Sharks load up on Springbok firepower for Challenge Cup clash against Cheetahs

A 45-5 victory against Pau at Kings Park last Saturday set the tone for the tournament, but following up that big result with another against Free State would do wonders for John Plumtree's men after a slow start to the season.

Confidence is high and scoring 69 points against the Dragons in the United Rugby Championship less than three weeks ago shows that this is a team that knows how to win, and win big.

And with the inclusion of the likes of captain Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Eben Etzebeth, Ox Nche and Grant Williams, expectations are also high that the Sharks' Springbok firepower will make the difference on Sunday.

The men from Bloemfontein cannot be underestimated, however, and also go into round two off the back of a 33-15 away win against Zebre Parma in Italy last weekend.

With the battle lines drawn, rugby fans are in for another mouth-watering derby clash between two old foes who have fought some huge battles over the years.

Once again, head coach John Plumtree has stuck to his guns by selecting an almost unchanged match 23, with the only changes coming in at lock where Corne Rahl shifts to the bench to accommodate Le Roux Roets who gets his first start after making his long-awaited return from injury last week and on the wing where Werner Kok has been cleared to start and takes over from Marnus Potgieter.

Young Ethan Hooker gets another chance to impress after a strong showing in his team's six-try-to-one drubbing of Pau last week. The SA Under-20 centre who hasn't yet turned 21 featured prominently for the Sharks Under 20s, captaining the side to the SA Rugby Under-20 Cup title earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the Cheetahs got their first taste of top-class action of the year against Zebre Parma and the result bodes well for the future.

"From our side, we are happy with the preparations. I think with the game over the weekend we showed that even though we didn't get a lot of game time before that we got a lot of things right. We're looking forward to the challenge of playing against the Sharks on the weekend," said Cheetahs forwards coach Izak van der Westhuizen.

Sunday's match at the Free State Stadium kicks off at 3pm.

Toyota Cheetahs: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 George Lourens, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Friedle Olivier, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (C), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Cameron Dawson.

Replacements: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Laurance Victor, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Sibabalo Qoma, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Ali Mgijima.

Hollywoodbets Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Phepsi Buthelezi, 6 James Venter, 5 Le Roux Roets, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16 Daniel Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jeandre (Lappies) Labuschagne, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Ethan Hooker.

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