John Plumtree has made sweeping changes to the team that lost to the Bulls last weekend, with positional changes amongst the halfbacks and the loose forwards the most interesting developments. Ruan Pienaar will start at flyhalf, while Jean Deysel will play in the unfamiliar position of open-side flank.
Lock Johann Muller is the only injury casualty from last week, but Andy Goode and Jacques Botes have both been demoted to the replacements bench. John Smit has been cleared to play and will start at hooker, with Alistair Hargreaves coming into the number 5 jersey vacated by Muller. Ryan Kankowski’s return to the starting loose trio sees Willem Alberts shift from 8 to 7, with Deysel occupying Jacques Botes’s spot.
Ruan Pienaar shifts from scrumhalf to flyhalf, with Rory Kockott taking over the number 9 shirt. The balance of the backline remains unchanged.
There are further changes o the bench. Pat Cilliers comes in as prop replacement, meaning Wiehahn Herbst misses out this week. Wilhelm Steenkamp also comes in to take up the spot in the squad vacated by Muller. Goode and Andries Strauss will be the only backline replacements with Keegan Daniel, and Craig Burden making up the balance of the forward contingent.
The Sharks
15. Patrick Lambie
14. Odwa Ndungane
13. Stefan Terblanche
12. Riaan Swanepoel
11. Lwazi Mvovo
10. Ruan Pienaar
9. Rory Kockott
8. Ryan Kankowski
7. Willem Alberts
6. Jean Deysel
5. Alistair Hargreaves
4. Steven Sykes
3. Jannie du Plessis
2. John Smit (Captain)
1. Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:
16. Craig Burden
17. Patric Cilliers
18. Wilhelm Steenkamp
19. Keegan Daniel
20. Jacques Botes
21. Andy Goode
22. Andries Strauss
Tweet
huh? Botes has been one of your best and most consistant players?
Awsome loose trio ,about time
Well this is a much better team but your centres and right wing are useless!!
This team could still upset the Stormers Dammit!!
Urm . . . who`s gonna secure possession for us?
@molly (Comment 1) : @ruggabugga (Comment 2) : I’m not convinced the loose trio is better. Botes does huge work on the cover defence and it’s usually because of his speed that he get’s there in time.
@wpw (Comment 3) : I`ve got it.
Sharks will bash it up all night, but mostly just defend for their lives untill the last 20 minutes then the mobile forwards would come on to try and spark something.
@Pokkel (Comment 5) : Botes tackle stats from what I’ve seen have been superb, he has really been good especially the last few games. Going to lose a lot of pace with that loose trio. Although I’m not convinced on how fast the Stormers loosies are either.
@molly (Comment 7) : it’s a gamble, that’s for sure
As long as the Stormers don’t underestimate the Sharks they will more than likely take this one BUT the Sharks are by no means easy beats!!
@wpw (Comment 9) : We’d be silly to underestimate… they’re a hells of a lot better than their log position, Coetzee is saying all the right things in the media.
Stormers have already dismissed the Sharks, for them its all about the “decider” against the Bulls next weekend
mmm with this team we could have actually taken the cup…
I see some very disappointed Stormers fans….
Dropping Botes, playing Rory…
Thanks Plum…
@Morné (Comment 13) : Kockott = 5mins. = 1try
Bottom line = SCORE TRIES
Watch Kockott getting under Duvenhage and Grant’s skin…..there will be tears.
@Morné (Comment 13) : I tend to agree….it’s no use having a good flyhalf if the ball takes ages to get to him
And there it is Ryan ready to take on my team!
Going to beat a good battle Vermeulen has been outstanding this year.
The Sharks front row should have the better of the Stormers at scrumtime
@RugbyGal (Comment 16) : So which one of your ‘boyfriends’ will you be cheering for?
Just goes to show, a love triangle always end in tears
@Pokkel (Comment 15) : Rather have Kockott taking ages to get the ball out and sniping for a gap, than having Ruan getting the ball out quickly just for Goode or Blanche to kick it away, or have Swaan running his top secret fail safe crash ball.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 18) :
Sorry Ryan – but its Vermeulen this weekend. Damn I should have gone to the game! My sister gave her season tickets to me but with work and kids sporting events it did not work out!
why change a loose forward combo that is working? rather put ryan in at 13. he can’t be worse than stefan. i am looking forward to fourie and whitehead walking over steffie. as for rory, 1 try but flyhalf saw squat ball. at least with ruan at 9 goode saw the ball. i’ll just sit back and watch. it will be nice if the backline can actually do something decent for a change.
