John Plumtree is confident that there will be more than enough motivation for his heavily-changed Sharks side to perform against Cardiff on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.

The Sharks will send a contingent of senior players to London on Saturday to prepare for the EPCR final against Gloucester.

Plumtree has consequently named almost an entirely new starting XV for the penultimate-round Vodacom URC match against the men from the Welsh capital.

Despite making 14 changes to the starting lineup, Plumtree is confident that the Sharks won’t lack for motivation when they take to Kings Park on Saturday, with places still to be won for the trip to London.

“We are taking 20 tomorrow. We will take 28 players in total, so in likelihood there are three players that I’m looking at for bench spots,” Plumtree explained.

“The 20 that I’m taking have a great chance of starting. Then we are looking for another five players to help prepare the team over there as extra numbers.

“So there is an opportunity there. Everyone wants to be involved in a final, so I’m sure the boys want to be part of that.

“Sikhumbuzo Notshe is playing his 50th game tomorrow, which is fantastic for him. The boys will want to get around him and play well for him. We have some players in that group who might be playing their last games for the Sharks. So there is motivation.

“We spoke about it during the week, but a lot of these guys help the team prepare every week. There aren’t enough opportunities for them, so a lot of them turn up week in and week out and help the team prepare on and off the field. It’s a nice opportunity for them to get this URC game tomorrow.”

The Sharks will notably have a makeshift midfield of young Diego Appolis and wing Eduan Keyter against Cardiff, as Murray Koster is suspended for the rest of the season, while Lukhanyo Am and Ethan Hooker are recovering from injuries.

With question marks hanging over both Am and Hooker’s availability for next Friday’s final, Plumtree will be looking an impressive performance from Keyter and Appolis.

“If you look at Eduan Keyter, we have him there because of the centre crisis with injuries here. He has played in the midfield before and fullback. So we want to see what he can do at 12,” Plumtree said.

“He’s a strong boy and it will be interesting to see if he can potentially play in that position in the future.

“Curwin Bosch is coming back from a shoulder injury and he will get some time to prove his fitness for the final.

“Diego Appolis didn’t play too badly against Benetton. I’m interested to see how he goes.

“Because of all the injuries, the busiest people this week have been the medical team,” Plumtree added. “We do have a list, but we are plugging away at it. The issue is that we have flights to catch, so the medical team have been flat out. I have to commend them, they have gone beyond to get everyone fit.

“All those midfielders are working hard, but it will only be next week when we confirm who is starting.

“Diego putting in a good performance tomorrow, both he and Eduan, will be a nice bonus for us. We think both players have a future in this jersey. It’s Diego’s specialist position, but he hasn’t had a lot of time this year. There is competition in that position when we are fit.

“It might be a guy like that whose time it is to shine in the jersey in this late part of the season. We will see how he goes tomorrow.”

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