Tim Swiel will wear the Sharks' No 10 jersey against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Frans Steyn has moved from flyhalf to inside centre, with S'bura Sithole at 13. Pat Lambie, who has been training with the squad having recovered from bicep surgery, will not make his long-awaited return this weekend.
With the heavy workload suffered by the Sharks and Springbok front row, director of rugby Jake White has opted for rotation, with Dale Chadwick, Kyle Cooper and Lourens Adriaanse starting this match.
Anton Bresler makes a welcome return to action and has been named alongside Stefan Lewies in the second row, while Jean Deysel takes over the captaincy.
The bench, loaded with six Springboks, should provide plenty of firepower in the latter stages of this clash. Thomas du Toit, back from an outstanding campaign for the SA U20 side, has earned a call-up to the senior side, having featured in the Vodacom Cup for the Sharks XV earlier this season.
Sharks – 15 SP Marais, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 S'bura Sithole, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel (c), 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick
Subs: 16 Thomas du Toit, 17 Bismarck du Plessis, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Tera Mtembu, 21 Charl McLeod, 22 Odwa Ndungane, 23 Tonderai Chavhanga.
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
