Hard-running centre Werner Gey van Pittius will make his Super 12 debut for the Sharks in their game against the Stormers at Absa Stadium in Durban on Friday night.
He will form a powerhouse midfield combination with Springbok centre Andre Snyman (pictured) in the absence of injured duo Trevor Halstead and Deon Kayser.
The massive Van Pittius - 1.84 and 104 kgs - is a former Stellenbosch player who plays his provincial rugby for the Border Bulldogs.
He made his Currie Cup debut for Western Province in 2000 and last year went to study at Oxford University in England. He was named Man of the Match in the intervarsity match against Cambridge.
Oxford offered Van Pittius a bursary to study there again this year, but he declined to sign a contract with Border.
Coach Rudolf Straeuli is full of confidence that the absence of his two star midfielders and injured forwards like John Smith, Nicky van der Walt and Charl van Rensburg won't disrupt his team's rhythm.
"We've lost Trevor and John in the penultimate training session, but fortunately they will be back soon.
"We have good depth in the squad and I have full confidence in the players who will run out on Friday night.
"Every guy knows exactly what I expect from him as I use the squad system. The players know they have a job to do and at the end of the day it is a team effort.
"People tend to think that Trevor's absence will be the difference between defeat and victory, but that is definitely not the case. The Super 12 is about the whole squad and my players are aware of that."
The coach expects Kayser to back on the field next week and Halstead to be out between two and four weeks.
Straeuli said he expects an interesting game and thinks the Stormers will be even more mobile without front-rankers Robbie Kempson and Toks van der Linde.
"They are a good side and it will be interesting. Their pack is so much more mobile with Daan Human there now that Robbie and Toks are out.
"Daan is a good carrier of the ball, as is Marius Goosen (fullback) and Marius Joubert (centre). (Coaches) Carel (du Plessis) and Gert (Smal) are heavily in favour of creative play and I expect them to carry the ball even more than last year," he added.
Straeuli was not too impressed with the bookies, who give his team a good chance of making the finals again this year. "I think it is unfair to rate teams at this early stage of the tournament. Remember last year, when they said we were going to finish last and we proved all of them wrong by reaching the final?
"I think one would only be able to see a pattern emerging after three, four matches."
Sharks: Ricardo Loubscher, Stefan Terblanche, Werner Gey van Pittius, Andre Snyman, Thinus Delport, Gaffie du Toit, Craig Davidson, Shaun Sowerby, AJ Venter, Warren Britz, Albert van den Berg, Mark Andrews (capt), Etienne Fynn, Lukas van Biljon, Ollie le Roux. Substitutes: Roger Smith, Herkie Kruger, Chad Alcock, Wayne van Heerden, Philip Smit, Deon Carstens, Eduard Coetzee.