The match at Loftus Versfeld - the second consecutive time the teams from Pretoria and Durban will contest South Africa’s most prestigious rugby competition - kicks off at 17h00 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Looking to continue the momentum the Durbanites have built up over the last month, with wins over the Vodacom Bulls, Toyota Cheetahs, Sigma Lions and Tafel Lager Griquas, Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt has largely stuck with the side that won last weekend’s semi-final at Jonsson Kings Park.

Khwezi Mona has been named in place of Ntuthuko Mchunu in the front row, while the return of Du Toit, who recently returned from the Springbok tour to Australia due to a family beveavement, is a timely boost, particularly for the expected battle upfront. 

A new face has been included in the match 23 where replacement Dlepu (scrumhalf) is set to make his debut for the Cell C Sharks. The 21-year-old featured at age group level for Western Province, captaining their Craven Week side in 2017, before making the move to Durban last year.

“It’s one-all in the Currie Cup, we’ve beaten them once and there’s no reason why we can’t do it again,” said Everitt.

“We know that the ball travels far at Loftus so we’re going to have to handle the aerial battle well, but we have three players – Curwin, Sanele and Lionel – who kick really well and will be up for the challenge.

“We know the Bulls have a massive pack of forwards, they are playing well and were sublime in their semi-final. It’s all about momentum, we know what’s coming our way with regards to how they play and the emphasis for us will be about stopping their momentum and stopping their big ball-carriers.”

Cell C Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Werner Kok, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (captain), 7 Henco Venter, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Khwezi Mona. Replacements: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Reniel Hugo, 21 Lucky Dlepu, 22 Jeremy Ward, 23 Anthony Volmink.