Powerhouse centre Andre Esterhuizen will make his first start of the season for the Sharks after being named as one of two changes for the Super Rugby clash against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

The 20-year-old has been named ahead of Heimar Williams in midfield, while director of rugby Gary Gold has also opted to give Ryan Kankowski his first start since re-joining the union.

The Springbok number eight has been playing club rugby in Japan and missed the pre-season with the Sharks. However, he has now been deemed fit by the coaching staff and replaces Currie Cup captain Tera Mtembu.

There are also changes on the bench were Springbok prop Lourens Adriaanse replaces England international Matt Stevens, while New Zealand back Jack Wilson fills the void vacated by Esterhuizen.

Fly-half Lionel Cronje is bracketed with Fred Zeilinga, who will be given a late fitness test to see if he is fit enough to feature at Loftus Versfeld.

The Sharks lost the opening match of the season to the Cheetahs, before bouncing back with a win against the Lions. The Bulls, on the other hand, lost both their games to the Stormers and Hurricanes.

"What is ideal is that we put in a better performance against the Lions after losing to the Cheetahs," assistant coach Paul Anthony said. "We want our players to be accountable for how they perform.

"That game we lost, as with the Bulls against the Hurricanes, those were both literally millimetres away from victories.

"Without a doubt the players felt accountable after the Cheetahs loss. They knew that they weren't on par, they were disappointed with themselves."

The Sharks: SP Marais, Odwa Ndungane, Waylon Murray, Andre Esterhuizen, Lwazi Mvovo, Patrick Lambie, Cobus Reinach, Ryan Kankowski, Renaldo Bothma, Marcell Coetzee, Lubabalo Mtyanda, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis (captain), Dale Chadwick.

Replacements: Kyle Cooper, Thomas du Toit, Lourens Adriaanse, Marco Wentzel, Jean Deysel, Conrad Hoffmann, Fred Zeilinga/Lionel Cronje, Jack Wilson.