Siya Kolisi will lead out a Sharks team without Eben Etzebeth for their blockbuster United Rugby Championship semifinal against the Bulls in Pretoria.
Head coach John Plumtree has to do without captain Etzebeth, who unfortunately got injured at training this week.
23-year-old Corne’ Rahl replaces Etzebeth, while Emile van Heerden comes in for the injured Jason Jenkins, who went down in last week’s victory over Munster and hasn’t recovered sufficiently. Lock Deon Slabbert comes on to the bench, as does Jurenzo Julius for Francois Venter.
For captain Kolisi, playing winning rugby has been a hallmark of this Sharks team. Although he acknowledges that the team hasn’t played to their full potential, coming out victorious shows the growth in the team. And at this stage of the tournament, any win will do.
“We want to play better, there are many things we want to do better on the field, but there were a lot of good things we did against Munster,” said the double World Cup-winning captain.
“We’ve also played better this season with a full team and everyone available, but with injuries, the dynamics change.
“The most important thing is finding a way to win when things aren’t going well. I’ve been in a team where we played amazing rugby and we still lost. You can have that, or you can have what we’re going through.
“But the ultimate goal is to play the kind of rugby we know we’re capable of playing.”
Saturday’s semifinal against the Bulls at Loftus kicks off at 18:15, with Leinster hosting Glasgow in the earlier semifinal at 15:45.
Sharks :
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne’ Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements:
16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Jurenzo Julius, 23 Yaw Penxe.
