Durbanites know they have the brute force to smash an Australian team that is brimful of talent out wide but suspect up front.

Sharks coach John Plumtree yesterday named an unchanged pack of forwards for tomorrow’s Super Rugby tour opener against the Force in Perth (1.05pm SA time), and that will surprise nobody given than the Durbanites know they have the brute force to smash an Australian team that is brimful of talent out wide but suspect up front.
The Sharks pack last week dominated a Blues unit packed with current All Blacks and is shaping up to be one of the stronger combinations in the competition, boasting the incumbent Springbok front row, plus the luxury of national captain John Smit on the bench; they have a no-frills, hard-working second row and a well-balanced loose trio in the barnstorming Willem Alberts, the electric opensider Keegan Daniel and the athletic Ryan Kankowski at No 8.
Smit is still coming back from the calf injury that ruled him out of the first-round match and he is likely to start next week against the Rebels, probably at loosehead prop, for the Beast.
In the backline, the only change is at left wing where JP Pietersen – who was also injured pre-season (hamstring) – takes over from benched Lwazi Mvovo, with the experienced Odwa Ndungane continuing on the right wing.
On the bench, Craig Burden replaces injured Eugene van Staden.
The Sharks have taken it easy since arriving in Perth on Monday morning, and coach John Plumtree says that there is obviously a major focus on starting the tour on the right note.
“Given what happened last year (five consecutive defeats to start the Super 14), there has been a lot of pre-season discussion in our camp about starting well,” he said. “We got the first bit right in launching well by winning the two home games. Now our second phase is the tour and it is vital that we do not slacken off. The intent is certainly there from the players but they have to follow through on the talk with a winning performance.”
The Force had a bye last week after having narrowly lost to the Reds (21-20) in Brisbane in the first round, despite being better in most aspects.
The week off might well work against them in that they have had no opportunity to build momentum while the Sharks have had two tough workouts and look like they are not far off the form that won them the Currie Cup.
Super Rugby history repeatedly shows that teams battle in their post-bye match.
The Force have made just one change to their squad – former Waratahs prop Matt Dunning winning a place on the bench.
They have once more picked exciting 20-year-old James O’Connor at flyhalf, and his match-up with Patrick Lambie will be fascinating.
Another mouth-watering contest will feature Alberts against the equally muscle-bound David Pocock, the former Zimbabwean who is the current Wallaby openside flank.
Last year, in their final season under John Mitchell, the Western Australians came 13th, finishing just above the equally hopeless Lions. While the Jo’burg team had no excuse, the Force were heavily ravaged by injury in 2010. They scored just 23 tries in 13 matches, which was hopelessly inadequate for a side committed to attacking rugby.
New coach Richard Graham, who was Mitchell’s assistant, says: “The silver lining to all those injuries last year is that we blooded a whole second tier of players, which will help us this year.
“Hopefully we can stay relatively healthy and continue with our policy of ‘attack to win’. We feel that you can’t win games if you can’t score tries.”
The Sharks will know what to expect from the home side, and that is why they will be hell bent on dominating possession. If the forwards take control, they will save the team from a heck of a lot of tackling.
Referee: Keith Brown (NZ)
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik 14 Odwa Ndungane 13 Stefan Terblanche (capt) 12 Meyer Bosman 11 JP Pietersen 10 Patrick Lambie 9 Charl McCleod 8 Ryan Kankowski 7 Keegan Daniel 6 Willem Alberts 5 Alistair Hargreaves 4 Steven Sykes 3 Jannie du Plessis 2 Bismarck du Plessis 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Substitutes: Craig Burden, John Smit, Anton Bresler, Jacques Botes, Conrad Hoffman, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Lwazi Mvovo
Force: 15 Cameron Shepherd 14 Nick Cummins 13 Mitch Inman 12 Gene Fairbanks 11 David Smith 10 James O’Connor 9 Brett Sheehan 8 Richard Brown 7 David Pocock 6 Matt Hodgson 5 Nathan Sharpe 4 Ben McCalman 3 Tim Fairbrother 2 Ben Whittaker 1 Pek Cowan.
Substitutes: Nathan Charles, Matt Dunning, Sam Wykes, Tevita Metuisela, James Stannard, Alfie Mafi, Rory Sidey.
BY Mike Greenaway

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