Odwa Ndungane’s return to the wing in place of the injured JP Pietersen is the only change to the Sharks’ starting line-up for Saturday evening’s Currie Cup rugby final against Western Province in Durban.
Pietersen pulled up with a hamstring strain during the opening quarter against the Bulls in the semifinal, which has ruled him out of the final.
Ndungane — who was among the substitutes in the semis — now returns to the right wing, while Riaan Swanepoel comes into the match-day 22 on the bench.
Sharks coach John Plumtree said his team would have to raise its game to a new level for the final.
“It’s a final and everything is going to happen quicker and everything needs to be much sharper. Scoring opportunities are going to be fewer and it’s about taking them.
“Finals and semis are way more intense just because of what’s at stake.”
He added that preparations over the last two weeks had been very good.
“Obviously having that extra week between the final and semifinal enabled us to get over a few knocks and freshen everyone up, which was great.
“Western Province will be feeling pretty good about themselves and so are we.”
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, Tendai Mtawarira Replacements Craig Burden, Eugene van Staden, Anton Bresler, Jacques Botes, Rory Kockott, Andre Pretorius, Riaan Swanepoel — Sapa