After last week’s unfortunate defeat to Ulster, Sharks coach John Plumtree has chosen to make minimal changes to the side for this week’s match against the Scarlets at Kings Park.
Bok bruiser Eben Etzebeth leads the team, with one rotational change to the pack, where Emmanuel Tshituka and Phepsi Buthelezi swap jerseys. The suspension of Makazole Mapimpi sees Edwill van der Merwe shift from fullback to his regular position on the wing.
Jordan Hendrikse, who made his comeback from injury off the bench last week, starts in the number 15 jersey. The final change sees the return of Springbok Lukhanyo Am at outside centre, with Jurenzo Julius dropping to the bench.
The Sharks pack is ominously powerful for a Scarlets team that is at the bottom of the URC table — only Manu Tshituka has not played for the Springboks.
The Scarlets, who will have Plumtree’s son Taine in their ranks, lost last week to the struggling Lions, but Sharks centre André Esterhuizen says they are a difficult side to play against.
“Every time we’ve played them, they’ve made the game quite messy because they like it loose and like to play off turnovers. We expect a hard, physical battle; it’s always like that against the Welsh sides — they have a lot of flair, so we need to counter that and play to our strengths.”
Esterhuizen added that “harsh words” had been exchanged between the players after their lacklustre performance in losing at home to Ulster.
“We didn’t perform like we wanted to; I don’t think we were cohesive enough and made too many individual errors,” he explained.
“But the boys have responded well — we took a hard look at ourselves, and it’s all about the next game against the Scarlets. We’re all looking forward to rectifying things.”
Sharks team for Scarlets
15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Manu Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka (capt), 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Bench: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 JJ Scheepers, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Jurenzo Julius.