@try time (Comment 21) : If the backline had a chance to perform it would be with Ruan inside them… I get rockott being a problem but maybe the benching will have taught him to pass a bit more?
but i wouldn’t call the changes sweeping. dick muir does sweeping changes. plum does tweaking. i cannot recall when last plum did more than 5 changes to his 22.
@try time (Comment 21) : With our backline in the state it currently finds itself it’d be better to just play 10 man rugby, Pienaar can try a skip pass to Mvovo with Lambie taking the inside pass.
Swaan, Blanche and Odd-one can fulfill their role of being tackling bags more accurately without the added pressure of being creative with rugby ball in hand.
Love this team! Deysel is pretty good at slowing down ball and stealing a few. The loosies are awesome and pretty damn scary as a combo! The pack in general is pretty fearsome. Should give the stormers a good run for their money!
@molly (Comment 22) : he didn’t show any sign of passing on saturday. so i doubt the break had any effect. but as i said it will be interesting to watch sa’s best backline against the sharks backline.
@molly (Comment 22) : thing with kockott – although he scored brilliant try – he is not that good recently. But neither is Goode, so I guess pretty much muchness.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 24) :
@FireTheLooser (Comment 24) : the stormers showed that their forward pack has improved ten fold since last year. the blues has arguably the strongest pack in comp this year as it put both the sharks and bulls under pressure, yet the stormers dealt well with them. so i doubt the sharks will suddenly create miracles. if you are going to play 10 man rugby then goode might be the better option at 10. if you want to play nine man rugby then this is the team.
@try time (Comment 29) :
i know a drinking game where you can’t get drunk…drink a shot everytime rory passes quick ball to the flyhalf. you probably won’t drink any because by the time he passes you would have forgotten why you put the shooters in front of you.
@try time (Comment 29) : Blues putting Sharks pack under pressure? Are you sure you’re not referring to the Streamers/Reds game, or the Streamers/Force game, or the Streamers/Brumbles game?
Blues lost to the Sharks because their forwards were unable to match the Sharks…..
Few, if any team in this comp have been able to match the Sharks forwards, our backline has cost us the season, our forwards brought respectability to our campaign.
@try time (Comment 31) : I know another drinking game, for every fast ball Ruan gets to the backline which turns into try, down a shot.
Same result.
haha, the fights are starting already.
Gonna hopefully be an excellent game, whats the weather looking like for Sat?
@try time (Comment 31) : @FireTheLooser (Comment 33) : I prefer the game where you drink a shot everytime Alberts or Deysel crosses the advantage line.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 32) : sorry you are right. it wasn’t the sharks game i watched. it definitely was the bulls (they got thumped by the blues pack) and another team. i never saw the blues sharks game, that is why i never commented on it. but i stand by the rest of my comment, the stormers pack aren’t the daisies they used to be. so we shouldn’t rely on the sharks pack performing miracles. especially when plum has removed a defender (botes) for a show man (ryan.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 33) : @Pokkel (Comment 35) :
pokkel you won’t get to see the second half if you play that game.
@Pokkel (Comment 35) : but won’t they need rory to pass to them to be able to get over the advantage line.
actually where is letgo. i am sure she has the bulls game on tape. how much ball did deysel and albert get from ruan vs rory?
@try time (Comment 38) : Dammit didn’t think of that…not that keen on drinking so much this weekend. I was a a wedding last weekend and my wife and best friend kept feeding me tequila all night
Fantastic loose trio. Mentioned to have this loose trio from the start. Should be a cracker those 3. Pity about Botes he has played superb, but we need the speed of Kanko.
Only problem is our centres. Wish we had better centres. Pleased to see John going to start too.
Go Sharks.
@try time (Comment 23) : 10 changes this week…
put the team-sheets side by side and count how many numbers have a different name against them this week. The answer is 10.
