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Cape Town - Saturday will be a big day for Nic Groom as he becomes Western Province's third Currie Cup captain this season.
Injuries to Juan de Jongh and then Nizaam Carr have left the 25-year-old scrumhalf with the task of guiding WP through a tricky trip to the Sharks.
Such inconsistency is never welcomed, but in Groom Province have a man who is fully confident in his ability to lead.
“Ja, stoked. A couple of years ago I would have counted myself lucky to play for Western Province so to be captain is an extremely massive honour for me,” the King William’s Town product said.
“I’m looking forward to just repaying the faith of the coach and union. I’m looking forward to leading a bunch of young, energised guys.
“You won’t see too many different things from me, I’m going to keep doing my thing … and I’m sure it will go well.”
Groom is hoping to bring an element of calm to the captaincy, and he takes comfort in the fact that he has other leaders around him.
“I’ve been a captain of teams my whole at school life in numerous sports so I do feel that leadership is something that I’m comfortable with ... I think what I can bring is a bit of composure and calmness,” he said.
“I seriously believe in the other players that I play with and the coaches … and it’s merely just facilitating that whole process.
“I know I can look to Scarra (Ntubeni) and he can sort anything out in the front, I can look to Kurt (Coleman) … Ruan Botha is another guy. I’m just going to share the leadership role … it’s not about me, it’s about the team.”
Kick-off on Saturday is at 17:05.
Teams:
Sharks
15. Odwa Ndungane, 14. Wandile Mjekevu, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. S'bura Sithole, 10. Joe Pietersen, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Philip van der Walt, 7. Jean-Luc du Preez, 6. Francois Kleinhans, 5. Marco Wentzel (captain), 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 3. Gerhard Engelbrecht, 2. Monde Hadebe, 1. Thomas du Toit
Substitutes: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Dave McDuling, 19. Christiaan de Bruin, 20. Michael Claassens, 21. Heimar Williams, 22. Garth April
Western Province
15. Cheslin Kolbe, 14. Dillyn Leyds, 13. Johnny Kotze, 12. Huw Jones, 11. Seabelo Senatla, 10. Kurt Coleman, 9. Nic Groom (captain), 8. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Chris Cloete, 5. Ruan Botha, 4. Jean Kleyn, 3. Wilco Louw, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Oli Kebble, 18. Chris van Zyl, 19. Jurie van Vuuren, 20. Jano Vermaak, 21. Robert du Preez, 22. Kobus van Wyk
