Siya Kolisi will be packing down against his former teammates when he lines up for the Sharks against the Stormers in the Rainbow Cup SA at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Sharks head coach Sean Everitt has an almost complete squad to pick from and has chosen a strong side for the opening game in the competition.
Ox Nche, Fez Mbatha and Thomas du Toit offer formidable opposition to the highly rated Stormers front row with the pack looking forward to the battle up front.
Inspirational Lukhanyo Am leads the team, which includes an exciting backline with Grant Williams partnering Curwin Bosch at halfback.
Explosive Jeremy Ward teams up with Am in the midfield and Yaw Penxe, Sbu Nkosi and Aphelele Fassi make up the back three.
There is a welcome return to the Sharks for prop Wiehahn Herbst, on loan to the Durban side, who has been named on the bench.
Everitt said he was excited to see what Kolisi could produce against the Stormers.
“Siya had a tough preseason with us but he hung in, and then when we played him against the Bulls in the final Preparation Series game he made some telling contributions.
“We are really looking forward to seeing what he can deliver against the Stormers.
“All-round, Siya has been amazing for us.
“Without instruction from anyone, he has gone about mentoring the youngsters, and they really look up to him.
“He is not the captain but in a quiet way he has been showing leadership and his teammates respond.”
Stormers assistant coach Rito Hlungwani is not concerned that Kolisi has inside information that could hurt his team.
“Siya has been at Province for a long time and, during that time, our teams have evolved,” Hlungwani said.
“We feel like we are continuously evolving.
“It’s part of the game and we have had players leave before.
“We’re not too concerned about what Siya knows, but he is a guy that we all love, and he is a good human being.”
Sharks team: 1 Ox Nche, 2 Fez Mbatha, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 5 Reniel Hugo, 6 Siya Kolisi, 7 Henco Venter, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 9 Grant Williams, 10 Curwin Bosch, 11 Yaw Penxe, 12 Jeremy Ward, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 14 Sbu Nkosi, 15 Aphelele Fassi. Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 JJ van der Mescht, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Werner Kok
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