Swiel to start against Sarries

Twenty-year-old Tim Swiel will wear the No 10 jersey for the Sharks against Saracens at Allianz Park on Saturday.

The XV also features Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Willem Alberts, Lwazi Mvovo, and Odwa Ndungane, all of whom have Springbok experience.

Marcell Coetzee, Keegan Daniel and Frans Steyn did not tour after picking up injuries in training, while a few players have been hit with a stomach bug since arriving in London.

Sharks director of rugby Jake White also said that the friendly match will be a good indication of how the team will manage against another prominent South African side.

‘Saracens play a little bit like the Bulls, they have a big pack of forwards, their set piece is strong and they kick a lot. It gives me and the coaching staff an opportunity to see the things we want to do against the Bulls, to have an idea of whether or not we can play against the Bulls in a certain way.’

The match kicks off at 4:15pm SA time and will be broadcast on SuperSport.

Sharks –  15 Tyler Fisher,  14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Tim Swiel,  9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Tera Mtembu, 5 Pieter–Steph du Toit, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis (c), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Stephan Lewies, 20 Jacques Botes, 21 Charl McLeod, 22 Heimar Williams, 23 Jaco van Tonder.