Sharks v Chiefs: Teams

The Sharks will hope to put their pre-season disruptions behind them when they face the Chiefs in Durban on Saturday.

The Natal franchise were rocked by the sudden retirement of fly-half Steve Meyer on Thursday, while they have been involved in on-going dispute with the Lions over the signing of Willem Alberts and Louis Ludik.

However they will finally let their rugby do the talking when they tackle last year's beaten finalists.

Monty Dumond has been handed the No.10 jersey after new recruit Meyer quit the sport, with Ruan Pienaar rushed back from injury to provide cover from the bench.

The Sharks have all-South Africa front row with skipper John Smit set to prop alongside Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira.

No.8 Alberts has been named on the bench against his former employers ahead of a hearing in the courts over his and Ludik's eligibility.

Abscess

The Chiefs have also had their problems in the build up to the match, with regular captain Mils Muliaina and stand-in skipper Sione Lauaki both missing.

Muliaina is back in New Zealand on a 'sabbatical' while Lauki has been ruled out because of an abscess on his arm.

Flanker Liam Messam will now lead the side, with Bay of Plenty skipper Colin Bourke moving to No.8 and Mike Delany filling in at full-back for Muliaina.

Callum Bruce has also been ruled out so Jackson Willison takes the No.12 shirt.

The Chiefs have named a 5:2 split on the bench with hooker Hika Elliot, props James McGougan and Ben Afeaki, lock Culum Retallick, back rower Jarrad Hoeata, half-back Junior Poluleuligaga and full-back Tim Nanai-Williams offering covering.

The Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Monty Dumond, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Gerhard Mostert, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Jacques Botes, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Adrian Jacobs.

Chiefs: 15 Mike Delany, 14 Dwayne Sweeney, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Colin Bourke, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam (captain), 5 Kevin O'Neill, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Nathan White, 2 Aled de Malmanche, 1 Sona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Ben Afeaki, 18 James McGougan, 19 Culum Retallick, 20 Jarrad Hoeata, 21 Junior Poluleuligaga, 22 Tim Nanai-Williams.