Ex Supersport
Some would say it is a week later than it should have happened, but Frans Steyn will finally get to wear the Cell C Sharks No 10 jersey when the Durbanites open their Vodacom Super Rugby tour of Australasia with a match against the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday.
Steyn has deputised at flyhalf with mixed results this season, and there are many who remember his strong performance there in a home match early in the competition who reckon he should have been more familiar with the No 10 than he is at this point of the season.
Since Patrick Lambie was ruled out in Pretoria five weeks ago, Fred Zeilinga and Tim Swiel have been used as the starting flyhalves, with Sharks director of rugby Jake White preferring to stick with Steyn as a centre.
However, with Paul Jordaan now fully over his injury problems and regaining some confidence, he has decided to unite Jordaan with Heimar Williams in the game against the Rebels, which opened the way for him to move Steyn to flyhalf.
Although young, Jordaan brings experience to the midfield that would have been lacking had he remained sidelined.
The switch of Steyn to flyhalf is not the only change to the side that was outplayed by the Highlanders at Growthpoint Kings Park last Friday night.
As anticipated, the valuable asset that is Bismarck du Plessis is back in the front row after sitting out the Highlanders game with a minor neck complaint.
The hulking figure of Jean Deysel is also back on the side of the scrum, enabling Willem Alberts to move back to lock in place of Etienne Oosthuizen.
Kyle Cooper, Oosthuizen and Keegan Daniel all drop back to the bench, with Ryan Kankowski earning re-selection at No 8 after two weeks playing off the bench while Daniel went about the business of accumulating his landmark 100th cap for the Sharks.
Talking of 100 cap players, Odwa Ndungane returns at wing in place of the injured S’bura Sithole.
The Sharks look significantly stronger with their stalwarts back, and have been further bolstered by the return of Cobus Reinach as the back-up scrumhalf.
Fred Zeilinga is also over his injury and has leapfrogged the deposed Swiel into the match-day squad and will sit on the bench.
Cell C Sharks team: Lwazi Mvovo, Odwa Ndungane, Paul Jordaan, Heimar Williams, JP Pietersen, Frans Steyn, Charl Mcleod, Ryan Kankowski, Jean Deysel, Marcell Coetzee, Stephan Lewies, Willem Alberts, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis (capt), Beast Mtwarira.
Replacements: Kyle Cooper, Dale Chadwick, Lourens Adriaanse, Etienne Oosthuizen, Keegan Daniel, Cobus Reinach, Fred Zeilinga, SP Marais.
Cant see Sharks loosing dispite travel bug
