The only local derby in Durban

The feature match in South Africa on March 30 is the Vodacom Super Rugby derby in Durban between the Cell C Sharks and the Vodacom Bulls, and it is also the only local encounter on offer in this weekend’s seventh-round action.

The DHL Stormers take on the Blues in Auckland earlier in the day in what will be the second match of their Australasian tour, with the Cape aiming for a morale-boosting win in New Zealand.

Siya Kolisi and his Stormers teammates kick off their encounter at 8.35am while the big clash in Durban starts at 3.05pm. The Emirates Lions have a break this weekend and the Jaguares, the other team in the South African Conference, host the Chiefs in a late-evening kick off in Buenos Aires (11.40pm).

Etzebeth boost for Stormers’ Auckland test

There are three changes to the Stormers backline and three more among the forwards for their clash with the Blues on Saturday morning in Auckland. Damian Willemse comes in at full back and as a result, Dillyn Leyds shifts to left wing, with Dan du Plessis restored in the outside centre position.

The two rotational switches up front see Jaco Coetzee at number eight and Wilco Louw back at tighthead prop while in a significant boost for the Cape side fit-again Eben Etzebeth slots into the second row to fill the vacancy left by the injured JD Schickerling, who returned to South Africa.

The Capetonians have won six of their last seven meetings against the Auckland side. However, the Blues have won two consecutive games after a bumpy start to the season and have their tails up at the moment.

The Stormers will be hoping for another huge defensive effort from the in-form Pieter-Steph du Toit, their Springbok flanker who made 30 tackles in Wellington last week. That tackle performance equalled the tackle count of any player in a single round in the last nine seasons and the towering number seven has made a combined total of 83 tackles so far this year.

Beast to equal appearance record in Durban derby

Sharks head coach Robert du Preez has made just two changes to the starting line-up for this week’s home derby against the Bulls. Luke Stringer replaces Phepsi Buthelezi at flank and Lwazi Mvovo rotates on the wing with Sbu Nkosi.

There is also a first call-up to this campaign for experienced loose forward Philip van der Walt, who returned from Japan with an injury but is now back to full fitness, joining Craig Burden (hooker) in making an impact off the bench.

Meanwhile, stalwart prop Beast Mtawarira stands on the cusp of making history as the popular front ranker is set to equal Adriaan Strauss’ record of 156 competition appearances.

Strauss played for the Toyota Cheetahs and the Bulls, but Mtawarira has accomplished his feat with just one team, the Sharks, since making his debut in 2007.

Bulls coach Pote Human has rotated his scrum halves for the visit to Durban, which sees Embrose Papier starting and fit-again lock Eli Snyman also making his return to the run-on side.

The Pretoria side are coming off the back of a very disappointing 56-20 home loss to the Chiefs and they will be determined to return to winning ways against their South African rivals. While both teams have won three and lost two so far, it was the Bulls who clinched a comfortable 37-14 triumph when the two sides met earlier this month in Pretoria.

But the coastal outfit is a hard nut to crack at home and boasts with seven wins from their last eight games on home turf, losing only to the DHL Stormers in that period. And to add spice to the derby, the Pretoria visitors have won their last three local derbies in a row.

Other round seven fixtures this weekend:

March 30

10.45am: Reds vs Rebels, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

11.30pm: Jaguares vs Chiefs, Jose Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires

Bye: Lions, Brumbies, Highlanders

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