Sharks v Western Force: Teams
Sharks and Force both name unchanged squads for Saturday's Super Rugby showdown in Durban.
Last Updated: 11/05/12 1:39pm
Western Force have announced an unchanged side to face the Sharks on Saturday as they look to end their South African tour with a victory.
Force, who have won just two of their ten games so far this season, suffered a four-point loss to the Cheetahs last weekend.
The defeat, which left the Perth outfit rooted firmly to the bottom of the Australian Conference, followed a 17-3 beating at home by the Stormers a week earlier.
Forwards coach Nick Stiles stressed the importance of getting a good start against South African opposition and said his side would be concentrating on just that.
"It's been a focus for us over the last few weeks to start the game well against the South African sides," Stiles told the Force's official website.
"Because if you give them too much of a lead at the start of the game, it is difficult to close the gap.
Attack
"It's good to have the same 22 and have that continuity with our game plan and we're starting to see some growth through our backs so we'll definitely look to attack a lot more than last week.
"We'd love to see (Napolioni) Nalaga getting the ball a lot more than he is, but sometimes it's a bit more difficult than what we'd like.
Sharks coach John Plumtree has also named an unchanged side from the one that beat the Highlanders 28-16 last weekend.
This is the first time this season that Plumtree has been able to retain the same 22 that started in a previous game.
"The key thing is winning, winning breeds confidence," said Plumtree. "If we have extra belief and confidence in our ability and train with smiles on our faces because we have log points, that helps unbelievably."
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel (c), 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Ryan Kankowski, 21 Frederic Michalak, 22 Meyer Bosman.
Western Force: 15 Alfie Mafi, 14 Sam Wara, 13 Nick Cummins, 12 Winston Stanley, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 David Harvey, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Matt Hodgson, 7 David Pocock (capt), 6 Richard Brown, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Salesi Manu, 18 Phoenix Battye, 19 Lachlan McCaffrey, 20 Josh Holmes, 21 Ben Seymour, 22 Rory Sidey.