@Puma (Comment 41) : I think TT is right. Play Botes and bring Kanko on at 12 or 13…I’m sure he’ll do better than Swan or Oupa
@try time (Comment 36) : I know the Streamers upgraded their forwards, but the Sharks forwards dominating them is our only hope of getting close to something resembling a win.
Kockott at SH actually favors Deysel and Alberts, Kockott loves keeping the ball amongst the forwards (I think he’s a closet forward himself), and the way our backline is performing at the moment I can’t blame him. Forwards aren’t known for kicking (unless they play for the Streamers)
@Puma (Comment 41) : Burden at outside centre……Kanko at inside centre, Alberts at eight with Botes at 6.
Since our forwards has the best ball skills and imagination in the team, might as well throw them into the backline.
Swaan to move to reserve hooker, after all he’s been following Smit’s diet
@robdylan (Comment 42) : so you are around.
@Pokkel (Comment 43) : Pokkel, Maybe Kanko at 13 would also have been a good idea. Anyone right now would have been better. Stefan too slow.
Just though mentioned this loose trio from the start now finally see see Plum selecting them. Hope we give Stormers a good game don’t want us to be thrashed.
Our centres are a problem and we also miss Bissy. Think if we still had him and John at LH with this starting line up we would have been a lot more competitive.
Still pleased that we have Alberts, Deysel and John to start this week. Thought they were all going to be out with injury. Though let us see how long they last. This will be the 3rd week we will play a very physical side. Blues, Bulls now Stormers. Players bodies must be sore.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 45) : easy tiger. I like to think of Swannie as a real friend of Sharksworld. Let’s not be too harsh on the lad – he’s doing his best.
@try time (Comment 46) : I’m always around. Just not always around, if you see what I mean.
You need me for something?
@FireTheLooser (Comment 45) : Fires :
We could have tried that out too. Nothing to lose at this stage. Actually think Kanko would do well at inside centre or outside.
@Puma (Comment 47) : shows you what a good coach Matt Proudfoot must be, if the Stormers are now considered a physical side!
@robdylan (Comment 48) : I actually like Swaan, but unless someone helps him to further refine his attacking skills he’s not going to help the Sharks achieve the bottom line.
I seem to remember a certain article by a certain person on a certain site regarding his weight?! With friends like these….
@try time (Comment 39) : Observing…quietly.
I haven’t watched the game again. And my 2 month old niece was sleeping on my shoulder during the game, breathing so peacefully and making the cutest noises. I can’t really remember what happened in the game, I was so peaceful and happy afterward I had to remind myself that we just lost to the Bulls.
Baby’s are awesome. Especially when you’re their aunt.
Sharks backline
15. Lambie
14. Burden
13 Kanko
12. Keegan
11. Mvovo
10. Pienaar
9. McLeod
And so it begins again – I think in terms of screwing up potentially great carreers SA should be way in front – I feel for guys like Pienaar and Steyn who get shifted about so much, they never get truly settled in any position.
@robdylan (Comment 49) : no just was checking if you were around. i knew the comment would get a response if you were.
that is why i kept it as a seperate post to make it easier for you to see. i was over stressing about the sharks, so thought i would stir a little.
@MB1810 (Comment 55) : i don’t think ruan minds. he has been doing it all season. i think he didn’t like being the first choice fh, too much pressure.
@Letgo (Comment 53) : no baby would have slept near me. i have hardly screamed at refs this season, but kaplan peed me off on saturday.
@Letgo (Comment 53) : Wish I could say the same. My baby was up and about all through the game. I had my hands full!
Of course he is a bullterrier and his name just happen to be Beast . . .
Maybe that`s why he pushed his luck for couch privileges every now and then! Cue spilled drinks and lotsa swearing
@Original Pierre (Comment 59) : So when you call him you also go ‘beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast!!!!!!!!’?
@wpw (Comment 9) : We have fallen short too many times for anyone to be underestimating the Tjorks – if we fall short it will only be because the Tjorks had a good game and we played like idjits.
But we should take it if we play like we did last week.
