Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was named the Sharks’ European campaign leader ahead of their Champions Cup opener against England’s Harlequins in Durban, while Lukhanyo Am keeps the armband for the United Rugby Championship.
Director of rugby, Neil Powell, made the official announcement on Thursday immediately after naming a Bok-laden side with Eben Etzebeth returning and Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche, Jaden Hendrikse and Makazole Mapimpi all included.
“We’ve announced Siya as our captain for the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) season,” Powell said.
“So, it will only be for the Heineken Cup games, not for the URC games. It’s mainly because we’ll have the Boks available for all the EPCR games this season, so we thought it would be good to make Siya the captain for the whole [European] campaign.”
Curwin Bosch, meanwhile, continues at flyhalf. With Etzebeth back in the starting line-up, Vincent Tshituka will revert back to flank, alongside Kolisi and Phepsi Buthelezi.
Powell has retained much of the same backline as last week, with the only change seeing Werner Kok replacing Marnus Potgieter on the wing. Kick-off is at 15:00 on Saturday.
