Boks a massive boost for WP

Johannesburg - Western Province's team fortheir semi-final clash with the Golden Lions, at Coca-Cola on Saturday has been bolstered with six Springboks.

Province hooker Tiaan Liebenberg, who captained the side for most of the season, said the international stars would provide a massive boost after injuries hampered their progress throughout the campaign.

"It gives us massive confidence to have them back in a game like a semi-final," he said.

"I know they are still bummed about what happened at the World Cup, but this is also an opportunity for them to end the season on a high."

Liebenberg said the Lions would provide a stern test as this season’s form side targeted their first Currie Cup title in 12 years.

"We played the Lions quite recently and that game gave us a good idea of what we need to work on and improve on this weekend," Liebenberg said.

"They play brilliant attacking rugby and also have some Boks back, like Butch James, CJ van der Linde and Wikus van Heerden."

The clash at Coca-Cola Park kicks off at 17:00 on Saturday.

Teams:

Golden Lions:
15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Doppies la Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Joshua Strauss (captain), 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Wikus van Heerden, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 CJ Van der Linde

Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 Warren Whiteley, 19 Cobus Grobbelaar/Jaco Kriel, 20 Butch James, 21 Dylan Des Fountain, 22 James Kamana

Western Province:
15  Gio Aplon, 14 JJ Engelbrecht, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean De Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nick Koster, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Schalk Burger (captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 JC Kritzinger

Substitutes: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Tertius Daniller, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Conrad Jantjes