John Smit will win his 100th Super rugby cap when he captains the Sharks against the Cheetahs in Durban on Friday.
The South Africa skipper is set to become the first local player to achieve the feat representing the same franchise, with the Bulls' loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg also in line for the record when he takes to the field for his side against the Brumbies 24 hours later.
However, Smit will be in a different position from the one he has become accustomed to in recent seasons, with coach John Plumtree opting to shift him from tight-head to hooker in one positional change to the team following their opening 19-18 loss to the Chiefs last week.
There are also five personnel changes to the team - Adrian Jacobs, Ruan Pienaar, Jacques Botes, Alistair Hargreaves and Jannie du Plessis all coming in at the expense of Andries Strauss, Monty Dumond, Keegan Daniel, the injured Johann Muller and Bismarck du Plessis.
On the bench, Deon Carstens is fit again and takes the place of Craig Burden, while Charl McLeod is in for Gerhard Mostert, another player injured in the opening match against the New Zealanders.
Speaking about Smit's record, Plumtree said: "He's been outstanding for us and the achievement of 100 caps for just one union, that's massive for John.
"Players move around a lot, so to play 100 games for one province is really significant. It was great that we got him back from France or he wouldn't have been able to achieve it."
AJ Venter holds the record for playing the most games by a South African in the competition but his 125 caps were split between the Sharks, the Cats and the Stormers.
Sharks team: Stefan Terblanche; Odwa Ndungane, Waylon Murray, Adrian Jacobs, JP Pietersen; Ruan Pienaar, Rory Kockott; Ryan Kankowski, Jean Deysel, Jacques Botes, Alistair Hargreaves, Steven Sykes, Jannie du Plessis, John Smit, Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis, Deon Carstens, Willem Alberts, Keegan Daniel, Charl McLeod, Monty Dumond, Andries Strauss.
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