This sixth round match at Jonsson Kings Park starts at 17h15.
Both sides have suffered defeats in the previous round and neither will want to follow up with a consecutive loss. The Melbourne outfit will hope to take some points out of their visit to South Africa after tripping over a 33-5 lead to lose by 36-33 to the Emirates Lions last week in Johannesburg.
Big Springbok midfielder Andre Esterhuizen is back at inside centre, while Aphelele Fassi also returns at fullback after taking a knock against the DHL Stormers.
There is a welcome return for Craig Burden (on the bench), who played hooker in the black and white jersey between 2006 and 2013, before embarking on a five-year stint in France. Meanwhile Luke Stringer is set to make his Vodacom Super Rugby debut off the bench as replacement flank.
The Rebels scored a 46-14 triumph in the two team’s previous clash in what was their first win over the men from Duran at their sixth attempt.
What they said:
Andre Esterhuizen, the Cell C Sharks’ midfielder cannot wait to get stuck in again: “We need to get back on track and get some log points. Obviously, we were disappointed in the last two performances, but we’ve had time to reflect and this week has been about working hard on the training pitch with the emphasis on ball retention and getting back to physicality.”
Cell C Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder (captain), 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Gideon Koegelenberg, 20 Luke Stringer, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Curwin Bosch.
Rebels: 15 Jack Maddocks, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Tom English, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Michael Ruru, 8 Angus Cottrell, 7 Richard Hardwick, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Anaru Rangi, 1 Matt Gibbon. Replacements: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Tetera Faulkner, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Rob Leota, 20 Brad Wilkin, 21 Harrison Goddard, 22 Campbell Magnay, 23 TBC.
Head to head:
Played: 6
Cell C Sharks won: 4
Jaguares: 1
Cell C Sharks points: 168
Jaguares Rebels: 131
Average score: 28-22
Match information:
Date: Saturday, 23 March
SA time: 17h15
Venue: Jonsson Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby, Archie Sehlako
Television Match Official: Marius Jonker
TV: SuperSport1
