Ma'a Nonu is in line to make his Sharks debut against none other than the All Blacks in Durban after making the matchday 23 for Tuesday's Rugby's Greatest Rivalry (RGR) clash, and received praise from New Zealand lock Patrick Tuipulotu.
The 33-year-old -- who captained the All Blacks in Friday's 38-21 win over the Stormers -- hailed Nonu for his professionalism, which he credits for the All Blacks legend making the bench against his former national team at 44 years old.
"I didn't expect him to be named, but I'm certainly looking forward to it. A lot of the boys know him and are close to him. It's no secret how long he's played," Tuipulotu said in the post-match press conference after the Stormers win of former All Blacks centre/wing Nonu.
"His career has been this long because he's been a true professional of the game and he's been blessed to keep playing.
"I think it will be quite a spectacle to see him come up against us and we certainly look forward to that. We might catch up with him midweek and give him a jab or two."
Tuipulotu will not come up against Nonu directly, as the lock has been rested for Tuesday's clash - with Josh Lord and Sam Darry the starting lock pairing and flanker Luke Jacobson captaining the All Blacks side for the second game of their RGR tour.
Nonu will also be denied the chance to come up against Billy Proctor at centre. The 27-year-old will miss the rest of the tour after suffering a shoulder blade fracture against the Stormers.
The Tuesday clash between the Sharks and All Blacks will take place at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, with kick-off at 7 p.m. South African time (5 a.m. on Wednesday in mainland New Zealand).
Squads:
All Blacks: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Fehi Fineanganofo, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Kyle Preston, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Luke Jacobson (captain), 6 Tupou Vaa'i, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Ethan Blackadder, 20 Semisi Ta'eiloa, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 23 Emoni Narawa
Sharks: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Donovan Don, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Litelihle Bester, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Hendre Stassen, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Nemo Roelofse
Replacements: 16 Liam van Wyk, 17 Rambo Kubekha, 18 Simphiwe Ngobese, 19 Vincent Tshituka, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Luan Giliomee, 23 Ma'a Nonu