@try time (Comment 56) : but it sends all kinds of messages to Snor
and you never know what he will do with them 
@Worcestershire Sauce (Comment 61) : you should take ANYONE if you play like you did last week. But that’s kind of the lingering question mark hanging over the Stormers, isn’t it? Consistency…
@FireTheLooser (Comment 60) : no wonder poor “baby” is agitated hearing its name allll the time
@robdylan (Comment 51) : Yeah, I know
@robdylan (Comment 51) : Rob, their loose trio are superb and very physical, just look at Burger? Would never want him to tackle me ever
@robdylan (Comment 63) : on the left hand side, under recent posts, somebody made sharks’s score 262
@Puma (Comment 66) : I think our loose trio for this weekend will have their number….Schalk only seems to be playing well because it’s hard to miss his blonde hair, when his hair was short it seemed as though he never did anything.
Ask Percy what a bit of color and style to the hair can do for the career.
@try time (Comment 58) : Yeah, Kaplan was poor. She didn’t mind the screaming. In a couple of years I see her sitting next to me screaming with me. Told my Brother and his wife…I’ll teach her rugby, you teach her all the other important stuff.
@Letgo (Comment 69) : …other important stuff
Not much left for them to teach her after you’re done
@FireTheLooser (Comment 68) : Wow… a BIT of a reach hey?
@molly (Comment 71) : Which part? Schalk’s hair do? It was near impossible to spot him with his short hair, with his long hair it’s hard to mis him.
Check old Joe Pietersen scoring some serious lime-light with his blonde locks.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 68) : Fires, Burger is playing the best rugby he has ever played. Even better than before he hurt his neck. BUT I like our loose trio, Shark_Lover and myself called for this loose trio from the start. So hoping Deysel and Alberts last the 80min. Remember they have injury niggles we don’t know how bad it still is. They both came off early last week. Now need John to stay on at hooker for the whole game too. How long will his neck last? Is he over that neck strain proper? Hoping.
My only concern is 12 and 13 maybe 14 too. Als
@FireTheLooser (Comment 72) : to be fair Schalk didn’t play that well when his hair was shot….maybe he has a Samson thing going
We have Dickenson this week too
Stormers know him by now inside out they have had him for three times already.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 72) : The part where Schalk only seems to be playing well.
@Pokkel (Comment 74) : He has the Samson thing going for sure. Burger is playing sublime rugby. Hope he keeps it up for the Boks too.
@molly (Comment 76) : ….seems to be playing well because of his long hair.
@Pokkel (Comment 74) : @molly (Comment 76) : @Puma (Comment 77) : Moral of the story…….cut Burger’s hair…..a chappie will work wonders towards achieving this
@Puma (Comment 73) : Does Pat Cilliers play TH as well…I’d hate it if Smit has to move to TH during the game.I’d rather have him move to LH
why move ruan now plum? The serious business is gone now he wants to play flyhalf? Watch this, ruan to play two games for the sharks & leapfrog peter grant as back up for morne
@Puma (Comment 77) : I hope so too….he’s been brilliant.
@Megatron (Comment 81) : I saw that comment somewhere on Keo….can’t remember the name though. Howzit Mega how you doing?
@Megatron (Comment 81) : Had Pienaar stopped moaning about playing 10 he might have deserved it by now if he played the whole of the S14 there.
@Pokkel (Comment 83) : I saw that same comment on keo too
You think our Mega is the same person there? 
@Pokkel (Comment 83) : @Puma (Comment 85) : You hang out on Keo and tell people about it
I only have one problem with this team, Botes should be starting, Kanko, well bring him on later when the Wayward breeeze are tireing.
Its funny to see Kanko being mentioned quite often now as a center, i was shot down very quickly middle of last year when i brought it up, person said dont fix what is not broken. Wasnt this site
@FireTheLooser (Comment 86) :
Oh i see all us SHARK supporters are one cell creatures according to grant10, that man does not like us SHARKIES no matter how much he says different.
@Treehugger (Comment 87) : Kankie’s hands aren’t good enough for center. Love the bloke, but he gets the dropsies far too often to play in the backline.
@Treehugger (Comment 87) : Seems the coastal rust got hold of it and it’s now COMPLETELY broken.
We probably shouldn’t be hoping for Kanko at 12 because he’s an excellent eighth man, but we definitely need someone of his caliber there. Creative, deceptive and super fast and able to read the opposition.
