Cape Town - While the Stormers will be looking to make the most of their first United Rugby Championship home game of the year, the Sharks will want to stay ahead of their coastal rivals on the competition standings.
Just two points separate the Sharks (10th) and Stormers (12th) on the URC table. The fact that only a handful of local games remain before the South African sides go up against European competition is another factor that should add spice to the weekend’s encounters.
Next weekend, the Stormers will take on the Lions at Ellis Park, before heading to Ireland to face Connacht on February 26.
When the Stormers and the Sharks met at Kings Park last week, it ended in a 22-all stalemate as John Dobson’s charges fought back in the last quarter after a string of errors from both sides made the fixture a frustrating affair.
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While the Sharks should be most disappointed with the result given their Bok-laden line-up and the scoreboard advantage they had in the clash, one area the Stormers will no doubt have to improve are the scrums.
That’s where the hosts will be hoping centurion Brok Harris makes his major milestone an even more memorable one. The 36-year-old Harris will make his 100th appearance for the Stormers when he starts at tighthead prop in the return match against the Sharks (kick-off 5.05pm). He played over 100 games for the Dragons before returning to South Africa, where he was a scrum consultant with the Stormers before being used as injury cover for their URC campaign.
Dobson kept the lineup fairly consistent for the meeting, with Warrick Gelant starting at fullback the only other change to the run-on side.
Utility forward Ben-Jason Dixon returns from injury and will make his first URC appearance when he takes the field.
“We brought Brok in as a scrum consultant this season, hoping to benefit from his knowledge of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams and conditions. His performances on the pitch have been remarkable and there is nobody who deserves this milestone more than him,” Dobson said of Harris.
STORMERS TEAM
15 Warrick Gelant 14 Angelo Davids 13 Ruhan Nel 12 Dan du Plessis 11 Seabelo Senatla 10 Manie Libbok 8 Herschel Jantjies 8 Hacjivah Dayimani 7 Ernst van Rhyn 6 Deon Fourie 5 Marvin Orie 4 Adre Smith 3 Brok Harris 2 Scarra Ntubeni 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Bench: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter 17 Leon Lyons 18 Sazi Sandi 19 Ben-Jason Dixon 20 Marcel Theunissen 21 Nama Xaba 22 Paul de Wet 23 Damian Willemse.
SHARKS TEAM
15 Aphelele Fassi 14 Sbu Nkosi 13 Jeremy Ward 12 Lukhanyo Am (captain) 11 Makazole Mapimpi 10 Tito Bonilla 9 Jaden Hendrikse 8 Phepsi Buthelezi 7 Jeandre Labuschaghe, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden 3 Thomas du Toit 2 Bongi Mbonambi 1 Ox Nche.
Bench: 16 Kerron van Vuuren 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu 18 Khutha Mchunu 19 Gerbrandt Grobler 20 Henco Venter 21 Grant Williams 22 Boeta Chamberlain 23 Werner Kok.