The Jaguares are pretty much a Test team in their own right, highly representative of the Argentina national rugby side, and not a team to take lightly.

Director of Rugby Gary Gold is aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

“The Jaguares are a brilliant team full of internationals. Many of these guys are hugely experienced and had good success at the World Cup. Last week against the Cheetahs, this Argentine side showed that they have adapted well to the competition.

“We’ve had a good week and are preparing to take on a full battle of international players and we’re excited about the challenge ahead. This match is really going to test us to see how far we’ve come this year.”

Gold has not tinkered much with last week’s side, although JP Pietersen will start in place of the injured Lwazi Mvovo on the wing, while there is a welcome return of Stephan Lewies to the second row, after a long term injury.

Those are the only two changes to the starting line-up, and added to their return is a return home to play at Growthpoint KINGS PARK where the players know they can count on home crowd support, something they haven’t had in their last three games, playing twice on French soil before last week’s away match in Port Elizabeth.

Gold explained that there were a number of positives to take away from the match last weekend. “I was happy with our intent, skill level and the way we executed our tries,” he said.

“The new generation of players we have right now are really putting up their hands. They’re bringing an unbelievable enthusiasm and excitement to the team environment. We can most definitely use this to build on to something big moving forward.”

This is a team all about unity and this weekend will be celebrating the country’s drive towards unity. The Sharks embrace and encourage a family environment and to this end and with the recent incidences of racial tension, the Cell C Sharks take a stand against Racism: We Say No to Racism.

Cell C Sharks vs. Jaguares                           

Date                                              : Saturday, 5 March 2016
Time                                              : 19h20
Venue                                            : Growthpoint KINGS PARK
Referee                                          : Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees                       : Jaco van Heerden, Cwengile Jadezweni
Television Match Official              : Johan Greeff

15. Willie Le Roux	Replacements:
14. Odwa Ndungane	16. Kyle Cooper
13. Paul Jordaan	17. Juan Schoeman
12. Andre Esterhuizen	18. Lourens Adriaanse
11. JP Pietersen	19. Hyron Andrews
10. Joe Pietersen	20. Philip van der Walt
9. Cobus Reinach	21. Michael Claassens
8. Daniel du Preez	22. Garth April
7. Jean-Luc du Preez	23. S’bura Sithole
6. Marcell Coetzee
5. Stephan Lewies
4. Etienne Oosthuizen
3. Coenie Oosthuizen
2. Franco Marais
1. Tendai Mtawarira (Captain)

*Lwazi Mvovo was not considered for selection this week, due to an ankle injury suffered during our match against the Kings. He will be available for selection for next week’s match.

Interesting Facts

– After opening our 2016 campaign with a win the Cell C Sharks will be aiming for a fifth win in a row for the first time since a run of five on the bounce across the 2013 and 2014 seasons;

– The Cell C Sharks have won 20 of their last 24 matches when hosting a team from outside of South Africa;

– JP Pietersen will be the most capped Cell C Sharks Super Rugby player on the field this Saturday with a current tally of 121 Super Rugby caps;

– Lwazi Mvovo (4) made more breaks than any other player in the opening round.