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WP scramble for Bulls visit

Cape Town - Western Province head coach Allister Coetzee has named his team for Saturday's Absa Currie Cup clash against the Blue Bulls at Newlands

Kick-off is at 19:10.

Coetzee has made seven changes - including one positional switch - to the side that suffered a last-gasp 23-26 loss to the Golden Lions last weekend.

The one positional change sees captain Deon Fourie shift to No 6 flank, as Siyabonga 'Scarra' Ntubeni starts at hooker, with WP having been forced to select a new-look loose trio.

With No 8 Duane Vermeulen called up the Springbok squad and flanks Siya Kolisi (thumb - out for the season) and Tyrone Holmes (AC Joint - one week) both out injured, Fourie will be partnered in the back row by fit-again hardman Rynhardt Elstadt (No 7) and Canadian Jebb Sinclair (No 8). In a final change to the pack, Deon Carstens has recovered from a broken nose and he will start at loosehead prop - allowing Steven Kitshoff to take a break on the bench.

In the backline, meanwhile, WP Under-21 star JP du Plessis will start at outside centre, following Juan de Jongh's Springbok recall. Experienced scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage will make his second start of the Currie Cup season, after two weeks of limited action as part of a rotational policy at scrumhalf, with Nic Groom coming on to the bench this week.

Joining Groom on the bench is Maties flank Helmut Lehmann (the WP Under-21 captain last season), whilst current Under-21 star Damian de Allende (centre/wing) is back on the bench after featuring as a replacement against Griquas in Round Two.

Teams:

Western Province:

15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 Ederies Arendse, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Don Armand, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2  Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Deon Carstens

Substitutes: 16 Steven Kitshoff, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 19 Helmut Lehmann, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Damian de Allende, 22 Kurt Coleman

Blue Bulls:

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Francois Venter, 11 JJ Engelbrecht, 10 Louis Fouchè, 9 Ruan Snyman, 8 Dewald Potgieter (captain), 7 CJ Stander, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Dawie Steyn

Substitutes: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Cornell Hess, 19 Warwick Tecklenburg, 20 Rudy Paige, 21 Lionel Cronje, 22 Jürgen Visser
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