@wpw (Comment 3) : eeeeaaaahhhh let the game begin
@robdylan (Comment 90) : Not only that, he doesn’t know how to pass either.
@robdylan (Comment 90) : i agree about his droppsie lol, but for me he just doesnt have that brute strength needed for a forward, he is practically no help in the scrums, my rugby knowledge is not the best but i dont think he is a good 8, his tackles dont knock the opposition backwards and they have no problem stopping him dead in his tracks.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 91) : he is fast,yes.
@RugbyGal (Comment 16) : oh gee you are going to have to chose Ruan or
@FireTheLooser (Comment 18) : eeeee poor stormers me friend she’ll go for Ruan i guess
@FireTheLooser (Comment 33) : oh my and before the game is over you sit with on big babie and ask now who won eeee
@Pokkel (Comment 83) : i’ve been goode man, just been too busy lately and my old man’s health is not what it used to be…
Plus my saders have imploded dramatically…the backline as i stated previously is very inexperienced and now he forwards are also leaking penalties
so its misery on my side too…
I also got the comment on keo too
and agree fully that it is ridiculous
@Megatron (Comment 98) : Sorry about the Saders but at least now you have some sort of feeling about what it is to be a Sharks supporter…..lots of promise and nothing to show for it.
@Megatron (Comment 98) : well sorry to hear about the pops
hope he gets better soon and well with the team well better time next time we shall see the saders next year in the S15 gee me can’t wait 
@Pokkel (Comment 99) : you can say that again
@Megatron (Comment 98) : So you think the Saders can cause an upset at Loftus?? The last 3 semi spots are really still up for grabs. 6 teams for 3 semi spots…the last 2 weeks can really be interesting espesially if the Sharks and Saders causes upsets this weekend.
ok till later
I hope Pienaar gets a good run at flyhalf. I really believe he could be as good as Larkham if he would get his head space right.
Stefan at 13?
Here we go again…
@lostfish (Comment 105) :
We could do with old Butchie leading the backs again.
How I miss the days when EVERYBODY feared stepping into the Sharks midfield.
@lostfish (Comment 105) : His comments are rather disgraceful……he’s surely burnt his bridge with the Sharks.
Negotiations fell through because Butch was too big an idiot to realise he’d maybe want another shot at the wc and opted to sign a THREE year contract with Bath……can’t blame the Sharks for that.
i see butch is [email protected] the sharks management for making him look like a plonker to his team & teammates @ bath…hahahaha
@lostfish (Comment 105) : Did Butch not want a 2 year contract with the Sharks after the WC and got turned down?
Also think Sharks spent too much money on Hernandez so then was it Meyer? So probably not enough left for getting Butch back. Pity would have been good to have had him back for the 2nd half of the S14. Though that too would only be a temporary solution. We need someone young now in that postion. NOT Lambie like a few want at FH leave him at FB. There must be someone else we could play at FH? Unless we just leave Ruan there and let him get on with it. Maybe plenty game time there will make him a great FH. Then we always done well with BIG FH. Lem and Butch who could tackle just about anyone.
@Puma (Comment 110) : Kanko at FH?
You guys should have signed KSA Shark’s favourite player, Ismael Dollie…
@FireTheLooser (Comment 110) :
No. There must be someone else though. That guy who pulled out. What was his name? Was it Meyer? Someone said he was big and physical. Was it cause of his girlfriend that he pulled out? Damn daft if it was. Wasted our time.
@Puma (Comment 112) : If Meyer was big and physical, imagine what his girlfriend was like
We should have signed her instead.
big mistake to leave out Botes imo. Intersting shift of Ruan back to 10. Goode was a concern to us stormers with his educated tactical boot…we were worried about him putting it behind Fiji and bombing Whitehead, so cant say i am unhappy to see Goode on the bench from a stormers perspective. Your loosie combo unbalanced….i can see botes on at half time already.Smit at 2, obviously stormers wanted to see him at 3….!
Will be tough and close….no game at the tank ever easy. Stormers by a few i reckon…
@Puma (Comment 109) : I think he wanted a 2 year contract but the Sharks were only offering a 1 year contract. He did only have 1 good season after having been out for so long with his dodgy knees.
