The Sharks have made four changes to their forward pack ahead of their Currie Cup clash with the Free State Cheetahs in Durban on Saturday.

Following a draining encounter against the Pumas, coach Brad Macleod-Henderson has decided to freshen things up for the match at Kings Park. Matt Stevens will start his first Currie Cup match for the Sharks, replacing Lourens Adriaanse at tighthead prop. Dale Chadwick comes in on the other side of the front row, with promising youngster Thomas du Toit dropping to the bench.

Lock JC Astle has failed to recover from injury, with Etienne Oosthuizen moving into the second row to fill the void. That means former SA U20 player Francois Kleinhans will start at blindside flank.

The backline, who failed to fire against the Pumas, remains unchanged as Cameron Wright retains his starting role despite the availability of Conrad Hoffmann after his return to fitness.

Sharks – 15 SP Marais, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 S'bura Sithole, 12 Paul Jordaan, 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Tera Mtembu (c), 7 Francois Kleinhans, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Subs: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Stephan Lewies / Johan Meyer, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Heimar Williams, 22 Lionel Cronje.

Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images