Melbourne are looking for feisty halfback Michael Ruru to sink his teeth into the Sharks in his first Super Rugby start of the season.
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The brilliant form of Rebels starting No.9 Will Genia has restricted Ruru's game time but Genia, along with three other Wallabies, will sit out the Durban match under the Wallabies' rotation policy.
That gives the 28-year-old Ruru an opportunity to start, with exciting youngster Harrison Goddard coming onto the bench.
Rebels coach Dave Wessels said Ruru, who started eight Super games last season while Genia was injured, deserved his chance.
"Michael is one of those guys who we'd like to model our whole club on," Wessels said from Durban.
"He doesn't get a lot of game time because he's sitting behind a guy who's really playing well, but he comes to training every day and is one of the most competitive guys on the field and he never complains.
"We all know what a good player he is, he's been involved in some really good performances for us and he thoroughly deserves his chance."
Wessels said last year one of Ruru's best qualities was he had some "pig-dog" about him, with that aggression something the Rebels need to call on after last round's disappointment in Johannesburg.
The Rebels led by 28 points early in the second half but, with their poor discipline contributing, they eventually succumbed 36-33.
Wessels said the team needed to take control of matches if they were to break through for their first ever win in South Africa.
"We had a really good half against the Lions, but then momentum got away from us and we didn't control that well in the second half," Wessels said.
"Our biggest challenge is to run our best race, because we want to be the best version of ourselves that we can be, and we were for 50 minutes in Johannesburg but we need to do that more consistently in Durban."
While the Lions loss was the first of the Rebels' 2019 season, the Sharks, coming off the bye, have had a mixed bag.
They started the season with wins over the Sunwolves and the Blues, but then then lost back-to-back local derbies against the Stormers and the Bulls.
The Sharks have also made a number of changes - among them Andre Esterhuizen returning at inside centre to resume his Springbok midfield partnership with Lukhanyo Am.
Australian Associated Press