I see that keo has taken the story down about James blasting the Sharks and my comment here got deleted, perhaps there is some other evil force at play??
@FireTheLooser (Comment 116) : Hey me with you on that one
GO SHARKS 
@lostfish (Comment 115) : Thought Sharks never offered him any contract, then not very sure myself. Looking back though they should have given him the two years. He played very good rugby there for the first year and a half before he started picking up the injuries again.
Yes see your link to that story about Butch was taken out and somehow it appeared on keo
See they have deleted it too now and it has become a Stormers thread. Not sure why either.
See before it was put up on keo, some blogger mentioned what was in that bit you put up here for us to read yesterday.
@Puma (Comment 118) : Meant – Butch playing very good rugby for Bath up there.
“Bath’s Springbok flyhalf Butch James was all set to leave the Guinness Premiership in order to stake a claim for a World Cup spot, but says his ambitions were thwarted by the ‘disgraceful’ manner in which the Sharks handled the negotiations.”
THIS JUST P#S##S ME OF!! Please sharks management, open your eyes, your destroying us here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FROM RUGBY 356 WEB SITE
ROB, please give us some info here.
Butch was bitching about how the negotiations just suddenly ceased. Bath wanted way too much money so the Sharks backed out and now Butchie is blaming our management for ruining his chances of playing for the Boks at the 2011 RWC.
I’m sorry to pop his bubble, but there is no way he was ever going to get there ahead of Steyn, Grant or Pienaar, especially with his recent run of injuries.
sorry butchie but if you want to go to bath well no RWC 2011 game for you me friend
We have problems at FH, so we might have made a better deal here, even with Butch.
Why is everybody turning on Butch
He was along servant of Sharks Rugby.
Wonder what all of you would have said if the stormers or anyone else for that matter scooped him up.
Probably all of you would have said the exact opposite: Moaning about the Sharks management and Adolf.
@SharksRTB (Comment 123) :
well wait and see 
@Chaz (Comment 125) : What patheticness….
@SharksRTB (Comment 124) : Me got nothing against old Butchie me just don’t like our best guys going over broad thats all
if Steyn butch etc didn’t go over we might have got our S14 cup 
@Chaz (Comment 127) : who did you blame when they went abroad
This is a proffesional era, unions are doing business like corporate companies.
The sponsors, and fans want to win. No we need to win, cause myself (and many others I know of, are getting fed up of loosing. Loosing in a final, loosing in a semi, or just freaking loosing.)
Stormers management in the right place at the moment. What happened to us
@SharksRTB (Comment 128) : managment you can’t really go and blame the guys if they go for money can you
@SharksRTB (Comment 129) : maybe thats what we need to get us back to the tops new managment
Butch, may someone else in SA offer you a contract! And hopefully you will be back in the Bok 10. Because if you still feel you can, you will definately have something to offer in rugby. You deserve better than what the Sharks gave you
And deserve better than what you are getting from your ‘long time’ supporters. 
@Chaz (Comment 131) : So give them more money. The sharks have it, so why not give it.
@SharksRTB (Comment 133) : me don’t know i’ve been asking that one for a long time i think they waist to much of money when they do short imports
Happy thoughts, happy thoughts…raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…lalala.
@Letgo (Comment 135) :
@Letgo (Comment 135) : put some tjoklets in to me got a sweet tooth today
mmmm
hope the centre packs for us will do good against stormers? im just not that happy with stefan in centre, we need to get a younger player in or someone who can stand ther grounds? the same with the wings,ndughani is not fast anymore? where is ludik, whe bought him why not use him? ouer front row will do the backs a fovor to keep ball in hand, and to make stomers,fight for the ball?
Well well well….. does anyone else think that Ruan was frikken brilliant at flyhalf tonight! If he wants to play scrum half he’s doing himself no favours in my oppinion by playing so well at flyhalf ! And Rory also seems to be the spark that has been missing this year ! Real pitty he’s been on the bench all season !
Was also very impressed again with Burden when he came on again ! Like wise with Mvovo, its sad it takes injuries to force the sharks managment to give their young talent game time !
@Sharksman (Comment 138) : @hannass (Comment 139) : are the 2 of yous new