Sharks v Brumbies: Teams

Injured Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock has been ruled out of the Brumbies' Super 14 clash with the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.

Mortlock has failed a fitness test after corking his leg in an ugly collision during the Brumbies 25-17 loss to the Lions.

Brumbies coach Andy Friend has opted to start Gene Fairbanks at inside centre, with Tyrone Smith replacing Mortlock at outside centre.

Despite losing to the Lions, the Brumbies still boast one of the best records in South Africa of the nine Australasian franchises, having won 11 from 21 in the Republic since 2000.

And all six previous matches played between the Brumbies and Sharks in Durban have been determined by margins of 12 points or less, as have the last six played between the sides at all venues.

Friend has made two other changes to his starting line-up,with South African-born Clyde Rathbone recalled to the starting XV on the left wing against the side which he made his Super Rugby debut for in 2002.

Rathbone played three matches for the Durban side before linking with the Brumbies prior to the 2003 Super 12 season.

Blindside flanker Mitchell Chapman makes his first appearance in 2009 after returning from off-season shoulder surgery. He will start on the side of the scrum and replace Peter Kimlin, who has been named on the bench.

Gene Fairbanks (neck) and Alfi Mafi (ankle) are set to make their returns from long term injuries, with Mafi in line to make his debut for the Brumbies after joining the side from the Waratahs.

Sharks shuffle

Sharks coach John Plumtree has brought in scrum-half Charl McLeod on the bench as the only new face along with a re-arranged front row to meet the Brumbies in Saturday's Super 14 clash in Durban.

In changes to last week's Sharks side that beat the Western Force, McLeod replaces last year's successful Sharks U19 captain Ross Cronje while Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira rotate with John Smit and Deon Carstens respectively in the front row.

This weekend sees the Sharks back at the Absa Stadium, playing only their second game in front of their home crowd this season and a good turnout is expected with the second-placed outfit taking on the Brumbies who slipped to ninth place on the table following their 25-17 defeat to the Lions last weekend.

The Sharks have amassed something of a record-breaking achievement in the defensive stakes on tour, but this weekend will be looking to break the shackles and spend more of the game attacking.

The Brumbies are only eight points adrift of the Sharks and at this stage of the competition, table positions count for little - such is the competitiveness of the tournament in 2009.

The two teams have a long history of big matches, the 2001 Super 12 final in Canberra probably the biggest, but also a shock win by the Brumbies two years ago - at the same venue - when both sides were in similar positions to now. The Sharks were coasting along nicely with the Brumbies suffering something of a shock defeat the previous week.

The Sharks will also look to erase the memory of last year's defeat in Australia and have plenty riding on the game - as do the Brumbies who will be facing an uphill battle in the competition should they fall this weekend.

Boost

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Francois Steyn 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Keegan Daniel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (c), 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Skholiwe Ndlovu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Monty Dumond, 22 Luzuko Vulindlu.

Brumbies: 15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tyrone Smith, 12 Gene Fairbanks, 11 Clyde Rathbone, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Joshua Holmes, 8 Julian Salvi, 7 George Smith (c), 6 Mitchell Chapman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.

Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Shawn Mackay, 19 Peter Kimlin, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 22 Alfi Mafi, 23 Matt Toomua.