log with 37 points, will take a massive step towards securing a home semi-final if they can win at Kings Park and Plumtree said: “I think Province are possibly a little bit like us.
“A little bit up and down and they get affected big time as well by Springbok call-ups. They’ve had some injury problems like us as well, so both camps I guess have been through similar things.
“But this is a very important game and it’s a home game for us, so we need to play a lot better than we did last week and I’m sure we’re going to do that.”
Teams:
Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Marius Joubert, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel (C), 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 7 Ross Skeate, 6 Anton Bresler, 5 Eugene van Staaden, 4 Kyle Cooper, 3 Dale Chadwick.
Replacementss: 16 Mondie Hadebe, 17 Wiehann Herbst, 18 Jan Andre Marais, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Conrad Hoffman, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Adrian Jacobs.
Western Province: 15 Heinrich Steyl, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 JJ Engelbrecht, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nick Fenton-Wells, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg (C), 1 JC Kritzinger.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Tertius Daniller, 19 Nick Koster / Pieter Louw, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Johann Sadie, 22 Conrad Jantjes.