Feast of action at Kings Park as Sharks teams host Saracens and Pumas in double header

Sharks fans have double the reason to go to Kings Park on Friday afternoon, with one Sharks team taking on English giants Saracens at 4pm, and another Sharks side hosting the Pumas in a Currie Cup fixture at 7.10pm.

There have been change-ups in both squads, with many United Rugby Championship players and even a few Springboks thrown into the mix across the two teams.

The hit-out against Saracens will feature many of the usual suspects from the Currie Cup in the curtain-raiser to the clash against the Pumas, with the team comprising of a mix of players featured in both squads.

There are also several new faces, with Paarl-born front row twins Kayden and Cohen Kiewit packing down on either side of hooker Willem van der Hever. The pair are teammates this time round, having scrummed against each other in the Varsity Cup for UJ and CUT.

Certainly, the likes of Jason Jenkins and Tino Mavesere amongst the forwards, and later Lukhanyo Am off the bench, will provide calm heads and guidance to the relatively young team.

Although there is no distinct difference between the two teams, the Sharks XV team that faces off against the Pumas does include more experience, particularly amongst the loose-forward trio, where Manu Tshituka, Vincent Tshituka, and Phepsi Buthelezi pack down at the back of the scrum.

Nearly four hours of rugby action featuring close to 50 Sharks stars and up-and-coming young talent, across two big games, promises to be a good evening of rugby entertainment.

Sharks Invitational (versus Saracens) – 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Aiden de Villiers, 13 Christie Grobbelaar, 12 Albie Bester, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Jean Smith, 9 Tiaan Fourie, 8 Jannes Potgieter, 7 Matt Ramao, 6 Tino Mavesere (c), 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Cohen Kiewit, 2 Willem van der Hever, 1 Kayden Kiewit

Bench: 16 Jacques Marais, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Dian Heunis, 19 Gideon Koegelenberg, 20 Meno Barnard, 21 Coetzee le Roux, 22 Ceano Everson, 23 Chris Horak, 24 Lukhanyo Am

Sharks XV (versus Pumas) – 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 PK Sobahle, 13 Diego Appollis, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Paschal Ekeji, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrickse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka (c), 6 Manu Tshituka, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Batho Hlekani, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Phatu Ganyane

Bench: 16 Jacques Marais, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Jaco Williams