Sharks v Highlanders: Teams

The Highlanders are sweating over the fitness of George Naoupu ahead of their Super 14 match against the Sharks on Saturday at Kings Park in Durban.

Number eight Naoupu has been bracketed with Steven Setephano as he is still recovering from injury and will require a late fitness test.

Should Naoupu not start the match Setephano will come into the team and his place on the bench will be taken by Tim Boys.

The Highlanders will be coming off an 18-11 home defeat to the Stormers last week and will be looking to upset the Durban home team

The only other change sees hooker David Hall starting as he rotates with Jason Rutledge sitting on the bench.

Motivation

Anthony Perenise comes onto the bench for Chris King while Jayden Hayward could come in for Johnny Leota on the bench.

The Sharks have been boosted ahead of the visit of the Highlanders with the news that fly-half Ruan Pienaar will start the match, with other returning injured players JP Pietersen and Jean Deysel also included in the run-on XV.

The three are integral members of the team and their presence has been missed in varying degrees, but their welcome return is a huge motivation for the side who know they have three intense weekends ahead of them.

"In the next few weeks we're playing some really tough sides in the Highlanders, Waratahs and Bulls, they all have really solid forward packs and game breakers in their backs, so everyone needs to step up," said Sharks coach John Plumtree.

"It's a new season for us now, we had our 10 week programme and then our bye week, everyone is refreshed and now it's really the time to perform.

Tough campaign

"We're in fourth position with three home games remaining, that's not a bad position, so that's a positive, we just have to make sure we can select a side that is consistent over the next three weeks, and obviously having Ruan back is important for that.

"Amongst the forwards, we have some good depth there as well."

Adrian Jacobs is out with a shoulder injury sustained against the Crusaders while captain Johann Muller is also nursing a bump picked up in that match and a call will be made on his availability closer to the match.

Albert van den Berg will start if Muller is not declared fit by the medical staff and Johan Snyman has been placed on standby. Andries Strauss has also been drafted in to the matchday 22.

"It's been a pretty tough campaign in terms of managing injuries, certainly for the last part of it I'd like to have some continuity," adds Plumtree.

Highlanders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Jason Shoemark, 12 Daniel Bowden, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Mathew Berquist, 9 Jimmy Cowan (c), 8 George Naoupu/Steven Setephano, 7 Alando Soakai, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 Clint Newland, 2 David Hall, 1 Jamie Mackintosh.
Replacements:16 Jason Rutledge, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Josh Bekhuis, 19 Steven Setephano/Tim Boys, 20 Sean Romans, 21 Johnny Leota/Jayden Hayward, 22 Kendrick Lynn.

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