Siya Kolisi is one of six Springboks returning to the Sharks’ starting XV for their clash against the Bulls at Kings Park in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Boks captain was rested for the recent trip to the United Kingdom, where the Sharks were soundly beaten 56-17 by Leicester Tigers, with the Durbanites now looking to bounce back against Jake White’s Bulls.
Sharks welcome Springboks back
Kolisi starts at number eight once again for John Plumtree’s side and will skipper the team with Eben Etzebeth still sidelined after the concussion he sustained against Exeter Chiefs in Round One of the Investec Champions Cup.
He is joined in the back-row by Emmanuel Tshituka with last week’s skipper Phepsi Buthelezi, who shifts from the number eight jersey to six.
Jason Jenkins and Emile van Heerden start in an unchanged second-row but the front-row is strengthened by the return of Springboks props Ox Nche and Vincent Koch who start either side of hooker Dylan Richardson.
Jaden Hendrikse combines with brother Jordan in the half-backs as Siya Masuku drops to the bench while there is a change in the centres with former Springbok Francois Venter replaced by current Bok Andre Esterhuizen, who partners the impressive Ethan Hooker.
Makazole Mapimpi starts on the left wing with Yaw Penxe on the right as the starting XV is completed by the returning Aphelele Fassi.
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While Plumtree has bolstered his team with the returning Boks, he is still without Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi, Grant Williams and Lukhanyo Am who are all unavailable due to injury.
Braam Reyneke, Fez Mbatha, Gerbrandt Grobler, James Venter, Khwezi Mona, Marnus Potgieter and Vincent Tshituka are also sidelined currently.
This means that Ethan Bester, Ruan Dreyer, Trevor Nyakane, Corne Rahl and Nick Hatton are the forward replacements this weekend as Cameron Wright, Masuku and Jurenzo Julius cover the backs.
Esterhuizen previews URC clash
“Coming off a tough loss in the EPCR, bouncing back is our main priority,” centre Esterhuizen said. “Training has gone well, it’s a local derby, the Bulls are always tough and we’re bracing ourselves for a big challenge.”
The clash against the Bulls is set to be played in front of a sold-out crowd and Esterhuizen says the side is eager to keep their enviable home record intact.
“You want to win all your home games because that makes things so much easier in the competition, especially with all the travel. If you make sure of winning at home, any points away are a bonus,” he said.
“Durban is a tough place to come and play, the weather and humidity are big factors, and we as a team want to make it tough to come and play here. We want to make it hard, physical and very fast and the more we can do that, put teams under pressure, the better.
“Winning at home means a lot to us and the fans, having more fans in the stadium is what we want and that makes it easier for us when we play.
“Being at home is a massive boost, you have your own fans behind you, we have sold out crowd, which we really appreciate. The fans have been showing up in numbers in the last few games and that’s been great for us. We feel we’re on the right track.”
He added: “Historically, playing the Bulls is always tough from a physicality point of view, it’s a north-south derby that’s always been great to play in.
“It’s going to be a physical challenge, we know them well, they know us well.”
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Sharks team v Bulls
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Jurenzo Julius
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 16:00 IRE & UK / 17:00 ITA / 18:00 SA
Referee: Morne Ferreira (SARU, 14th league game)
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU), Griffin Colby (SARU)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
READ MORE: United Rugby Championship: Round Eight match officials, kick-off times and TV coverage
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/siya-kolisi-captains-springboks-stacked-sharks-looking-to-bounce-back-after-tigers-mauling
