IT may well be April 1 today, but there will be no fooling around for the Sharks and the Bulls as they prepare for their weekend Super 14 rugby matches against the Crusaders and Hurricanes respectively.
The Bulls have by far the tougher assignment, having to take on champions Crusaders in their own backyard on Friday, while the Sharks will be at home to the Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon.
Though the Bulls went down unexpectedly to the Highlanders at the weekend, they will be boosted by the return of Springboks Victor Matfield and Bryan Habana. Matfield returns at lock to captain the side, while Habana is included on the wing in place of young Gerhard van der Heever.
With Matfield back, Danie Rossouw switches to flank in the place of Pedrie Wannenburg.
The Sharks‘ confidence is on a high following their easy win over the Brumbies.
However, they must still take a long, hard look at the flyhalf berth in the absence of Ruan Pienaar. Frans Steyn may well be retained, but he is definitely not the answer.
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